Doctor Who 13.02 Planet of Evil
SARAH: "What's gone wrong this time?"
DOCTOR: "Nothing. Nothing at all. What makes you think something's gone wrong?"
SARAH: "Because you always get rude when you're trying to cover up a mistake."
DOCTOR: "Nothing of consequence. Slight overshoot, easily rectified."
SARAH: "Come on, where are we?"
DOCTOR: "We've come out of the time vortex at the wrong point, that's all. A few years too late."
SARAH: "How many?"
DOCTOR: "Thirty thousand."
Overview
Hmm. This is not the best Fourth Doctor story I've seen so far - pretty standard fare, really, and certainly nothing memorable. This is a bit of a transitional story, really, as although it was the second story to air of season 13, the season premiere had been filmed in the same block as season 12 to round off that arc of stories and to bid farewell to Harry and UNIT, so that this was the first story to be filmed as part of the season 13 block, the first story of the new era: the Doctor with Sarah Jane as his sole companion, shaking down to their new dynamic. It's a fairly forgettable story, really - entertaining enough, with a very nicely designed although very obvious set, but nothing special. Still, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah are always a delight to watch together, even in their most mundane stories, and although neither is really at their best here they do share some lovely scenes.
I'm not sure the plot of this story entirely holds together, so it is probably just as well that it doesn't hold my attention enough to analyse. It is definitely misnamed, though: there is nothing evil about the planet in itself.
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
The very first scene of the story tells us that we are in the year 37,166, as the date is inscribed on a freshly placed grave marker. I approve of such solid, verifiable on-screen dating. I am not, however, going to attempt to work out where this fits into the timeline of the future established in other stories, because they all contradict each other!
I rather enjoy the opening sequence of the story: the eerie alien jungle set and the way we are shown how harsh the conditions are for the survey team there. For 1975 it is a really good effort, and I like the atmosphere of fear and isolation that is generated in those early scenes, as we see most of the last survivors of the team destroyed by some invisible force, setting the scene for the adventure to come.
In The Ark In Space, the Doctor gave Harry a terribly hard time for touching the Tardis console while it was in flight, blaming him for their false landing. Here, though, he has no one to blame but himself - or possibly the Tardis herself - for landing 30,000 years in the future at the far end of the universe, instead of London five minutes ago as he'd promised Sarah at the end of Terror of the Zygons! I just hope the Brigadier wasn't relying on him turning up as promised…
The Tardis has been in flight long enough for Sarah to change into a new outfit and grow her hair a bit - no wonder she cottons on that they've travelled a lot further than London five minutes ago! She knows the Doctor only too well. But she trusts him, that much is crystal clear. He may not have kept his promise, but she never seriously expected him to, she just trusts completely that he will get her back where she is supposed to be eventually. I really enjoy their snark and banter in their opening scene in the Tardis console room - which we haven't seen for more than a season now! We never saw inside the Tardis even once in season 12.
Sarah recognises a distress call when she hears one. She's been with the Doctor long enough to know the Tardis pretty well.
The story separates the Doctor and Sarah fairly early - they go through a few cycles of being separated, reuniting and then being separated, actually. With only two main characters now, there isn't much of a group dynamic to play with, no variations to explore.
I have to admit to feeling rather scandalised when the rescue team also responding to the distress call steal the Tardis, beaming it back up to their ship!
The stricken survey team and the rescue ship are both Morestran, apparently. We aren't told anything about their homeworld, though - are they aliens with fairly human-sounding names, or are they humans from a long-established colony world? I would assume the latter, but we aren't told.
Having been taken prisoner, Sarah really can't explain how she came to be on Zeta Minor, at least not in a way that satisfies her sceptical captors - you've got to sympathise with her plight, the Doctor and his Tardis are not easy to explain to the uninitiated!
