User Reviews

Like the Minyans you'll be glad the quest did end, the special defects drive you right around the bend, another despotic computer, with delusions of high grandeur, a very tricky set of episodes to defend.

A revolution begins, as the Doctor and co battle against the Seers.

There is one great line in it that I liked from Tom, when speaking to the Oracle, 'You're nothing but a box.' I enjoyed the Doctor's showdown with the Oracle, it was kind of fun. How stupid is the Oracle though, it's not exactly a master villain.

I've earned my stripes getting through this, no wonder I'd forgotten it. Leela's innocence feels like the only saving grace, she is as delightful as ever, but bless her what a duff script.

The Seers look like water tanks with flashing lights on their heads, they are so bad. The vigil from the Rings of Akhaten bear a slight resemblance to them.

The in joke about calling Jackson 'Jason' was there I think to admit, that the Argonauts were more then just an influence.

This really is very very bad, it feels unoriginal and lazy, Tom is on pretty good form, but is working with bad material. Credit where it's due Part 1 is rather good, better then I thought, but the rest is so tough to watch. The production team should have said the ideas of the script writers were not feasible with the budget they had. Part 4 is rather awful. 4/10.

There is a lot within this serial; we have some background to the Timelords, a computer that has shaped a society, an enslaved race, gun battles, robots, and more. So it is a surprise then that with so much to use, the serial is fairly plodding in the way it unfolds. I think part of it is the tone rather than the material, because it does have an unwieldly feeling to it, like a tanker being piloted through syrup. Such a pace/tone is justifiable if the material is really engaging, but it isn't, so this makes it feel dull, and it didn't really engage me throughout.

Another factor here is that this serial very much feels of its time. Not sure why I felt that here more than before, but this one screams 'late 70's TV sci-fi'. Probably it is the visual element, because it is so grim and also reliant on back projection. Not only does this not look very good, but being on a green-screen appears to make the actors feel like they have to 'act' more to fill the space; this overcompensation adds to the weight of the material, which there is nothing to support.

It isn't an awful serial, it just doesn't do very much with what it has. The assistance to help the oppressed is there, as are lots of other themes and content, but it isn't delivered in a particularly compelling manner. This fifteenth season has had lots of variety so far, with some good and some bad serials – Underworld fails to stand out as either, because there is very little to really stick in the memory.