Terminus (1983) Review

Do I even have to write something here?

Terminus is mostly boring filler, but it has some genuinely good ideas in it. 

WRITTEN BY

Stephen Gallagher, the lunatic behind Warriors' Gate. 

PLOT

Instead of just explaining themselves to the guards, the TARDIS crew arse around for three episodes on a time-travelling leper ship fuelled by something that can blow up the entire universe(and ostensibly caused the Big Bang) before realising they need to shut down the engines and cure the lepers and their drug-addled guards. 

ANALYSIS

I like the idea of visiting a leper ship on Doctor Who, and the guards' own plight is creative and interesting as well. I just wish it wasn't preceded by three episodes of corridor-roaming and nonsensical technobabble. There's not even any good dialogue or exceptionally fun characters to fill the time. 
All that Terminus is in the end, is just a bunch of irritated people with different problems pointing sticks at each other for no valid reason for 75 minutes and then there's a nice, cosy, happy ending. 

The direction is non-existent. I can't remember the camera doing anything except just sitting there, no matter what was going on. And whoever allowed the actors playing the guards to wear those noisy plastic costumes should've been fired(although I do like the Dune-esque design).

There's not much else to say: it's not horrifyingly bad, but it doesn't even reach the "vaguely watchable I guess" territory. It's the blandest Doctor Who story I think I've ever seen. I guess it's commendable that there's really no villain even, but that just adds to the blandness in this case. It's a story that could've been effectively told in two episodes and even then it would've been merely alright. 

CHARACTERS

Peter Davison is... there, I guess. 

Turlough and Tegan, I kid you not, spend the entire story completely isolated from everyone else, just looking for the way back to the TARDIS. Good lord. Oh yeah, FYI Turlough's still dealing with the Black Guardian(that's about as much as the story gave us about those two as well). 

Time to say farewell to Nyssa: I must say, I did like at least the concept of her character. A sweet, timid princess with scientific training who is both eager to learn and has no ego. She's essentially the perfect companion. But due to a combination of poor writing, lack of development and Sarah Sutton's poor acting skills(the only time I remember her changing her aristocratic facial expression was when she dipped into the water on Castrovalva in what looked like a blooper), her character almost always felt stagnant. 

People love to hate Adric, but I firmly believe Adric was ten times the companion that Nyssa was: he had a far more interesting backstory, genuine chemistry with Tom Baker, a teenage thirst for self-dependence... and whilst Matthew Waterhouse was no Olivier, he could at least give the impression that he was emoting. 

The only time I felt Nyssa wasn't a pointless tag-along was in Arc Of Infinity when she and the Fifth Doctor were on their own, and it seemed like they had a really nice, deep need for each other's presence. I genuinely loved that. But one story(which was fairly dismal outside of that anyway) cannot remedy three seasons of poor writing. 

As for the rest of the cast, I thought Liza Goddard as the fluffy-haired pirate was pretty cool. Apart from the arrogant leader, I liked all the guards. They weren't special or anything, but they seemed like the kind of people you'd have a great time with in a pub or something. Especially Bor, played by the charming Peter Benson from Heartbeat. 

There was also the Garm, a walking wolf who can cure lepers or something. I don't know. I don't care either.

NOTES

*Whilst she is technically right, I find it grossly unfair that Tegan judges Turlough simply based on the way he talked with the Doctor! I mean, he's an alien, isn't he? ... Is he? Um...

*Nyssa uses an abacus to calculate... suuuuure.

*Sarah Sutton barely wears any clothes in this story. In fact, both she and Tegan seem to find skimpy white underwear in fashion these days, which I am totally onboard with. 

*I like that the casual opening allows us to see the characters' life in the TARDIS a little, kind of like The Chase. 

*Yeah, Turlough go ahead and SHOUT at the Black Guardian when every person in the TARDIS can hear you. 

*So, what exactly does that face on the TARDIS emergency exit represent?

*Why would Nyssa have died if she stayed in her own room as opposed to using the exit?

*Remember the "I'll explain later" jokes in The Curse Of The Fatal Death? It's completely a Fifth Doctor thing.

*The cliffhanger where the lepers first appear is actually pretty hardcore.

