The Leisure Hive [TV/1980.8.30 ~ 9.20]

★★☆☆☆

  For about halfway through the serial, I was of to minds about The Leisure Hive. It was certainly a change from the humour and happy-go-lucky nature of the Grahama Williams era, and it made a striking impression with heaps of technobabble (I haven't heard of "tachyon" in years) and synth music. On the other hand, it failed to engage me on a fundamental level. As to why, I cannot say in any concrete manner... but I suspect it's a combination of the mystery being structured in such an unengaging way, and of the leads' performances. Tom Baker was much less happy with the proceedings of Season 18 and it shows; he's not very entertaining, he doesn't command the screen as he used to — he just slithers on and off the camera, and it's rather depressing to see. 

  It doesn't help, furthermore, that the proceeding two episodes lose the remaining steam and becomes a slog of ultra-scientific dialogue and an aged Doctor cobbling around the place before some major revelations and a tense last ten minutes save the serial from becoming a terrible thing. I do like the ideas here, with the anatomy of the Argolins and their history, plus the focus on hard science (though the latter makes little sense compared to realistic studies). It's a pity that none of these are assembled in an interesting way.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  If I were to describe The Leisure Hive in one phrase, it would be: the opening beach sequence, but stretched to a four-parter. Flashes of imagination and brilliance, but hindered immensely by loads of padding. For an introduction of Season 18, the serial really is a vibe-killing first impression.