Nightmare of Eden

"I like to do the impossible."

Writer: Bob Baker

Format: TV

Broadcast: 24 November - 15 December 1979

Season: 17.04

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana II, K9

Synopsis

A cruise ship loaded with passengers to the planet Azure collides with a trade ship as it comes out of warp, leaving the two ships merged but unstable. The Doctor, Romana and K9 arrive to help out, but soon discover there's also a problem with unidentified smugglers running a cargo of vraxoin – a forbidden organic drug that's as highly addictive as it is fatal.

Verdict

Nightmare of Eden was another great serial to continue my BritBox watch-a-thon! I followed straight on from where I left off with The Creature from the Pit and this will be the only instance that I will follow on with the next chronological serial as I am trying to judge each story in isolation regardless of any connections it might have. I've got the Black Guardian trilogy to come and that will not be watched back to back, but anyway I'll move onto the story at hand. This one felt very familiar which was quite strange as it has been three years this month that I read Doctor Who and the Nightmare of Eden, but I seem to have remembered an awful lot from the novelisation. I think that might have actually made me enjoy the story even more. It started strong and I absolutely adored the humour that was on show with the Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker was in stellar form with the lines which were written just wonderfully. Perfect characterisation for the fourth incarnation. The line about him not getting paid because his facade Galactic Corporation that he represented had been liquidated two decades prior to the events of this story was phenomenal. It was a real laugh out loud moment and I think a lot of that was down to the speed and bluntness of the reply. It was wonderful. I also loved his response to being asked about his date of birth and how he jokingly figured that they were asking for the date of birth of the drug smuggling culprit. I really liked the theme of the serial with it prominently being an anti-drug message which worked well. It's nice for Doctor Who to tackle real issues and putting it in an alien environment doesn't make it any less impactful in my view. The use of the vraxoin was terrific and I liked the pace in finding that the Mandrels were in fact the new source. Having recently watched Carnival of Monsters, the similarities to the base of that adventure were great, but this one seemed a bit more effective in my opinion. Tryst was a really good character as its owner and his relationship with the Doctor was great throughout. Well, up until the final part when he tried to escape. The issue of the two ships being merged was handled well and I liked the presentation a lot. K9 had another solid story, but I still find it off-putting without John Leeson voicing the robotic dog. That didn't have any impact on my rating for the story though! Romana was magnificent as always in this incarnation and her trepidation at the end of part two when she and the Doctor step into Eden was fantastic. Her fascination with the CET throughout the adventure was a really good point of interest. The design of the Mandrels was pretty good when put into context and the image of the part one cliffhanger was brilliant. I do think the story can perhaps go a tad long, but for the most part it runs smoothly. There was just probably one too many scenes with the Space Corps chasing after the Doctor or bursting in on him. However, having a branch of them return after The Space Pirates is some terrific continuity. Dymond was another decent character plotting the escape with Tryst, but Della was a standout in her protective nature. Stott was also a good character and his love story separation with Della came full circle in the end, maybe a tad too late though. Regardless, this was still a really good adventure and the conclusion was brilliant with how the Doctor had used the CET to get Tryst and Dymond before they could escape. Overall, a great serial!

Rating: 8/10