Nightmare of Eden [TV/1979.11.24 ~ 12.15]

★★★★☆

  For my money, this is one heck of an entertaining serial with a ton of ideas to get any Dr. Who fan excited. Two spaceships colliding and partially merging with one another, a race of aliens trapped inside a Carnival of Monsters-like zoo implied to be slaughtered for the production of a highly addictive narcotic substance that plagues the galaxy, secret drug smuggling operations, intergalactic guards who care most about their bonuses and a bunch of tourists wearing clothes that remind one of The Moonbase of all serials... yeah, you can tell that this is a fun ride.

  I noted this time around that Tom Baker visibly looks a bit tired of the role from here on out, frowning a lot more than he usually does (though that may be a creative decision based on the more sombre nature of the theme). That's not a problem at all, though; he's still a bundle of unbridled fun and laughs, proudly exclaiming that he's always doing what he's best at by interfering and saving the day with style, and I even really enjoy his really downtrodden and weary perfomances in the succeeding season for different reasons. Lalla Ward is very comfortable as Romana by now, and the rest of the cast provide drama and comedy in equal measure according to what each scene demands. The gateway effects for both the merging ships and the laser zoo are done very well (mostly practically for the latter), the Mandrils are designed pretty well and the villains give delightfully hammy/serious performances... what would I have to complain about? Featuring a couple of well-done visual gags (including the Doctor walking around the same tourist seat corridor over and over again to suggest he's going through a succession of cars), Nightmare of Eden is another win for Season 17 -- an toybox full of imaginative ideas and worthy executions.