This was only the second time I have seen this one and must say I enjoyed it more the second time around.
It takes the Doctor and Romana quite a while to get into the action after they are trapped in a chronic hysteresis in episode one, being forced to repeat the same actions over and over again which does get a little monotonous.
Meanwhile on the planet Tigella we have some interesting stuff going on at least. The Tigellan's city is being powered by a mythical Dodechedron that fell from the sky many years previously. The city is completely reliant on this structure but any attempts by the Tigellan scientists to further study the object are blocked by the religiously fantatic Deons who worship it. The leader of the city, Zastor, tries his best to keep the two groups happy and there are some interesting debates regarding the nature of science versus religion. When things start going wrong with the Dodechadron, the two groups are at each others throats so Zastor sends for the Doctor's help as he remembers him being a wise friend. This in istelf is very unusual as its not normally the case that the Doctor is sent for by an alien race, unless it's the Time Lords of course.
Unfortunaly the cactus-like creature, Meglos, traps the Doctor in an Hysteretic loop and steals his identity in order to access the city and steal the structure for himself.
I bet Tom Baker absolutely hated wearing the Meglos make-up. It was at this time that he was kicking off quite a bit so I bet there was a few choice words when he found out what he was required to put on!
Tom Baker can play evil characters really well. Sometimes even as the Doctor he can be quite scary! So as Meglos he can be quite sinister and scenes of Meglos and the Doctor talking are excellently played!
One of the Deons is played by Jacqueline Hill who played Barbara in the first couple of seasons of Doctor Who! It seems odd that they would bring her back to play a different character when she is so well known for playing Barbara. I suppose at the time the old stories weren't really freely available to watch so many people may not have been aware of her previous role in the show.
One other thing that struck me here, and I realised I had forgotten to mention previously is something about the Doctor's new costume that I absolutely hate. The question marks! He now has two question marks on his collar! I mean why??? I know the show is called Doctor Who but it still doesn't make any bloody sense! Unfortunately the question mark motif was another idea of the new producer, John Nathan Turner, and would last from now until season 26 so I've got quite a long time to get used to them!
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