Doctor Who Story 124: Arc of Infinity by Ron Jones (1983)
15 April 2009Continuing right where Time Flight left off, this is another really strong enjoyable series of the fifth Doctor. I am usually a fan of when the Doctor returns to his home planet of Galifrey, and this is another one that shows just how messed up the Time Lords are as well. A really enjoyable series all the way around, making for a really enjoyable season of the Fifth Doctor. A must see.
Two kids traveling in Amsterdam, Colin Frazer (Alastair Cummings) and Robin Stuart (Andrew Boxer) have lost their passports, so they go and stay in a crypt, but something happens to Colin, and Stuart has to take off. It seems a Timelord has turned traitor, and is working with a creature from theanti-matter dimension known as the Renegade (Ian Collier), and has helped it by stealing the Doctor’s bio-data and sending it, which is caught by a technician named Damon (Neil Daglish). Using the data, the Renegade invades the Tardis, and attempts to take over the Doctor, but does not manage it. The Doctor (Peter Davison) and his companion Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) realize the Renegade is hiding in a place called the Arc of Infinity which can shield anti-matter. The Timelord High Council, led by Lord President Borusa (Leonard Sachs) as well as Chancellor Thalia (Elspet Gray) and Cardinal Zorax (Max Harvey) and the Doctor’s old friend Councilor Hedin (Michael Gough) activate the recall switch on the Doctor’s Tardis to force him to come back, as they realize that to destroy the creature before he can destroy the universe, they must kill the Doctor., an
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
The Doctor and Nyssa arrive, and attempt to escape, and get some help from Damon, who has the proof of a traitor on the high council, but Castellan (Paul Jerricho) sends out his dour soldier Commander Maxil (Colin Baker, who would go on to become the 6th Doctor, so weird to see him here) manages to capture the Doctor and take him before the council, where a warrant for his termination is issued.
Nyssa attempts to save the Doctor, but is stopped, and the sentence is carried out, but the Doctor has in fact had his body hidden by the Renegade, and his mind is now in the Matrix, the repository of all Timelord Knowledge, where the Renegade is hiding itself, and it wants to return to this Universe.
Meanwhile in Amsterdam Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) has lost her job at the airline and has arrived in Amsterdam to visit her cousin Colin Frazer. She finds Robin, and the two try to figure out what happened, and end up being kidnapped by the Renegade. The Renegade realizes that Tegan knows the Doctor and uses him as bait to keep him from stopping him, and lets the Doctor out of the Matrix.
The President is now under suspicion as the traitor, because Castellan has found that the codes used were his, but in fact it is Hedin, who is awe of his new master, the Renegade, who is in fact the First Timelord named Omega (from The Three Doctors). Hedin plans to release Omega, not realizing he is completely mad from being alone for so long. Castellan kills Hedin, but Omega manages to take control of the Matrix and this all time travel.
The Council does manage to distract Omega so that the Doctor and Nyssa can head to Amsterdam to try and find Tegan and Omega. They find the crypt and the Doctor manages to reverse some of Omega’s equipment, and the Tardis is wrecked, though he manages to make transference, though not fully. The Doctor tries to convince him to go back, because it won’t last, but Omega pulls off his mask, and he now looks like the Doctor and runs. Omege starts to decay though, and they find him, and he will destroy the universe, but the Doctor uses his anti-matter converter to expel him back to the anti-matter universe, saving the universe.
Tegan checks on her cousin who is OK, and tells Nyssa and the Doctor she has lost her job, so they are stuck with her now, and she once again rejoins the crew of the Tardis.
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Just a really fun one. I love ones with the Timelords (and hope they come back in the current show) especially because they mostly seem so much less altruistic than the Doctor, and always cause him great deals of trouble.
This is a most enjoyable series and a must watch.
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