Doctor Who Is CLASSIC: Arc of Infinity

Welcome to a new edition of Doctor Who Is CLASSIC, a semi recurring feature here on the blog thing where I look back at episodes of Doctor Who from the classic era of 1963 to 1989.

Given events in the recently concluded season of Doctor Who, I recently re-watched this story from 1983.

Starring Peter Davison as the Doctor and Sarah Sutton as companion Nyssa, this story sends the Doctor back to Gallifrey and pits him against a menace last seen in 1973.

It's "Arc of Infinity" featuring the return of Omega. 

"Arc of Infinity" is unique in Peter Davison's run as the Doctor in that he has only one companion, Nyssa.

My major complaint of this era of Doctor Who was the TARDIS was too damn crowded with the Doctor having to share time with 2 or 3 companions as well as any number of guest stars. 

Nyssa gets some solid companion moments that may have otherwise been lost if she had to share those moments with other people. And the Doctor's rapport with Nyssa is solid instead of fending off a whining gaggle of companions.   

The crew from season 19 thinned out a bit when Adric was killed (spoilers?) and the Doctor finally got the perpetually whining and complaining Tegan Jovanka to Heathrow Airport to resume her career as an airline attendant.  

At the end of season 19, Tegan has the gall to look hurt when the Doctor takes off without her. 

Tegan is not yet gone and will return in episode 2 as part of a confusing Chibnallesque subplot involving her cousin Colin in Amsterdam. Tegan has time on her hands as she got fired from her job as a stewardess.  

(During this era, a young teenage Doctor Who fan named Chris Chibnall was interviewed on TV to express his disappointment with how bad the writing was on Doctor Who.)

What pray tell is going on in this story?

The Doctor gets whammied by an energy thingy extending from a space/time event thingy called the Arc of Infinity. (Hey, that's the title of the story!)

The Doctor's TARDIS get yanked back to Gallifrey and the Doctor gets shot by a security guard named Maxil played by Colin Baker. (Yes, Maxil is a pompous smug prick. Why do you ask?)  

Before becoming the 6th Doctor, Colin Baker got to shoot the 5th Doctor. 

The Time Lords have detected an threat made of anti-matter than is trying to invade our universe (which is bad) and it's using the Doctor as a conduit so....

THE DOCTOR MUST DIE!!!!

THE DOCTOR MUST DIE!!!!

THE DOCTOR MUST DIE!!!!

THE DOCTOR MUST DIE!!!!

THE DOCTOR MUST DIE!!!!

Duh! Duh! Duuuuh!!!!!

Meanwhile...

A couple of young travellers (Colin and Robin) have arrived in Amsterdam and forced to seek lodging in an old underground pump station near a crypt. Can't say much for the atmosphere of the place but the price (Free!) is right. 

Except Colin gets zapped by a glowing alien being and is turned into a zombie! 

Robin's in a tizzy of a snit over this but no one will believe him.  Except one person.

Tegan Jovanka has arrived in Amsterdam to visit her favorite cousin Colin.  She's inclined to believe Robin because, well,  she's seen some shit.

Meanwhile...

The glowing alien is conferring with a mysterious Time Lord.

NO!! A traitor amongst the Time Lords?!! Why...

• that never happens!
• almost never happens!!
• happens all the goddam time!!!
• will happen again this very same season!!!!

By the way it takes forever for anyone to work out the threat is Omega even though Omega is the very definition of an anti-matter threat from another universe looking to invade our universe.

See "The Three Doctors" from 1973.

The Doctor finally susses out it's Omega. 

Time Lords: "It can't be Omega! He was destroyed!"

The Time Lords may be masters of time and space but they are not genre savvy. 

REMINDER: While reading this, you may hear the word "Omega" in your head as "Oh-MAY-gah". It is not pronounced this way. It's pronounced "Oh-meh-guh".   

Anyway, Omega captures Tegan and Robin in his Earth based underground lair which is in Amsterdam for...  reasons.  

Spoiler: Colin's status as a zombie is not lethal and he will survive this story. Otherwise Tegan will have lost two relatives to one of the Doctor's enemies. (The Master killed her Aunt Vanessa in season 18's "Logopolis".)  

The Doctor and Nyssa travel from Gallifrey to Earth and the Doctor is suitably amazed the TARDIS landed when and where he wanted it to for a change.  The Doctor and Nyssa run all over Amsterdam looking for Omega's secret lair.

(Much like the trip to Paris in season 17's "City of Death", the BBC was all "we paid good money to send Doctor Who to Amsterdam to we're bloody well going to see Amsterdam on screen!")  

But Omega is ready to make his move and return to life in the positive matter universe. He takes off his helmet and hey, Omega looks like Peter Davison!

So Peter Davison has to run around Amsterdam twice!

• As Omega, enjoying his sweet taste of freedom and enjoying Amsterdam's copious amounts of weed and sex workers. 
• As the Doctor chasing Omega because whatever he did to leave the anti-matter universe is breaking down and soon, the universe (and that includes Amsterdam's copious amounts of weed and sex workers) will all go KA-BOOM!

The Doctor is forced to destroy Omega before his shields can collapse and cause everything to explode. 

The Doctor is sad that he was forced to destroy the first of the Time Lords.  

And the only thing sadder for the Doctor is this:

DOCTOR (to Tegan): "It's been marvellous to see you again."

NYSSA: "Indeed. I've missed you. I wish you didn't have to go back to your job."

TEGAN: "What job? Didn't I tell you? I got the sack. So you're stuck with me, aren't you."

<Pause>

DOCTOR: "So it seems."

Oh the expression on the Doctor's face in that moment. 

"Why didn't I let Omega kill us all?"  

Over the course of the storyline, whenever she would hear Tegan's name, Nyssa would get this sly smile.  

Which is NOT proof that Nyssa and Tegan had been in a sexual relationship but that hasn't stopped the fan fiction writers from speculating that yes they did.  

Like most shows from the classic era, "Arc of Infinity" is stretched a bit thin to excess padding to fit this story into 4 half-hour episodes and by God show us that expensive field trip to Amsterdam. 

But it is a fairly strong outing for Peter Davison as the Doctor, unencumbered by an oversized cast.   

Producer John Nathan Turner would fix that. We've got Tegan back and Turlough waiting in the wings to get us a 3 person companion crew again. 

And that is that for this edition of Doctor Who Is CLASSIC.

Coming up in no particular order:

•  A classic 4th Doctor and Leela adventure!
• The Doctor vs. the Rani!
• And a pair of 3rd Doctor stories with two different companions.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.