The Doctor and Sarah's reactions to being taken prisoner make for a good contrast - Sarah is flustered and anxious, while the Doctor remains totally blasé. He is very alien in this story - added and abetted in that by Tom Baker's unusually subdued performance. He is weirdly still in a number of scenes, just staring impenetrably off into the middle distance while the Morestrans flutter around him in a tiz.
I like how pro-active Sarah is in this story - it is she who figures out how to escape from the Morestran base, rather than the Doctor.
The resolution to the episode one cliffhanger is for a random red shirt Morestran guard to get himself killed while inadvertently saving the Doctor and Sarah's lives, as they are threatened by an anti-matter monster. I wish they'd at least acknowledge the debt they owe the unfortunate man.
Ooh, I like the Morestran guns. Those are quite nifty, and a much better special effect than most supposedly futuristic weapons in this era of the show.
I do like the use of light and colour and wind to give a rather ghostly atmosphere to the Zeta Minor set.
The Morestran's occuloid looks pretty good, considering. I like it.
The Doctor goes off on a tangent about how he met Shakespeare one time. How many times has he met the Bard, then? When Ten met him again in The Shakespeare Code, did he mention that he'd met him before? I can't remember.
The primary Morestran characters are the scientist Sorenson, who is fanatical about the research he's been carrying out on Zeta Minor, the young rescue ship captain Salamar, who is a very uptight, by-the-book character, and his second-in-command Vishinsky, who is a very experienced and down-to-earth character.
I love how easily the Doctor is able to take control of a bad situation - Four has such a natural air of authority that he doesn't hesitate to make use of, when need be. However, he is also very argumentative, which doesn't go over well with Salamar!
The Doctor spins an elaborate theory about how Zeta Minor sits on the cusp between this universe and another universe, composed of anti-matter. The science behind all this sounds well dodgy to me, but since the entire plot of the story is founded on this dodgy science, we'll just have to run with it.
The Doctor looks and sounds very tired when he finds himself locked up again by these mistrustful Morestrans, when all he wants to do is help them - and hopefully stop them blowing up the whole universe in the process. Interestingly, since they find themselves locked up in the same room as the Tardis, Sarah suggests that they could just take off and leave the Morestrans to their fate, which isn't quite the attitude I'd expect, although she may just be playing devil's advocate. The Doctor seems quite tempted by the idea, too, but his sense of responsibility and knowledge of what is at stake here won't let him.
The Doctor becomes very forceful when things start to go seriously wrong, as the Morestrans attempt to take off with anti-matter samples aboard their ship, which the planet won't let go. He goes from escaped prisoner to able assistant imposing himself on the situation in the blink of an eye, as is his wont - it helps, though, that Vishinsky is inclined to believe him, even if Salamar doesn't.
When the Doctor falls into the anti-matter pit, the cinematography gets very surreal for a while there as he is falling!
Sarah is absolutely distraught when the Doctor appears to have died while negotiating with the anti-matter monster on Zeta Minor. I like that she remains pro-active, though. Instead of giving into her grief and falling apart, she remains strong and resourceful, sneaking away from the Morestrans to find out for sure what happened to the Doctor - and is thus able to save him when the anti-matter monster lets him go, weak and half-dead.
I rather like the grumbly Morestran crewman De Haan, so it figures that he'd end up dying - as do most of the crew, in fact. I hope the ship isn't hard to run on a skeleton crew, as that's all they are left with by the end of the story!
Salamar's breakdown begins in episode three and continues apace - he just can't cope with the situation, doesn't have the flexibility of mind required to deal with something like this. Given the choice between doing what needs to be done or sticking rigidly to the rule book, regardless, he sticks with the rule book every time, even when it is blatantly the wrong thing to do - no wonder Vishinsky eventually steps up and takes command from him, even if this does push him over the edge all the more.
The Doctor is wonderfully calm in the crisis, all the more so in the wake of his near death experience.
I like how creeped out Sarah is by the idea of burial in space. But I'm a bit perturbed by Vishinsky's attitude as he conducts the ceremony for one of his fallen crewman, shrugging that although they have to play the last rites, they don't have to listen to it - turning the volume down and switching his attention to something else, even as the dead man is ejected from the ship. That seems a bit disrespectful!
