4.28: The Power of Kroll

In which things get a bit swampy.

Broadcast: December 1978-January 1979

Watched: September 2020

The Power of Kroll, Part One

“Kroll! Kroll! Kroll! Kroll! Kroll! Kroll! Kroll!”

Back to colonialism as a theme – feels like something we see a lot in ‘70s Who, suggesting something in the air at the time. This one feels like it belongs in a set with Colony In Space and The Mutants.

The throwaway line that the Swampies were kicked off Delta Magna and now their new home is under threat is nicely done – this is basically the Trail of Tears, I suppose. The shitty treatment of the people with different skin colour also nicely played (“Oh, he doesn’t count”).

The tribal dancing feels awkward and problematic. Rohm-Dutt’s vaguely Irish accent also, maybe.

Anyway, I enjoyed that far more than Androids, and can’t work out what that says.

Realised that weirdly all my memories of this one were episode 1 – I’d have guessed the sacrifice bit was the third cliffhanger – so I’ve no idea what happens next.

The Power of Kroll, Part Two

“The weight of history’s against you”

Also, “Well, he probably looked more convincing from the front.” He didn’t, but the idea that Romana is being attacked by what looks like a man in a shit costume which turns out to be a man in a shit costume is quite funny.

Weird how the real Kroll turns up halfway through this episode. I assumed it’d be a cliffhanger, and there’s be a longer gap between the “is it even real” discussion and the monster appearing.

Also weird that we see Kroll and then get the “Something is blocking the scanner”/”I tell you, that is what I saw!” scene. You’d normally put the former before the monster reveal.

I am having difficulty telling the swampies apart, which suggests I’m a racist.

Love Rohm-Dutt’s “I’m just a simple gunrunner, I don’t want to fight” routine.

Feel a bit for the poor sod who has to pretend he’s losing a fight with a tentacle.

The Power of Kroll, Part Three

“Oh, thank you! It’s nice to know who your friends are.” The entire torture rack sequence is hilarious, which given that this one was meant to have minimal humour is weird.

Kroll is a really bad effect. I like the bit where Philip Madoc pointedly tells his boss he doesn’t hate the swampies.

The bit where the Doctor screams until a window explodes is mental; also I failed to notice that the refinery director had paid for the guns, and blamed the Sons of Earth, which just flies past in two lines.

Anyway, while I’m still kind of enjoying it, this is unusually empty for a Holmes script.

The Power of Kroll, Part Four

Also it’s remarkably unclear what the stakes are here. Kroll is meant to be scary, but who is it threatening? What does anyone involved want? Unusually messy for Holmes.

It’s also incredibly confused. It’s sympathetic to the swampies and their quest for dignity and freedom... except they’re a bunch of ignorant savages who worship a squid and do a big dance for him and get eaten because they’re too dumb to see that maybe he’s a giant squid that wants to eat people.

And the ending, where the Doctor just waves the tracer at the monster and suddenly everything stops, is terrible.

All the episodes run short, too. I wonder if this one was particularly troubled?