*"Do you see any more computer blocks?" Yes, but make sure to keep the shooty things away from them.

*Okay, so I have to ask... why does a hospital ship have time-travelling capacity and a map of the entire freaking universe? And why does Doctor Who persist in having the universe be finite in size?

*The multicoloured buttons on the ship's console are almost as bad as the ones in Star Trek or the Fourth Doctor's secondary console room.

*So, Nyssa falls ill on a leper ship and the guy terrified of lepers doesn't suspect she's been infected?

*I love how the camera specifically focuses on Nyssa tearing off her skirt. I think it's the only time the director woke up.

*I double love how the camera blatantly shows off Nyssa's knickers when she's unconscious. Mary Ridge, you shameless lady, you.

*How does this leper ship even work? Where are the lepers coming from and going to? What exactly does the wolf do? Where does he even come from?

*Why doesn't Goddard just run behind the guard choking the Doctor as opposed to trying to ricochet her blaster shot to hit the guard? A little risky, no?

*And then, like idiots, they leave the guard armed. Facepalm.

*So, what leper parted with his-her baggy clothes so that Nyssa could cover herself up? Actually, why did she want to, if she was so hot from the sickness?

*Why does the guards' robot always flail its arms about?

*Considering that Nyssa hasn't got a clue where she is or who the guards are, why does she put up so much of a fight when they want to move her?

*So, Turlough tells Tegan to wait in a corridor and runs off(to talk to the Black Guardian). And she never asks any questions?

*Why would the Black Guardian release Turlough into the TARDIS without demanding to know what his plans are? I mean, the Guardian's got all the cards. Turlough shouldn't be able to deal with him like that.

*So, the wolf takes Nyssa off the chains, then the girly guy attacks the guards, then he puts her back in chains, and the girly guy attacks again. What is this, chronic hysteresis?

*To be fair, the entire universe being a paradox of itself caused by a fuel leak is pretty ingenius.

*As if this was a comedy, the girly guy doesn't even notice the wolf taking Nyssa away the
second time. When he's done fighting with the guards and the wolf has juuuust left the frame with Nyssa, he sees the chains and just inanely screams "No!! Nyssa!!" WHILST THE WOLF IS STILL CARRYING HER AWAY A FEW METERS AWAY.

*So, at one point, the entire ship was going to be sterilised and I think that was a cliffhanger at some point, but then it happened and... nothing? 

*I love how the Doctor pauses when Nyssa reminds him that along with the TARDIS, he'll also be seeing Tegan again. It's not even subtle or anything, it's canonical at this point that the Fifth Doctor hates Tegan.

*Another example of this is when Tegan can't get the Doctor's attention(what did she even want?) until Nyssa needs something. 

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Black Guardian still wants Turlough to kill the Doctor. Apart from causing the TARDIS to land on the ship, this has zero effect on the story.

2) Turlough gets Adric's room(which, contrary to Turlough's comment, looks nothing like a "boy's room". Also, isn't he supposed to be a boy himself? And why doesn't he get his own room? I thought the TARDIS can create and erase an infinity of them.

3) Before handing Adric's room over to Turlough, Tegan removes one of the Kinda necklaces. It's a nice, subtle moment, but why that of all things? Wouldn't it just remind Tegan more of the Mara?

4) The Black Guardian tells Turlough(who is messing with the TARDIS console) that he is "touching the Heart of the TARDIS". I usually don't include moments like this, because it's not a continuity reference per se, but this random line came to mean so much more in light of Boom Town.

5) Nyssa tells the Doctor that she intends to put the skills she learned on Traken to good use. One would think she'd also mention the skills she learned on the TARDIS, but whatever. It's nice that she finally gets to fulfil her destiny and all.

6) As Nyssa departs, we hear a musical cue from The Keeper Of Traken(Roger Limb also composed the incidental music for that story). I think that's a very charming touch.

BEST QUOTE

DOCTOR: (after walking in to the two pirates) "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was private."
KARI: (pointing a gun at him) "That's alright. We're in the mood for company."

CONCLUSION

Pedestrian to the extreme. Avoid at all costs, unless you want to wank off at the sight of Sarah Sutton's undies. And Peter Benson's Liverpudlian accent.