Frederick Jaeger gives a very good, edgy performance as Sorenson, who has been 'infected' by the anti-matter of Zeta Minor and is slowly being transformed into an anti-matter monster similar to the one down on the planet. It's the kind of role that calls for scenery-chewing, but he doesn't ham it up too much, plays it with a twist of angst and fear that works well.
Ooh, the Doctor uses a sudden burst of rather uncharacteristic violence to get away from the hostile and mistrustful Salamar, knocking him out with a punch to the head!
Ooh, and then the Doctor gets shot! Good thing the Morestrans aren't shooting to kill.
I like how composed Sarah remains as she and the unconscious Doctor teeter on the brink of summary execution - even as they are being ejected from the spaceship without protection, she doesn't scream or wail, although she does spit a few invectives at the insane would-be murderer Salamar. Lucky for them Vishinsky has a bit more about him and thinks to stop the ejection when a timely crisis develops elsewhere. I also like that Sarah has to give the Doctor a hand clambering out of his mortuary tray, as he's still groggy - I always like being allowed to catch a glimpse of his vulnerabilities and I enjoy a spot of role reversal with the companions.
The Doctor never explains himself. It is one of his most consistent characteristics. In the heat of a crisis, his mind works at about a million miles an hour. No one can keep up with it and he rarely if ever takes the time to stop and explain what he is planning to his companions, he just requires them to do as he tells them without question.
Sonic screwdriver! Here used as a key to unlock a sealed door - how very modern!
There's a lot that's forgettable about this story, but the Doctor does have a really, really good scene with Sorenson, discussing the fatal flaws in Sorenson's research, one scientist to another. The Doctor pretty much talks Sorenson into committing suicide, in fact, for the sake of everyone else's life! Not that the plan works, as Sorenson Jekylls into Mr Hyde again before he can go through with it, transforming back into an anti-matter monster to wreak a bit more random havoc around the ship.
Did the Doctor just quote Captain Oates? "I'm going out now and I may be some time."
Man, you can tell how serious the situation is: the Doctor actually picks up and fires a gun! He hardly ever uses a weapon.
I get a bit nervous when the Doctor takes off in the Tardis with Sorenson aboard, leaving Sarah behind on the Morestran ship - last time he attempted a short hop in the Tardis, he ended up 30,000 years and the far end of the universe off target! Luckily, his control of the ship proves a little better this time.
Upon hauling Sorenson into the Tardis, the Doctor claps him in irons. I would ask why he had such a thing on board, but some questions are just better not asked!
Sorenson gets two trips in the Tardis - down to Zeta Minor and back to the ship again, once he's been cured of his anti-matter infection. That's as many Tardis trips in one episode as Harry clocked up in a whole season with the Doctor!
Quotable Quotes
SARAH: "How long have we been travelling?"
DOCTOR: "Hmm? What did you say?"
SARAH: "You promised me we'd be back in London five minutes before leaving Loch Ness."
DOCTOR: "Did I?"
SARAH: "Oh, you're trying to wriggle out of it."
DOCTOR: "Wriggle out of what?"
SARAH: "Your promise."
DOCTOR: "Listen, we're on the edge of a time-space vortex and you're talking in minutes."
SARAH: "Oh, I see. What's gone wrong this time?"
DOCTOR: "Nothing. Nothing at all. What makes you think something's gone wrong?"
SARAH: "Because you always get rude when you're trying to cover up a mistake."
DOCTOR: "Nothing of consequence. Slight overshoot, easily rectified."
SARAH: "Come on, where are we?"
DOCTOR: "We've come out of the time vortex at the wrong point, that's all. A few years too late."
SARAH: "How many?"
DOCTOR: "Thirty thousand."
SARAH: "Let's go, shall we?"
DOCTOR: "How?"
SARAH: "Through the window."
DOCTOR: "They're magnetically locked."
