Doctor Who: The Face of Evil: Part One starts on an unnamed distant planet as the savage & primitive Sevateem warrior tribe banish one of their number Leela (Louise Jameson) into the wilderness for speaking against their God Xoanon, the tribes shaman Neeva (David Garfield) sends a couple of assassins to kill her. The Doctor (Tom Baker) arrives on the planet instead of Hyde Park, stepping outside the TARDIS he decides to have a look around & meets Leela who instantly recognises him as 'the evil one'. The Sevateem tribe think that 'the evil one' is holding their God Xoanon captive, the tribe leader Andor (Victor Lucas) is convinced by Neeva that the Doctor seen by them as 'the evil one' should be executed...
Episode 13 from season 14 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during January 1977, New Years Day 1977 in fact & was the fourth story from Tom Baker's third season playing the Doctor. After Sarah Jane Smith left the TARDIS & Doctor Who as a series at the end of The Hand of Fear (1976) & the companion-less previous story The Deadly Assassin (1976) a new regular companion to join the Doctor on his travels was needed. At first it was thought that the Doctor would spend the rest of season fourteen solo but producer Phillip Hinchcliffe liked the character of Leela so she became the next regular companion. Here with The Face of Evil Leela gets a reasonable if unspectacular debut story, the script by Chris Boucher is a fairly uninspiring tale of a superstitious primitive tribe whose whole lives come under the influence of a God & religion. There's the usual Doctor Who sci-fi spin on things but I just couldn't get that excited by it, simple clichéd character's & a predictable story doesn't help. One thing going for it is that it gives Tom Baker's natural charm a chance to shine with a particularly funny script full of great one-liners. I also have to mention the great cliffhanger ending which for a change isn't a typical clichéd 'the Doctors about to die' ending but a dramatic major plot revelation & twist which makes for a nice change.
Apparently the budget for The Face of Evil couldn't stretch to any outside location filming although the footage shot at Ealing studios of the jungle exteriors were shot on film. A lot like Planet of Evil (1975) from season thirteen an entire alien world has been recreated in the studio, while it's not quite as dense, colourful, varied or truly alien looking as the set seen in Planet of Evil it's still pretty impressive & the one single outstanding aspect of The Face of Evil: Part One. One might say that this episode is slightly more violent than usual with Leela having no conscience when it comes to killing people, her skimpy leather costume doesn't leave much to the imagination either & is definitely one for the dads.
The Face of Evil: Part One is a decent if unspectacular start for both a new companion Leela & a new story, good but not particularly memorable & saved by a great cliffhanger ending & a brilliantly funny performance by Tom Baker.
Episode 13 from season 14 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during January 1977, New Years Day 1977 in fact & was the fourth story from Tom Baker's third season playing the Doctor. After Sarah Jane Smith left the TARDIS & Doctor Who as a series at the end of The Hand of Fear (1976) & the companion-less previous story The Deadly Assassin (1976) a new regular companion to join the Doctor on his travels was needed. At first it was thought that the Doctor would spend the rest of season fourteen solo but producer Phillip Hinchcliffe liked the character of Leela so she became the next regular companion. Here with The Face of Evil Leela gets a reasonable if unspectacular debut story, the script by Chris Boucher is a fairly uninspiring tale of a superstitious primitive tribe whose whole lives come under the influence of a God & religion. There's the usual Doctor Who sci-fi spin on things but I just couldn't get that excited by it, simple clichéd character's & a predictable story doesn't help. One thing going for it is that it gives Tom Baker's natural charm a chance to shine with a particularly funny script full of great one-liners. I also have to mention the great cliffhanger ending which for a change isn't a typical clichéd 'the Doctors about to die' ending but a dramatic major plot revelation & twist which makes for a nice change.
Apparently the budget for The Face of Evil couldn't stretch to any outside location filming although the footage shot at Ealing studios of the jungle exteriors were shot on film. A lot like Planet of Evil (1975) from season thirteen an entire alien world has been recreated in the studio, while it's not quite as dense, colourful, varied or truly alien looking as the set seen in Planet of Evil it's still pretty impressive & the one single outstanding aspect of The Face of Evil: Part One. One might say that this episode is slightly more violent than usual with Leela having no conscience when it comes to killing people, her skimpy leather costume doesn't leave much to the imagination either & is definitely one for the dads.
The Face of Evil: Part One is a decent if unspectacular start for both a new companion Leela & a new story, good but not particularly memorable & saved by a great cliffhanger ending & a brilliantly funny performance by Tom Baker.