Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl [1977]

An acceptable shuffle through the Quatermass leftovers, less-remembered than The Daemons but with a similar mix: a priory near haunted woods with the explanation that fissures in time always throw up ghost stories, the entire history of humankind turning out to be a way to bring together the elements to reincarnate an ancient hive-mind creature once wiped out by the Time Lords [briefly sneaky and omnipotent again], a white witch and a local cult, a scientific research establishment doing experiments with an ancient skull and a time-bending device that leads to the possession of boffin Wanda Ventham by the Fendahl [this switches her labcoat and drab do for gold dress, ringlets, eyes painted on her lids and a lot of glitter make-up] - with added giant sluglike things [who can be seen off by shotgunned salt] tossed in for good measure.

Tom Baker and Louise Jameson leave new regular K9 in the TARDIS for the whole serial, since the team hadn't got scripts ready for him yet, and there's a nice balance between Baker's gooning [offering a jellybaby to a skull] and Jameson's action woman, plus good interaction with an interesting guest cast [Edward Arthur as a coiffed and sarky scientist, Denis Lill as a sinister German who turns out not to be the main villain, Daphne Heard as the grannyish witch shocked out of catatonia by a bad fruitcake recipe]. It has cliché muttering peasants, a universe-threatening power operates in a limited area [and is bested too easily] and we see the first real signs of Baker's impatience and lack of seriousness. It's also getting towards the end of the violent era, with Lill shot offscreen but shown dead with a bloody head-wound. Nice touch - Leela throwing a bag of salt over her shoulder as she leaves.
KIM NEWMAN

First published in this form here.

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