Doctor
Who: Inferno***
Doctor
Who: Inferno
***
With: Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney, Caroline John, Ian Fairbairn, Derek Newark, Walter Randall, Keith James, Sheila Dunn
"What did you expect? Some kind of space rocket with Batman at the controls?"
With UNIT in charge of Security and The Doctor as an observer during an experimental
drilling project setting out to pierce the Earth's crust to release a previously-untapped
source of energy, you know there is bound to be something wild happening.
And when it does, it makes Inferno one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. It
ranks it right up there in the "Must Watch Once More, At Least" category.
Not all of them make that list, I have to say. Also, this is my first Jon Pertwee
as the Doctor episode so it will hold a special place in my stack from now on.
The energy, named Stahlman's Gas after its discoverer, Professor Stahlman, is
hoped to be the cure-all the British Empire and the world needs to break free
from the tyranny of Middle Eastern Oil. Gosh, almost sounds like a program we
need today, huh?
Well, maybe not. Even while Professor Stahlman dismisses the concerns of the
project's Executive Director Sir Keith Gold, a strange oily green substance
has started to seep from one of the drill heads and works to change those who
come into contact with it into vicious primeval creatures who desire more and
more heat.
And as if this isn't enough, the Doctor has been working on his own experiment
and when he tries his work, he is transported by the partially-rebuilt TARDIS
control console into a parallel dimension where England is ruled by a military
dictatorship.
The Doctor soon discovers that while all the people he knew are here, they are
mirror images of who they were where he is from. He explains it to Liz by saying
that there are numerous dimensions, each one created by the choices we make.
Is this one, Liz is not a scientist but a soldier. And a somewhat vicious one
to boot.
General Lethbridge-Stewart is almost the perfect little Nazi, following orders
to the letter without using his own mind to understand what is going on around
him. Even though he has tons of evidence in front of him, Lethbridge-Stewart
refuses to accept the truth, that The Doctor is not from their world. Instead,
he threatens him to tell who he is working for.
But the drilling in this world is somewhat ahead of what it is back here and
while the Doctor is stopped by the ruthlessness of the people he knows, he is
unable to stop the eventual penetration of the Earth's crust. When this happens,
the Earth itself begins to shake itself apart, with earthquakes and lava spewing
all over the place.
The Doctor manages to return to our world, just as the other world he was on
perishes in a massive explosion, causing the planet's destruction. Once back
to our universe, where they are still drilling, the Doctor tries to warn of
the disaster. But no one here believes him. Will he be able to shut down the
drilling before it is too late? Can the Doctor save the Earth from the fate
that awaits it, the same one that befell the other world?
I'm not gonna tell you.
But I will repeat my earlier statement, that this is one of my favorite episodes
of Doctor Who. I felt that the special effects were well done for their time,
and the actors who did double duty in both universes came across quite well.
Jon Pertwee is perfect as the Doctor, and I hope to see more of the episodes
he was in.
I have to admit, there were a few flaws. But none that would preclude your enjoyment
of this one. Go, watch.
And make sure you catch some of the special features as well. They were almost
as good as the show itself.
Included are:
Audio commentary by actors Nicholas Courtney and John Levene, producer/co-director
Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks
Can You Hear the Earth Scream? - 34-minute "Making of" featurette
The UNIT Family Part One - 35-minute featurette
Visual Effects Promo Film
Deleted Scenes
Pertwee Years - Intro to Episode 7
PC-ROM feature - 1971 Doctor Who Annual and Radio Times billings
Production Note Option
Photo Gallery
Easter eggs
Digitally remastered picture and sound quality