Doctor Who: Inferno: Episode 1 starts as the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) arrives at a top secret Government research facility where Professor Stahlman (Olaf Pooley) is in charge of a project to drill to the center of the Earth in search of a powerful natural gas that could be used as a fuel. The Doctor & his assistant Liz Shaw (Caroline John) are officially there as advisor's but the Doctor is using the nuclear capabilities of the facility to try & get the TARDIS working, meanwhile Bigadier Lethbridge Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) has a murder on his hands as a maintenance man named Harry Slocum (Walter Randall) brutally killed a fellow work mate. Could it have anything to do with the green slime he touched & why has he changed colour?
This Doctor Who adventure was episode 19 from season 7 & originally aired here in the UK during May 1970, this was the fourth & final story from Pertwee's first season as the Doctor, it was also the final story for his assistant Liz Shaw & thankfully it marked the end of the mammoth seven parters which I've never really been a fan of. Directed by Douglas Camfield (who was eventually replaced by producer Barry Letts) Inferno is considered by some to be Pertwee's finest story, personally I can't say because I haven't seen all of his stories but it's definitely a good one even at this early stage. The script by Don Houghton basically sets things up during this initial episode, not that much happens but it sets the character's & situation up effectively enough, it's intriguing & certainly watchable & the mystery element of not knowing where the story is going retains one interest especially what that green slime is all about! This is a nice enough first part & I will certainly be checking out episode 2.
Director Camfield (Letts?) does an OK job, the locations & sets add atmosphere. I'm not sure about the blue/green man with hairy hands though, apparently this aspect of the story was added by the Doctor Who production team who felt the story needed a monster & didn't feature in Houghton's original scripts.
Inferno: Episode 1 as a stand alone part doesn't have much going for it but hopefully it will become part of a bigger & better thing which I'm sure it will. A good start to what should be a good story.
This Doctor Who adventure was episode 19 from season 7 & originally aired here in the UK during May 1970, this was the fourth & final story from Pertwee's first season as the Doctor, it was also the final story for his assistant Liz Shaw & thankfully it marked the end of the mammoth seven parters which I've never really been a fan of. Directed by Douglas Camfield (who was eventually replaced by producer Barry Letts) Inferno is considered by some to be Pertwee's finest story, personally I can't say because I haven't seen all of his stories but it's definitely a good one even at this early stage. The script by Don Houghton basically sets things up during this initial episode, not that much happens but it sets the character's & situation up effectively enough, it's intriguing & certainly watchable & the mystery element of not knowing where the story is going retains one interest especially what that green slime is all about! This is a nice enough first part & I will certainly be checking out episode 2.
Director Camfield (Letts?) does an OK job, the locations & sets add atmosphere. I'm not sure about the blue/green man with hairy hands though, apparently this aspect of the story was added by the Doctor Who production team who felt the story needed a monster & didn't feature in Houghton's original scripts.
Inferno: Episode 1 as a stand alone part doesn't have much going for it but hopefully it will become part of a bigger & better thing which I'm sure it will. A good start to what should be a good story.