Classic Dr. Who Review: Image of the Fendahl
I’m afraid this one is going to be short, as I can think of very little to say about it, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s quite enjoyable in the moment, but unlike some other Doctor Who serials, it’s impression is not lasting on me. Image of the Fendahl originally aired 10-29-77 to 11-19-77 with Tom Baker as the Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela, while K9, the new robotic companion, barely makes an appearance in the story.
This one begins with the discovery of a human skull that predates the existence of humans on the planet. This is a great premise in my opinion, and I only wish the rest of the story lived up to it. The skull is actually a relic of the Fendaleen, an ancient race that feed on the ‘life force’ of others, sucking them dead, so to speak. It was so powerful, it destroyed all life on it’s home planet before finding its way to Earth. If this sounds interesting, don’t be fooled by the premise, as the four episodes which make up this tale don’t begin to live up to all that potential. Except, that Tom Baker is so damn good at his job, when he says there are four billion people on the earth, but he expects, in one year, that there will only be one, it is quite chilling. And that begins to hint at the charm of this story. There is a lot to like along the way, but I find myself more disappointed than enthusiastic when talking about Fendahl.
More of a downside, this is one of three adventures during Graham Williams tenure as producer, when one of the main villains is a female with some crazy makeup scheme who looks, otherwise, completely human. I mention that because although he did it three times (see Stones of Blood and Creature from the Pit), I can’t thank of any other period until the modern (post 2005) one when that type of design was used (though I’m probably just forgetting some). And, if it was done once, it’d be just fine, but three times in as many years, seems a bit much.
There are some great one liners, upon discovery of a corpse, Dr. Fendahl asks what kind of corpse it is to which he’s told, “a dead one, what other kind is there?” So, it’s hard to fault the writer, Chris Boucher, for a ‘bad’ story in this case, especially when he’s done other good work, like Face of Evil and Robots of Death. Image of the Fendahl is not a bad story, however it does suffer from two weaknesses. The first is how the Fendahleen requires certain things to come into play for it to be resurrected, granted, the story explains it set these wheels in motion millions of years ago when it first landed on Earth, but it still feels a little too convenient. Second is the anti climactic appearance of the ‘monster’ which I sort of covered discussing the ‘makeup’ issue earlier. There is nothing really, in the production as a whole to prevent this from being one of the very best Doctor Who stories, yet it doesn’t even come close to living up to that potential, which is sort of sad. So I have to give this a very mild recommendation. There are moments that make it a near ‘must watch’ but overall it’s one I tend to forget quickly after watching it.
*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, louise jameson, tom baker
