14x04 The Masque of Mandragora (4)

The Masque of Mandragora, a historical adventure drawing inspiration from classic Shakespearean plays such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, opens Season 14 of Doctor Who, deviating somewhat from the dark and scary format typical of the Philip Hinchcliffe era. It is quite a bland story, saved only by excellent production values.

Story: 6

Writer Louis Marks draws some interesting parallels to the real world in his script, pitting science against superstition and faith, which were mainstream at the time. In this regard, The Masque of Mandragora is remarkably similar to The Daemons (1971), with several scenes closely resembling similar scenes in that one. The main difference is the historical setting and the involvement of court politics, which, to be fair, is very reminiscent of The Crusade (1965). Additionally, there is a very light and comedic tone present throughout the serial, especially in the first two episodes. The Doctor trying to be clever to save his skin harks back to another early historical, namely The Romans (1965). It is less prominent here though, and the story does become a bit darker toward the end. The light-hearted action feels like a nice change of pace after a very grim Season Thirteen, but it also feels out of place in a Tom Baker story. It feels like the director would have found an old, unproduced script from the First Doctor's era and decided to produce it now. This is where Doctor Who's slow turn into the Tom Baker Comedy Show begins!

A bunch of small, annoying faults in the script make The Masque of Mandragora a bit difficult to watch at times. Louis Marks presents us with a very obvious plot and with twists that are no twists at all. The first two episodes are the two stinkers of the story. First of all, the humour featured in them is mostly just bizarre and even naive, something that does not feel right in a story like this one. Marks is also trying to write some overly complicated dialogue, which just ends up sounding incredibly stupid when given a theatrical performance by the cast. Most of the plot seems to consist of the Doctor and Sarah constantly escaping and being recaptured and dealing with highly unrealistic stuff.

Marks also leaves a couple of things annoyingly unexplained and exploits some of his plot points poorly. Why invade the Earth in the first place, if, according to the Doctor, Mandragora does not need the planet? And why is everybody planning and scheming to do vile things but never actually get anything done? The Helix scenes in the tomb just feel stupid and they get repetitive and boring by the third time. As I mentioned before, Sarah is once again possessed in this story, but Marks does not let this turn of events even fold-out properly before he dismisses it completely. What a waste of a perfectly predictable twist. And to add insult to injury, we have the abrupt and confusing ending, which fails to explain what happened to the story's main villain. Most of Marks' writing just comes off as hasty and filled with plot holes.

Acting: 5

The Masque of Mandragora is another success for its two main stars. The Doctor and Sarah are separated from each other for most of the story and both Baker and Elisabeth Sladen fair extremely well on their own. It is when they are together, however, when the two actors give their best performances. They deliver their lines enjoyably and act together like an old married couple. Sladen does a remarkable job with the little she has to do in this story (getting captured again and again and being possessed once more - sigh!) while Baker successfully presents his comedic side to the audience ("You can't count, count!" and "Hieronymous gave him a blank look").

The supporting cast is a minor let down. The enjoyment is somewhat halted by the theatrical and even occasionally stiff acting, which feels out of place in a Doctor Who adventure. This is particularly the case with Norman Jones (who was Khrisong in The Abominable Snowmen and who bears a striking resemblance to American actor Hank Azaria), who portrays the antagonistic Merlin wannabe Hieronymous. A great example of this is a scene in Episode Three, in which we see Hieronymous, with an overly dramatic tone, ask the Doctor "WHERE YOU ... SENT FROM ... THE STARS?". Jones was last seen getting infected and killed in The Silurians. How I wish a similar fate would be bestowed upon him in this one!

None of the other actors manages to give off memorable performances either. Newcomer John Laurimore tries too hard to make Federico a respectable villain, but with overly exciting acting and a He-Man haircut he just comes off as extremely annoying, which makes his death in Episode Three all the more satisfying. Gareth Armstrong is the best of the bunch, but even he does not rise above average. It is very hard to get attached to the characters when they are as boring as these.

The Doctor: 10

This is the story where the Doctor survives dangerous situations by being funny. He starts using his scarf in creative ways, jokes his way kit if a situation or tricks his opponents to think they have cornered him. Just look at the way he ultimately survives the cliffhanger to Part One!

The Companions: 8

Sarah Jane spends her final two adventures being hypnotized or possessed. No wonder she decides to settle down. That being said, in this story she seems to struggle to keep up with the Doctor, mostly spending time with the villains while waiting for the Doctor to find her.

The Monster/Villain: 4

They could have done almost anything with Mandragora, and they went with a faceless blob of light. Add the ghastly Hieronymous to the mix and you have a less than disappointing duo if bad guys.

Production: 11

Playful directing and brisk editing support the comedic plot for most of the serial. Director Rodney Bennett, also contributing to the show for the last time, continues from where he left off in The Sontaran Experiment and does a great job at it. The directing is fast-paced, with loads of quick cuts and moving camera shots. Dudley Simpson's music is majestic at best - sometimes even too much. The contrast between the scenes with no music at all and the ones with a bombastic score is strong. The music has also been very well-paced with some key events of the story, adding to the playfulness of the production.

The visual side of things is where The Masque of Mandragora excels. The set pieces are amazing, from the simple Mandragora Helix to the castles and ruins of Italy (actually filmed on location in Portmerion, in northern Wales). The costumes are also convincingly good. They have reused costumes from the 1954 movie Romeo and Juliet by Renato Castellini. That might explain why the story seems like it had a bigger budget than usual. The visual effects also work flawlessly for the most part. The Helix effect at the beginning of Episode One is a bit silly nowadays, but very inventive. The rest of the story features quite simple special effects by today's standards, but they get the job done.

Pacing: 6

The big problem is that the story has not started yet by the halfway point. The plot is still establishing itself at the end of Episode Two, and by that time it should already be well underway.

Atmosphere: 7

There is not much to remember from this story, but a few scenes manage to stand out. Episode Three's cliffhanger is by far the best, and the succeeding episode is the strongest of the four. The sacrificing sequence in Episode Two is one of the few darker moments of the story, and it is made even better by the clever use of music. The battle scene in Episode Three, coupled with the Doctor's visit to the ruins, also works quite well. That battle scene features some very whacky choreography by the way, and an extremely obvious stunt double (just look at the colour of his wig!) but the fast-paced editing, fortunately, sort most of that out. Finally, we have the scene in Episode Four, in which the Doctor confronts Mandragora and is electrocuted in a manner very similar to how Luke Skywalker is electrocuted by the Emperor in The Return of the Jedi.

Impact: 4

In an era dominated by dark and horrific stories, The Masque of Mandragora stands out as a more lighthearted pseudo-historical. It's not as finely remembered as other stories around it, perhaps due to its placement, but it foreshadows the direction the show will take once Graham Williams takes over as producer.

Replay Value: 6

This is an average story that survives to be watched a couple of times, but no more than that.

Random Observations:

The fandom-dividing second TARDIS control room introduced to support the Gothic horror theme of Philip Hinchcliffe's Doctor Who, debuts with this story.

This story also marks the first time we get an explanation, albeit a brief one, as to why we can understand other languages while travelling with the Doctor ("a Time Lord gift"). This explanation is widely expanded upon in the revived series.

When following Hieronymous to the crypt, the Doctor tries to find the secret button opening the hidden door to the crypt, even though it is visible on the wall.

Sarah enjoys eating oranges without peeling them first!

The masque in Episode 4 is similar to an equally horrifying ball in The Girl in the Fireplace (2006).

Score: 67/120