'Doctor Who: Logopolis' (1981)


I love these Doctor Who box sets as I can now watch stories (well, a few stories at a time...) in order and make it look like I knew what I was doing the whole time... ;o) 'Logopolis' is one of those stories where I remember watching it, as a kid, but can't remember much, from that time, other than the ending. To be fair, it was a pretty big deal, at the time, as Tom Baker made his final appearance, as the Doctor, and passed the baton onto Peter Davison. As a child of five and a bit, this was the first time I'd seen the Doctor regenerate, I didn't even know that the Doctor did regenerate until I saw it happen. It totally blew my mind and then I was really upset at there being no more Tom Baker. Luckily, Peter Davison became a favourite Doctor of mine but that's another story.

'Logopolis' was far more than just the regeneration at the end though, right? Of course it was, a bit of a 'tale of two halves' though...

The Doctor and Adric head to Earth to fix the TARDIS' chameleon circuit, hoping to restore the time machine's ability to blend into its surroundings. The Master is already there though and the Doctor and Adric barely escape from his trap, picking up a reluctant stowaway in the process. The answer might lie on the planet Logopolis but it might herald the arrival of something far worse. And who is the ghostly figure watching the Doctor's every move...?

The Master does love his traps, doesn't he? He's not one for an ambush and a coup de grace; there has to be a clever trap, presumably so the Master can feel all superior and that he's got one over on the Doctor. The thing about the Doctor though is that if you don't go for that coup de grace, he will find a way out of your trap, even after it has been sprung. While I love the idea of parking your TARDIS on top of another and creating an 'infinite series of TARDIS', it's not much of a trap is it? Not when all you have to do, to get out, is literally turn round and walk out the way you came, which is exactly what the Doctor and Adric do. Maybe the Master's recent regeneration has made him a little slow on the uptake for now, I don't know...

Not the best opening to a story though but there is the mystery of the 'watcher' and Tegan bumbling her way through the TARDIS to keep things ticking along. That was enough for me, that and the ending looming on the horizon...


The arrival of, well, pretty much everyone (the Doctor, Adric, Tegan, the Watcher, the Master and Nyssa as well, getting the new Doctor's companions in place) on Logopolis is where things really kick off and no surprises for guessing who kicks off a flood of entropy that will end the universe... Now, don't get me wrong, I grew up watching Anthony Ainley's Master and I think he's brilliant, I just don't think he was really thinking about what he was doing here. There's no point in bringing everything crashing down if it's all going to crash down on you though... The Master is not thinking beyond causing chaos here and there. It does necessitate a temporary alliance though which sets things up nicely for the finale... It does make you wonder though... If raw entropy is being pumped out of our universe via the CVE's, is that why E-Space is so small? Where does that entropy actually go?

It's worth pointing out here that while all of this is happening, it's interesting to see this new group of companions forming around Adric, who seems to be leader because he has travelled with the Doctor slightly longer than the others. They're all strong characters so I'm wondering how well they will work together going forwards.

And then it's time for that finale. There's a little too much dashing backwards and forwards for it to be clear whether the universe is actually saved; I'm just taking their word for it at this point. The main thing is watching the Doctor take that dive and what happens next. Just as powerful as it was when I was five, that's all I need to say really. Tom Baker goes 'all out Tom Baker' to leave the show on a high and he does, of course he does.

'Logopolis' isn't the best story I've watched (some bits just didn't hold up for me) but is saved by the Master's 'random acts of chaos' raising the stakes and Tom Baker being an absolutely awesome Doctor for the final time. 'Castrovalva' is up next.

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