This week’s cap addition Vengeance on Varos is a significant story in the history of Doctor Who. When the 18-month hiatus was announced in early 1985, increasing violence in the show, and this story in particular, was cited as a reason for the imposition. In truth it was Attack of the Cybermen that was more of a culprit than here, but given the content in Varos it’s easy to draw a direct conclusion. But this was also Colin Baker’s strongest story, despite some annoying tendencies within the story itself.
Writer Philip Martin has a penchant for oratorical flourish (a trait he shared with Robert Holmes it should be noted) and it shows up here in several characters including the Governor and Quillam (think of Sharaz Jek without the charm). But this is Colin Baker’s story to shine. Active without being argumentative, this was him at his best.
Just as last week, the caps for Vengeance on Varos are a significant upgrade both in quantity and quality over what the Tour had before.
We’re trending backwards with these cap additions, I wonder what next weeks will be?