I don’t want to go, Doctor. I’ve learnt a lot from you.
Turlough
Synopsis
On the planet of Sarn, the truth about Logar is being sought. while on Earth, Peri wants a break from her stepfather. But the Master has other plans…
Review
We’re on the penultimate leg of the Peter Davison departure tour, with a story that sees the return of the Master, and endings given to both Turlough and Kamelion’s time travelling with the Doctor.
Planet of Fire is a story with some good ideas, centrally around religion and belief, as well as giving Turlough some serious character development, which he hasn’t really received since the end of the Black Guardian trilogy in Enlightenment. That isn’t to say that the story is perfect though, and Part One is certainly too slow. In a sign of things to come with Davison’s successor, it almost feels as though the story is delaying bringing the Doctor and Turlough into proceedings and there are perhaps a few too many moving parts. When the story does settle down, it is a good story, especially as the truth around Logar is revealed. Logar is a memory of previous Trion scientists who were experimenting on the volcanoes of Sarn, however, characters like Timanov, played brilliantly by Peter Wyngarde. One of the strongest parts of this story is the use of Lanzarote, including the use of archive footage of volcanic eruptions in the final part which makes it feel all the more urgent and effective. Where it struggles is where there is a clear disconnect between the really effective use of locations and the sets, which seem really flat and obvious. Fiona Cumming is a great director of Doctor Who, but even she cannot disguise it.
It was only when preparing for this review that I realised that the Fifth Doctor encounters the Master more than any other Classic Doctor other than the Third Doctor. Like with Pertwee’s Doctor, the Master feels as though he has an overarching impact on his era, causing his predecessor to regenerate and being present in his first story. I was so relieved that the decision to make the Doctor and the Master brothers – in a story where Turlough finds his brother, for the Doctor to find one too would make this feel a bit too much like a soap opera. I’m sure that the reveal would have eventually been retconned, but still would have put a bad taste in the mouth. Ainley’s Master feels threatening here, but some of his lines do him no favours, feel particularly one-dimensional. Grimwade does at least try to push him further along the line, by having him put into peril after an experiment on his deadly Tissue Compression Eliminator has backfired and quite literally cut the Doctor’s foe down to size. This is certainly the Master at a vulnerable point, but he is seeking to use the planet’s Numimaston gas.
Doctor, help me! I’ll give you anything you anything in creation! Would you not show mercy to your own —
The Master
This story brings to an end the Kamelion experiment on the show, but Planet of Fire shows perhaps how Doctor Who could use the robot companion more effectively, by utilising his ability to change, and members of the cast. This is how Big Finish have used the character since bringing him back, however, more through using the vocal talents of Jon Culshaw to have him impersonate, say, the Third Doctor in Masterful. Kamelion is used incredibly sparingly throughout this serial in his true form, and is for most of the story played by Anthony Ainley or Dallas Adams, which is possibly where Kamelion is at his most unsettling. Like some moments of Doctor Who, the idea is better than the execution, and some of the weaker moments relating to Kamelion are when the story is forced to revert to the base model as it were. It’s telling that actors have to revert to a rather forced and artificial arm position when the story calls for Kamelion to actually appear. You can almost feel the relief when the Doctor finally kills off his robotic companion.
That’s not to say that Davison doesn’t give his all here, especially in that scene. Whilst you can be cynical and perhaps sense his glee at getting rid of what was ultimately an expensive misstep for the show, Peter Davison is a consummate professional. He feels almost as though he knows the end is in sight and wants to go out with a bang, and Planet of Fire gives him a chance to get his teeth into a decent story. I know that the Fifth Doctor often comes near the bottom of rankings, but I really like him. He feels more fallible than his two immediate predecessors, but he can get lost in the myriad of companions. Here, with Turlough, Davison feels really solid and he is brilliant when he is being suspicious of Turlough. Having only one companion to worry about, albeit one that isn’t being honest with him does seem to focus this Doctor. Of course, the Doctor also has to worry about getting Peri home safe.
Nicola Bryant is really solid in this story and it is a good introductory story for Peri. She gets a chance to go up against one of the big bads of Doctor Who in the shape of the Master, albeit that for most of this story it is actually Kamelion with his appearance, but she more than holds her own. I was particularly struck with how disturbing her relationship seems to be with her step-father, Howard, which seemed a bit sinister, even for Doctor Who, and how Peri doesn’t really have a good start and things really go from bad to worse for her!
I would be remiss to finish this review without talking about the departing Turlough and Mark Strickson. Having introduced the character in Mawdryn Undead, Grimwade has the opportunity to give Turlough some development in his final story. Unfortunately, Turlough has felt rather static between his first three stories and here, although he did get a little bit of development in Frontios. Here we find out how he ended up on Earth, and the fate of his father, who was a political prisoner from the planet of Trion. All this development is good, but it feel as though it has almost come too late. Perhaps if there was more insinuation that Turlough was an outcast from his people might have allowed him and the Doctor to form a stronger bond.
Verdict: A lot happens in Planet of Fire and it does struggle for pacing at times but there are good ideas at its core, which are backed up by good performances by Davison, Strickson and new companion Nicola Bryant. 6/10
Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Mark Strickson (Turlough), Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown), Peter Wyngarde (Timanov), Anthony Ainley (The Master), Barbara Shelley (Sorasta), James Bate (Amyand), Dallas Adams (Professor Howard Foster), Gerald Flood (Voice of Kamelion), Edward Highmore (Malkon), Jonathan Caplan (Roskal), Michael Bangerter (Curt), Simon Sutton (Lookout), Max Arthur (Zuko) & John Alkin (Lomand).
Writer: Peter Grimwade
Director: Fiona Cumming
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Composer: Peter Howell
Original Broadcast Dates: 23rd February – 2nd March 1984
Parts: 4
Behind the Scenes
- The story features the last appearances of Turlough and Kamelion, as well as the final writing credit for Peter Grimwade and director credit for Fiona Cumming.
- Turlough was the show’s last male companion until Adam Mitchell.
- The departure of Turlough and Kamelion marked the end of a seven-year run of the show having a non-human companion. The next non-human companion to appear would be K9 in School Reunion until Nardole became a companion to the Twelfth Doctor.
- The story was filmed on Lanzarote.
- This story had the working title of Planet of Fear.
- Kamelion’s death makes him the fourth companion to die on screen after Sara Kingdom, Katarina and Adric.
- This is the only Fifth Doctor story not to feature Tegan onscreen, although she is mentioned, meaning that she does technically appear in every story. By this logic, the same applies to Peri.
- As Anthony Ainley’s contract had expired, this was also supposed to be the last story to feature him as the Master. His last line in this story, “Won’t you show mercy to your own…” was, according to John Nathan-Turner, to end with the reveal that the Master was the Doctor’s brother. Ainley never spoke the end of the line.
- Peter Grimwade was angry at the casting of Dallas Adams as Professor Foster, envisaging the character as an elderly man. It was this casting decision that led to Grimwade cutting his ties with the show.
Best Moment
This story has some really good cliffhangers, but I really liked the end of the third part.
Best Quote
The worst place in the Universe: English public schools on Earth.
Turlough
Previous Fifth Doctor review: Resurrection of the Daleks
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