The Ribos Operation: Part One

So for some reason my dad has showed me this episode dozens of times. Its a good episode, I guess. Its clever and the acting is pretty good. There are far better episodes of this show that I'd prefer watching though. Most of the negatives to this episode can be attributed to the low budget. If you're a fan of the show I guess you could watch it, but I don't really recommend it.

The Doctor's summoned to find a lost key, it's in six pieces and scattered liberally, a new friend to assist, adds an intriguing twist, she's a time traveller too, but more of a trainee.

"Doctor Who" fans tuning in for the start of season 16 in September 1978 were in for a surprise: The inaugural four-part serial "The Ribos Operation," while a self-contained story, was just the first of six segments in a season-long story arc dubbed "The Key to Time," itself comprising six segments scattered across the universe, with the Time Lord the Doctor and his new companion Romana, herself a Time Lord, dispatched by the White Guardian (Cyril Luckham) to retrieve them in order to reassemble them and recalibrate the universe--without allowing the Black Guardian to retrieve them and plunge the universe into oblivion.

The brainchild for "The Key to Time" was producer Graham Williams, whose arrival on "Doctor Who" came at a contentious time. Following the mid-1970s departure of "Doctor Who" producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes, a glory period that saw this family-oriented science-fiction series both praised for its edgy, adult-oriented gothic-horror stories and vilified in the next breath by cultural conservatives such as Mary Whitehouse--not to mention the BBC itself--Williams stepped in as producer for season 15 in 1977 with orders to tone down the horror angle, of which Williams himself had been critical even as it helped current Doctor Tom Baker become a series icon. Baker would become even more iconic with Williams's season 16.

Ironically, Williams turned to Holmes to kick off the story arc with "The Ribos Operation," arguably the best script from a writer lauded for landmark stories including "Terror of the Autons," "The Time Warrior," "The Talons of Weng-Chiang," and "The Caves of Androzani." Central to Holmes's well-conceived tale is his favorite theme of clashing civilizations. Using the segment locator given to them by the White Guardian, the Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Ribos, currently in "ice-time" and inhabited by medieval, superstitious folk unaware that other worlds even exist.

Also on Ribos is veteran huckster Garron (Iain Cuthbertson) and his protégé Unstoffe (Nigel Plaskitt), lying in wait for the Graff Vynda-K (Paul Seed), a brutal tyrant exiled from the technologically-superior Levithian Empire and looking for an advantage to enable him to regain his lost reign--and guess who has what he's looking for planted as bait to lure him into a planet-sized con?

Playing the first companion who is equal--if not in some ways superior--to the Doctor, Mary Tamm holds her own against, by this time, an intimidating Baker. Her Romana, younger, glamorous, academically accomplished, exudes cool imperiousness that contrasts with the scruffy Time Lord flashing his street smarts and grizzled experience ("Lady and the Tramp," anyone?); in a neat inversion of the companion's typical "what's that, Doctor?" expository purpose, Romana has to explain the functions of the segment locator to him.

Filmed entirely on the sound stage, the first part of "The Ribos Operation" has all the earmarks of a classic wobbly-walls, men-in-rubber-suit monsters (I'm looking at you, shrivenzale) "Doctor Who" serial. It also has, thanks to Holmes's crackling script, the makings of a juicy saga.

So for the first time we get an entire series in classic who with an arc, 6 serials all part of 1 big story (Mr Moffatt eat your heart out)

The Doctor is hijacked in time by Cyril Luckham, the White Guardian, sat in a wicker chair, drinking mouthwash, he is ordered to search out the 6 segments of the key to time, in order for the Universe to be re-set, as a disaster is looming. The Doctor is given a locater and a new assistant. The Doctor is warned against the Black Guardian.

Step in Mary Tamm, for her first outing as Romana (1) and what a breathtaking beauty she was, even K-9 was impressed, she starts of super smart, cocky and witty, a good match for the Doctor.

Part 1 is a little bit slow, we are shown Ribos, an icy planet, and introduced to Garron and Unstoffe who are planning some kind of swindle with the richly dressed and wonderfully named Graff Vynda-K. 20 minutes in and new companion Romana is already in trouble (how 70's) but will she survive?

Graham Williams's influence is instantly apparent, Philip Hinchcliffe's gigantic influence on the show had all but faded and the glorious run of dark Gothic horror was gone, and so too was the show's purple patch.

Already there is a little too much out of place humour, we've not had a great deal over the last few years, but under Graham's watch more was to come, in some instances it worked well, there was just too much of it.

Part 1 overall is good, a little slow, but lots of high points, Romana is great, Iain Cuthbertson is fantastic, the production values are high (not the shrivenzale, a bit rubbery.) It feels different somehow.

Review of all 4 parts:

This 4 part story is the first story in Season 16 and is the start of the first ever full season story arc which is called The Key to Time. That arc involves The Doctor being set a task by the White Guardian to find the Key to Time which is in different parts spread across different locations. He is given a device to locate them and a new assistant who is a female Timelord (Romana, played by Mary Tamm). The aim is to unite the Key and stop it falling into the hands of the villainous Black Guardian.

The Doctor is guided to Ribos, location of the first part of the Key where he discovers shady salesmen trying to sell the planet and an unpleasant military leader trying to buy it.

The story is largely comedic, in keeping with the later Tom Baker seasons (as opposed to the darker, more serious and stronger earlier Tom Baker seasons) but in this case the humour is well written and funny thanks to the great writer Robert Holmes. The two conmen are a very amusing duo with some really nice dialogue. Tom Baker and Mary Tamm are also immediately very amusing together with the sparkling script delivered to perfection by them. K-9 adds some fun asides and the whole story bubbles along entertainingly.

There are more serious aspects. The villains are more serious at times but also rather larger than life. Some lovely scenes occur with the character Binro, who had been declared a heretic for believing the stars were all other suns with other worlds around them. His realisation that he was right and the beautiful dialogue and emotion really adds another dimension to this story.

Even the monster in the catacombs is pretty good for the time and the overall story is strong.

Interesting, humorous and very enjoyable.

My ratings: All 4 episodes - 9/10.