User Reviews

Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora: Part 4 starts as the Mandragora energy disguised as Hieronymous (Norman Jones) kills Count Fredirico (Jon Laurimore) & in the confusion the Doctor (Tom Baker) manages to escape back to the castle dungeons to rescue Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) & Giuliano (Gareth Armstrong). The Doctor tells Sarah that the Mandragora energy is growing in strength & at the time of a lunar eclipse that very night will strike & kill many important & influential guests at the masked ball held by Giuliano including Leonardo Da Vinci in an attempt to keep the Earth in the dark ages which it will be able to control with ease, that is unless the Doctor can stop it...

Episode 4 from season 14 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during September 1976, directed by Rodney Bennett this has been a decent enough story although I don't consider it any sort of classic. The script by Louis Marks (his final one for the series) has been a little convoluted & I could see some getting lost or simply losing interest in it especially the younger members of the audience, there's no monsters as such apart from the Mandragora energy which is just a bright light & a solitary voice which is alright but a bit uninspiring. The whole sub plot about Count Fredirico's plot to kill Giuliano has gone absolutely nowhere as he was killed himself at the start of this episode & when all said & done was totally surplus to the main story which itself is not that strong. The whole there's no superstition without scientific origins & the there's no scientific fact without superstition debate is somewhat lost & has been watered down with each episode. There's a lot movement between the catacombs & the castle which got repetitive although the end of this episode sees a masked ball which is quite nice even if it's rather short of guests & considering it's set in a castle it's held in a very small room! I liked The Masque of Mandragora for sure but then I like Doctor Who in general, for those who don't like the show I doubt this story would particularly help change your mind.

The production vales have been pretty impressive during this story although one should bear in mind the costumes were originally made for Renato Castellani's film Romeo and Juliet (1954) so that in itself probably saved a load of money. The special effects have been minimal in The Masque of Mandragora, the Mandragora energy forms have looked OK though.

The Masque of Mandragora: Part 4 is a good end to a good story & as an individual episode probably slightly better than Part's 2 & 3, overall I'll give The Masque of Mandragora a respectable 6 stars out of 10 across it's four episodes. Good but not brilliant.

There is an odd start to this serial, which is also the opening of the 14th season. The TARDIS ends up in some sort of odd dimension with some sort of shooting star energy source which then gets inside and guides the TARDIS to a particular period in Earth's history. It is not the most convincing sequence, and it feels less well-done when you realize that the whole point of this was to get an energy source to Earth and give the Doctor and Sarah Jane a reason to be there too. To be fair, once this is done, the specifics of the opening are less important and we get a solidly enjoyable story sent in Italy.

Although the Helix energy is the 'monster' of the piece, this serial is not the usual 'defend the base' narrative – or one that ends with nameless soldiers firing blanks at lumbering monsters; instead it is a solid story which draws in some nice aspects. The story drops us into the middle of a political power struggle, so that the characters are split between that and the bigger stakes situation with the cult and the alien energy. The setting is pretty well used to produce a story that draws on the timing of a jump between the power of religion and superstition, and the writing utilizes that pretty well as a narrative device. Although it is not earth- shattering in its commentary, it is an interesting element, and one that the writers seemed to be more into than the Helix – which is evidenced by the universal threat being dealt with by a bit of teasing and copper-wire. That said, the writing is generally pretty good, and at only 4 episodes, it never feels padded (even if Sarah Jane seems to get into the same scrape a few times).

Baker is on good form, and Sladen is decent despite not always having great material. The supporting cast are good and work well with having actual material to work with. Laurimore and Jones are good value, even if Armstrong is a bit wet in his role. The cast are decent on the actual, but mostly are good at convincing in the drama and some of the comedy lines (although these are mostly Baker). Production values are good, and at least one of the cliffhangers is actually satisfying in its nature.

All round a good start to the season, with writing taking the lead over rubbery beasts (although there is a place for both!).