The Hand of Fear [TV/1976.10.2 ~ 10.23]

★★★☆☆

  The Hand of Fear ought to be a textbook example of how some four-parters really should have been made as six-parters at the very least. I may be the weird kind of Dr. Who fan who loves it when stories get way too ambitious and cram in so many insanely imaginative ideas, but there's a sense of unease with this particular serial -- as if the writers had struck a perfect balance between three introductory parts (setting up stakes, gathering audience intrigue) and three remaining parts narrative-heavy explorations and revelations, only to cut two of the latter away. As a result, I found the viewing experience quite particular; the first three episodes got my attention so well and left me fascinating and delicious breadcrumbs to follow, only for the last episode to be not so much a bright flash of revelations than a slightly rusty cog of exposition, evidently having a hard time juggling all the great ideas and somehow presenting them in the most anticlimactic way possible. No wonder some people complain about how the Philip Hinchcliffe era was incapable of telling good endings.

  Nonetheless, there's a lot of fun to be had here. A general consensus on The Hand of Fear is that its first three parts are unlike anything Who has done before, and I'm inclined to agree. The Doctor and Sarah are split up for a good portion of the adventure, Sarah actively stands in for the villainous role, and much of the adventure takes place within a nuclear reactor station. With extensive location filming within an actual station, there's a nice juxtaposition between a tense thriller rooted in reality and a madcap adventure in outer space with crystalline conquerers bent on domination, and it's captivating if nothing else. Tom Baker hasn't quite gotten megalomaniacal about the show yet, and it's always nice to see him take the material seriously and lend the story a sense of gravity (not that I don't feverishly enjoy his larger-than-life "performances" in his later years). Props also go to Elisabeth Sladen; I wouldn't call this her best outing as the character of Sarah Jane Smith, but it's evident in her performance (in particular, the closing moments of episode 4) that she's very sad to let the show go. 

  The Hand of Fear is not the strongest serial of Season 14 (I think it's one of the classic series' standout seasons), but it's entertaining enough. Would I go out of my way to recommend it to newcomers? Not at all, I consider the final episode wonky and the execution rather boring. Would I give it a glowing review? Not exactly. Would I call it bad in any way? Well, I'd call the final episode unfortumate but nothing so brash as to say anything here is bad. Eldrad is a boring villain in the end, but the setup of the truly eclectic narrative is what saves the serial from being a slog.