Watching the DVD of the 1979 Doctor Who tale "Nightmare of Eden" has proven something of an interesting experience. The story (number 107 for the series) features the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, and has everything I consider hallmarks of the classic series. There are sparse sets, bad costumes, hokey dialogue, and terrible special effects. The featurettes included with the disc though indicate that all these thing—particularly the sets, costumes, and effects—are subpar for the show and that those working on it felt them to be something of an embarrassment.
To me though, that's always been a part of the charm of the series – you kind of expect to see zippers on monster costumes and lots of less than fully dressed sets. The new series sports incredibly high production values, but I've never thought of tat as a mark against the older one, the original show just has a different aesthetic. And, even if this story doesn't feature quite as good production values as some of the others, to me it all sort of fits with what Doctor Who was.
Clearly though those who worked on this story saw things differently and were actually upset about much that took place with it. And, hearing that after watching the tale made me regretful that I actually enjoyed "Nightmare of Eden." I still do enjoy it, but I almost feel bad about it now.
The tale told here is perfectly serviceable, particularly for Who. It features two spaceships which have a hyperspace collision. Naturally, The Doctor, Romana (Lalla Ward), and K-9 show up to try and sort things out only to realize that something far more nefarious is at play. In point of fact, the nefarious bits here deal with a creepy (and clearly evil) Doctor Tryst (Lewis Fiander).
Allegedly a zoologist, Tryst has been taking bits of planets and putting them into a machine so that he can check them out and see what's going on. Oh yes, and there are some evil monsters called Mandrels that he's managed to grab as well. Plus there's a terribly horrible drug going around, the kind that people become addicted to and which destroys entire populations. And, as you may have surmised, all these things are tied together and only the Doctor can unravel what is taking place.
Is it preposterous? Absolutely. Does it give the Doctor a chance to pontificate in general? Definitely. Does it give the Doctor an opportunity to tell people just why they're wrong and how they're being stupid and evil? Certainly. Does K-9 get to shoot bad guys? Repeatedly. See? It's pretty much everything you would expect from a classic episode of Doctor Who.
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