Doctor Who (TV Series) The Twin Dilemma: Part One (1984) User Reviews

Colin Bakers disappointing first story as the Doctor.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 9 March 2007]

Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma: Part 1 starts as two young mathematical genius's named Romulus & Remus (Gavin & Andrew Conrad, apparently Gavin's real name was Paul Conrad but couldn't be credited under it because there was another actor working under that name which makes no sense to me but there you go) who are identical twins are kidnapped by an evil professor called Edgeworth (Maurice Denham) & taken to an isolated asteroid called Titan 3. Meanwhile the new Doctor (Colin Baker) & his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) aren't getting on that well after his latest regeneration, in fact the Doctor tries to kill Peri which when he finally comes to his senses realises was a bad thing to do so he decides to put himself & Peri in exile on the most barren place he can think of which just happens to be Titan 3...

This Doctor Who adventure was episode 21 from season 21 that aired here in the UK in early 1984 & was Colin Bakers first story as the Doctor, directed by Peter Moffatt I thought this was average at best & you can just see the series going down hill. The script by Anthony Steven is alright I suppose although I thought the clever title was the best thing about it. Not that much has happened apart from the kidnapping & the introduction of Colin Baker who is given a pretty unlikable character to deal with, he seems to wallow in self pity, has no real personality, tries to kill Peri & is rather rude. I'm sorry but the Doctor should be the most likable character in the show without a doubt. That entertainment value, the bags of fun that Doctor Who used to be during the 70's isn't quite here I'm afraid, disappointing.

As the entertainment value was shrinking apparently so were the budgets as this looks horribly garish with some silly looking 'futuristic' set design which are pretty poor, then of course there's the special effects. The model spaceships look alright but the giant space slug thing is absolutely terrible, seriously the costume doesn't fit properly & it's about as scary & menacing as Mickey Mouse. A special mention for Peri who is still one of my favourite companions & she's pretty hot looking as well. Oddly going against tradition The Twin Dilemma which introduced a new Doctor was broadcast as the last story during Peter Davison's final season rather than the first story of the following one apparently to keep viewers interested between the break in seasons, I'm not sure if it worked to be honest.

The Twin Dilemma hasn't started that well, there's just about enough here to keep me going & I'll definitely watch the following three episodes but the way it's looking at the moment I doubt it'll get any better.

The Characterisation Dilemma

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 4/10 · 5 December 2018]

Review for all 4 episodes:

While I almost admire the bravery of giving the 6th Doctor such a shockingly different characterisation the way it is done completely alienates me today as much as it did when I watched it on its original transmission. I had loved Peter Davison's 5th Doctor for his heroically good nature epitomised more than ever with him eventually sacrificing himself to save his companion Peri. For him to regenerate into the 6th Doctor and be actually trying to strangle the person he died to save within the first 20 minutes as well as treating her with such disrespect and disdain is just far too jarring. It could possibly have worked if the writing and direction was to make it purely a short bad effect of regeneration making him deranged and portray it skillfully enough. It is not done well at all because the writing makes the 6th Doctor just seem like a totally unpleasant character. He continues to be a pompous, selfish, cowardly petulant, egotist with no compassion for the whole story and with a tendency to violence totally out of keeping with The Doctor. Indeed much of his tenure is blighted by aspects of these unpleasant traits continuing to appear. It does not allow for it to be excused as a temporary post regeneration trauma. Not much of this is Colin Baker's fault and in fact his acting in the first part of this story is admirable. Sadly the characterisation is bad and Colin's acting comes across as over the top, annoying and unengaging as a result. If he had simply been a darker Doctor it could have been interesting but the way it is done is just bad.

The first episode features him strangling Peri and being a conceited bully. The second episode makes it even worse showing him as a coward offering Peri as 'the one to blame' when threatened and so many awful character aspects are shown throughout the story. Even without that the story is lame. Twins with mathematical genius are kidnapped and a race of giant gastropods have taken over a planet. The twins are not well acted and are irritating, the gastropods are silly and the story is both boring and badly put together. There are silly plot elements throughout such as The Doctor leaving a random person in the TARDIS with his gun. Maurice Denham is a very very good actor indeed but there is no material to use even his potential as a guest character. The rest is unsatisfactory including Peri whose performance adds to the other annoying elements.

Baker's acting is sometimes shining through the bad characterisation, Denham is as good as he could be and there are a couple of minor elements of usual Doctor Who interest but overall this is not fun, not good enough quality for the show's usual standards and is makes the 6th Doctor unlikable.

This adventure brings season 21 down. They could have at least let Davison see out the season and left Baker to start his own season fresh. Very disappointing. 3 to 3.5/10 if you take whatever positives you can.

Poor, poor Colin.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 1/10 · 22 January 2019]

I feel truly terrible about writing this review, Doctor Who will forever be my favourite show, and The Doctor concerned, Colin Baker, would front some of my favourite stories, but this, was simply unforgivable.

Poor, poor Colin, he was given the worst start any Doctor could possibly have had. They got the character all wrong, he's a figure we're meant to look up to, and he's just ghastly, he's adorned in a hideous outfit, and he's given a set of monsters that make the ones from The Web Planet look amazing.

I don't blame Colin, he merely acts the script he's given. I do blame the writer, producer, script editor etc, how on Earth did they think fans would like it. Peter signed off with the incredible Caves of Androzani, and poor Colin starts off with this monstrosity.

It baffles me how they got it so wrong, it even featured Maurice Denham and Kevin McNally, two wonderful actors, what must they have thought.

This one makes wonder if the powers that be wantes the show's decline. 1/10

" Assassin " . Yes Indeed And He's The Show's Producer

[Theo Robertson · 1/10 · 1 February 2014]

On a future Earth two twins are abducted by the mysterious Professor Edgeworth . Meanwhile a newly regenerated Doctor is shown signs of being dangerously erratic , a fact underlined when he tries to strangle Peri

If you don't think DOCTOR WHO is the greatest show television has ever given us let me point out the beauty of the show . One week you're watching an episode that is an out and out horror story then the next week you're watching a post modernist black comedy . Despite my criticism of NuWho the one thing it does very well is that it's a show of contrasts . The classic show also did this and the tail end of Season 21 is a great example . One story earns the accolade of being an all time classic and is followed by an atrocity of television

It's strange how perceptions change . I thoroughly enjoyed The Caves Of Androzani in 1984 but looked forward to seeing Colin Baker in the role . You have to be slightly forgiving in that the debut story sees an atypical performance by the title character in the role . One scene featured the new Doctor cowardly hide behind Peri and bleat " It's her you're looking for " which caused my Mum to say she didn't like this new Doctor . I defended the new Doctor on the grounds that it's a regeneration story and not indicative where the show is going . Another scene saw the Doctor scream " Assassin " then try to strangle Prof Edgeworth which caused my dad to tut unfavourably then after the episode finished gave his opinion on the sixth Doctor " Being a load of ( expletive ) " After rewatching this show I'm surprised I defended it at the time and I'm perplexed how I never managed the notice the embarrassing faults at the time of broadcast

What makes it worse is that it contains a very good cast . Maurice Denham is a veteran actor and has appeared in countless films and television plays as well as being a highly regarded stage actor . In 1984 he must have been one of Britain's highest regarded actors and yet is nothing more than merely average here . That said he's Oscar worthy compared to everyone else . Kevin McNally did go on to become a prolific character actor and has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters like PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN but seems to think he's appearing on kids TV show and he's not helped by his silvery multi-coloured costume . In the fact whole colour scheme of the serial is vomit inducing and shows that director Peter Moffat should only have been allowed to film pseudo-historical stories for the programme which was something he always excelled at

The main flaw to the story is unfortunately the lead actor who feels the need to shout and bluster and over act at every opportunity . It's amazing to think how much praise Matt Smith got in the role when his loud zany performance isn't a million miles away from Colin Baker . That said towards the end of his era fandom did become cool towards Smith while some fans who initially enjoyed him started to get vocal in their criticism . Smith might have been helped by the cinematic nature of NuWho which does tend to disguise performance short comings . Shot on studio videotape and broadcast on 625 line television a loud unconvincing pantomimesque performance as seen by Baker here is magnified

One wonders what sort of comments could be read online if the internet existed away back in 1984 but one could make a very educated guess . The Twin Dilemma received instant and universal criticism on its broadcast and every time it's mentioned it's along the lines of the worst DOCTOR WHO story ever . JNT always seemed to have a problem finishing a season with a strong story but here he really outdid himself . I wouldn't go as far as saying it's the worst DOCTOR WHO story because there's another couple of stories produced in the mid to late 1980s that are worse but The Twin Dilemma might very well be the worst story to the show had come up with at this point

The Downfall of Classic Doctor Who

[wetmars · 1/10 · 1 April 2020]

I can't even remember what goes on in this post-regeneration four-parter series. Darn..

The Underestimated Dr

[Hurricane_Marcus · 9/10 · 29 October 2020]

Obviously on my own here but I loved Colin Baker's take on the Doctor - the 5ths re-generation into the 6ths is my personal favourite & the opening line "Change m'dear.. and by the looks of things not a moment too soon" is brilliant...yeah he was arrogant & pompous but that was the point..it jerked everybody awake & you either loved him or hated him and his over the top outfit - certainly more memorable than the drab which has followed since...the show was obviously suffering from lack of funding at this point, if only the 6th Doctor had had the quality or writing, stories & settings of the 3rd or 4th Doctors.. Colin Baker would've been excellent in those stories.