Arc of Infinity

"Each and every time the Doctor returns to Gallifrey there's violence."

Writer: Johnny Byrne 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 3rd-12th January 1983

Season: 20.01

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis 

Travelling with Nyssa in the TARDIS, the Doctor is attacked by a malign entity - a being of pure anti-matter seeking to cross the dimensions. Although the invader is successfully repelled, the TARDIS is immediately recalled to Gallifrey, where the High Council of Time Lords sentence the Doctor to be executed to prevent any further attempts at bonding.

It seems there is a traitor on Gallifrey. And what links the Renegade and the disappearance of Tegan's cousin in Amsterdam? Two fates intertwined must battle for the future of the entire universe...

Verdict 

Arc of Infinity was an excellent story to kick off the landmark twentieth season of Doctor Who! That celebration would of course be celebrated with The Five Doctors after the season concluded but I liked how the entire season saw an enemy from the show's past return. Omega is an interesting choice of villain to bring back but I think he's fantastic and I must admit, I do love a Gallifrey story. There's just something about the Doctor's home planet that guarantees a good story. Omega only appeared previously in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors and although I loved the appearance in that story, I was a fan of the costume change for the renegade Time Lord. It kept his identity hidden until the end of part three and that revelation moment is always superb, even if it wasn't as impactful as it could have been. I was quite surprised on my first viewing that there was no mention of Time-Flight early on but that would come later once Tegan arrived on our screens in part two. The pairing of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa is something we have had an incredibly lot of in the Big Finish audios but this is the only real chance we have to see them as a TARDIS pair on screen. They're really terrific together here and we would learn, in hindsight of course, that they had numerous adventures after abruptly leaving Tegan behind. She has since lost her job as an air hostess which I strangely found a little amusing but it at least it was good to see her in a new costume! With the audios that occurred between the nineteenth and twentieth seasons, I do hope the TARDIS has a quick and efficient washing machine where Nyssa is concerned. Seeing Borusa again, now regenerated, was a good continuation of past Gallifrey stories. The Invasion of Time got a terrific reference with the Doctor wondering how Leela was and I also liked the reference to Warriors' Gate with Romana choosing to remain in E-Space following her arrival in the TARDIS at the beginning of the Key to Time season. Having recently read The Five Doctors, it was interesting to watch the Gallifrey story immediately before it and I liked how the memory of what was to follow was fresh in my head. It offered an interesting viewing point and I very much enjoyed that. Speaking of my viewing point, just like Revenge of the Cybermen I watched this serial with my cousin who continued in giving a perfect rating for this story. I didn't quite agree with him because of a large proportion of part four but it still wasn't far off. It's just great seeing him watch a story for the first time and that's even more enhanced by the fact his Doctor Who knowledge is now very detailed. I thought the story had good cliffhangers and it was also interesting to see Colin Baker play a prominent role in the show before his casting as the Sixth Doctor. It of course happened with Peter Capaldi in The Fires of Pompeii so there's no confusion with anything there. The fourth part was a bit of a mixed bag and although I liked Peter Davison playing the double role, I wasn't keen on the length of the chase around Amsterdam. It seemed to needlessly drag on and once the Doctor caught up with Omega, I was surprised that the former shot the latter dead. The betrayal of Hedin was a little surprising but I did like the other reference to Earthshock. Overall, a very good story and another blogged story with my cousin! 

Rating: 9/10