Format: DVD
Warts & All: Big Rubber Dragon Suit!
Quote: You’re too delicate for intelligence work, Benton. You’d better go and lie down.
Review: Following the crash-bang-wallop pace of Terror Of The Autons we might expect things to slow down a bit with a six-parter, but to its credit Mind Of Evil also rattles along quite nicely. Penned by Don Houghton of Inferno fame, this also takes a fairly stock SF recipe and mixes up something reasonably exciting out of the standard ingredients.
In this case it’s a mind-sucking parasite that is rendered more interesting by virtue of its application: as a potentially humane alternative to capital punishment. It’s a great notion and it’s only a shame that aspect isn’t explored more, but of course such intriguing moral explorations have to take second place the broader Bond-style plot to derail a world peace conference and plunge the globe into World War Three. There’s a degree of confusion over the parasite’s abilities as one man falls victim to an illusory drowning and seems to have water found in his lungs. I mean, huh, how’d that happen? And I laughed when someone says it’s only about 47% full – just the idea of accurately measuring quantities of evil. But although the machine that houses the creature just looks like a Blue Peter home-made Dalek, its effects are generally and quite genuinely terrifying. The first time we see the Doctor imagining himself to be burning alive is horrific without being gory enough to put you off your tea.
It’s only a bit unfortunate that three cliffhanger endings are, but for a difference in specific illusions, exactly the same. Much of it looks pretty big budget for the BBC, with big action clashes between UNIT troops and the Master’s small army of ex-cons, the hijacking of a nerve-gas missile convoy (wait, didn’t they have a convoy hijack in Ambassadors?) and a battle at Stangmoor Prison (location filming at an old castle makes for a terrific setting) which all adds to the James Bond feel of the adventure. Plus some pretty nice model work for the big explosion at the end – always important, that.
The story makes a good effort at investing the potential international crisis an international feel, with the early spy stuff involving a US delegate, the rather intriguing character of Captain Chin Lee, who has been recruited by the Master, and the Chinese delegate with whom the Doctor gets to show off his language/dialect skills. It would’ve been nice, I think, to drop back in on the conference in some way towards the end, to remind us what is at stake as the Master prepares to launch the missile. The regulars are great, with some wry gems of exchanges between Lethbridge-Stewart and Benton, for example. Delgado is supreme and it’s quite something to see Pertwee’s unflappable Doctor so completely shaken by his experience with the parasite. Not to mention, the great reversal when the Master is confronted by the giant scary Pertwee doing the evil laugh. Brilliant! Among the supporting cast, we also have the very familiar presences of Neil McCarthy and the quietly awesome Michael Sheard and a suitable lead thug performance from William Marlowe.
The to-and-fro power struggles within the prison do at times feel like padding, but even if this isn’t quite six episodes’ worth of story, it fills its runtime pretty well. Perhaps not rated as a classic – I’ve no idea how it’s rated by others, to be honest! – because it lacks obvious monsters, although in concept the parasite is one of the scariest and more powerful things the Doctor has encountered.
Solid adventure entertainment and lots to enjoy, I’m inclined to applaud it for its impression of scale and blockbuster on a budget ambition.
