Full Circle

"You accuse us of wilful procrastination?"

Writer: Andrew Smith
Format: TV
Broadcast: 25th October-15th November 1980
Season: 18.03

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana II, Adric, K9

Synopsis

Attempting to return home to Gallifrey, the Doctor, Romana and K-9 find themselves on the planet Alzarius. As the local inhabitants retreat in terror to their marooned spacecraft, the Doctor sets out to investigate, and a group of young rebels take Romana hostage in the TARDIS. Besieged by the reptilian creatures rising from the marshes, the colonists on the Starliner face a bleak future without the Doctor's help. Can he uncover the dark truth about Mistfall before it is too late?

Verdict

Full Circle was an outstanding serial and a wonderful way to begin the E-Space trilogy! I honestly do think this is the most underrated story of the entire Classic era of Doctor Who as it really is quite superb from start to finish. I've watched it three times now and my opinion has not altered, despite a six-year gap between viewings. The story is obviously helped by the incredible pairing of the Fourth Doctor and Romana II, probably the best TARDIS team of them all when you throw in K9 as well, but everything just works perfectly. It's a fantastic introduction for Adric and we know immediately that he's different and alien. He's a mathematical genius but he's also Alzarian and heals tremendously quick. The way the TARDIS entered the CVE and encountered E-Space was very good and this story's quality was visual in my viewing as my ten-year old cousin was glued to the screen. I thought the cliffhangers were all brilliant and I loved the camera work for the emergence of the Marshmen. They looked really good and were full of intrigue which is always a big plus in my book. The societal structure of Alzarius was good and I liked how there was a distinct hierarchy. The Deciders were very good and the Doctor soon got in their good books after intruding the starliner. He has a knack of doing that and I don't think it works any better than with Tom Baker's fourth incarnation. He was on stellar form as per usual. Romana had a different role than she's used to in this story and spent most of the first half in the TARDIS trying to work out why they hadn't arrived on Gallifrey. Her reaction to being summoned and the prospect of missing out on travelling with the Doctor was marvellous and made me love her even more as a companion. She really is quite magnificent. The title's story is lovely and the slow build to its realisation being revealed was magnificent. The Doctor simply revealed that the chromosomal makeup of the spiders, Marshmen and Alzarians was from the same cells. The evolutionary cycle on this planet was quite unique and things really had come full circle which was tremendous. I loved it. K9 getting his head bashed off was quite a shock and I liked how the Marshmen grew in stature when it came to their aggressive capabilities. It didn't seem like they would be too threatening at the start but once one made a connection with Romana things changed drastically. The way the Doctor sorted things was actually quite calm but I was a little surprised by some of the casualties, most notably Varsh. The ambiguity surrounding Adric at the story's conclusion was good and I liked the humour with the Doctor telling the Deciders that all they needed to do was push the green button and they would be safe. Overall, a stunning serial!

Rating: 10/10