"Doctor Who"
Vengeance on Varos: Part 1 (1985)

Director:

Ron Jones

Writer:

Philip Martin (writer)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (1963)

Original Air Date:

19 January 1985 (Season 22, Episode 3)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The TARDIS makes a emergency landing on Varos, a planet that used to be a penal colony, where the native...

Plot Keywords:

Shirtless Male Bondage | Electric Torture | Execution | Torture | Space Hero

Cast

Colin Baker	...	The Doctor
Nicola Bryant	...	Peri
Martin Jarvis	...	Governor
Nabil Shaban	...	Sil
Nicolas Chagrin	...	Quillam
Jason Connery	...	Jondar
Forbes Collins	...	Chief Officer
Stephen Yardley	...	Arak
Sheila Reid	...	Etta
Geraldine Alexander	...	Areta
Graham Cull	...	Bax
Owen Teale	...	Maldak
Keith Skinner	...	Rondel

Runtime:

45 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Trivia:

The viewer’s characters Arak and Etta were added to the script at the 11th Hour.

Quotes:

Arak: When did they last show something worth watching?
Etta: Last week.
Arak: That was a repeat.

Decent Doctor Who story.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos: Part 1 starts with the Doctor (Colin Baker) having a spot of bother with the TARDIS & to fix it he needs a rare mineral named Zeiton 7, he lands the TARDIS on Varos in an attempt to get some. However Varos is not a nice place to be at the moment, the planet's people are starving as they are ruled with an iron fist by their government who keep the people entertained by showing the execution & torture of any rebel resistance. Meanwhile a worm like alien called Sil (Nabil Shaban) the representative of the Galatron Mining Corporaion is planning to overthrow the present government & take charge of Varos along with it's precious Zeiton 7 supplies. The Doctor & his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) are mistaken for rebels & are sentenced to death...

This Doctor Who adventure was episode 3 from season 22 that aired here in the UK during early 1985 & was Colin Baker's third story as the Doctor, directed by Ron Jones I thought Vngeance on Varos is a decent enough story but nothing outstanding. The script by Philip Martin feels almost relevant with it's depiction of reality TV years before it became so popular, the idea of broadcasting torture & execution sounds good to me & I'd bet people would watch it! Besides the nod to the current trend for reality TV here isn't much substance here I'm afraid, there is the usual repressive government & all the back stabbing politics that go with it & again we get far too many scenes of people wandering around dark cramped corridors which all look exactly the same for no particular reason. After the previous story Attack of the Cybermen which I thought was terrific this comes as a disappointment, it's still pretty good fun but don't expect too much.

The special effects have been pretty good so far with the slimy alien Sil standing out in this episode, the make-up job is actually pretty good & during a couple of scenes he looks quite gross. The other effects have been OK but the laser beams fail to convince. It's amazing who turns up in these things & it was with surprise that I leaned Jason Connery, yes Sean Connery's son, was in this.

Vengeance on Varos hasn't exactly amazed me but it's provided fair entertainment so far, worth a watch if you like Doctor Who or sci-fi.