SARAH: "But the power is low."
DOCTOR: "Night's candles are burned out and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain top. Or something like that."
SARAH: "Ah, you mean it's getting light."
DOCTOR: "That's what Shakespeare meant."
DOCTOR: "I met him once, you know."
SARAH: "Who?"
DOCTOR: "Shakespeare. Charming fellow. Dreadful actor."
SARAH: "Perhaps that's why he took up writing."
SARAH: "Do you ever get tired of being pushed around?"
DOCTOR: "Frequently."
SARAH: "We could get in the Tardis and disappear."
DOCTOR: "No, no. It's tempting to let them go ahead and destroy themselves. The trouble is, they wouldn't be the only ones."
DE HAAN: "Half my service I spend flying one way, the other half I spend flying back again. They should pay me for staying in one place."
SARAH: "What are you doing?"
VISHINSKY: "Disposal procedure. We may have to play the last rites but we don't have to listen."
VISHINSKY: "Another good soldier gone to the greatest army of them all."
SARAH: "Out into space to drift forever."
VISHINSKY: "It's clean and tidy."
SARAH: "It's horrible."
SALAMAR: "We believe you to be responsible for all the deaths. Unless you cooperate, I shall kill you and the girl without compunction."
SARAH: "Oh, great. That's the thanks you get for helping people."
SORENSON: "What is your friend's field of science?"
SARAH: "Oh, everything. He's brilliant."
DOCTOR: "Usually I only entertain friends in the Tardis."
DOCTOR: "Stay here with Vishinsky, Sarah. I'm going out now and I may be some time."
DOCTOR: "You and I are scientists, Professor. We buy our privilege to experiment at the cost of total responsibility."
DOCTOR: "Come on, Sarah. We've an appointment in London and we're already thirty thousand years late."
The Verdict
Overall and on the whole, this is rather an insubstantial story, really - light, fluffy science fiction fun with a few good scenes, some fun banter between the Doctor and Sarah, and a dodgy plot. Nothing special but also nothing dire.
DOCTOR: "Nothing. Nothing at all. What makes you think something's gone wrong?"
SARAH: "Because you always get rude when you're trying to cover up a mistake."
DOCTOR: "Nothing of consequence. Slight overshoot, easily rectified."
SARAH: "Come on, where are we?"
DOCTOR: "We've come out of the time vortex at the wrong point, that's all. A few years too late."
SARAH: "How many?"
DOCTOR: "Thirty thousand."
Overview
Hmm. This is not the best Fourth Doctor story I've seen so far - pretty standard fare, really, and certainly nothing memorable. This is a bit of a transitional story, really, as although it was the second story to air of season 13, the season premiere had been filmed in the same block as season 12 to round off that arc of stories and to bid farewell to Harry and UNIT, so that this was the first story to be filmed as part of the season 13 block, the first story of the new era: the Doctor with Sarah Jane as his sole companion, shaking down to their new dynamic. It's a fairly forgettable story, really - entertaining enough, with a very nicely designed although very obvious set, but nothing special. Still, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah are always a delight to watch together, even in their most mundane stories, and although neither is really at their best here they do share some lovely scenes.
I'm not sure the plot of this story entirely holds together, so it is probably just as well that it doesn't hold my attention enough to analyse. It is definitely misnamed, though: there is nothing evil about the planet in itself.
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
The very first scene of the story tells us that we are in the year 37,166, as the date is inscribed on a freshly placed grave marker. I approve of such solid, verifiable on-screen dating. I am not, however, going to attempt to work out where this fits into the timeline of the future established in other stories, because they all contradict each other!
I rather enjoy the opening sequence of the story: the eerie alien jungle set and the way we are shown how harsh the conditions are for the survey team there. For 1975 it is a really good effort, and I like the atmosphere of fear and isolation that is generated in those early scenes, as we see most of the last survivors of the team destroyed by some invisible force, setting the scene for the adventure to come.
