'The Monster of Peladon'

THE MONSTER OF PELADON
6 episodes

I actually watched this 'properly', i.e. an episode at a time, over the course of a couple of days. More by accident than design, but probably for the best - this is so dull, I suspect getting through a series of episodes at once could have been difficult at best... Featuring many of the same elements as its prequel, this is essentially 'The Curse of Peladon Redux' - some posts are held by different people but doing essentially the same things as their predecessors, while the topical issue-of-the-month is the then-contemporary miners' strikes that feed into the plot as a lot of stupidly badger-haired miners standing around in tunnels arguing. While it is fun to have back Alpha Centauri and a glimpse of Aggedor, the Ice Warriors hold back to so late in the day that I'd forgotten about their presence... ironically creating a nice surprise that I wouldn't have had if the adventure had gone faster, and forcing the previously antagonistic Peladonian factions to cooperate against the new threat, but not alleviating the tedium that has reached terminal inertia by this point. It is disappointing to see the Martians' characters reverting more to stereotypical baddies, even if it is made clear that these ones are a breakaway group unrepresentative of their race. Eckersley is the only interesting support player, driven seemingly just by financial gain rather than despotic mania - except in one ill-advised speech where he temporarily wants to be master of the galaxy - and played with a kind of laid-back insouciance by Donald Gee. Queen Thalira is endearingly wide-eyed and innocent but more than a little wet, for which she gets a highly unsubtle Women's Lib lecture from Sarah. Speaking of whom, was it really necessary to have her believe the Doctor is dead twice in one adventure, especially considering what's coming up?? I guess I should mention that a good portion of the plot hinges on the unlikely factor of the Peladon mines - that's mines - apparently having not only central heating but air conditioning, but frankly I've lost heart by this stage...

4.5/10

Episodes watched: 267
Episodes still to watch: 455