The violence turns to humour, and the 'occult' stories exit Doctor Who in style...

Fans of gothic horror: It’s time to weep into your capes, as Doctor Who bids a farewell to the genre that had been such a staple of the 1974 to 1977 stories. There would be fleeting returns such as The Stones Of Blood, State Of Decay and The Curse Of Fenric, but it’s left to Image Of The Fendahl to sign off Robert Holmes’ hugely successful stint as script editor (The Sun Makers was made before Fendahl).

Fortunately, it’s one of the best in its field, boasting a creepy, dark atmosphere throughout all four parts. It’s interesting to see a Graham Williams story tackle a gothic horror story head-on, given the remit from the powers that be to tone down the violence. The end result is strangely disjointed, with influences from both the Hinchcliffe and Williams eras.

For one thing, there’s a greater emphasis on humour, courtesy of Tom Baker’s endearingly barking portrayal of The Doctor. Whether he’s holding up four fingers instead of three, offering sweets to skulls or talking boggle-eyed to the camera, The Doctor holds your attention throughout. It’s not eccentric showboating though - by accentuating the funnier side of his character, Tom’s Doctor seems even more commanding in his serious moments. He’s brusquely matter-of-fact when striding into Fetch Priory and proclaiming that there will only be one person left alive on the planet in a year. His haunted conversation with Martha Tyler also emphasises the horror of the Fendahl.

And the memorable cliffhanger to part two works for precisely this reason. The scene starts off as a throwaway bit of light-hearted fun with The Doctor offering the wrong sort of sweet to the skull. But then it’s turned on its head and becomes deadly serious as The Doctor is compelled to touch the skull which starts to suck the life out of him. Not only is the humour an entertaining substitute for the violence, it also successfully emphasises the drama because of the contrast between the two.

"There are very few Who stories that feature characters killing themselves, but Stael’s is the most memorable example because of its everyday, almost casual brutality"

Talking of the violence, Image is also a bit disjointed when it comes to showing grisly fates. On the one hand, we don’t see the horrified faces of the Fendahleen’s victims, nor we do see the advanced stages of their decomposing corpses. On the other hand though, Fendelman is very brutally shot through the head by Stael, complete with a brief shot of blood oozing down his dead face. Stael himself also kills himself with the same gun, and what’s more, The Doctor is the one who gives him the weapon. It’s interesting that the fantasy deaths aren’t dwelt upon but the realistic ones are. There are very few Who stories that feature characters killing themselves, but Stael’s is the most memorable example because of its everyday, almost casual brutality.

This adult style of storytelling is very much seen in the complex plot of Image Of The Fendahl. All of Chris Boucher’s stories are highly literate, with deep, well-thought-out concepts. In Image, he takes the slightly cynical tack of suggesting that humanity was affected by the Fendahl in order to help manifest itself on Earth. The Doctor suggests that right from primeval times, humanity’s DNA was altered right through the generations until it reached people like Fendelman, Stael and Thea, who could bring about the revival of the Fendahl.

That’s one of the reasons why Fendahl works so well - it’s such a bold concept, and it even seems half plausible. It follows on from the third Doctor adventure, The Daemons, in which supernatural forces were said to have some sort of scientific basis. What Boucher cleverly does though is to leave the explanation up to the viewer at home. No sooner has The Doctor given his complex explanation to Colby, he then says: “On the other hand, it could all be just a coincidence!” On the whole, it’s a good warm-up for his literate Blake’s 7 scripts - and indeed the idea of the Fendahl being a gestalt creature would be revisited in season four’s Rescue, in which camp weirdo Dorian tries to ensnare the Seven as a gestalt for his pet Sea Devil.

"Wanda Ventham is particularly good at holding that unnerving steely gaze when she’s mentally possessed by the skull in the first two episodes, and also good at inappropriately smiling at luckless acolytes turning into slug things when she’s been transformed into the Fendahl Core"

Boucher’s wry, sarcastic humour usually manifests itself in at least one character, and in Image, that character is Colby. With his ten-foot high quiff and sneer, Colby could pass for some early Sixties pop crooner like Billy Fury. And yet whenever he opens his mouth, all sarcastic hell breaks loose, crushing everything and everyone in its path. He’s so sarcastic that he makes the annoying whiny voiceover bloke from Come Dine With Me sound like an amateur. He’s constantly ripping the piss out of “Maxie”’s humour drought. He thinks that Fendelman is as “crazy as a bedbug”. And he also dismisses The Doctor as a “wandering armageddon pedlar”. Heaven alone knows how this man will get on with the “Swede-bashing cretin” and his loopy gran - crystal balls will be smashed, hats will be crumpled and quiffs will be flattened. Great performance from Edward Arthur though.

Indeed, all of the characters are generally well written and acted. There’s poor old Thea, nicely portrayed by Wanda “Mother of Benedict Cumberbatch” Ventham. She’s particularly good at holding that unnerving steely gaze when she’s mentally possessed by the skull in the first two episodes, and also good at inappropriately smiling at luckless acolytes turning into slug things when she’s been transformed into the Fendahl Core.

