4.39: State of Decay

In which Doctor Who meets some vampires.

Broadcast: November-December 1980

Watched: November 2020

State of Decay, Part One

“The wasting is... the wasting.” “Ahh.”

Very cool that they use the whole season’s theme as a story title. Also, all three e-space stories are about crashed spaceships, hmmm. Actually, the whole e-space trilogy is a bit weird isn’t it? “We’re in a different universe!” doesn’t really go anywhere.

Anyway, this is one I sort of knew was good but never felt before, but this is wicked isn’t it? Really nicely done, charmingly written, about something (vampirism works nicely as a metaphorical version of the exploitation of the peasantry). I love the set up. The spaceship/castle design. The single village in an empty landscape. The selection scene is tense and creepy. So is the bit in the darkening woods with the bats. The unexpected appearance of computer technology is a bit of a headf*ck.

Aso: Adric is quite likeable here, even when being a cheeky little sod demanding cheese. The artful dodger thing sort of works.

Not sold on the Doctor warning about the dangers of revolution (I mean, he’s not wrong, but it’s not very Doctor-ish), but otherwise, lovely.

E-space is definitely green, by the way.

State of Decay, Part Two

“There’s nothing worse than a peasant with indigestion. Makes them quite rebellious.”

Still great. The Doctor and Romana finding the corpses and the vats of blood and the heartbeat of the giant vampire is really creepy.

Zargo giving the plot away by using the phrase “ship of state” is hilarious. So is Adric being “the first of the chosen ones”...

...although, confess your unpopular opinion: Adric is really pretty good in season 18. The dynamic works with Tom and Lalla.

I like way the Doctor and Romana have the exact opposite physicality of the hyper-formalised monarchs, just sort of flopping in and chilling out.

State of Decay, Part Three

Just occurred to me that this was shown in the run up to Christmas. Nice timing.

Sort of weird how the regulars are all helpless, so it takes a random rebel to get them out of it. Ooh, that’s Paul Bettany’s dad, looking fairly spry for someone in his 50s. Him opening the door onto the Doctor’s head is quite funny. There’s another guard that from his facial expressions appears to be a spiritual ancestor of Kevin Eldon.

The TARDIS uses magnetic cards, LOL. Tom plays the exposition scene well, considering he’s reading off some ticker tape with no one but K9 to talk to.

Latter day Terrance [Dicks, the writer; formerly script editor from 1968-74] gets really into Time Lord shit doesn’t he? Does he feel ownership of it because of The War Games?

State of Decay, Part Four

“You’re on the menu! If it’s a choice between that and joining the diners...” The scene in which Adric cheerfully announces he’s switching sides is quite fun, not least because it’s really not obvious that he doesn’t mean it.

The vampire acting gets a bit OTT at the start of this one when they all start talking about “rich, fat worlds” and almost literally chewing the scenery. (Also sort of confusing that the guy who seems to be the monarchs’ advisor is actually the one in charge.) But the episode picks up when K9 leads a peasant army into the tower: for once his ridiculousness feels like a nice juxtaposition rather than something irritating and smug.

I sort of love that e-space is green and no one ever even mentions it.

K9 on a throne, LOL.

The stock footage of bats isn’t great. The scene when the vampires die is quite horrible.

Sort of odd it took Doctor Who 18 years to do vampires. Feels like it’d come earlier.

Anyway, controversial take: Tom, Lalla and Matthew are a better team than Tom and Lalla.