Arc of Infinity

Arc of Infinity
by Johnny Byrne
Originally Broadcasted: January 3rd-January 12th, 1983

Omega, the creator of time travel, who has forever been banished to the realm of anti-matter, is hatching a scheme to return to this dimension by bonding with the Doctor. The Time Lords have decided the only way to stop this threat, is to bring the Doctor to Gallifrey and have him executed. Will Nyssa be able to prove the Time Lords otherwise so that the Doctor can survive to defeat Omega?

Arc of Infinity was the first serial of the 20th season of Doctor Who, a season where Producer John Nathan-Turner decided to feature a returning baddie in every story. For Arc of Infinity, writer Johnny Byrne looked back to the 10th anniversary special, The Three Doctors, and brought back the demented Omega. Omega is one of the more interesting characters in Who history, because he's not really that bad. It was an accident that caused him to be stuck in the anti-matter dimension, and that drove him to insanity. He desperately wants to return to our dimension, but what makes him a villain is that he'll do whatever it takes to return. The characterization of Omega in the final episode of this story is some really beautiful stuff. Omega finally got his wish. He had returned, in the form of the Doctor, and he's roaming around the streets of Amsterdam, at first just taking everything in. The joy you see in his face from something as simple as a street organ is really touching, even though you know there's actually a terrible person underneath the Doctor's face. That then turns into a wonderful, if slightly long chase around Amsterdam, where the Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan chase an increasingly unstable Omega. The stuff on Gallifrey is interesting, yet a little less exciting. Of course, everyone remembers Arc of Infinity for the cliffhanger at the end of Part One, where Commander Maxil, played by future Doctor Colin Baker, shoots current Doctor Peter Davison. No one at the time would have known this man would eventually become the Doctor. Tegan returns in this serial, after being left stranded at Heathrow Airport at the end of the previous story, Time-Flight. She has the joy of filling up the almost unnecessary Amsterdam sequences in the first three episodes, that include one of the worst designed monsters in the history of Doctor Who, the Ergon. Also of interest, it is the scene of the Doctor trapped in the Matrix that was used to represent the Fifth Doctor in the spectacular episode from the most recent series of Doctor Who, The Name of the Doctor. Arc of Infinity is overall quite a good story, although it does have quite a few negatives, including some bad monster designs and some bad effects. But it's the 80s, so we can overlook that :P

Luke's Rating: 8/10