Doctor Who: The Face of Evil

CinemaSerfJun 2024

3.0

Having just saved his home planet from a fate worse than death, the now solitary "Doctor" lands his TARDIS on a world where he has clearly been before! His arrival is quite timely as "Leela" (Louise Jameson) is about to be banished from her tribe. They meet and stick together as it becomes increasingly obvious to the forgetful "Doctor" (Tom Baker) that the warring "Sevateem" tribe are out for his blood. Why? Well as we progress we discover that there are two tribes on the planet. One are pretty primitive, the others much more sophisticated and the "Doctor" starts to figure that the latter are using him - now charmingly monikered "The Evil One" - as a deity designed to start a war. Now he and his new friend have to penetrate the "Tesh" city, get to the bottom of the mystery and escape with their lives intact - ideally! This isn't one of my favourite four parters, possibly because I think Elisabeth Sladen was a far better foil for the charismatic Baker and though Jameson does fine as the savage with a few nifty ninja skills, the dynamic has shifted a bit here. Also, the story isn't quite so good, and some of the costumes (such as they are) look like the products of a late night raid on the "Tom Thumb" wardrobe department. There's a decent supporting cast but this is not an adventure I think I'd bother to watch again.