In The Ark In Space, the Doctor gave Harry a terribly hard time for touching the Tardis console while it was in flight, blaming him for their false landing. Here, though, he has no one to blame but himself - or possibly the Tardis herself - for landing 30,000 years in the future at the far end of the universe, instead of London five minutes ago as he'd promised Sarah at the end of Terror of the Zygons! I just hope the Brigadier wasn't relying on him turning up as promised…
The Tardis has been in flight long enough for Sarah to change into a new outfit and grow her hair a bit - no wonder she cottons on that they've travelled a lot further than London five minutes ago! She knows the Doctor only too well. But she trusts him, that much is crystal clear. He may not have kept his promise, but she never seriously expected him to, she just trusts completely that he will get her back where she is supposed to be eventually. I really enjoy their snark and banter in their opening scene in the Tardis console room - which we haven't seen for more than a season now! We never saw inside the Tardis even once in season 12.
Sarah recognises a distress call when she hears one. She's been with the Doctor long enough to know the Tardis pretty well.
The story separates the Doctor and Sarah fairly early - they go through a few cycles of being separated, reuniting and then being separated, actually. With only two main characters now, there isn't much of a group dynamic to play with, no variations to explore.
I have to admit to feeling rather scandalised when the rescue team also responding to the distress call steal the Tardis, beaming it back up to their ship!
The stricken survey team and the rescue ship are both Morestran, apparently. We aren't told anything about their homeworld, though - are they aliens with fairly human-sounding names, or are they humans from a long-established colony world? I would assume the latter, but we aren't told.
Having been taken prisoner, Sarah really can't explain how she came to be on Zeta Minor, at least not in a way that satisfies her sceptical captors - you've got to sympathise with her plight, the Doctor and his Tardis are not easy to explain to the uninitiated!
The Doctor and Sarah's reactions to being taken prisoner make for a good contrast - Sarah is flustered and anxious, while the Doctor remains totally blasé. He is very alien in this story - added and abetted in that by Tom Baker's unusually subdued performance. He is weirdly still in a number of scenes, just staring impenetrably off into the middle distance while the Morestrans flutter around him in a tiz.
I like how pro-active Sarah is in this story - it is she who figures out how to escape from the Morestran base, rather than the Doctor.
The resolution to the episode one cliffhanger is for a random red shirt Morestran guard to get himself killed while inadvertently saving the Doctor and Sarah's lives, as they are threatened by an anti-matter monster. I wish they'd at least acknowledge the debt they owe the unfortunate man.
Ooh, I like the Morestran guns. Those are quite nifty, and a much better special effect than most supposedly futuristic weapons in this era of the show.
I do like the use of light and colour and wind to give a rather ghostly atmosphere to the Zeta Minor set.
The Morestran's occuloid looks pretty good, considering. I like it.
The Doctor goes off on a tangent about how he met Shakespeare one time. How many times has he met the Bard, then? When Ten met him again in The Shakespeare Code, did he mention that he'd met him before? I can't remember.
The primary Morestran characters are the scientist Sorenson, who is fanatical about the research he's been carrying out on Zeta Minor, the young rescue ship captain Salamar, who is a very uptight, by-the-book character, and his second-in-command Vishinsky, who is a very experienced and down-to-earth character.
I love how easily the Doctor is able to take control of a bad situation - Four has such a natural air of authority that he doesn't hesitate to make use of, when need be. However, he is also very argumentative, which doesn't go over well with Salamar!
The Doctor spins an elaborate theory about how Zeta Minor sits on the cusp between this universe and another universe, composed of anti-matter. The science behind all this sounds well dodgy to me, but since the entire plot of the story is founded on this dodgy science, we'll just have to run with it.
The Doctor looks and sounds very tired when he finds himself locked up again by these mistrustful Morestrans, when all he wants to do is help them - and hopefully stop them blowing up the whole universe in the process. Interestingly, since they find themselves locked up in the same room as the Tardis, Sarah suggests that they could just take off and leave the Morestrans to their fate, which isn't quite the attitude I'd expect, although she may just be playing devil's advocate. The Doctor seems quite tempted by the idea, too, but his sense of responsibility and knowledge of what is at stake here won't let him.