Thea’s character does highlight a particular theme of Image though, and that’s other people’s ignorance. Practically all of the characters are walking around in their own little bubbles, and ignoring the bigger picture. Fendelman is so wrapped up in his dreams of discovery that he fails to heed The Doctor’s warnings. And so as a result, when he’s captured by Stael, he realises his folly too late in a superbly acted scene (“Mankind has been used!!”), Stael, in turn, is blinded by his own crazed attempts at resurrecting the dark forces, and ultimately pays the price when events spiral out of control. Thea’s pleas for help also come too late - she evidently realises that she needs help, since she’s been staring into space like a boss-eyed ghost for long periods - but thanks to Stael’s intervention, her cries for help are never answered.

Stael is also well characterised by Scott Fredericks. It’s never dwelt upon so much in the TV version, but in the novelisation, Stael’s personality casts a greater light on why he decides to resurrect the Fendahl. He’s portrayed as a bitter loner of a man who’s jealous of Fendelman’s success, power and wealth. Evidently, he thinks that resurrecting the Fendahl will bring him all that public recognition, although it’s not quite clear as to how he’ll be recognised, since everyone will be - um, dead.

This isn’t quite as obvious on screen - in fact, he just skulks about Fetch Priory with a look of superior smugness most of the time. He’s possibly secretly laughing at Fendelman’s odd accent which seems to alternate between German, Mexican and Dutch in rapid succession. “Yeeeeesss, yeeeeesss, yeeeeessss Schtyle, geeet oooon veeev eeet!” Too bad that the accent hampers what’s otherwise a great performance from Denis Lill.

Elsewhere, it’s Round 2 of Coronation Street vs. EastEnders, as hobbling nutbar Don Brennan battles it out against gormless cabbie Charlie Slater (who by the time this goes to print, may have gone to the Great Queen Vic In The Sky). And this time, it’s Don who wins, since Charlie is attacked by a giant slug thing. Although, it’s apparently less painful than having to live with Stacey’s annoying mum.

"An interesting point is that the first couple of parts barely feature incidental music...Apparently, Murray Gold doesn’t like this story much."

Don’s granny is also a memorable character. Martha Tyler - which is what happens when you cross the name of Martha Jones with Rose Tyler (See?) - is very well acted by Daphne Heard, who provides equal helpings of light comic relief and eye-rolling terror. The close-up of her terrified visage in part two, as she recalls her mental experience with the Fendahl, is very very good.

Image Of The Fendahl is the first of two productions to be helmed by George Spenton-Foster. Having sat through some of his less than impressive work on Blake’s 7, you could be forgiven for thinking that Image has all the atmosphere of a flat-pack wardrobe exhibition. In fact, this is brilliant direction, with plenty of moody set pieces and well-chosen actors. An interesting point is that the first couple of parts barely feature incidental music. The opening sequence in which the hiker is pursued and killed relies only on the eerie sound effects of the Scanner rather than big, dramatic music. Apparently, Murray Gold doesn’t like this story much…

Mind you, when Dudley Simpson lets rip with his church organ score, it results in some of the creepiest pieces of incidental music in Who. And the eerie squeaky theme for the Fendahl Core neatly papers over the shortcomings of her appearance. It’s a shame that the big blank eyes are very obviously painted over Wanda Ventham’s eyelids, since the initial transformation and her slow rise from the ground work very well indeed. That said, it’s hard to work out what the Core actually does, apart from strike poses and flutter her robe about a bit - possibly to draw attention away from the iffy looking Fendahleen, which looks a bit silly, shuffling along at the end of part three. Oh, and salt kills? Tell me something new.

"It’s a shame that this is the last gothic horror story for quite some time. We’d get a brief visit in The Stones Of Blood before it takes an inexplicable detour into courtroom drama"

Even these minor irritants don’t detract too much from the gothic drama. The aforementioned prologue in which the hiker is pursued and killed is very well done, and contrasts brilliantly with the freaky superimposed shots of Thea’s blank face over the glowing skull. The cellar scenes are also slowly drawn out, carefully maintaining the atmosphere until the crescendo of part four. This is a common method of Boucher’s - he starts the story off in a slow and measured way, before building up to the frenzied, fast-paced climax.

It’s a shame that this is the last gothic horror story for quite some time. We’d get a brief visit in The Stones Of Blood before it takes an inexplicable detour into courtroom drama. The good news though, is that Image Of The Fendahl stands as one of its best examples. Besides being well reasoned and intelligently written, it’s also high on dark scares and creepy chills. All of the trappings of gothic horror films are here - the skull, the helpless heroine, the gloomy cellar, chanting acolytes, apocalyptic organ music - but they all work in a story that rewards the viewer time and again.

John Bensalhia limbered up for this mammoth task with a full four-series review of Blake's 7, and writes professionally and recreationally all over the web. Check out his portfolio of work at Wordprofectors.

Check out John's previous Doctor Who review, The Invisible Enemt

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