Logopolis

Logopolis
by Christopher H. Bidmead
Originally Broadcasted: February 28th-March 21st, 1981

The Doctor finally decides to fix the chameleon circuit (the function that allows any normal TARDIS to change shape) on his TARDIS. To do this, he materializes around an ordinary Police Box to get the measurements to take to the mathematical planet Logopolis. Unbeknownst to The Doctor, someone else has materialized around the same Police Box, leading to a TARDIS within a TARDIS within a TARDIS. New friends join and an old enemy faces The Doctor for his final struggle in this incarnation...

Logopolis is a thrilling, yet really sad story of Doctor Who. On its own, it stands as a fantastic example of the classic series. No rinky dink special effects or monsters, just good storytelling and characters. The sadness is added with the ever-increasing realization that its the end for the Fourth Doctor. After seven long years, it's the end for Tom Baker. But the moment has been prepared for, in the form of The Watcher, whose supposed to be a future version of The Doctor, coming back to help his fourth self regenerate. This is a fact we don't know right until the regeneration at the end of the story, so for most of the story, The Watcher is a creepy figure and we don't know a thing about him. Tom Baker was lucky to have a wonderful write out as The Doctor. He dies trying to save the universe and his new friends from utter annihilation. A heroic moment indeed. There's something about the first two episodes of Logopolis that seemed really new and different to the way Doctor Who had been before. It's a very different kind of story, yet still a fantastic one. Of course, this story is famous for the proper introduction of Anthony Ainley as The Master. He had appeared in the previous story, The Keeper of Traken, as Tremas (an anagram of Master), a good character who gets his body stolen by a decrepit Master at the end of the story. Ainley is at the top of his game as The Master here. Some of his later stories had awful storylines (Time-Flight) or used him to a lesser point (The Mark of The Rani). But here he is shown as pure evil, even after agreeing to an alliance with The Doctor to save the universe. The regeneration from the Fourth Doctor into the Fifth is one of my favorites. More effort was put into the actual regeneration shot than with Jon Pertwee's regeneration into Tom Baker. And the music is so hauntingly beautiful, it always makes me feel emotional, which is exactly how you should feel when an amazing Doctor leaves and an equally amazing Doctor is introduced!

Luke's Rating: 9/10