Dirty, dilapidated and with an uneasy aura of foreboding. Not what the Doctor and his eager assistant Mel were hoping to find with their arrival at the once prestigious Paradise Towers community complex. But worse is to come, in this atmospheric scene-setter art by Lee Bindingwhich appeared in the Doctor Who - the Collection: Season 24 Blu-ray set of a year back.
She's passed all of the demented genius Crozier's special 'tests' in his laboratory on Thoros Alpha, and now the horror begins anew for poor Peri in the final episode of The Trial of a Time Lord Part Eight (comprising the Mindwarp segment).
An unfriendly welcome for the Doctor and Adric in Season 19's third transmitted story: KInda.
Paradise is postponed for the Doctor and friends (minus Nyssa, recovering in the TARDIS from the poisons affecting her in the previous story) on the lush and seemingly tranquil realm of Deva Loka, land of the mysterious Kinda tribe. 'The Dark Places of the Inside' have affected the vulnerable Tegan Jovanka, who soon unintentionally releases the evil and parasitic creature of ancient myth, the Mara, once more into the realms of man. Double trouble comes from an un hinged young member of an alien survey team sent to reconnoiter Deva Loka for potential colonisation...
Another Classic WHO gem, from then TV newcomer Christopher Bailey (with input from new script editor Eric Saward), unlike anything then seen or attempted in the series, the intellectual and memorable Kinda mixed parables, Buddhism, a satire on the dangers of past Colonialism in history, and the problems of Tahiti Syndrome, all within a pacy and well constructed four-parter full of strong characters that has grown more and more popular with fans over time...
Composition design for the original DVD release by Clayton Hickman.
Memorable first impressions from viewing the story back in 1982:
Wheel turns... civilisations fall...
I loved that the overall story had a unique sci-fi concept about it that felt fresh and interesting, in much the same way I had previously enjoyed Warriors' Gate. The nightmare-scapes (featuring great for their time video effects) and the prophecy scenes linked to the Mara were most disturbing.
The unnerving and highly sensual performance of Janet Fielding as Tegan, getting the chance to explore her character's facets for good and sexually-alluring evil in ways that had never been attempted with any previous female companion in the series. Never has the climbing of a tree and dropping apples on someone's head onscreen been so naughty!
In the realm of a madman, Simon Rouse was especially effective as the deranged Hindle, controlling his two unique Kinda captives and planning to blow up the safety of the survey dome.
The Mara revealed to the Deva Lokans
The original Mara becomes a living entity. The CGI version of the pink and purple snake was a godsend on its later DVD release, but the blow-up model was good enough for its time, and certainly none of my family nor myself hated it as much as many fans did.
With the story's effective end, one thing I was pretty certain of was that the Mara would return again for the Davison era, of which my instincts were soon proved right by the eventual confirmation of a sequel/continuation later in the summer...
Escaping her dizzy The Livers Birds image, Nerys Huge certainly made an impression as the leggy scientist Todd, giving a fine performance and working well opposite Peter Davison. It's a shame that her character never came back for another story in that era.
The Doctor and Adric's explorations of Deva Loka are cut-off when captured by the TSS machine.
A nightmare of Tegans!
The mentally altered Saunders (Richard Todd) appeals to Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) whilst the boy is trapped in the survey dome.
A towering performance from veteran actress as Mary Morris as Panna.
The Doctor and Todd discover more about the ancient Mara and its chaos-bringing prophecy.
To stop a madman!
A worried Tegan recalls her time under the Mara's influence.
"I think paradise is a little bit too green for me as well..."
Alister Pearson's evocative art used for tie-in merchandise.
In the depths of space, a group of Cybermen who have survived the ravages of war and galactic history taken against them now receive a special coded signal from a human traitor, soon preparing their weapons-packed ship to advance on the crippled Nerva Space Beacon. Ready to bring wrath to their dreaded Vogan enemies, this is a memorable and atmospheric image from Revenge of the Cybermen.
This underrated story's briskly enjoyable novelisation byTerrance Dicks has come to audio adaptation by BBC AUDIO, read by Nicholas Briggs, and it's well worth a listen, especially for Mister Briggs memorable Tom Baker vocal rendering!
Inside the home-made laboratory of his Hippy dwelling known as 'The Nut Hutch', young genius Professor Clifford Jones and the Doctor analyse a unique type of mushroom fungus that may help to defeat the chemicals-created mystery of The Green Death.
A kind and genuinely enthusiastic talent, the late Stewart Bevan would have a special place in the hearts and minds of WHO fans who loved the Pertwee era and the guest starring actor's pivotal involvement in the series as the man who ultimately stole the heart of its leading lady in Katy Manning's on-screen persona of Jo Grant away from Jon Pertwee's Time Lord father figure. Bevan's recent passing is truly sad, especially having contributed to many WHO related behind the scenes programmes/convention events in recent years...
Jo and Clifford, as seen in this posed image from The Green Death.
Always a lovely pairing on and off screen: Stewart Bevan with Katy Manning.
His plan to impersonate the Doctor and ultimately steal the TARDIS failed, the evil former dictator Salamander is dispatched by our Time Lord hero out into the expansive, unending time vortex, and a likely long-lasting demise, in this great art linked to the Second Doctor gem, The Enemy of the World. Rendered by stalwart WHO artist Lee Sullivan, if anyone knows where this piece first appeared, please get in touch...
