For fans of a “certain age” here in the U.S. “our Doctor,” as the saying goes, is no surprise, Tom Baker. Ol’ Scarf Boy. So it’s with some interest when one of the stories of one of the classic series golden eras, namely Seasons 13 and 14, finally comes to DVD.
We’ve made mention on these pages before about neglected gems, stories which, through no fault of their own, get outshone by more celebrated neighboring tales (we often cite Planet of Fire as an example of this).
The Android Invasion is part of a string of great stories which begin with Terror of the Zygons and runs all the way The Talons of Weng Chiang so it’s kind of easy, especially directly following The Pyramids of Mars, to overlook this little gem. Terry Nation has only two non-Dalek stories in his Doctor Who resume, the other being The Keys of Marinus for William Hartnell, but this story boasts some of the best Tom/Lis interaction in their time together.
Watching this story once again, as has been remarked upon here before, is like an afternoon with an old friend. We’ll be posting some stills and a set of vastly improved caps from this story in the near future, but if you’ve got a fellow fan who’s somewhat dismissive of the classic series, preferring the new to the old, you could do a lot worse in stating your case than sitting down for The Android Invasion.
