The Invisible Enemy

"The physical envelope is of no importance."

Writers: Bob Barker & Dave Martin
Format: TV
Broadcast: 1-22 October 1977
Season: 15.02

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela, K9

Synopsis

A three-man rocket crew are nearly done with their mission Titan Base until a course change puts the rocket in the path of a strange cloud in space. By the time they arrive, they have come under the control of a sentient virus which threatens the galaxy. When the TARDIS picks up an emergency message, it flues into the cloud which infects the Doctor. To save himself and others, he must undertake a dangerous plunge.

Verdict

The Invisible Enemy was an outstanding Doctor Who serial! Despite some very shaky special effects that unfortunately really do not age well, I love this adventure. It's a real gem and right up there with my favourites for Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor. It's an important serial in the show's history as well with K9 introduced and its a fine way for him to arrive. I thought part one was incredibly impressive in establishing where the story was going to go and having it end with the Doctor already infected by the Swarm was terrific. I feel that with the pacing that is traditional of the Classic era, this one could have easily been six parts. However, by making it four we had a very exciting and fast-paced adventure which was marvellous. I love the premise behind this serial with a sentient virus. With all that is going on in the world at the moment with Covid-19, that thought becomes a little more frightening given its scale! Of course, once the Swarm arrives into the macro-verse, it doesn't exactly look threatening despite the best efforts of John Leeson's voicing skills. I had never realised that he also voiced the enemy in this story along with K9 of course. Leela had an interesting adventure and it was Gemma's first time seeing her and she certainly had some questionable reactions to her somewhat skimpy attire. One thing I couldn't get over was how casually she knifed one of those infected in the knife and the Doctor didn't bat an eyelid. In fact he questioned whether she could do it to more people! That was extraordinary and so left field that it didn't bother me. I almost had an appreciation for it. Tom Baker put in an impressive performance as the Fourth Doctor and I enjoyed his scenes where infected. The speed at which the Swarm passed on its control around the rocket crew was impressive and it worked well that the nucleus was within the Doctor. Its ability to travel through the TARDIS console to infect him was great. I also loved how Leela was referred to as a reject because of her simple-minded way of thinking. That wasn't what it wanted. Professor Marius was a really great character and he seems like a logical choice to be the creator of K9. His scientific abilities were on show when he was able to quickly clone the Doctor and Leela, albeit into versions that would not last long, and miniaturise them allowing them access to the Doctor's insides. Their target was the Swarm and I just love the idea of the Doctor being inside of his own body. That really is excellent. There was a lot of humour there with Leela and I loved that he brought her along because of her tracking skills. That was really lovely. In a story where she was clearly being referred to as not intelligent, she was able to show her uses. Her relationship with K9 was wonderful and the moment they just look on stunned as the Doctor sprints past into the TARDIS and starts dematerialising is just magnificent. A hilarious moment. Leela also getting the last laugh and the Swarm being defeated by virtue of being blown up was terrific, especially with the Doctor trying to take the credit for the idea. That's brilliant writing for the pair just a fantastic way of showcasing their relationship. The journeys between Titan and the Foundation were interesting and allowed for some unique scenes in space. The crew's shared infection was really good and the Swarm being trapped at the conclusion and blowing to pieces after being trapped by the Doctor seemed a fitting end. I also liked his justification for killing the creature here because it did have every right to live, just not outside of the micro-verse. Overall, a superb serial!

Rating: 10/10