Kinda [TV/1982.2.1 ~ 2.9]

★★★★☆

  When it comes to surreal imagery, can anything in the classic series really beat the warning hallucination sequence at the tail end of Episode 3? Come to think of it, is anything in the classic series really be considered similar to Tegan's Mara infestation sequence(s)? Peter Grimwade deserves all the props for going all in, being as ambitious as Dr. Who's budget in 1982 would allow... and the result is an incredibly sleek, stylish, eerie and instantly memorable. In a weird way, I don't think Kinda would've worked half as well with a more seasoned Fifth Doctor more comfortable with his own body; this fresh-faced, still very much youthful-in-spirit Five fits like a glove with being regarded as an idiot, facing a foe that's implied to be as old as time (the dichotomy reinforces the feeling of danger and threat) and well and truly feeling his way around the whole Doctor business. After all, this is the third serial of Season 19, intended to be only a short time after his regeneration, and he's still more cautious and observant. I think that works with such a serial as Kinda, one where action plays second fiddle to reaction, observation and learning. 

  Kinda's Deva Loka may be a studio-bound forest set, but its culture is crafted with such care and such varied influences that it's hard not to admire the ambition of one Christopher Bailey. It feels like a particularly clever first draft for a Virgin New Adventures novel ended up in John Nathan-Turner's office by mistake; its goals, themes and presentation are far beyond its Season 19 peers, and that's why it's so notable. I truly love this serial, and I love Janet Fielding's performance too -- although I do think she gets more interesting material in Snakedance. Kinda operates on such a different level, so notable from the off with truly deranged characters (Hindle, for instance) and a fascinating villain, and its execution is genuinely great. It almost feels like a crime that they nailed the execution of such an intellectual, surreal script... in 1982. The new CGI regarding the Mara is very well done, too, and it's the icing on the cake for such an already scrumptious serial. This is the kind of Dr. Who you revisit from time to time to remind yourself of just how good this show can be.