Who enjoys coming up with sci-fi spins on supernatural/mythical creatures, and when it comes to vampires, they’ve really gone all out. In the new series, we’ve seen Plasmavores and Saturnines. For the classic series, we of course have the Great Vampires of Gallifreyan history, and we also get the Haemovores here. Vampires as far as the eye can see!
The Seventh Doctor and Ace arrive at an English naval station in a coastal village in 1943, where they’re brought face-to-face with an ancient evil. As something sinister starts to awaken, our heroes struggle to stay one step ahead in a millennia-old chess game.
There’s a lot packed into this four-part serial. Besides the vampires, we get Soviet spies, WWII-era cryptology, Viking myths, significantly named characters from the past, body possession, and clever booby traps! I like the notion of taking a story set in the past, the WWII era, but having the characters in that setting investigate legends from a much deeper past.
The serial brings some strong creepy vibes, with a feel of genuine horror permeating the episodes. There’s plenty of eerie imagery and suspenseful scenes that ratchet up the tension. It’s kind of like classic Who’s answer to something like “The Empty Child” or “Blink.”
As for the vampires/Haemovores themselves, I enjoy them. Again with the effective creepiness, and placing them under the command of Fenric adds a different wrinkle to the proceedings. I also really like the notion that they’re vulnerable to faith, that a would-be victim’s faith can operate as a psychic barrier to hold them back. This aspect of their mythology is used to good effect throughout the story.
It's a story that puts the Doctor and Ace—especially Ace—through the wringer. She’s dealing with some important personal stuff anyway, and as the Doctor digs deep to fight one of the oldest evils they’ve ever faced, we see Seven at his most cunning and manipulative. While the Doctor’s deceptions and secrets are in service of fighting the enemy, and it might be the only way to stop Fenric and the Haemovores, we see their effect on Ace as well. Peri is still the companion I most often feel sorry for, but Seven certainly doesn’t make it easy for Ace sometimes.
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