'Doctor Who: The Arc of Infinity' (1983)


It's been about a month since the last 'Doctor Who' post (or if not, it feels like it has...) and despite my best intentions, I didn't manage to finish any books this weekend so... It felt like exactly the right time to grab another 'Doctor Who' DVD and settle down for the evening ;o) And yes, I know there's Britbox; I'm operating a 'one in, one out' rule for streaming services and I'm not quite ready to drop 'Shudder or Disney+ just yet. Maybe another time but not today, But anyway...

'Arc of Infinity' is one of those stories that I only have vague memories of seeing back in the day (I was only seven, at the time, though so I'm not beating myself up about that), mostly around Omega going green as he slowly degenerated. I got to revisit that moment again, along with a few more... This story is pushing forty years old (like I didn't feel old enough already) so I'm not going to be shy about spoilers, that's your warning ;o)

Travelling with Nyssa in the TARDIS, the Doctor is attacked by a malign entity - a being of pure anti-matter seeking to cross the dimensions. Although the invader is successfully repelled, the TARDIS is immediately recalled to Gallifrey, where the High Council of Time Lords sentence the Doctor to be executed in order to prevent any further attempt at bonding.

It seems there is a traitor on Gallfrey. And what links the Renegade and the disappearance of Tegan's cousin in Amsterdam? Two fates intertwined must battle for the future of the entire universe...

'Arc of Infinity' is another one of those 'Doctor Who' stories where it's one part mystery to be solved and one part running around trying to fix things after the mystery has been solved. It's not a bad story by any means; it's just that for me, the mystery bit didn't quite match up to the frantic running at the end.

When the best bit about the Gallifrey scenes was Colin Baker's Commander Maxil then you know there's a problem. The threat may be a big one but the High Council of Time Lords don't display the urgency that such a situation would demand. It seems like they've got it covered by bringing the Doctor back for execution so... where's the problem? It's a good job then that the Doctor is on hand to loudly proclaim that there is a problem and it's a big one. Oh yes, and Commander Maxil.

I love the fact that 'New Who' got round the whole 'Peter Capaldi was already in Doctor Who before becoming the Doctor' thing by saying, 'well, Colin Baker did it first...' I've also got a lot of time for Baker's slightly psychotic approach to being Commander of the Guard. What I really loved though is that Maxil absolutely refused to wear his helmet until he had to and when he did, it became clear that the reason he hadn't already worn it was that Baker clearly didn't want to look like a complete idiot in what I'm calling 'The Helmet of Over Zealous Plumage'. Bloody hell, talk about a feather in his cap... ;o) Poking fun to one side though, I thought Colin Baker was brilliant here, as was Peter Davison, frantically trying to prove his innocence. Was it enough though? It was good acting but no, not quite enough for me (although I did enjoy how they got the Doctor out of a pretty terminal situation and it was good to see Nyssa take a stand as well...)

Things do pick up though as traitors are uncovered and Omega goes on the run, with the Doctor and Companions in hot pursuit.. There was good dramatic stuff happening here and I have to say it, I'm in awe of how they kept the 'Amsterdam chase' interesting and drew it out as long as they did. Nice to see Tegan back on board as well; Nyssa and the Doctor work but the TARDIS needs Tegan to spice things up.

So the buildup was a bit of a letdown, for me, but there were some good moments and the finale was worth sticking around for. And I got to see Omega 'go green' again, something that has a little more weight when you're older and finally get all the talk about anti-matter. Well, 'just about' got it... ;o) Not one of the better 'Doctor Who' stories but solid enough.

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