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The Twin Dilemma is the seventh and final serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 March to 30 March 1984. The serial was the first to star Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor.

In the serial, the alien Gastropod Mestor (Edwin Richfield) plots to explode the sun of the planet Jaconda to scatter his eggs throughout the universe to conquer it.

The Twin Dillema was critically panned. It received a novelisaiton written by Eric Saward which was later adapted into an audiobook.

Plot

As a result of his recent regeneration, the Sixth Doctor suffers from mood swings and violent delusions, culminating in his attempt to strangle his companion, Peri Brown. Realising the threat he could pose to the universe in this state, the Doctor decides to exile himself and Peri to a remote asteroid. Meanwhile, the mysterious Professor Edgeworth abducts two teenaged math geniuses, Romulus and Remus Sylvest, at the behest of Mestor, the leader of the slug-like Gastropods who have usurped Edgeworth as ruler of the planet Jaconda. Mestor orders Edgeworth to hide on Titan 3, and destroys a pursuing squad of fighters.

The only survivor of the fighter squadron is Lt. Hugo Lang, who crash-lands near the TARDIS. The Doctor saves Hugo at Peri's behest, and he and Peri investigate the asteroid, leading to them being captured by Edgeworth. The Doctor recognises that "Edgeworth" is actually Azmael, a fellow Time Lord and his former tutor. Azmael tries to strand the Doctor and Peri on Titan 3, but unbeknownst to Azmael, his assistant Noma arms a bomb intended to kill them both, and they narrowly escape with their lives.

The Doctor, Peri, and Hugo follow Azmael to the now-desolate Jaconda, where Azmael makes it clear he never intended for them to be harmed, and reveals that Mestor is forcing him to have Romulus and Remus create calculations which will terraform two nearby planets that the Gastropods can settle on. The Doctor, however, realizes that Mestor has lied to Azmael about the nature of his plan, and the calculations will actually cause Jaconda's sun to go supernova, allowing Gastropod eggs to infest the galaxy.

After the Doctor tries and fails to kill him, Mestor announces that he will take over the Doctor's body. The Doctor tries to goad Mestor into doing this, but he instead takes over Azmael. The more experienced Azmael manages to briefly retake control of his body and initiates a regeneration, but since he has used up his entire regeneration cycle, this has the effect of killing both himself and Mestor, though Azmael and the Doctor make amends before the former dies. Hugo decides to stay on Jaconda and become its new ruler, while the Doctor agrees to return Romulus and Remus to their parents. The Doctor returns to the TARDIS, faces the camera and states, "I am the Doctor, whether you like it or not!"

Production

Development

The reason for producer John Nathan-Turner's decision to place The Twin Dillema at the end of Doctor Who season 21 was out of a desire to introduce the new Doctor as fast as possible. The serial was developed under the working A Stitch in Time. Nathan-Turner wanted the serial to be "simplistic", while script editor Eric Saward to be elaborate and complicated.

Writing

The Twin Dillema was written by Anthony Steven. Steven struggled to meet deadlines for the serial leading to several delays. Shortly after completing the script Steven became sick, leading Saward to completely rewrite the second half of the serial.

Througth the serial The Doctor is unusually violent, even attempting to strangle Peri. The intention was to create a Doctor that was initially unlikeable, but would gradually reveal a kind-hearted soul. This was intended to be in contrast with the more likable Fifth Doctor. During the 2003 documentary The Story of Doctor Who Baker revealed that the original plan was "over the many, many years I would be playing the part, the outer layers would gradually peel away, revealing the kind-hearted soul."

Casting and costuming

Prior to being cast, various media outlets had suggested Colin Baker should be the one to replace Peter Davison as the Doctor. Baker, a fan of Doctor Who, had expressed interest and previously considered auditioning for the role of the Fourth Doctor. However due to Baker's casting as Maxil in Arc of Infinity he assumed he was ineligible for the role. On 10 June 1983_, during a meeting with the production team, Baker was formally offered the role by Nathan-Turner. He accepted and signed a four year contract.

The cat badge worn by the Sixth Doctor on his lapel for this story was handmade and painted by Suzie Trevor and purchased for the programme from a specialist badge shop in central London. Baker suggested that in each subsequent story, the Doctor should wear a different cat badge to symbolise his mood.

Release

Ratings

The Twin Dillema was released on BBC1 in four twice-weekly parts from 22 March to 30 March 1984. "Part One" was released to an audience of 7.6 million viewers making it the highest viewed episode. It was followed by the second highest viewed, "Part Two", with only 7.4 million. Parts three and four were viewed by 7.0 and 6.3 million viewers respectively. Audience Appreciation Index were taken for the episodes, the best rated episode was "Part Four" with a 67 and the lowest was "Part Three" with a 59. The serial averaged 7.1 million viewers per episode.

