Masterpiece Theatre
Number 5: Arc of
Infinity
Season openers need to grab the attention. They need to hook
the wider audience with easy-to-follow plots and understandable concepts, pull
in fresh viewers, invest them in the characters and make them want to come back
next week. It’s an interesting dichotomy that, while often highly enjoyed by
the general public, season openers are rarely regarded as the best stories by
Doctor Who fans, mainly because they lack the darker edges and emotional
pay-offs that later episodes in a season tend to display.
A recent exception to this rule is The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon, in which Steven Moffat
makes no concessions to the casual viewer, demanding that his audience pay full
attention to his labyrinthine plotting. However, he makes sure that the
characters are introduced properly, and that the strands of the plot arc are
clearly understandable. Even though he pushes the format to its limits and, with
the possible exception of the Doctor’s failed regeneration, little prior
knowledge of the series is actually needed to appreciate the story. The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon
manages to appeal to both the casual viewer and the fans there for the long
run, introducing a memorable (or maybe not) new enemy in the Silence and
setting up a season-long plot designed to keep the ratings as high as possible for
the entire run. This is intelligent, engaging Doctor Who designed to capture a huge audience for the whole
season.
Contrast this with Arc
of Infinity, and it is easy to see where this 1983 adventure gets it wrong.
As the first story of a season, Arc of Infinity is by any measure a bit of a damp squib. As the
first story in the Twentieth Season, it is actually detrimental to the rest of
the series. It is the first indication of the series beginning to disappear up
its own behind, laden with obscure continuity references that the casual viewer
cannot hope to understand, and all this in a time when viewers couldn’t simply
watch old episodes in order to understand what the characters were on about.
The story is a sequel to The
Three Doctors, a set of four episodes aired during the Tenth Anniversary
season. Fans tend to heavily criticise Attack
of the Cybermen for exactly the same faults as Arc of Infinity, but Arc
got there first. It is also a sequel that fails to understand the original. A
sequel should extend the mythos and deepen our understanding, and at the same
time offer us something fresh to allow us to see the original in a different
light. Aliens deepens and extends Alien, the unfairly-derided Star Wars prequels provide us with
motivations and threads that pay off in the original trilogy, and in the Doctor Who universe, The Time of Angels places the Weeping
Angels firmly at the top table in the pantheon of Doctor Who monsters by developing their powers and motivations. Yet
Arc of Infinity reeks of John
Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward reusing poor old Omega only because he was in the
Tenth Anniversary story, not because they actually had any plans to deepen his
character or take him off in a worthwhile new direction. It smacks of creatively
bereft decision-making and a fatal misunderstanding of the programme. Instead
of celebrating the past, at times John Nathan-Turner ransacked it. I wonder if
he realised this.
I doubt that many viewers had any idea who Omega was, even
those who had been watching ten years previously, or even two years before when
the story was repeated in 1981. He is not exactly a well-known villain, and yet
the story hinges on our knowing who he is. When his identity is casually
dropped into the story, towards the end of episode three, we are given no real
back story. We are told that he is ‘one of us, a Time Lord, the first and
greatest of our people, one who sacrificed all to give us mastery of time.’ The
Doctor immediately knows who he is, but how does the audience? There is no
earlier scene seeding his existence with the viewer, so therefore this is not a
pay-off but a bit of exposition. We don’t know, so we don’t care.
Omega is also impossible to square with his previous
appearance. In The Three Doctors, he
had pretty much set himself up as a god, sustained only by his own insanity and
willpower. There was nothing left of him under his mask. In Arc of Infinity, there is no real reference
to that previous encounter, and he is reduced to a tubby man in a chair with a
funny mask, who eventually, and for reasons unclear, turns into Peter Davison.
And he has a TARDIS, which was invented after the Time Lords discovered time
travel, which was after Omega sacrificed himself... As I said, there is a lack
of understanding about Doctor Who, and a slightly cynical disregard for its
rich history. Honour the past and look to the future; that should be the mantra
of any incoming producer. Furthermore, Omega in The Three Doctors is a ranting megalomaniac with a voice that could
out-shout Brian Blessed. Omega in Arc of
Infinity is not this man, despite Ian Collier’s fine voice-work. It’s hard
to reconcile the two appearances into any sort of cohesive whole. Perhaps Omega
somehow regenerated, and the man we see in Arc
of Infinity reflects a quieter aspect of his personality?
Maybe the story needed the Gel Guards, to allow us to make
the link between the two incarnations. Although they were slightly amusing in
their design, I love the scene where they pop into existence and lumber towards
UNIT HQ. Instead of Gel Guards, though, we get the Ergon. It’s a plucked
chicken with a gun that can’t even walk straight. How in the name of all that
is unholy did this design get approved? I’ve already spent enough time
discussing this disaster, so I’ll direct you here instead of going on about
poor Mr Ergon. Nevertheless the Ergon still provides one of my favourite
moments in the story. Just watch Peter Davison giving his all to sell the
danger.
While we are on the subject of all that is unholy, why, why,
WHY must we suffer the return of whingy windbag Tegan Jovanka? The very best
thing about Arc of Infinity, as we’ll
see below, is the easy relationship between the Doctor and Nyssa. We believe
that Nyssa wants to be in the TARDIS and that the Doctor wants her there. Why
on earth does Tegan want to go off with the Doctor again at the end of the
story, when she spent the entirety of the previous season moaning about getting
home? If the companion, representing the eyes of the viewer, doesn’t want to be
there, then why should we want to be there either? It’s a fundamental lack of
reasoning that sours the reign of Peter Davison, my favourite Doctor. Certainly
the Doctor’s expression at the end of the story says it all; he doesn’t want
her there either, but unlike Eccleston or Tennant, he is too polite to say
otherwise. Again, it is fashionable to deride Adric and Matthew Waterhouse, but
Janet Fielding may well be the worst actress ever cast as a companion. She
never once, in all her stories, sells the danger, the excitement and the wonder of travelling with the Doctor.
All she does is pout and whine.
If Tegan had to return, and this is highly debatable because
her story had run its natural course, then it would have been better to have
left her out of the first couple of stories, to give Nyssa and the Doctor
breathing space to develop and also to create more of a surprise (and free
publicity, which John Nathan-Turner was usually so good at garnering) upon her
eventual reunion with the TARDIS. However, it was not meant to be, and we were
lumbered with a grumpy Australian for another two years. Christopher Eccleston
would have chucked her out at the first opportunity, possibly with a
well-delivered headbutt and the crafty theft of her purse. How we would have
cheered.
Arc of Infinity
placed 177th in the Doctor Who
Magazine Mighty 200 survey, and that’s a pretty generous position in my
opinion. Yet, like every single Doctor Who story ever broadcast, there is so
much to love and cherish, even if in this case it’s virtually impossible to
ignore its shortcomings. But let’s celebrate what Arc gets right, because somewhere under there is a layer of
brilliance.
Ten Reasons why Arc of Infinity stays above sea level
1.
Nyssa and the Doctor’s easy relationship – it’s the
first time since Logopolis where the
TARDIS team have got on with each other. It will be the last time until The Mysterious Planet in three years
time... It also proves that the Doctor works best with just one companion.
Peter Davison visibly relishes Sarah Sutton’s performance, and gets a rare
opportunity to relax and come off the defensive.
2.
Colin Baker’s best ever Doctor Who performance.
Now Colin is a good actor and a good choice for the Doctor, but the theatrical bombastics
the scripts foist upon him do him no favours whatsoever. His tenure is blighted
by dialogue that doesn’t even resemble English and an unfortunate tendency to
sideline him from any meaningful acts of heroism. So his performance as Maxil
comes as almost a shock. Sure, it’s occasionally a touch too arch, but for the
most part it’s a pleasure to see Colin underplaying. It’s a reminder, if any
were needed, that Colin is a damn good actor. Plus, he gets to shoot the Doctor
and wear the Ergon’s feathers on his hat.
