Doctor Who: Planet of Fire

Peter Davison's third season has a rather special place in my heart. It was the first season I ever watched and the one that made me fall in love with the show. It was much more moody and interesting than his first two seasons, lacking the "crowded TARDIS" of his first season and the endlessly returning villains of the second. Davison himself has said that if his first two seasons had been more like his third, he might have stayed on. Planet of Fire fits in well with his ultimate season and is very under-rated. Most people know about Nicola Bryant in a bikini, but that's not the *only* reason to like this episode. Davison is at peak form, bringing the quiet charm and decency that defined his Doctor. The companions shine. For once, Turlough is given something to do, becoming a useful and interesting character to the point where it's kind of sad when he leaves. Kamelion is also used effectively (by barely being used in his robot form). Peri, in her first episode, mainly has to run around. But when she is given a chance to act, she's brave and brassy. Her repartee with the Master ("So what? I'm Perpugilliam Brown and I can shout just as loud as you can!") is priceless. Despite the return of the Master, the episode is fairly original, using the beautiful Lanzarote locations effectively to create a realistic volcanic world. Most of the Sarns are a bit weakly characterized, but Wyngard, as Timonov, is excellent, bringing fire and brimstone and, in his final scene, a wonderful resignation. I just wish they'd AInley really act rather than forcing him to ham it up. On occasion, he brings some real fire to the Master, no pun intended. I buy these DVDs for the episodes, so am not really concerned about the extras. But the commentary on the episode is quite enjoyable, with Byrant, Strickson, Cumming and Davison swapping stories and reminiscing about the production. The big extra on here is the recut version. All I can say is ... don't waste your time. The episode is significantly cut down, removing some nice character scenes. There's a new and quite lame scene at the beginning. There's a bunch of CGI flames added everywhere that look ridiculous. Perhaps the worst crime is that Peter Howell's evocative score is gone and the episode is presented in "wide screen" that consists of slicing off the top and bottom of the image. This leaves every scene cramped and awkward. Please, BBC, don't waste the Restoration Team's time on this. I'd much rather see more animated versions of missing episodes.

Why Planet of Fire is so criticized is a mystery to me. This episode has one of the most thorough plots and some of the best production values of any Peter Davison story. And as any true Doctor Who fan will know, production values were a trouble spot in this era of the show. Fortunately, this story feels a lot better than some "certain" stories from previous seasons. And fitting in betwenn Ressurection of the Daleks and Caves of Androzani, forms the center piece in a trilogy that sees Doctor Davison out in fine fashion. Planet of Fire really benefits from some excellent location filming and thorough workings of a not-so-foreign society. Peter Davison and Mark Strickson really shine, and even though I think Nicola Bryant is one of the worst companions in Doctor Who, she doesn't detract too much. We finally see what Turlough was doing on Earth and he gets a nice departure, leaving our favorite time traveler heading off minus his last male traveling companion.

Fifth Doctor Peter Davison's penultimate episode "Planet of Fire" at last is coming to DVD. Lost between the grey and gloomy Ressurection of the Daleks and the apocalyptic Caves of Andrazani POF at times has been seen as a transitional story to be quickly glanced over in route to the grim Davison finale. True Planet of Fire is the ultimate transitional story if ever Doctor Who had one. The viewer has the following transitions to contend with in one four part adventure: Davison's first episode without companion Tegan J. (Finally) as well as his last encounter with The Master, robotic side kick Kamillion's second, final and ill-fated appearence in the program, Companion Turlough's final episode (the truth is revealed at last),and the introduction of new companion Peri Brown (don't ask me to spell her full name). Add all that to the fact that a regeneration is just an episode away and one begins to wonder is there any room left for a plot?? The Answer is yes and in my opinion a good one. The story centers around The Master's attemp to regain controll of the shape shifting robot Kamillion for the greater purpose of "stealing" a rare and precious gas from the planet Sarn. This gas will help The Master reverse a "little" trouble he got himself into (you'll see what I mean first timers). Stealing this gas is not as easy as one would think as Sarn is a prison planet for fugitives from Turlough's home world of Trion. The prisoners have divided into two factions: One devout, relgious sect dedicated to the worship and protection of "The Fire" (or numismiton gas that The Master seeks) and a second more scientific minded(yet supressed by the first group) group of free thinkers bent on revelation of the fire's true nature as it relates to the planet Sarn's inpending doom. While the story attemps to be fair to both points of view it ultimatly lends itself to the liberal, secular point of view held by the non-religious group. Where I believe Planet of Fire realy shines is in the performance of the lead cast. Peter Davison gives one of his best perfomances in his tenure as the Doctor. I am not sure if he is more relaxed knowing his time on the program is near an end, or if he has altered his performance to compensate for the lack of Janet Feilding or mayby he just is more comfortale not hiding behind the Cricket suit ( No Cricket jacket, sweater, or celary for most of this episode); But the viewer gets Davison at his best hear. In addition Mark Strickson give his best performance since Terminus which is no suprise as he is finaly given something to do and say. For fans of Anthony Ainley's Master take heart as he is allowed to elevate his performance slightly above the mustache twisting, tie a youg lady to the train tracks badie stereo-type that he was forced to play in previous episodes. And last new companion Nicola Bryant gives her first and best performance during her stay with the program; Of couse this is helped by given a lot to do in the story but still she makes the most of the spot light. While on the subject of Peri I would be amiss if I did not mention the lovely young Ms Bryant tastfully parading around in the "Skimpiest" outfit a companion has ever worn on the show. I am of course referring to the famous peri in the bikini scene at the end of episode one and start of episode two. Male viewers and perhaps some female viewers to (not that there is anything wrong with that) will admit that this scene alone is worth the price of admission. Meow!!! A final note worth mentioning is the scenery as this episode's external shots were filmed in The Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa....One word...Beautiful! To sum it all up If you are looking for daleks, cyberman and fast paced paced adventure than this is not for you. But if you want to tie up all the lose ends from the Peter Davison era than Planet of Fire is a must for your collection....and a pretty good story to bust...ah, no butt,ah,uhm no no I mean to boot. Gosh, All this reminiscing about Peri of Fire, no I mean Planet of Fire, has left me in need of a COLD shower. Meow!!

Now I have all of the 5th Doctor

Great Dr Who Davidson episode with four parts totaling 1 hour 37 minutes, worth the price for VHS purchase. Amazon and the vendors they use are price hikers as the DVD costs $59.99 and it is a good episode, however not worth that price, the DVD used to list for $12.99. If you have a VCR player, by all means purchase the VHS for $5.99!!!!!

I will watch all the episodes in order now.

nothing to dislike, arrived a week early, thank you

I liked that it was doctor who & wanted to see how they got their new companion.

nostalga