The Invasion of Time

Guard of honour? You’re not fit to guard a jelly baby! Would you like a jelly baby?

The Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor returns to Gallifrey to take the mantle of President, but appears to lead the invading force of the Vardans to conquer the planet. Leela is cast out of the citadel and gathers other outsiders to try and take the citadel back.

Review

The Invasion of Time is one of those stories that sounds better on paper than it does when it comes to its execution on the screen. A story that sees the Doctor take up the presidency of Gallifrey and two invading armies almost feels like its an idea too ambitious for Doctor Who’s budget at the best of times, but even more so at the end of a season where the money had famously dried up.

I do really feel that this story has a strong central premise, but is let down by a lack of budget, which certainly tells towards the end of the story. Season 15 has focused on the Doctor facing increasingly dangerous foes, and the Vardans certainly feel in line with the Fendahl. In that story, the Fendahl were contained by the Time Lords, whilst here, the Doctor takes steps to contain the Vardans in a similar way. Ultimately though, the fact that the Vardans are tin foil creatures does take something away from their threat, no matter how much Graham Williams and Anthony Reed try and make them feel like a force capable of taking down the Time Lords. Some slack does need to be cut for the story being written in a rush, and the lack of budget, but the production team clearly had ambitions that exceeded the budget, as seen by the shots of the Vardans’ spaceship in the first part, which ultimately feel as though they contribute tot the scenes of the Doctor walking through warehouses and an abandoned hospital, supposed to represent the depths of the TARDIS. Ultimately, The Invasion of Time shows the direction the show is going in under the guidance of Graham Williams, lurching towards the more comedic, as can be seen by the infamous Sontaran at the swimming pool, or the ending scene which sees Tom Baker break the fourth wall for the second time in the same story. Season 15 has felt like a transition season, with stories featuring the echoes of the gothic Philip Hinchcliffe era, like Horror of Fang Rock and Image of Fendahl in the same season as The Invisible Enemy, Underworld and this.

The inclusion of the Sontarans makes this feel as though it is ideas for two stories mashed together, and perhaps this story would be more effective if the Vardans and the Sontarans’ inclusion were swapped around. The Sontarans certainly feel like more of a competent threat that could potentially bring Gallifrey to its knees, and perhaps giving the Vardans the first two parts and the Sontarans the final four might have made this story work better. All that being said, when the lead Sontaran, Stor, can barely get a sentence out, perhaps it’s for the best that the story is split as it is.

The departure of Leela is symptomatic of the problems with the Graham Williams era in general. Louise Jameson was clear that she wanted to leave but Williams was convinced that she would change her mind. Ultimately, this bleeds through to the finished product, as Leela’s relationship with Andred is not built up in any way and her departure comes as a real shock at the end of the story. This is a problem that the production team would again encounter when it came to the departure of Mary Tamm at the end of the next season, and it is perhaps surprising that Williams did not learn from his previous mistake. Leela is sidelined throughout The Invasion of Time, cast out of the Citadel by the Doctor for her safety, uniting with Time Lady Rodan and the outsiders. Rodan is an interesting character, and clearly a precursor to Romana, and it is perhaps surprising that the character hasn’t returned in some capacity. Keeping the Doctor and the companion separated for the majority of the story does ultimately harm the story, especially as this is Leela’s last story, and it is not helped by the damp squib of an ending and pairing her off with Andred.

Despite all the problems with this story, one shining light is the performance of Tom Baker as the Doctor. The Doctor is erratic and unpredictable, especially in the first half of the story where it’s not entirely clear whose side he is on. The scenes of the Doctor speaking to himself seem to show exactly why Baker thought that he could carry the show without a companion, and there is no arguing with the fact that he is compelling in these scenes. That is perhaps the strength of this era; no matter how flaky the script or the production, Tom Baker can always be counted on to deliver a solid performance. He is aided by some fine performances, especially from Milton Johns as the slimy Castellan, Kelner, who betrays his people to first the Vardans and latterly the Sontarans, and John Arnatt as the Doctor’s former tutor Borusa, who seems to be the only one that makes the Doctor pause for thought in this story.

Verdict: The Invasion of Time is ambitious but ultimately let down by behind the scenes issues and a lack of budget. Baker and Jameson are great, but Leela leaves with a whimper rather than a bang. 6/10

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Stan McGowan and Tom Kelly (Vardans), Christopher Tranchell (Andred), Milton Johns (Kelner), John Arnatt (Borusa), Dennis Edwards (Lord Gomer), Reginald Jessup (Lord Savar), Charles Morgan (Gold Usher), John Leeson (Voice of K9), Christopher Christou (Guard), Hilary Ryan (Rodan), Ray Callaghan (Ablif), Michael Mundell (Jasko), Michael Harley (Bodyguard), Max Faulkner (Nesbin), Gai Smith (Presta), Eric Danot (Castellan Guard), Derek Deadman (Stor) & Stuart Fell (Sontaran).

Writer: David Agnew

Director: Gerald Blake

Producer: Graham Williams

Composer: Dudley Simpson

Parts: 6

Original Broadcast Dates: 4th February – 11 March 1978

Behind the Scenes

• The working titles for this story included The Invaders of Time.
• This story was written by Graham Williams and Anthony Read after the original season ender, Killers of the Dark written by David Weir, was abandoned. Robert Holmes was supposed to write this story, but refused to return to the show so soon after leaving as script editor. Holmes did suggest that the first four episodes feature Gallifrey and the last two included the Sontarans.
• Despite Louise Jameson’s strong feelings that this story would be her last appearance in Doctor Who, Williams felt that he could persuade her to stay and thus gave little thought to her departure. This led to an abrupt exit, which Jameson was not satisfied with. It did lead to the Gallifrey audio spin-off.

Cast Notes

• Tom Kelly previously played two separate guards in The Face of Evil and The Sun Makers.
• Christopher Tranchell had previously appeared in The Massacre, playing Roger Colbert, and The Faceless Ones, playing Steven Jenkins.
• Milton Johns had previously appeared in The Enemy of the World, playing Theodore Benik, and The Android Invasion, playing Guy Crawford.
• Dennis Edwards played a Centurion in The Romans.
• Reginald Jessup played a servant in The Massacre.
• Charles Morgan played Songsten in The Abominable Snowmen.
• Max Faulkner was a stunt man who was credited for acting in The Ambassadors of Death, The Monster of Peladon, Planet of the Spiders, Genesis of the Daleks and The Android Invasion.
• Stuart Fell played numerous roles, including being in the body of Alpha Centauri in The Monster of Peladon and The Curse of Peladon.

Best Moment

The cliffhanger at the end of Part One.

Best Quote

Doctor?

Yes?!

I will miss you!

The Doctor closes the TARDIS door.

I’ll miss you too, savage.

Leela and the Fourth Doctor

Previous Fourth Doctor review: Underworld

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