Resurrection of the Daleks

Premise: The Daleks rescue Davros from his prison in space. However, he is just one part of a plan to replace the High Council of the Time Lords with killer duplicates.

Notes: This serial was originally scheduled to be part of Season 20, but was pushed back due to a strike with minor modifications. Michael Wisher, who played Davros in Genesis of the Daleks was scheduled to return but he was unable to do the role when the serial was moved to a later date. Terry Molley took over the role instead and would return in both Revelation of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks. The story was produced as four parts but when the schedule clashed with the Winter Olympics, it was made into two double-length episodes (a format which would then be used in the next season of the show) and shown on two consecutive Wednesdays.

Verdict: A mess of good ideas clumsily realised which is weighed down even more by it's obsession with continuity. Both the Daleks and Davros have improved a bit since their last appearance, with Terry Molley giving a satisfactory performance. Tegan's goodbye is squeezed onto the end and there are a lot of poorly acted death scenes. Among all this there is some fun to be had if you try hard enough but overall it's a poor production 5/10

Earthshock

Premise: On 26th century Earth the Doctor discovers a bomb powerful enough to destroy the whole planet. After defusing it, he traces its signal back to a freighter of Cybermen in space...

Notes: This was the first episode to feature the Cybermen since 1975. The decision was made to keep the Cybermen's return a secret until the end of the first episode. For this reason, Eric Saward was instructed not include any reference to the Cybermen in the title. This serial also used archive footage for the flashback scene and clips were chosen from some of the Doctor's previous encounters with the Cybermen. The clips were taken from the Tenth Planet, the Wheel in Space (although the Cyber-leader describes the events of the Tomb of the Cybermen) and Revenge of the Cybermen. To preserve continuity, the clips were shown in monochrome as the first two were recorded in black-and-white as apposed to the colour format that it is in now.

Verdict: A stunning production which features the Cybermen as master tacticians as well as very sadistic, trying to prove to the Doctor that emotions are a weakness. Adric's death is moving and all actors are at their best. However, the Cyber-leader might be a little bit too emotional 9/10

The Visitation

Premise: 17th century England plays host to plague rats, a murderous android and trio of escaped Terileptil convicts. The Doctor must stop them wiping out the whole human race.

Notes: After writing this story, his first for the series, Eric Saward was offered the position as the new script editor for the series and stayed until the end of Colin Baker's run. After the sonic screwdriver is destroyed by the Terileptil leader, it is not seen again until the television movie in 1996. This was a decision made by producer John Nathan-Turner who wanted to get rid of the devise as he felt it provided too easy a way of solving problems. The Terileptil mask featured animatronics to make it move, a first for the series.

Verdict: A fun story which roles along at an enjoyable pace. Everyone gets something to do and the Terileptil's provide a rather well done set of monsters. However, the Doctor himself often acts rather out of character and can be very irritating at times 8/10