“Into the land of dreams and fantasy, Leela.”

When Baker and Martin were given the task to write a Doctor Who story in the 1970s, we could rely on an entertaining blend of silly pseudoscience with some interesting and factual scientific grains scattered throughout. Add a veteran director, hand the lead roles to two most endearing talents, support them with seasoned DW character actors, tell the viewer they are going to get a tale of space travel, malevolent alien virii, android canines, humanoid cloning, and even miniaturization, and you’d think you have a gold mine of a program on your hands.

At least, the plan worked on paper.

We didn’t have particular concerns about jumbo shrimp until this Season 15 story came around. Now we feel a bit ‘nerve-ous’ around them. (Get it? Brain? Nerve? *sigh*) K-9 rolls onto the scene for the first time, which is one of the redeeming qualities of a rather middling story overall. After noting that the supporting cast seems to be putting more effort into the work than our principal actors, we chalk this one up to one that’s enjoyable just as much for the camp factor and silliness than it is for story content, which feels a little lackluster.

NEWS: