From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated   
   From Address: jphalt@aol.com   
   Subject: Re: jphalt's Doctor Who reviews   
      
   THE VISITATION   
      
   4 episodes. Approx. 96 minutes. Written by: Eric Saward. Directed by:   
   Peter Moffat. Produced by: John Nathan Turner.   
      
      
   THE PLOT   
      
   The Doctor's attempt to return Tegan to her own time fails miserably.   
   He reaches the right place, but the wrong time - missing his   
   destination by about 300 years, materializing the TARDIS in a wooded   
   area near a quiet English village, circa 1666.   
      
   Before they get a chance to simply leave and try again, they find   
   themselves the target of a mob of paranoid villagers. They are rescued   
   by actor-turned-highwayman Richard Mace (Michael Robbins), who tells   
   them of strange lights in the sky. That's when the Doctor discovers   
   alien technology. The lights were a ship, crash landing. Now the   
   survivors of the ship, members of a species known as the Terrileptils,   
   plan to wipe out all life on Earth. And far from proving an   
   impediment, the Doctor's arrival actually helps their plans - because   
   it gives them access to his TARDIS!   
      
      
   CHARACTERS   
      
   The Doctor: Though I'm no fan of writer/script editor Eric Saward, I   
   will give credit where it's due. In his first serial for Doctor Who,   
   he gets the Doctor right. We see a Doctor who is temperamental. When   
   Tegan has a minor meltdown at his failure to return her to Heathrow   
   Airport, the Doctor is not inclined to forgive her - at least, not   
   until Nyssa and Adric press him to. He does play favorites with his   
   young charges, clearly preferring Nyssa's company to the other two,   
   and equally clearly finding Tegan the least agreeable of the trio.   
   When the alien technology is found in Episode One, he becomes   
   instantly transfixed on the thought of alien survivors in this   
   village. But he only explains why to Nyssa, not pausing to explain   
   himself to the others. Davison remains terrific, and seems energized   
   by the character beats in the script.   
      
   Nyssa: After largely sitting out the previous story, The Visitation   
   gives Nyssa a larger role in the proceedings. She acts as the Doctor's   
   most reliable support, with the first two episodes seeing him treating   
   her almost as an apprentice. He keeps her with him when he enters the   
   deserted house, insisting that his other companions wait for them   
   outside. Upon discovering some Terileptil technology, he snaps at   
   Tegan and Adric to touch nothing; then he and Nyssa take a closer look   
   and exchange observations. Though Nyssa is less than pleased at the   
   Doctor's plan to "improvise with an armed android," she ends up being   
   the one to carry out his plan - which ends up working very well when   
   she finds herself in close quarters with the android.   
      
   Adric: Senses Tegan's dislike of him, and there's an amusing early   
   beat when the Doctor tries to evade the issue by very awkwardly   
   reaching out to touch Adric's shoulder. He behaves impulsively at   
   several turns, ignoring Nyssa's very reasonable arguments to stay in   
   the TARDIS and promptly getting himself captured by villagers. His   
   headstrong nature does help the Doctor near the end, however, when his   
   need to act by moving the TARDIS overcomes the Terrileptils' attempts   
   to seal the Doctor and Tegan inside the house.   
      
   Tegan: Though her opening meltdown seems a particularly unwarranted   
   "stroppy Tegan" moment, the script does at least provide some context.   
   We first see her recalling what happened to her with the Mara,   
   grappling with the idea of her body being taken over by this creature.   
   In this way, we are shown that she is already in an emotional state   
   when confronted with the disappointment of the TARDIS' missed landing.   
   The rest of the serial sees her being barely tolerated by the Doctor,   
   who clearly prefers Nyssa's company. However, her emotional nature   
   does make a good contrast to her companions' more clinical responses,   
   and she's the only one who seems genuinely appalled at the aliens'   
   plans.   
      
      
   THOUGHTS   
      
   The Visitation is a noteworthy story, in that it was the first   
   contribution of Eric Saward. Saward clinched the post as script editor   
   on the strength of this story, apparently largely because it was a   
   rare script that did not require any significant rewrites.   
      
   I've already given Saward credit for his characterization of the   
   regulars, particularly the Doctor. And I will admit that showing   
   understanding of the characters is a significant quality. Add to that,   
   The Visitation is well-structured, with each episode building on the   
   information established in the one before.   
      
   Unfortunately, it is also the very definition of a bog-standard   
   average Who story.   
      
   This is my third viewing of it, and my reaction remains unchanged. As   
   I sit in front of the screen, viewing it episode by episode, it isn't   
   long before I find myself getting just a bit sleepy. There's an awful   
   lot of tromping back and forth between the house and the TARDIS, the   
   TARDIS and the village, the village and the house, making the pace   
   feel very leisurely, even downright sluggish. The final episode   
   manages to eke out some momentum - but even then, there's no sense of   
   urgency. It feels very much as if Saward had enough plot for a 2-   
   parter, and then just stretched it out until he reached 4 parts.   
      
   That said, decent direction would have overcome a lot of the problems   
   here. This story cries out for a bit of atmosphere: some clouds, some   
   fog, some darkness. Instead, the Doctor and his friends tromp around a   
   very pleasant-looking bit of woods on a very clear and pleasant day   
   (and usually do so in long shot). Peter Moffatt's stagy direction is   
   just ill-suited to this kind of piece. Fiona Cumming, Peter Grimwade,   
   or even John Black would have gotten much more out of this. Moffatt   
   appears to be afraid of the close-up, and keeping distance from the   
   characters puts the audience at a distance from the action as well.   
      
   I emphasize that this story isn't at all bad. It all hangs together   
   and is perfectly watchable, and it does get better as it goes. It also   
   has a terrific performance by Peter Davison, who is firmly the Doctor   
   by this point, and an engagingly campy one by Michael Robbins as a   
   theatrical actor-turned-highwayman. But with no spark of inspiration,   
   a sluggish pace, and outright lifeless direction, it's hard to see how   
   this ever gained such a high reputation. I enjoyed all three of   
   Davison's previous stories considerably more than this one (yes, even   
   Four to Doomsday).   
      
   As for Saward? Well, on the strength of this story's characterization   
   and structure, I would certainly have re-commissioned him for another   
   story. But with the lack of inspiration on display here, it wouldn't   
   even have crossed my mind to make him the series' script editor...   
      
      
   Rating: 5/10.   
      
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