Classic Dr. Who Review: The Invisible Enemy
Article By: Tribrix
Tom Baker returns as the Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela in The Invisible Enemy. A four part serial which originally aired in January and February, 1977. It introduces K-9, the Doctors robotic Dog companion, but that is probably the only important detail to mention before the review proper. K-9 is, in retrospect, a clear R2-D2 ripoff. Granted, he has his own charm at times, but clearly the production felt the need to provide a cute robot companion, and then to make him a continuing character. K-9 is devisive among Doctor Who fans, but I could take him or leave him either way, not a big deal to me. In some ways, he breaks the show, by giving the Doctor easy access to too much weaponry, as one of the best things about Doctor Who is the lead character’s ability to get out of a jam with nothing but the junk laying around him. I’m at a loss to state K-9′s positive qualities, I don’t think he really adds much to the show at all. Enough about that, let’s review the story at hand.
Who knew white feathers could be scary? Infected by the ‘Swarm’ the Doctor lands the Tardis on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn, at a refueling station there, the infection continues. Thankfully, Leela is immune to the infection and is able to help. Clones of the her and the Doctor are miniaturized and sent into the Doctor’s body to try and neutralize the nucleus of the disease, but the plan backfires, as the nucleus itself escapes in place of the clones.
Borrowing from both Fantastic Voyage and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Invisible Enemy is an ambitious effort on the part of producer Graham Williams and crew, but they are (mostly) up to the task. Despite the lofty aims, this production mostly succeeds, however, certain failures are notable.
This is probably the first space bourne production made following the release of Star Wars, and unfortunately, it shows. For example there is a ray gun battle in a white hall way, very similar to the one that opens Star Wars IV, but in Doctor Who, it is so slow moving, it’s obviously from a different era. Also, Invisible Enemy features plenty of flying space ship porn, for those who like such things, but as with the ray gun battle, it’s so slow and boring, you really can’t wait for it to end. Those are some of the down sides.
On the Upsides, Invisible Enemy features some decent sets for the interior of the Doctor’s body, which are very reminiscent of the Fantastic Voyage movie, and the outward effects of the disease are quite creepy (did I mention the white feathers?) Once a person has been infected, these white feathers seem to grow around the eyes, looking kind of like fluffy goggles, but don’t let that description fool you. It’s not a pleasant sight and kind of makes my skin crawl just thinking about it again.
Invisible Enemy is better than average for Doctor Who. It has it’s weak points, but otherwise, it’s quite a good story worth watching, if, for no other reason, than for the introduction of K-9 and the demonstration that white feathers can be scary.
*About Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British sci-fi show which aired from 1963 – 1989 and again from 2005 to the present. In the UK, it is ubiquitous, watched by boys and girls, men and women, ages 9-99, most people, even if they are not watching, know what’s happening in the show each week. It typically airs in the early evening on Saturdays, right after the sports finish up.
Doctor Who in America is a bit more divisive. Some fans love it, while a lot of people in the genre community can’t stand it. It’s easy, even for fans, to understand this schism, because the show has a lot of rough edges, on account of low budgets and quirky temperament.
In Doctor Who, the main character, the Doctor, wanders the universe through time and space, in a telephone booth called the Tardis, which is larger on in the inside. He cannot completely control the Tardis, and often doesn’t know where he’s going or where he is. He is usually accompanied by a companion or more and they are usually female, though some have been male and/or robotic.
Originally it was to have been a time traveling educational show for kids, but the show’s first producer, Verity Lambert, keen on making a career for herself with a ‘hit’ show, gave it her own spin, downplaying the historical aspect, upping the sci-fi, and gearing it towards all audiences, instead of just children. This tradition continues today.
I am in the process of watching every episode of Doctor Who in chronological order (where those episodes have been destroyed, I am watching one of the recons). I have been at it for a couple of years and expect to be at it a couple more. I may occasionally post reviews out of order, but mostly I’m going to post them as I watch them.
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Tags: dr. who, k-9, louise jameson, tom baker
February 25th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
I got the air date wrong in this review, it’s from late 1977, months after Star Wars was released. Glad you’re enjoying them John, I expect to provide a lot more in the coming days.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Your air date was wrong, but you were close enough. Invisible Enemy was the first space-based Doctor Who episode after the release of Star Wars in the U.S. (The previous story, Horror of Fang Rock, was the first to be released after Star Wars and Invisible Enemy the second.)
However, the similarity between the two scenes you’re talking about is entirely coincidental. Production on Invisible Enemy was completed by April of 1977, about two months before Star Wars was released in the U.S. Moreover, Star Wars wasn’t released in the United Kingdom until late December of 1977, after Invisible Enemy was broadcast. It is, of course, possible that somebody on the production team could have been in the U.S. between May and December, but that’s very unlikely so the first season which could realistically have been influenced by Star Wars is the Key to Time season.
Good review. I look forward to more.