Reception

Where the previous serial, The Caves of Androzani, is frequently cast among the very best of all Doctor Who stories, The Twin Dillema is often regarded by both fans and critics as one of the very worst in the history of the series. The review of the story in Doctor Who: The Television Companion describes The Twin Dilemma as "painful to watch", describing the Doctor's erratic behaviour as "forced and artificial, and succeed only in alienating the viewer." The review also argues the script "leaves much to be desired" and that the direction is uninteresting, giving the whole story "a rather tacky, B-movie feel to it".

In issue 150 of SFX magazine Russell T Davies, producer of the 2005 revival, cites the story as "the beginning of the end" of Doctor Who. Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles, reviewing the story for their book, About Time, noted that the divide in quality between The Caves of Androzani and The Twin Dilemma "felt wrong at the time, and still feels wrong now". The pair wrote, "How could anyone have thought that this story, of juvenile space monsters, meaningless plans and never-ending cop-outs, was ever workable?". Writing for Radio Times, Patrick Mulkern heavily criticized the serial along with the new Doctor. Mulkern disliked the episode's villains finding them dull and boring. Though he did praise Baker's performance stating that the main problems were the writing and the direction.

A 1998 poll by Doctor Who Magazine ranked the serial the second worst of all time only ahead of the Children in Need special Dimensions in Time. In 2009, another Doctor Who Magazine poll of the 200 stories produced up to that point saw the serial finish in last place, along with finishing last in every single age group that voted.

Commercial releases

In print

The Twin Dilemma

Author	Eric Saward
Cover artist	Andrew Skilleter
Series	Doctor Who book: Target novelisations
Release number	103
Publisher	Target Books
Publication date	September 1985 (hardback) March 1986 (paperback)
ISBN	0-491-03124-6

A novelisation of this serial, written by Saward, was published in hardback by Target Books in September 1985, and in paperback in March 1986. The cover illustration originally featured Colin Baker; however, when Baker's agent enquired about a royalty, the decision was taken to not feature him on the cover and a replacement was commissioned.

In January 2012, an audiobook of the novelisation was released, read by Colin Baker.

Home media

The Twin Dilemma was released on VHS in May 1992. The tape was available exclusively through Woolworths as part of a special promotion. A general release followed in February 1993.

The serial was released on DVD on 7 September 2009. It was later re-released as part of the Doctor Who DVD Files in Issue 127 on 13 November 2013. The DVD included various behind the scenes videos and production notes.

References

1. Ainsworth 2015, p. 9.
2. ^ Pixley 1998, p. 16.
3. Ainsworth 2015, pp. 19–21.
4. ^ Blair, Andrew (25 October 2013). "Doctor Who's top 50 controversies". Den of Geek. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
5. ^ Wright, Caroline; Finnett, Claire (30 December 2003). The Story of Doctor Who (Video).
6. Ainsworth 2015, pp. 14–15.
7. Ainsworth 2015, pp. 16, 72.
8. ^ Ainsworth 2015, p. 38.
9. Bahn, Christopher (10 July 2011). "Doctor Who (Classic): "The Twin Dilemma"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
10. ^ Miles, Lawrence; Wood, Tat (2005). About Time 5: 1980–1984: Seasons 18 to 21. Mad Norwegian Press. pp. 310–322. ISBN 0975944649.
11. Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). Doctor Who: The Television Companion. BBC Books. pp. 464–6.
12. "Hanging out with David, Billie and the Cybermen". SFX. No. 150. 29 November 2006. p. 24.
13. Mulkern, Patrick (10 April 2012). "The Twin Dilemma ★". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
14. Griffiths, Peter (October 2009). "The Mighty 200!". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 413. p. 19.
15. ^ Ainsworth 2015, p. 39.
16. Bishop, Venessa (2012). "The Twin Dillema". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 443. Panini Comics. p. 73.
17. Darlington, David (September 2009). "The Twin Dillema". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 412. p. 10.
18. Ainsworth 2015, p. 40.
19. Ainsworth 2015, pp. 39–40.

Bibliography

• Ainsworth, John (2015). "Doctor Who - The Complete History: The Twin Dilemma, Attack of the Cybermen, and Vengeance on Varos". Doctor Who - The Complete History. Vol. 40. Panini Comics.
• Pixley, Andrew (October 1998). "The DWM Archive - The Twin Dillema". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 270. Panini Comics.

External links

• The Twin Dilemma at BBC Online

• The Twin Dilemma title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

• Doctor Who serials novelised by Eric Saward
• Sixth Doctor serials
• 1984 British television episodes
• Fiction set in the 24th century