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Uae st CHANGE The 22nd season of classic Doctor Who was the first for Colin Baker in the role of the volatile sixth Doctor, and makes its Blu-ray debut this month in a fully loaded box set collection. Words Scott Hocking reaking with a long tradition of introducing B: new Doctor at the start of a season, Colin Baker made his debut in the final story of season 21, The Twin Dilemma, first broadcast in March 1984. Sporting a garish costume resembling a candy- coloured clown and with a manic and irascible persona far removed from Peter Davison’s mild- mannered portrayal, the sixth Doctor's arrival immediately polarised the show's legion of fans, leaving them as exasperated as his companion, Peri (Nicola Bryant). While it was far from an auspicious debut, the subsequent season - originally broadcast in early 1985 — fortunately saw Baker properly settling into the role and facing off against a host of famous foes including Cybermen, Daleks, Sontarans, and the Master. It also featured the return of the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and companion Jamie (Frazer Hines) in a story penned by renowned series writer Robert Holmes. Another significant change introduced in season 22 was a shift from the longtime 25-minute episode format to 45 minutes, bringing Doctor Who in line with other ‘80s serials (however, the show would revert back to its traditional episode length for the following season.) Season 22 kicks off with Attack of the Cybermen, a story largely driven by referencing the series’ past - from the very first episode, An Unearthly Child, to Cyber-classics like The Tenth Planet and Tomb of the Cybermen. This time, the silver adversaries are attempting to change history, which will result in the destruction of Earth. Vengeance on Varos sees the Doctor and Peri arriving on the titular planet, where televised executions keep the population content. A clever satire on reality TV and the “video nasty” hysteria that gripped Britain in the ‘80s, this cracking story also features a superb new villain in the form of Sil - a gurgling slugvlike creature intent on plundering Varos’s mineral wealth. Anew renegade Time Lord, the Rani (Kate O'Mara), makes her debut in the historical adventure The Mark of the Rani, which also features the Master (Anthony Ainley) attempting to prevent the Industrial Revolution. The Two Doctors unites Patrick Troughton and Colin Baker for a blackly humorous, Spanish-set Doctor Who images © BBC Co = adventure featuring the Sontarans and a guest role for Jacqueline Pearce, who played the villainous Servalan in the popular British sci-fi series Blake's 7. The much derided Timelash is indeed not one of the best, but still a very traditional Who story that ropes in H.G. Wells, as well as another Blake's 7 regular, Paul Darrow, whose truly overtthe-top performance adds to the cheesy fun. The best is saved for last. Revelation of the Daleks is another all-time classic story featuring the Doctor's deadliest foes and their creator, Davros, who has taken over the mortuary planet Necros in order to create a new race of Daleks. Ultimately, Colin Baker's Doctor wasn't as disagreeable as fans first thought, and Season 22 was a success. But the Doctor was about to face a threat even greater than the Daleks - cancellation! In late February of 1985, the controversial decision to axe Doctor Who after 22 consecutive years on the air was announced, provoking inevitable outrage. BBC1 Controller Michael Grade and Head of Serials Jonathan Powell claimed that the show had become too violent and had lost its appeal - a shallow argument to disguise the fact that the BBC was in financial strife after commissioning 104 episodes of new soap EastEnders and launching a new daytime TV service. Fortunately, following public backlash and an 18-month hiatus, Doctor Who returned for a 23rd season, albeit in a drastically truncated form of only 14 episodes that would comprise the epic adventure The Trial of a Time Lord. © jbhifi.com.au JBHEFI
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