The Doctor becomes very forceful when things start to go seriously wrong, as the Morestrans attempt to take off with anti-matter samples aboard their ship, which the planet won't let go. He goes from escaped prisoner to able assistant imposing himself on the situation in the blink of an eye, as is his wont - it helps, though, that Vishinsky is inclined to believe him, even if Salamar doesn't.
When the Doctor falls into the anti-matter pit, the cinematography gets very surreal for a while there as he is falling!
Sarah is absolutely distraught when the Doctor appears to have died while negotiating with the anti-matter monster on Zeta Minor. I like that she remains pro-active, though. Instead of giving into her grief and falling apart, she remains strong and resourceful, sneaking away from the Morestrans to find out for sure what happened to the Doctor - and is thus able to save him when the anti-matter monster lets him go, weak and half-dead.
I rather like the grumbly Morestran crewman De Haan, so it figures that he'd end up dying - as do most of the crew, in fact. I hope the ship isn't hard to run on a skeleton crew, as that's all they are left with by the end of the story!
Salamar's breakdown begins in episode three and continues apace - he just can't cope with the situation, doesn't have the flexibility of mind required to deal with something like this. Given the choice between doing what needs to be done or sticking rigidly to the rule book, regardless, he sticks with the rule book every time, even when it is blatantly the wrong thing to do - no wonder Vishinsky eventually steps up and takes command from him, even if this does push him over the edge all the more.
The Doctor is wonderfully calm in the crisis, all the more so in the wake of his near death experience.
I like how creeped out Sarah is by the idea of burial in space. But I'm a bit perturbed by Vishinsky's attitude as he conducts the ceremony for one of his fallen crewman, shrugging that although they have to play the last rites, they don't have to listen to it - turning the volume down and switching his attention to something else, even as the dead man is ejected from the ship. That seems a bit disrespectful!
Frederick Jaeger gives a very good, edgy performance as Sorenson, who has been 'infected' by the anti-matter of Zeta Minor and is slowly being transformed into an anti-matter monster similar to the one down on the planet. It's the kind of role that calls for scenery-chewing, but he doesn't ham it up too much, plays it with a twist of angst and fear that works well.
Ooh, the Doctor uses a sudden burst of rather uncharacteristic violence to get away from the hostile and mistrustful Salamar, knocking him out with a punch to the head!
Ooh, and then the Doctor gets shot! Good thing the Morestrans aren't shooting to kill.
I like how composed Sarah remains as she and the unconscious Doctor teeter on the brink of summary execution - even as they are being ejected from the spaceship without protection, she doesn't scream or wail, although she does spit a few invectives at the insane would-be murderer Salamar. Lucky for them Vishinsky has a bit more about him and thinks to stop the ejection when a timely crisis develops elsewhere. I also like that Sarah has to give the Doctor a hand clambering out of his mortuary tray, as he's still groggy - I always like being allowed to catch a glimpse of his vulnerabilities and I enjoy a spot of role reversal with the companions.
The Doctor never explains himself. It is one of his most consistent characteristics. In the heat of a crisis, his mind works at about a million miles an hour. No one can keep up with it and he rarely if ever takes the time to stop and explain what he is planning to his companions, he just requires them to do as he tells them without question.
Sonic screwdriver! Here used as a key to unlock a sealed door - how very modern!
There's a lot that's forgettable about this story, but the Doctor does have a really, really good scene with Sorenson, discussing the fatal flaws in Sorenson's research, one scientist to another. The Doctor pretty much talks Sorenson into committing suicide, in fact, for the sake of everyone else's life! Not that the plan works, as Sorenson Jekylls into Mr Hyde again before he can go through with it, transforming back into an anti-matter monster to wreak a bit more random havoc around the ship.
