Doctor Who complete reviews: The Mind Of Evil

Jo Grant finally begins to show why she became an all-time favourite Doctor Who assistant with many fans...

The Mind Of Evil - Doctor Who

Fears. They all make us better people supposedly. Quite how I don’t know. As far as I’m concerned fears just turn us into big scaredy cats. A person presented with their ultimate fear goes from a normal individual to a sweaty, breathless husk in seconds flat. So say that I’m told that I have to walk a tightrope several feet in the air above a crowd of millions - that would turn me into a gibbering wreck. Heights and big crowds - my Achilles Heels, people.

The Mind Of Evil plays upon the deepest fears of people and wraps them up in one clinical, creepy package. The Mind Of Evil is a welcome return to the gritty storytelling of the previous season - except it’s covered up in the sweetness of the UNIT family to sugarcoat it. Despite that, there are several grim and also downright scary scenes to make kids think twice about breaking the law. If ever there were a caution for deterring kids from turning into knife-wielding, hoodie-wearing ASBOs, then it’s The Mind Of Evil.

The Mind Of Evil revolves around three apparently separate plot strands. The Keller Machine at Stangmoor Prison. The moving of the Thunderbolt Missile. And a peace conference that’s about as peaceful as a Guns ‘n’ Roses concert at four in the morning. Doctor Who, being Doctor Who, weaves all these plot strands together, and even if the link’s a mite too convenient, it doesn’t really matter a damn, since both the script and the production are so good. Don Houghton’s second script is just as strong as Inferno, as is Timothy Combe’s second directing gig, which builds on the fine work that he produced in The Silurians.

"The sight of Barnham strapped down in that chair should bring back horrible memories of the dentist"

The setting of Stangmoor Prison is an inspired locale for the dreaded Keller Machine to run amok. The clinical setting of the Process Room plays on all those fears of tampering with the mind. Take the scene in which violent thug Barnham is the latest guinea pig to undergo the process. Professor Kettering may conduct the process with the air of a calm Tomorrow’s World presenter, but the Doctor, Jo and the viewer at home can sense that there’s something very wrong. The sight of Barnham strapped down in that chair should bring back horrible memories of the dentist, and the soundtrack-free set-piece allows that creepy noise to convey the threat of the machine. Timothy Combe’s slow pan-in from high above only adds to the atmosphere achieved in this scene. It’s a corker.

Mention of the sound effects brings me on to the appearance of the Keller Machine. Taken on its own, it looks like a rather dodgy novelty adult toy attached to a prototype Betamax video player. Four things turn this laughable heap of junk into a genuinely deadly weapon. First is that slow, heartbeat like throb produced by Brian Hodgson, sound effects supremo. The second is that creepy theme used by Dudley Simpson. I mentioned in the Terror Of The Autons review that the clunky keyboard sounds of Season Eight were somewhat hit ’n’ miss (well miss ’n’ miss, let’s be honest) - but that deadly Keller Machine theme pre-empts Jaws’ theme in that you just know that something bad’s going to happen. And thanks to the third and fourth elements, they do. Timothy Combe’s direction again pays dividends here, with disorientating zoom ins and outs of the Keller Machine (as if shot from the victim’s blurring point of view), rapid cuts, and then the ‘fear’ of the character neatly superimposed over its luckless victim. And the reactions of the characters are excellently played - you really feel that Kettering, the Doctor and The Master are genuinely terrified out of their wits. Magnificent stuff.

"As much as I’m a fan of the third Doctor, even I have to admit that this is not his finest hour. He behaves like someone’s just scratched Bessie with a very sharp pair of keys, bellowing, sniping and getting at practically everyone that crosses his path"

Still, I have a sneaking suspicion that some viewers would probably say “Serves you right” at the TV when the Doctor tries in vain to ward off flames at the end of the first episode. As much as I’m a fan of the third Doctor, even I have to admit that this is not his finest hour. He behaves like someone’s just scratched Bessie with a very sharp pair of keys, bellowing, sniping and getting at practically everyone that crosses his path.

Poor old Kettering is probably the one to suffer most from the Doctor’s wrath. He’s trying to give a demonstration, only to be heckled by the Doctor, like a hapless first-time stand-up comic at a room full of beery pissheads. He’s constantly on the defence against the Doctor’s warnings about the dangers of the machine. And he also foolishly questions the Doctor’s scientific credentials, causing the already angry Time Lord to blow his top. “IF I were a scientist??!!?” he bellows. Ah, poor old Kettering - bet the ripples of the waves seemed tame by comparison.

Even throughout the story, for the most part, the Doctor’s showing up the Brigadier, who’s reduced to a useless amateur when trying to master the language of Hokkien; he practically thrusts a terrified Barnham right in front of the Keller Machine in episode six; and he’s giving poor old Jo a hard time: “Jo, will you please stop stating the obvious?” he yells at one point, like an angry schoolteacher.

