The Visitation: Part One

Review for all 4 parts:

This pseudo-historical story has the TARDIS arriving at the site of Heathrow airport to return Tegan but finding they are in the 1660s during the plague and that some lizard-like aliens the Terileptils have crash landed there and are up to no good.

This was the first contribution of Eric Saward to the show. He wrote the story and was soon made script editor taking over for the production of stories including a couple which were broadcast before this one. Saward does well as a writer although he would turn out to be not consistently good in my opinion as a script editor.

Saward's story is very interesting and fun. The first couple of episodes are quite slow but set the scene really well with some excellent period settings and enjoyable scenes. The introduction of the Terileptils is a decent new alien who have menace and intelligence in their concept. The alien costumes are not perfect but the faces are good I think and they present a suitable threat. The dialogue is very good and intelligent, one of the main strengths of this serial.

Michael Melia puts in an excellent performance as the lead alien, delivering his lines really well. Michael Robbins is also brilliant as Richard Mace, a rich character who enriches the story and has quite a journey across the 4 episodes. Other guest roles are very good and the TARDIS crew are solid. The relationships are strong and apart from an annoying scene at the start with Tegan getting angry they do their jobs well.

Peter Davison is excellent as The Doctor. He shows some depth and toughness here as well as his compassion and decency. He is on top form. We also see the demise of the sonic screwdriver which had been a very oft used device but would not be seen again until the 1996 movie with the 8th Doctor.

I really liked this story a lot, especially the 3rd and 4th episodes when the action, the plot and the dialogue kick into top gear. I think it is great. The linking in of historical events is nicely done, there are nice period locations and a fun story.

My ratings: Parts 1 & 2 - 9/10, Parts 3 & 4 - 10/10. Overall - 9.5/10.

In a VERY "traditional" story, THE VISITATION has the TARDIS drawn centuries into Earth's past due to the crash of an alien spaceship whose crew is causing havoc for the locals. Being the good sort of chap that he is, naturally, The Doctor goes looking for them, intending to offer them a lift home. But he soon finds they're NOT interested, and have other, more genocidal, plans in mind...

Considering the havoc he played for several years as the series' story editor, it's almost hard to believe this was the 1st WHO story from writer Eric Saward. The tone, the structure, and especially the pacing feels almost exactly like a Tom Baker story, something the show would steer further and further away from as "MTV" pacing designed for multiple viewings on VCR became more and more the norm. Of course, Baker would have been a lot more dynamic, charismatic, and witty. Peter Davison, who continues to stand out more than even a "Doctor" should in that absurd cricket outfit, merely comes across as a "nice guy" who almost nobody seems to listen to.

There's far too much "continuity" between the previous story KINDA and this one, which gets bizarre when you realize this was filmed just before that one, not after (probably for outdoor location and weather reasons). At least, unlike FOUR TO DOOMSDAY, both Tegan and Adric are written (and acted) far less annoyingly-- and the pair seem to be developing an unexpected mutual friendship as well. (Perhaps he's at the age where he finds himself more interested in "women" than-- ahem-- "just girls"?)

The only regular in the story whose outlandish clothing doesn't seem completely out-of-place (due to the comparatively drag color scheme) is Nyssa, who once again gets to shine when she winds up single-handedly taking The Doctor's advice and painstakingly assembling a device capable of taking out a killer robot. Then she regrets the need to have done so, as it was an ingeniously-crafted machine itself that had no choice in its programming.

Outstanding in this one is the character of Richard Mace (played by Michael Robbins), a thespian turned highwayman, who seems to have stepped out of a Robert Holmes story (Saward of course being a huge devotee of Holmes, who he later was instrumental in bringing back to the series). Mace and The Doctor become quick allies, even though he's repeatedly witness to things most men of his era would simply disbelieve, or run from in blind panic. When they finally part at the end, he tells The Doctor, "I'm afraid your lifestyle is too fast-paced for me."

I have a huge fondness for the Visitation, whilst looking back at it in more detail I find it way better then I recalled, with some rather nice production values, the BBC do a good historic piece. They do old very well, they struggled a little with modern, the Android looks a little.... I can't even think of any words, images of a 1982 roller disco?? I really didn't like Kinda, it looked and felt so cheap, the Visitation put the show back on good form. There is some amusing banter between the team.

In brief, A comet flashes through the sky at the window of a family enjoying their evening. John Savident and co don't last too long before they are struck down by an Alien invader. The Doctor tries once again to get (a very sulky) Tegan back home, but fails and the team are back to the C17th, where they discover something is amiss in old England. Richard Mace saves the Doctor and co from a team of angry axe wielding villagers. Mace explains that plague is rife and that a comet had recently hit. Alien artifacts are discovered indicating there are some unwelcome visitors. The Doctor disappears down a staircase and we cut to a cliffhanger.

All characters run to form, Nyssa questions intelligently, Adric is annoying and Tegan is grumpy.

Two points I didn't really like, Adric's fall is diabolical, and Michael Robbins performance was pretty shocking.

Ah yes, the first time when the Doctor put on his hat. The plot was great.