Recently viewed this again, and to me it doesn't really work these days. Not because of technical problems-it actually has some of WHO's better FX and monsters for the time (Apart from Full Circle's spiders and State of Decay's bats)-but the stories themselves don't hold up that well IMO. It seems like Doctor Who at this point was trying too hard to be more sci-fi, but instead all three stories, which could've done something more interesting with the concepts, all deal with spaceships that are stuck!
Full Circle has an interesting concept-that of evolution and a completely stagnant civilization-and has some cool 80's style music with theme motifs for Romana, Adric and K-9 (Years before Murray Gold would give companions their own themes again). However, the acting, apart from WHO vet James Bree and George Baker (Who seems to be in everything) is pretty bad, especially with Adric and his buddies.
State of Decay is probably the best of the three. It's got vampires (The deadly, Dracula-inspired ones, not the Twilight types we have now or the goofy lady from Smith and Jones) in another semi-stagnant society, but Terrance Dicks gives us a more entertaining tale than Full Circle, with more wit and great chemistry between the Doctor and Romana.
Warrior's gate, while visually interesting (Well, at least the parts where they stroll through beautiful black and white photos and an old dining hall which shifts time lines), is a weird one, and the most confusing WHO storyline until Ghost Light nearly a decade later. Ghost Light at least had some witty dialogue, this is probably Doctor Who's most technobabble-laden story ever, and it didn't really make all that sense. Romana and K-9 mark II's exit is ok but kind of random. The design of the Gundan robots were kind of cool (It seems to be a common misconception that they're the same type of armor as the Warriors of the Deep sea Devils....same samurai inspiration, yes, but I'm pretty sure they're not the same prop.)
Any other thoughts on this trilogy?
Full Circle has an interesting concept-that of evolution and a completely stagnant civilization-and has some cool 80's style music with theme motifs for Romana, Adric and K-9 (Years before Murray Gold would give companions their own themes again). However, the acting, apart from WHO vet James Bree and George Baker (Who seems to be in everything) is pretty bad, especially with Adric and his buddies.
State of Decay is probably the best of the three. It's got vampires (The deadly, Dracula-inspired ones, not the Twilight types we have now or the goofy lady from Smith and Jones) in another semi-stagnant society, but Terrance Dicks gives us a more entertaining tale than Full Circle, with more wit and great chemistry between the Doctor and Romana.
Warrior's gate, while visually interesting (Well, at least the parts where they stroll through beautiful black and white photos and an old dining hall which shifts time lines), is a weird one, and the most confusing WHO storyline until Ghost Light nearly a decade later. Ghost Light at least had some witty dialogue, this is probably Doctor Who's most technobabble-laden story ever, and it didn't really make all that sense. Romana and K-9 mark II's exit is ok but kind of random. The design of the Gundan robots were kind of cool (It seems to be a common misconception that they're the same type of armor as the Warriors of the Deep sea Devils....same samurai inspiration, yes, but I'm pretty sure they're not the same prop.)
Any other thoughts on this trilogy?
