This classic six-part Doctor Who adventure, first broadcast in 1971 and released to DVD on December 1st, 2011, sees the titular Time Lord (Jon Pertwee) – having previously been forced to regenerate into his third body and cast into exile on Earth by his own people – finally venturing out into the stars again with brand new traveling companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) by his side. Unfortunately for The Doctor, his journey isn’t exactly by choice and he quickly realizes the Time Lords have recruited him for their own plans. Which, as it happens, revolve around the recovery of top-secret files relating to something called The Doomsday Weapon. And so its off to the desolate planet of Uaxerius in the year 2742, where The Doctor and Jo find themselves caught up in a dispute between the local colonists and the Intergalactic Mining Corporation regarding ownership of the planet.
As if all this hubbub wasn’t rough enough for our heroes, things go straight down the toilet once the Doctor’s evil counterpart The Master (Roger Delgado) shows up with his own agenda.
Colony In Space holds a less-than-stellar position amongst the fanbase, generally being seen as one of the lower points of Jon Pertwee’s tenure as the Third Doctor. I can see why that is – being a story that moves painfully slowly – although I personally still found some enjoyment in it. The story itself works well enough and the actors clearly have enough of a grasp on their roles to make their performances believable, with the interactions between The Doctor and The Master, and The Doctor’s overjoyed reaction to the first sight of an alien planet since his exile being high points. That said though, there are a couple of things (aside from the chuckle-worthy special effects. I know its the 70′s, but seeing the TARDIS literally disappear and reappear on screen in the form of quick-cuts rather than fade in and out is just hilarious) that upset my experience: The first being that the Master’s involvement is made obvious from the first episode’s opening scene, thus ruining any element of surprise his appearance may have had later. Secondly, would be the character of Norton (Roy Skelton). He turns up in the story at a time when things are going especially bad, and he’s so obviously evil, its a wonder that everyone who isn’t The Doctor doesn’t twig to it.
Fortunately, all is not lost. The special features on this single-disc release are quite entertaining, including audio commentary from several actors as well as script editor Terrance Dicks, and “IMC Needs You!” – a documentary about the making of Colony In Space.