Did the Doctor just quote Captain Oates? "I'm going out now and I may be some time."
Man, you can tell how serious the situation is: the Doctor actually picks up and fires a gun! He hardly ever uses a weapon.
I get a bit nervous when the Doctor takes off in the Tardis with Sorenson aboard, leaving Sarah behind on the Morestran ship - last time he attempted a short hop in the Tardis, he ended up 30,000 years and the far end of the universe off target! Luckily, his control of the ship proves a little better this time.
Upon hauling Sorenson into the Tardis, the Doctor claps him in irons. I would ask why he had such a thing on board, but some questions are just better not asked!
Sorenson gets two trips in the Tardis - down to Zeta Minor and back to the ship again, once he's been cured of his anti-matter infection. That's as many Tardis trips in one episode as Harry clocked up in a whole season with the Doctor!
Quotable Quotes
SARAH: "How long have we been travelling?"
DOCTOR: "Hmm? What did you say?"
SARAH: "You promised me we'd be back in London five minutes before leaving Loch Ness."
DOCTOR: "Did I?"
SARAH: "Oh, you're trying to wriggle out of it."
DOCTOR: "Wriggle out of what?"
SARAH: "Your promise."
DOCTOR: "Listen, we're on the edge of a time-space vortex and you're talking in minutes."
SARAH: "Oh, I see. What's gone wrong this time?"
DOCTOR: "Nothing. Nothing at all. What makes you think something's gone wrong?"
SARAH: "Because you always get rude when you're trying to cover up a mistake."
DOCTOR: "Nothing of consequence. Slight overshoot, easily rectified."
SARAH: "Come on, where are we?"
DOCTOR: "We've come out of the time vortex at the wrong point, that's all. A few years too late."
SARAH: "How many?"
DOCTOR: "Thirty thousand."
SARAH: "Let's go, shall we?"
DOCTOR: "How?"
SARAH: "Through the window."
DOCTOR: "They're magnetically locked."
SARAH: "But the power is low."
DOCTOR: "Night's candles are burned out and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain top. Or something like that."
SARAH: "Ah, you mean it's getting light."
DOCTOR: "That's what Shakespeare meant."
DOCTOR: "I met him once, you know."
SARAH: "Who?"
DOCTOR: "Shakespeare. Charming fellow. Dreadful actor."
SARAH: "Perhaps that's why he took up writing."
SARAH: "Do you ever get tired of being pushed around?"
DOCTOR: "Frequently."
SARAH: "We could get in the Tardis and disappear."
DOCTOR: "No, no. It's tempting to let them go ahead and destroy themselves. The trouble is, they wouldn't be the only ones."
DE HAAN: "Half my service I spend flying one way, the other half I spend flying back again. They should pay me for staying in one place."
SARAH: "What are you doing?"
VISHINSKY: "Disposal procedure. We may have to play the last rites but we don't have to listen."
VISHINSKY: "Another good soldier gone to the greatest army of them all."
SARAH: "Out into space to drift forever."
VISHINSKY: "It's clean and tidy."
SARAH: "It's horrible."
SALAMAR: "We believe you to be responsible for all the deaths. Unless you cooperate, I shall kill you and the girl without compunction."
SARAH: "Oh, great. That's the thanks you get for helping people."
SORENSON: "What is your friend's field of science?"
SARAH: "Oh, everything. He's brilliant."
DOCTOR: "Usually I only entertain friends in the Tardis."
DOCTOR: "Stay here with Vishinsky, Sarah. I'm going out now and I may be some time."
DOCTOR: "You and I are scientists, Professor. We buy our privilege to experiment at the cost of total responsibility."
DOCTOR: "Come on, Sarah. We've an appointment in London and we're already thirty thousand years late."
The Verdict
Overall and on the whole, this is rather an insubstantial story, really - light, fluffy science fiction fun with a few good scenes, some fun banter between the Doctor and Sarah, and a dodgy plot. Nothing special but also nothing dire.