Inferno [5.0]

The doctor has moved out of UNIT's lab to set up in some sort of shed. Along with the Brigadier, Liz and a few soldiers, he is part of a team assisting/observing Professor Stahlman with his crazy plan to drill into the core of the Earth to obtain unlimited cheap energy.

As the drill head nears penetration point, things start to go wrong. Pleasant members of staff are turning into hairy monsters, the drill is breaking down and nobody can persuade Stahlman to stop accelerating. Just as it looks like everything will fall apart, the Doctors failed experiment whisks him into a parallel universe where things are far, far worse.

The Majesty

Even without the parallel universe element, this would be a good story. Stahlman is a perfect mad scientist: just sane enough to do his job and just mad enough to be a danger to everyone around him. The concept of the hairy monsters and the vague sense of some vengeful Mother Nature behind them makes for an excellent conflict. However, once we introduce the alternate fascist world with a sadistic one-eyed Brigadier and his military police, we immediately jump into the highest tier of Dr Who stories.

The Misery

I’ve never cared much for the Greg/Petra relationship. Greg is very disrespectful and I can’t imagine a high flying woman being attracted to that sort of behaviour.

Magical moments

• Episode One opens with the Doctor driving up to the centre in Bessie, singing opera at the top of his voice.
• There's a nice little moment with the Doctor trying to spot the Brigadier in an old school photo. “I can see why you grew that moustache.” Sergeant Benton has a little grin which quickly vanishes under the Brigadier's glare.
• The hairy monsters have such a high body temperature that they can scorch walls and turn metal red hot. It's a brilliant premonition of the coming apocalypse. Their screeching chattering cry is very eerie.
• “I'll tell you something that should be of vital interest to you Professor,” says the Doctor. “You, sir, are a nitwit.”
• Stahlman gets a great character moment: his staff are terrified that the heat proof glass will shatter and spill the dangerous fluid everywhere. Heroically but stupidly, he picks it up with his bare hands, hardly flinching as he moves it to a secure spot. It sets up his character perfectly: a man who will do whatever it takes, when everyone around is too afraid to do anything. He is a man of action, a man who measures worth by results; a man with no self-doubt, and a man prepared to take great risk without much forethought.
• We get to see the Doctor trying out his iconic Venusian aikido for the first time, as he temporarily paralyses Professor Stahlman.
• The alternate Brigadier has a great first appearance, spinning around in his swivel chair, as the camera zooms in on his eyepatch. Liz's boots and Stahlman's glasses are equally memorable.
• The sequence as the world ends in Episode 6 is spectacular, driving to an apocalyptic climax. The futility of the fighting between Greg and the Brigade-Leader is seen in harsh relief: “You want to end your lives fighting like animals?”. And the awful inevitable destiny of the characters we know, along with their whole world, makes for some truly intense drama. Liz even shoots the Brigadier!
• After the looming horror of their predestined end, the Doctor is understandably lost in fatalism. A sudden revelation comes to him with the news that Sir Keith has survived his accident. “So free will is not an illusion after all.” This discovery gives him the motivation and the inspiration to pick himself up and march out to the final climactic battle to save the world. It's a great theme for a great story.

In Summary

One of the all-time best of the Dr Who stories, Inferno combines high drama, deep tragedy and a compelling theme with a great set-up, fun monsters and a serious planetary threat. Delivered with passion, snappy dialogue, great acting, a clear narrative and universal themes of free will and environmental responsibility, “Inferno” has aged like a fine wine, simply getting better as time goes by. It brings a whole new sci-fi element to Doctor Who (parallel worlds) and does it with great style.