The Mind Robber

The Mind Robber is an odd duck. Much like the holodeck episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it's essentially science-fiction via fantasy. At the end of the previous serial, our heroes find themselves in the path of a volcanic eruption. In their haste to escape, Jamie forces the Doctor to use an "emergency unit" which moves the TARDIS outside of the time/space dimension. Once they've landed, the Doctor and his companions initially find themselves in an empty void. One by one, the crew are tempted into venturing outside into the unknown. Soon enough, they discover that they've been transported to a realm populated by characters from popular fiction and creatures from myth. Eventually the Doctor realizes the he and his friends are being tested by some mysterious central power.

Apparently The Mind Robber was not particularly well received in its day. Some felt that it was too light and childish. That reaction is understandable when you remember that, despite being a program for children, this was still a show where people were killed in almost every episode. The Mind Robber seems to be received much more favorably now, simply because it is such a diversion from the standard Doctor Who story of the time. The main cast are all in fine form here. Zoe gets plenty of opportunities to unleash her terrific scream. She also spends the entire serial wearing a sparkly cat suit. I'll refrain from making any lecherous comments about said cat suit, unlike nearly everyone who is interviewed on The Mind Robber DVD's special features. Jamie is briefly replaced by another actor for two episodes after the actor, Frazer Hines, got chicken pox. The fantastical nature of the story allowed the show's writers and producers to work in a quick fix that didn't put too much of a strain on the plot. More noticeably, due to the production issues surrounding The Dominators, was that The Mind Robber had to be stretched out from four episodes to five. And while this resulted in shorter individual episodes overall, it did give us one of the best opening episodes to a serial since The Space Museum.

Rating: It's only the unknown that worries me%