Doctor Who: Series 22, Episodes 3-4 – “Vengeance on Varos” (1985)

This is probably the best story from series 22.  I don’t like it as well as “The Two Doctors,” but I’m objective enough to recognize that “Vengeance on Varos” is definitely the better-written of the two (the “Two Doctors” love is all about seeing Two and Jamie again.)

Long before there was Panem, there was Varos.  No, there are no children being forced to fight to the death, but the government does broadcast torture and executions of dissidents as popular entertainment, coming up with increasingly0-inventive ways to satisfy the oppressed public’s desire for bloodshed.  This is the cheery place in which the Sixth Doctor and Peri make an emergency landing.  What starts as a simple mission to repair the TARDIS winds up a deadly cat-and-mouse game packaged as top-tier entertainment, complete with hallucinations, acid baths, nooses, and genetic modification.  Oh, and we meet chief baddie Sil, whose disgusting appearance and demeanor make him the most perfect sci-fi allegory for a grasping oil baron in the history of ever.

I really enjoy Varos and how twisted it is.  It contains lots of elements that can be found in various fictional dystopias, but the way it all comes together makes it feel fairly original.  Varos’s version of democracy, in which the governor goes on TV to explain what he wants to do, the people vote, and part of his life force is drained away if he doesn’t get a majority, is particularly wild.  Sil is also a fantastic villain.  Even though the “greedy/heartless businessman” is one of the oldest villains in the book, the archetype is executed so strikingly here; the performance is wonderfully slimy, and you can see why the character was brought back the following season.

Despite warming to him somewhat on rewatch, Six is still my least favorite Doctor by quite a bit.  That said, he’s relatively workable here.  As he shepherds a pair of rebels through a labyrinth of lethal traps and tortuous head trips, he shows off both derring do and cunning.  Plus, given his usual penchant for criticizing Peri, it’s nice to see him display a fair amount of concern for her well-being at different points in the story.

As for Peri, well… Par for the course, she doesn’t have a lot to do other than flail and get captured.  In this story, the only thing I can really give her points for is her spunk, both in staying strong when she’s captured and in offering up some decent snark when the Doctor is characteristically rude to her.  (However, she’s not subjected to any creepy perving from a villain, and this story has two prime specimens in disgusting space slug Sil and sadistic mad scientist Quillam, so that’s another plus.  No gross leches for Peri in these episodes – way to the show some restraint, Who!  I don’t have to point out how sad it is that this is noteworthy.)

One of the best things I can see in this serial’s favor is that it survives the double-length runtime pretty well.  Although an hour is perfect for new Who, that was definitely not the case for the classic series, and most season 22 episodes start to feel endless around the 35-minute mark.  Both installments of “Vengeance of Varos,” though, have enough going on and manage the pace well enough to keep my interest.