This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Khaosworks (talk | contribs) at 15:05, 14 May 2005. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:05, 14 May 2005 by Khaosworks (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 1984 Doctor Who episode| 137 - The Twin Dilemma | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast | |||
| Doctor | |||
| Production | |||
| Directed by | Peter Moffatt | ||
| Written by | Anthony Steven | ||
| Script editor | Eric Saward | ||
| Produced by | John Nathan-Turner | ||
| Executive producer(s) | None | ||
| Production code | 6S | ||
| Running time | 4 episodes, 25 mins each | ||
| First broadcast | March 22 - March 30, 1984 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
The Twin Dilemma is is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in four twice-weekly parts from March 22 to March 30, 1984, the first to star Colin Baker in the title role.
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler A race of giant slug-like creatures, the Gastropods, have taken over the planet Jaconda, and their leader Mestor has had a pair of young twin geniuses abducted from Earth. He intends to have them work out how to explode the planet's sun, which will spread Gastropod eggs throughout the universe.
Trying to stop them are the recently regenerated Doctor (who is experiencing wild mood-swings) and his companion Peri, Space Marine Hugo Lang, who has been assigned to rescue the geniuses, and Professor Edgeworth, the former leader of Jaconda (who is really Azmael, a Time Lord and former tutor of the Doctor).
Notes
- Maurice Denham makes a guest appearance as Azmael.
- Anthony Steven worked very slowly on the scripts, offering many strange excuses (purportedly saying that his typewriter had literally exploded) and turning them in at a very late stage. Compounding things were the fact that the scripts were viewed as being of poor quality and too much for the show's budget by script editor Eric Saward, who was forced to massively rework them in a very short amount of time.
- At least one aspect of Steven's original script featured the Joconda/Gastropods being dropped totally early in the fourth episode without any real resolution to the plot, with the final battle taking place in another dimension against a being called Azlan who was controlling Mestor all along.
- Fandom often holds the serial in a very low light, being regarded as one of - if not the - worst serials ever made. A 1997 poll by Doctor Who Magazine ranked the serial the second worst of all time (Dimensions in Time was number one), while a 2003 poll by fansite Outpost Gallifrey ranked it worst of all, below even Dimensions in Time.
- The Doctor is unusually violent at the start of this episode, even attempting to strangle Peri. The intention was to create a Doctor that was initially unlikeable, in contrast to the instantly likable Tom Baker and Peter Davison Doctors.