"The sight of the Doctor shrieking in fear while being swallowed up by flames is surely one of the scariest cliffhangers of the Pertwee years"

Yet despite all this angry bluster, there’s a side that we rarely see to the third Doctor, and that’s vulnerability. Pertwee's Doctor is usually in complete control of any situation that he’s put in. So it’s even more shocking to see him react in such terror at the imaginary fire at the first episode’s cliffhanger. The sight of the Doctor shrieking in fear while being swallowed up by flames is surely one of the scariest cliffhangers of the Pertwee years. Not only that, but he’s subjected to more mental torture by The Master who thinks that it’s a jolly wheeze to see how long the Doctor can hold out against the Keller Machine’s powers. And here, we really see the Doctor temporarily beaten and almost at death’s door. If it wasn’t for his amazing powers of recovery, you’d be certain that he was a goner.

Also, the seeds are sown for the Doctor and Jo’s charming relationship. It comes in the scene of Episode Five when the two decide to have a yummy breakfast of dusty, burnt toast and a mug of water (wow, I really must order that some day). The Doctor, sensing that Jo needs cheering up, decides to tell her about his encounter with Sir Walter Raleigh, and it’s the small glimmer of a great friendship between the two. Just the little moments like the way in which he laughs as he clinks mugs with Jo and says “Cheers”. The Third Doctor may be at his most arrogant and unapproachable in The Mind Of Evil, but this is one of Jon Pertwee’s best stories. He goes for the role with complete conviction, and is capable of portraying extreme anger and also extreme fear very convincingly.

It’s also a good story for both Katy Manning and her character Jo. Far from the spoilt little girl of Terror Of The Autons, Jo’s evidently done a crash course in growing up, and comes across as a smart, capable young woman. She stands up to Mailer and his thugs with determination, and she also takes a maternal role when looking after the now-childlike Barnham - which makes his final avoidable death all the more sad. Manning is excellent throughout the story, and demonstrates why she is one of the all-time great Dr Who companions.

The man behind all this is naturally (cue tinny Master theme) The Master. Roger Delgado is on top form again, and just like Pertwee’s Doctor is capable of demonstrating ruthlessness and genuine fear. He’s businesslike and to-the-point with Mailer, viciously detached when subjecting the Doctor to mental torture, and genuinely frightened when confronted by a giant laughing Doctor. The last point’s interesting, since this would explain why The Master is so hell-bent on getting rid of the Doctor. It’s as if he’s afraid of the Doctor’s intellect and power when it comes to saving the day. As we’ll hear in The Sea Devils, the two went to school together - or at least the Gallifreyan equivalent of school - and so, during that time, The Master presumably grew jealous of the Doctor’s mental capacity. Or maybe his greatest fear is that the Doctor turns evil, since he wouldn’t stand a chance - good thing he wasn’t resurrected for The Waters Of Mars then.

The Keller Machine scenes are the most successful plot elements of The Mind Of Evil. The Peace Conference, I’ll just about swallow, but the inclusion of the Thunderbolt Missile just seems a bit too convenient. How did The Master manage to wait around that long anyway? Either a lot of time’s passed between Terror Of The Autons and The Mind Of Evil, or The Master’s done something wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey (OK, no more of this phrase, please).

"Timothy Combe’s work on The Mind Of Evil is exemplary, full of unusual camera angles and interesting visuals"

Still at least the Thunderbolt hijack is impressively filmed by Timothy Combe. It’s very well shot, and is full of action that a James Bond film could provide. The use of motorbikes, vehicles and also (at the end of the story) a helicopter adds a glossy finish to the story (but sadly meant that Combe went over budget). Combe’s work on The Mind Of Evil is exemplary, full of unusual camera angles and interesting visuals. The rubbish dragon at the end of episode two is made more digestible as a result of Combe’s direction, for example. You very rarely see it in all its fake ‘glory’ but the quick camera cuts and video distortion actually make the scene far more effective than it should be.

Faults are few and far between in The Mind Of Evil. Some of the characters are a bit meh. Major Nuisance, sorry Major Cosworth is probably the worst, a fey mummy’s boy, who looks like he took a wrong turning on the way to the local library, and ended up in UNIT by some big mistake. The convicts are mostly faceless - Mailer’s a bit wooden, while Vosper and (especially) Pudding Bowl Charlie are forgettable lackeys and Keller Fodder at the same time.

And from a visual point of view, I don’t like the fact that this story’s in black and white only. I know there’s a lot of fans who think that the noirish drabs suit the story’s gritty feel, but I don’t really buy it. As Uncle Terrance has said, Doctor Who was all about colour in the groovy Seventies, and for me, the black and white film prints just don’t look right, making The Mind Of Evil resemble some cheapo Ealing film comedy from 1961. Apparently, there are rumours that the process applied to Planet Of The Daleks Episode Three could also be applied to most of The Mind Of Evil - so let’s hope that a DVD release is on its way - and pronto.

The Mind Of Evil is a class act all the way. It’s Doctor Who at its best, a combination of compelling drama, moral debate and action-packed fun. The contrivance of the plot may be a bit difficult to take, but when you’ve got so many other good points jostling for attention, it’s easy to ignore. Stylishly put together, well acted and intelligently written, The Mind Of Evil ranks as my favourite of season eight.

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, Terror Of The Autons