Snakedance

"Can you bear witness on what the Mara shows?"

Writer: Christopher Bailey
Format: TV
Broadcast: 18-26 January 1983
Season: 20.02

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

The TARDIS makes an unplanned landing on Manussa, where preparations are underway to celebrate the defeat of the Sumaran Empire five centuries earlier. But the ancient evil of the Mara lives on, and Tegan, who has been haunted by disturbing dreams since her time under the Wind chimes on Deva Loka, is now a pawn in its plan to re-enter the physical world and subjugate the Manussan people.

Only the Doctor can stop the Mara – but first he must convince the authorities that he is not just a deluded fool who believes in children's fairytales...

Verdict

Snakedance was an excellent serial as part of the landmark twentieth season of Doctor Who! It serves as a brilliant sequel to Kinda and in my view, it is a much improved outing for the Mara. I am glad that I have had a little bit of time between watching the first story last week, but I definitely think it has helped to revisit the sequel so soon as well. The little reference to Arc of Infinity was also great and I enjoyed a lot of the continuity in this story. I thought the Manussa setting was outstanding and it was perfect to visit the world of the Mara at the time of the Legend of Return. It all tied in well and finding out that Tegan was the one who had shouted out the coordinates that was sending them on their way to the planet was magnificent. I have to say that I think this is one of Peter Davison's best performances as the Fifth Doctor. He was on point throughout and it was really good to show the urgency the Doctor had when it appeared that the Mara was on its way back. I absolutely loved the set design of the Mara home world and it really was excellent to get an insight into the history of the snake creature. The caves and the ornamental designs were terrific and it was also nice to see Nyssa in changed attire. She had an intriguing relationship with the Doctor in this one with him not noticing her clothes and then also him picking her up when she made it clear that it wasn't necessary. I thought she was good throughout though and a much improved third party over Adric as she didn't get to feature in the first Mara tale. Tegan was fantastic in this one even though she was pretty much subject to the Mara for the duration. It was a sublime performance from Janet Fielding, possibly her best. It was a touching moment at the story's conclusion with the Doctor comforting her and having his arm around her. The pair had something of a tumultuous relationship and you could see that at the start with the Doctor pushing her to act quickly about her bad dreams despite Nyssa's disapproval. But here, it was a nice moment for the pair and it showed that the Doctor really did care. Lon was a very good character as the son of the Federator and he was always wanting to show off and use his title. His mother was also good, but it was clear that he had the upper hand when it came to her. Ambril was also brilliant and I really appreciated how much he coveted the Mara artefacts and all that they signified. The moment the Doctor corrected him about the six faces of delusion was a standout moment though. You knew what was coming before it happened and it was still comedic brilliance. I enjoyed the cliffhangers for the most part, even if the resolution at the start of part four was somewhat weak and it wasn't like Nyssa to scream in a situation like that. That was my only major qualm. The threat of the Mara without actually appearing is an impressive attribute and I was definitely pleased with the special effects once it did arrive briefly in part four. Keeping it from a physical appearance undoubtedly improved its fear factor which was fantastic. The pace and storytelling was definitely much improved this time around. Dojjen's emergence after his records had featured prominently was really good and his contact with the Doctor was terrific. I was a big fan of him and what he represented. His walking off at the end when the Mara was destroyed was a powerful and poignant image. Overall, a really great serial!

Rating: 9/10