3.
TARDIS crockery. The Doctor has just been shot.
Nyssa, in all her gentle kindness, brings him a drink. In a novelty plastic cup
with a straw looping around the side... Peter Davison takes one look at it and
gently puts it down out of the way. Understatedly brilliant.
4.
The lengths Nyssa will go to in order to save
the Doctor are extraordinary in this story. Leela, Captain Jack and River Song
apart, it is difficult to recall any companion so readily taking up arms to
defend the Time Lord. It’s much more powerful from Nyssa though; she is a
companion from one of the most peaceful planets the Doctor has ever visited.
For her to wield a gun so casually shows how far she has come from her days on
Traken. Maybe Davros had a point in Journey’s
End when he said the Doctor turns his companions into weapons.
5.
The Ergon’s ray gun is great. The special effect
as it turns people into anti-matter is very good, and aesthetically it is
pleasing. It dismantles like Scaramanga’s gun in The Man with the Golden Gun. If only there was a disintegration setting
to use on Tegan...
6.
Michael Gough gives a fantastic performance as
Hedin. Whilst we don’t quite believe in his friendship with the Doctor, he
invests the traitor with a quiet dignity and keeps him sympathetic at all
times. Although it is far too obvious that he is in league with Omega, Gough at
least tries to disguise his voice as he speaks to him in the sadly overlit
room. Plus he can twirl a mean pen.
7.
The Doctor’s facial expression when he realises
Tegan is coming with him. Priceless...
8.
The best scene in the four episodes is the one
time we feel Omega’s loneliness at being abandoned. Unsure of himself and now
wearing the Doctor’s face, Omega stumbles upon a crowd listening to ‘Tulips of
Amsterdam’ on a pipe organ. He watches, bewildered yet entranced, until an
irritating little squirt practically shoves him out of the way. As the boy
smiles, we see Omega initially glare at him and then tentatively copy his
expression, his first steps towards rehabilitation and reintegration after
centuries of solitude. It’s the only time we feel sorry for Omega in any of the
four episodes.
9.
The Amsterdam setting allows Doctor Who to become more global in its
outlook. Although it is unfortunate that a story set abroad was picked to
reintroduce Tegan, given the remote odds of encountering the Doctor again
become even higher when you consider she just happens to be in a city in
Holland, we get a slight sense that the TARDIS can indeed land anywhere. It’s a
pity though that Doctor Who’s trips
abroad in the eighties were governed by where the cheapest package holidays
were destined, rather than by any real story purpose. This is another area where
modern Who gets it so right; overseas
filming is driven by providing the best location for the story, such as Vampires of Venice and Planet of the Dead, or by plot needs, in
stories such as Daleks in Manhattan
and Day of the Moon.
10.
Ian Collier does a very good job of playing
Omega, or rather his voice does. He provides a moment that it equal parts eerie
and amusing as Omega speaks with his voice as Peter Davison mimes. He has a
rather thankless task, and has little space to portray Omega’s true aims, but
by toning it down a bit at least brings a touch more realism than Stephen
Thorne managed. His mask is rubbish compared to the original though.
This story sadly demonstrates Doctor Who’s first moves towards cannibalising itself and
plundering its past, and its inevitable steps towards alienating the audience
and cancellation. It’s a shame that, after an excellent Season 19, the quality
of stories slumped towards the mediocre in Season 20, apart from the twin
jewels of Snakedance and Enlightenment. Peter Davison’s Doctor
continues to shine, but he has since said that it was the poor nature of the
scripts he was offered that led to his eventual departure. He shines strongly
here, in an average tale in an average season, and that’s a good a reason as
any to watch it again.
Next Time: Dragonfire
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