5.11: Terminus

In which Nyssa feels poorly.

Broadcast: February 1983

Watched: December 2020

Terminus, Part One

“You never mentioned it before.” “Well – it never worked before.”

This one is all about the tension, and is possibly the only episode that genuinely terrified me as a kid. The TARDIS breaking up into awkward special effects, Nyssa trapped as a skull appears on the wall in front of her, the plague ship, the hands round the door...

Quite cool that the story opens with Turlough talking to the Black Guardian again – nice to have an ongoing threat for a few stories. The scene between him and Tegan is incredibly stagey, and Strickson does a good job of making Turlough every awful patronising public school prick you’ve ever met.

Oh good, yet more hanging out in companions’ bedrooms. Interesting that we get Tegan being sad about Adric again in a story when they’re not going to give her time to say goodbye to Nyssa.

The Doctor blocking the closing door with a chair is cool – so is the Black Guardian removing it to leave Turlough trapped. Although, if the skull insignia is part of the plague ship, why does it disappear after the door closes? And then reappear later? What’s going on here?

The model shots of the spaceships docking are so terrible that it’s a pleasant surprise when Kari and Olvir’s break in – the explosion, the air seal – is actually really well done. I’d remembered Liza Goddard as another of Davison’s glamorous older women, but she’s only 32 here, christ.

“That’s Nyssa” no it isn’t Tegan you’re an idiot.

Oh god, the hands reaching around the door to grab Tegan are still bloody terrifying. The computer voice is also chilling, somehow. “Sterilisation procedures will then follow.”

And then the lazars, like zombies. “There is no return – this is Terminus.”

I think this episode is weirdly traumatic because it violates the TARDIS? It’s meant to be the safe point (in Enlightenment, Tegan wants to go back to it to get out of the story), but the Black Guardian persuades Turlough to muck around with some stuff and the walls literally start collapsing.

Terminus, Part Two

“We’re ALL dying.” Also, “If he dies, we’ll want his body back for the armour.” Really good and compelling guest cast in this one – the Vanir and their irritation with their work and each other is great. [After around a dozen seasons of stories that aren’t about office politics I am apparently glad to get back to a key part of the base under siege formula.] Some great design work, too, albeit counterbalanced by some truly appalling design work.

“I’m supposed to be combat trained” more like modern dance trained mate you can’t fool us. Also that ponytail is appalling. And the fact Nyssa says she’s ill and he doesn’t immediately connect it with the lazars is ridiculous. So, come to that, is Nyssa’s “We must go in two parties” why must you Nyssa, this is a really bad idea.

I like Valgard’s bemusement that Nyssa would talk back. Oooh she’s gone all badass again  – sort of weird how there’s that thread to Nyssa’s character from the start (she shoots people in Keeper doesn’t she?) but it’s been almost entirely ignored by later writers.

Terminus, Part Three

“The pilot’s dead, you know. But he’s still there.” This feels a bit Lord of the Flies.

Oh right, Valgard attacking the Doctor is utter nonsense isn’t it.

Turlough’s “We’re going to get out of here if we have to smash our way out” feels like fairly neat – by trapping him with Tegan, the show gives him the chance to win her round. Then he asks her if she could kill someone. These scenes have no plot function, they’re entirely there for characterisation reasons – that’s quite unusual in 20th century Who.

The Lazar who Nyssa gets talking to is a truly terrible actress.

Terminus being at the centre of the universe is a bit sledgehammer (also, cosmologically wrong – surely everywhere is at the centre of the universe?). The centre of the galaxy might make more sense?

They never really explain where this enormous moon-sized time-ship they call Terminus comes from, do they? Also – why would the explosion destroy the universe? The universe is quite big at this stage.

Unexpectedly, Agnes really likes the early ‘80s theme tune, btw. [Not sure how I exposed her to it, I can only say I’m sorry/]

Terminus, Part Four

“Beginning of the end, boys.”

Hmm. If Olvir was wrong, and the cure works, then maybe it was a bad idea to call it Terminus? Feels like a poor branding choice, that’s all. I do like the twist that it’s genuinely a hospital, just a really grumpy one. This story is a spiritual ancestor of Oxygen isn’t it?

The peril with the exploding space station all feels a bit fake – it just doesn’t seem to matter nearly as much as the lazar stuff; the ending of that thread feels quite weak. But it doesn’t really matter, I guess.

I love the sense of a shared universe – Olvir’s sister had lazar’s disease, Valgard was part of the same pirate band, etc. Valgard is great, actually, really good guest character.

It feels like there’s an underplayed note with Olvir and Nyssa almost but not quite banging (there’s a truly terrible bit of direction where he fails to rescue here, and then screams “NO!” at the place where she was, *even though she’s still clearly visible just behind him*). The “You given any thought as to how we’re going to get home?” “I’m about to” -exchange also feels weirdly unfinished – are they meant to be staying, it just isn’t stated?

Nyssa telling the Doctor off for telling Tegan off is nicely done. “She’ll die here” followed by hugging through sobs is a weirdly downbeat ending for a companion.

It’s very Doctor Who that there’s a story arc about someone who wants to kill the Doctor, and it’s played out entirely from their POV, and we can’t even be sure if the Doctor is aware of it.