Doctor Who Season 22

Season 22.

I had the notion to watch, the caves of Androzani. I enjoyed Peter Davidson's swan song very much. Peter Davidson is the first Doctor I can remember, but it was the Davidson years Target books, which I remember. The Five Doctors. Terminus. The Visitation Maydrwn undead Even the quiz books.

It was Nicola Bryant Peri who intrigued me.  Firstly she is simply radiant. The second was the realisation she had a crush on the Doctor. " You were almost young- I really liked you" The revised series would take this idea and run with it ( rose tyler) and run ( Martha Jones)  and run ( Amy Pond) with it.

So here are my thoughts. The episodes are not listed in any particular order:

Attack of the Cybermen
Sarah Greene annoyed me as a child watching Saturday Superstore She has a didactic manner which grates. Brian glover takes the piss out of a Cyberman. A wonderful scene.

Lytton from resurrection of the Daleks returns. He is playing a gentleman soldier of fortune who, has been hired by the Cyrons.  Lytton mocks his partners in crime. They are after all working class.
the episode is  bloody. The Dr  desperately battles with the Cybermen inside the TARDIS.
The ending of the episode comes as a shock to the Doctor and knocks some of the swagger out if him.

Vengeance on Varos.

A prison planet on the future and the governor. The descendent of former wardens still speaks with an RP accent. This is a good episode . Probably the best Colin Baker episode. Vengeance is, a poke at the BBC and the viewers. The viewers who are represented by two cockneys who vote on the fate of the Governor. There was a place in Ancient Greece where legislative proposals were offered while standing on a chair with a noose about ones neck. Here the Governor Martin Jarvis is trying to escape a contract with Sil.
Sil is great
A wonderful oily rag of a villain
Donal Noye from GOT stars too I amused myself by thinking of him saying he took the black. Jason Connery appears too linking it tangentially to the 80s Robin hood series

Timelash

Not as bad as the rumors had it. On the planet of the New Romantics, an evil dictator must be overthrown. Avon not Vila from Blake's 7. Overacts to get his revenge on Colin Baker
H.G wells puts in an appearance. Though sadly does not get any sense knocked into him.

Mark of the Rani.

Trouble n TARDIS. It's actually a pity, as done straight this might have been a more interesting story. The Doctor has a run in with some machine smashers - luddites in the North of England. The mcguffin is the Rani has been stealing brain fluid and preventing people from sleeping. Why not a lunatic asylum or a flophouse?
The idea of using a bath house as the scene if the crime at least points the viewer into the reason why people accepted the Industrial revolution. There were some obvious benefits. If the guns and dogs suggested other wise.
Leela's father from Bergerac makes an appearance.

The Two Doctors
A parsons egg of an episode. . It's also another Blake Seven reunion. Jacqueline Pearce is an Androgum A race the Dr despises .It is hard to see the Dr do down a race we have just seen on screen. The Androgum are obsessed with eating. The episode is a pretty leaden gloved metaphor for vegetarianism. We see Jamie being shocked to bring out the flavour.

We watch footage of a  day trip to Seville. The villains are actually filmed in a horse and carriage. Colin Baker changes out of his awful coat and hat. Peri looks radiant. A background character a slightly cowardly resting Ack-tor working as maître de for a Seville restaurant is simply stabbed and killed . Wether they wanted to shock the viewers or needed a kick the Dog moment. It seems unnecessary
The scenes of Troughton working as the Dr again are splendid