Terminus | Sophisticated Idiots

Jeez, thanks, production team.

We were looking forward to making a string of oh-so-hilarious gags along the lines of this entry being inTermin(us)able, that the Fifth Doctor’s era is in Termin(us)al decline.

And accusing the team behind it of behaving like they’re on Half Term(inus).

But they only ruddy-well went and made the midpoint of the Black Guardian Trilogy a pretty good watch.

If you were to ask 100 Doctor Who fans to create a checklist of everything they yearn to see in a story, you’re guaranteed the top four choices would be, in this order:

• Giant rat-dogs
• Leper colonies
• Massive hair
• Air vents

And then, as a backup to woo anyone not subscribing to this wishlist, a companion departure is thrown in. Splendid.

In hindsight, we went into Terminus with our glass half empty because we knew what awaited us: more scenery-chewing from the ineffectual Black Guardian. A general sense of ill-feeling in the TARDIS.

And another dose of Turlough, the irritating new kid* on the block.

(*ish. He’s impossible to age-guess: he’s somewhere between 15 and 40)

But JNT and co take these toxic ingredients and turn them into something palatable.

Turlough, for example, is still a sh**bag but the producers have the sense to imprison him in the air vents for most of the story.

After all, it wasn’t his traitorous mission we objected to in Mawdryn – it was his personality. That’s been dialled back here, leaving the Doctor Kill Plot as an interesting side hustle.

It helps that he’s constantly policed by Tegan. And she does it with aplomb.

Tegan’s always rude and distrustful. For once, it pays off (bust clocks being right twice a day and all that): she’s well and truly got Turlough’s number.

Yet, for all the simmering hatred between these two, Terminus is more concerned about the other companion.

Remember? The one who quietly hangs about in the periphery and was last given something to do in Black Orchid when she wore a tutu and fainted a lot.

Nyssa’s departure is probably grander than she entirely deserves. After a couple of seasons of being TARDIS wallpaper, this final story devotes considerable time to seeding her farewell.

Of course, to justify giving her so much screen time, producers entirely change her character. Nyssa goes from bland wallflower to righteous sex kitten quicker than you can say ‘take your skirt off if you’re too warm’.

Talking of upping the inappropriate sex ante, the male gaze in Terminus is a tad on the brazen side.

Believe it or not, there’s a scene where the audience can see down Nyssa’s top AND up her skirt at the same time.

This is a feat the (female) director is so proud of that she lets the shot linger for a full minute. Before cutting immediately to Tegan crawling on all-fours towards the camera in a boob-tube.

It’s not difficult to see how we end up with the next companion being introduced in a bikini.

Anyway, we’ll worry about that when we get there. Back in the here and now, aspects of Terminus worry us plenty.

Even though this is a strong sendoff for Nyssa, it’s impossible to ignore the fact she remains firmly on the wooden side: watch the scene where she delivers her post-cure radiation monologue and you can see her trying to remember the lines.

Maybe they should have taped them to the wall ala Hartnell in The Three Doctors.

And although Sarah Sutton is probably miffed at departing just three stories shy of the next anniversary hulabaloo, we’re pleased for her that she gets to engage in this period’s odd trope of being manacled in oversized bracelets that she has to hold in place herself (see also Romana in Androids of Tara and Turlough in the next one).

Still, this enables her to keep out of some truly terrible fisticuffs that take place around her.

Not least those tedious tussles in the TARDIS she’s lucky to leave behind (it’s telling that her final interaction with the Doctor is to force him to look like he gives a hoot about Tegan - “Doctor, say you’re pleased to see her”).

For the Doctor himself, he doesn’t have huge amounts to do here apart from briefly endure a poorly arm (quickly forgotten) and yell at the giant rat-dog Gorm to try harder to pull the lever (instead of offering any help himself).

The next time we need to motivate a colleague to pull their finger out, we’ll tell them the fate of the entire universe hinges on them succeeding. Simple.

We’re (sort of) looking forward to seeing where Doc Five’s relationship with his TARDIS muckers goes next.

Nyssa has been the Doctor’s moral compass for the past couple of seasons, so the simmering disdain can now rise to the surface. Getting it out into the open might make it more palatable. Time will tell, eh?

We need to slip out of our skirt and make like a tree, so a few more random observations in haste:

• We love the idea of the TARDIS crew being trapped amidst a leper colony.
• How the heck the Gorm is curing the poor saps, we’ll never know, mind.
• Terminus delivers some feeble cliffhangers.
• We’d forgive the writers for the Doctor stumbling across the cause of the Big Bang cause, were it not a blatant rehash of the dino extinction reveal from Earthshock a few stories earlier.

• The score here is quite atmospheric – especially for an era where Now That’s What I Call Synth is the default soundtrack.
• There’s some truly ginormous hair on display.
• What a horribly garish TARDIS console. Is it new? Or had our subconscious blocked it out previously?
• “You represent a poor investment of my time and energy,” the Black Guardian summarises to Turlough in his annual appraisal.

So, as Nyssa heads for certain death on her futile Noah’s Ark trip, we’re left to reflect on whether we should join her.

But then we’d miss out on seeing where the Black Guardian thriple might lead us. We're not ashamed to admit it's piqued our interest.

The Turlough storyline has automatically become more compelling, thanks to this serial’s trick of keeping him underneath the floor to focus on ridding us of less annoying companions.

This odd little trilogy began in a school and, having stuck with it during two middling stories that at times felt like we were sitting mock exams, we may as well wait to see the results.

Or, to put it another way, we’ll hang on until the End of Term(inus).

Other stories referenced here which we've reviewed: