WATCH ALONG | CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO | 7x25 | Inferno: Part 7
Added 2023-09-28 09:03:30 +0000 UTCA Few Notes:
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*****
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Comments
One of the greatest ever stories. The best 3rd Doctor story. Who is always at its best when it has real consequences and we get it in spades here with the destruction of the alternate world. Add in a love story, an anti-fascist parable and a warning on the search for power sources and it’s got everything. Plus some great lines - ‘so free will isn’t an illusion after all’, ‘the sound of the planet screaming out its rage’ Masterful 10/10
Chris Brooker
2025-06-24 12:40:49 +0000 UTCAll of this is good enough on its own, but the reason why it works as well as it does is because the story actually gives reasons for why we can’t get an explanation. We're told that the goo is too hot for anyone to analyse, and the Doctor speculates that it'll never cool down. I like that the origins of the goo are at least addressed a little bit by the characters in the story because it would be weird if it weren't, but it's not something the writers particularly focused on and it's all the better for it imo because (getting back to the point I was making earlier) the lack of an explanation keeps the focus on the true moral of the story. Tying into the idea that the Primords are the destructive forces beneath the Earth personified, I also see the goo converting humans back into rabid animals as nature's way of putting us back in our place. To remind us that despite all our technological advancement, we're all still just rabid animals underneath and that we're getting too big for our boots. All of the doom and destruction caused by the drilling in this story is a warning for humans to not tamper with things we know nothing about and that our greed for progress can lead to our annihilation if we’re not careful. You see, this story isn’t really about scary monsters or anything like that, it’s about showcasing the worst of humanity and what we’re capable of doing to ourselves and what we can turn into if the situation is bad enough. Don Houghton achieves this through characters like Stahlman, who represents humanity's greed for power and glory. The Primords who are the representation of our base, animalistic instincts and what could happen if we let people like Stahlman rule the world. Then there’s also all the characters from the parallel Earth (but primarily the Brigade leader) and what ends up happening to them, which shows that fascism is inherently self-destructive and the importance of free will and authority being questioned rather than followed with blind devotion. This is then brilliantly contrasted with our Earth being saved, which shows that despite all the problems and flaws the Doctor has encountered in the previous stories of the season, there is still a glimmer of hope because the people of our Earth aren’t as close minded as those from the parallel Earth and will listen to reason more readily. The drilling plot, the base under siege plot and the parallel Earth plot are all just frameworks through which Don Houghton explores human nature and our morality. If the story had laid out exactly what the goo and Primords were, the focus would’ve shifted on to them and none of this would be possible. It's more productive to focus on the situation at hand and what those things intend to do and how that affects the characters within the story rather than give arbitrary exposition that adds nothing substantive to the story. It’s better to focus on the conflict and danger this situation has put everyone in and how the characters will react and resolve everything. This is why it’s so beneficial for stories to sometimes not fully explain everything and leave it open for interpretation. The story isn’t constricted by what’s written down on paper, it’s allowed to grow and become more in the viewer’s mind. It’s a great show of restraint and respecting the viewer's intelligence from Don Houghton. Not explaining something isn’t always inherently bad. In fact, sometimes it’s better. Looking at all of this purely from a story mechanics POV, all this is clearly meant to be an example of lovecraftian horror. That type of horror is built upon the principle of creatures being unknowable and incomprehensible. It emphasises the fear of the unknown because oftentimes what we don’t know or understand is scarier than the things we do. This works especially well in a show like Doctor Who. Usually we expect the Doctor to have all the answers, so when even he doesn’t really understand what he’s up against, that amplifies the threat/fear factor of a creature even more. The reason why exposition in Chibnall’s era is criticised so heavily by so many people is because all of the over-explaining feels clunky and it doesn’t allow the story to breathe. The stories have nowhere to go because he’s boxed them in so tight. ‘Inferno’ is the antithesis of that approach. It’s amazing what Don Houghton is able to achieve within the framework of a typical base under siege story, while introducing the concept of a multiverse to Doctor Who at the same time. ‘Inferno’ is an absolute classic imo, the Pertwee era peaks early with this one.
Azmat Mahmood
2023-09-28 09:27:46 +0000 UTCThere's also something to be said for when writers keep the origins of certain monsters open ended and (relatively) unexplained. Not knowing what they truly are and where they come from only makes them more mysterious and increases their fear factor. It’s playing into the fear of the unknown. The Midnight Entity and the Flood (from 'The Waters of Mars') are two such creatures from modern Who. The lack of any real explanation of what they are and where they come from is widely recognised as one of their biggest strengths because it emphasises the wider scope of the universe and that there are things beyond anyone's comprehension. Even the Doctor’s. And the rare occasions when that happens are scary because you expect the Doctor to know the answers. Besides, sometimes an explanation is unsatisfactory because it doesn’t meet the viewers expectations, or it doesn’t live up to the potential the idea had for one reason or another. The writer just ends up undermining the concept they were going for instead of enhancing it. This is why it's better sometimes for things to be left open ended and allow the viewer to put the pieces of the puzzle together instead, allow them to use their imagination. Don Houghton doesn’t fully explain the goo, (a decision I feel he made very deliberately and it makes the story better, I'll get back to why later), but I do still think there’s more than enough in the story for the viewer to put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves. We know that the goo converts humans and turns them back into animals. This is why the converted humans are called ‘Primords’ (they're never called that in the story, but it's in the credits). The goo takes humans back to a primordial state. The way we were when the Earth was a lot hotter and rather like what we saw the parallel Earth was turned into at the end of episode 6. The Doctor called it a “retroregression of the body cells”, supporting the theory that the goo is simply taking humans back in time, in a manner of speaking. All of that ties into the Primords radiating heat and in fact feeding on it to stay alive, which is why in one of the early episodes, one of the technicians that had been converted, increased the power to make the drilling go faster. The Primords want the drilling to go ahead because they know it will create the perfect environment for them to thrive in upon completion. All of this is caused by a goo/bacteria buried deep within the Earth’s crust, which heavily implies that there’s something in the Earth itself that wants to destroy us all. I think the Primords are simply the destructive forces beneath the Earth - lava+heat in this specific case - personified. The lack of any real explanations also positions everything to do with the goo and the Primords as a natural phenomenon and not some evil plan any alien has set for humans. This is supported by the story itself because of the moment the Doctor mentions hearing the sounds the Primords make during the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa. This is an effective way to ominously foreshadow that the Inferno project could be heading towards a similarly destructive path, but it’s also a clever way to imply that the goo and the Primords happen any time there’s a natural disaster that generates a tremendous amount of heat.
Azmat Mahmood
2023-09-28 09:25:56 +0000 UTCIt’s really interesting how this entire season has heavily focused on highlighting all the problems and flaws with the world the Doctor now finds himself stuck on and how out of place he feels, but through this story we’re shown an even worse alternative. However, it's really interesting how the Doctor ended up on the parallel world in the first place. He was simply just fed up with everyone not listening to him and decided he had enough. He lied to and manipulated Liz again after doing the same in Speahead From Space and tried to escape using the TARDIS, abandoning everyone during an emergency. All this season he's frequently been clashing with stubborn characters like Lawrence, Carrington and now Stahlman in this story (I’d even throw in the Brigadier with that bunch too…), so it's a moment that's been pretty well built up and feels earned. However, the reason why it works for me is because it's a decision that comes back to haunt the Doctor. He ends up in an even worse situation due to his actions. He pays for his selfishness, so Don Houghton clearly understands that the Doctor was wrong to do what he did. The Doctor had to watch an entire world being destroyed and now has to live with the guilt of being unable to save all those people. And it's all his own fault. I really like it when we're shown the Doctor making mistakes and that he can't always save the day. I also love how the parallel Earth plot compliments the main plot and adds a lot of tension and jeopardy because we see what will happen to our Earth if the Inferno project isn’t stopped in time. I also love how this is turned on its head in the last episode with the reveal that unlike in the parallel Earth, Sir Keith survived the crash, which gives the Doctor the hope and impetus to do whatever he can to prevent our world from being destroyed too. It’s very clever writing and a great way to use the central conceit to enhance the storytelling. The episode 6 cliffhanger is shockingly dark and one of the best endings to an episode there has ever been. The way the story builds up the tension and suspense and then releases it in the most outlandish and ambitious way possible is breathtaking. Even if it’s technically not our own, it’s shocking to see the world ending and heartbreaking to see all the characters we’ve got to know and grown to care about die agonising deaths. The journey the parallel Earth characters go on is great. They start out skeptical and disbelieving every word the Doctor says, but when their world as they know it starts to crumble around them, they selflessly put themselves aside and do everything to try and help the Doctor get back to his world so he can save that one before it’s too late for it too. Well, everyone except the Brigade leader, who has his own selfish reasons for helping the Doctor and is willing to do anything to force the Doctor to take him as well. It’s really interesting that as long as the status quo and dictatorship is intact, the Brigade leader is an overbearing bully that seems to strike fear in anyone he comes across, but as soon as all that starts to fall apart and he can no longer boss people around, his tough guy facade melts away and he’s revealed as the coward he truly is. I love how this dark parallel to our Brigadier doesn’t come completely out of left field either, we’ve seen a darker side to him before with what he did to the silurians. It’s quite sobering to see what our Brigadier could’ve been like if he grew up in different circumstances. It really shows how important and impactful the environment someone grows up in is, it shapes the kind of person they turn out to be. I like how this is contrasted with the parallel Earth Liz, who starts out similarly cold and emotionless, but slowly becomes more like the Liz we’ve known throughout the rest of the season.
Azmat Mahmood
2023-09-28 09:24:25 +0000 UTCInferno is quite simply magnificent and the best Pertwee story bar none. I see it as both an anti-drilling/fracking story and a cautionary tale for how fascism is inherently self-destructive. The anti-drilling message isn’t exactly hard to decipher with all the doom and destruction we see in this story. The anti-fascism message is more layered and subtle though and can go unnoticed. However, the narrow minded, even more stubborn characters we meet in the parallel Earth – and what ultimately ends up happening to them - make it abundantly clear what that line of thinking can lead to. It shows the importance of free will (incidentally, this was a major theme throughout the previous Doctor’s time on the show) and authority being questioned rather than followed with blind devotion. The only reason our Earth is saved is because the people in it aren’t as close minded and will listen to reason more readily than their counterparts in the other world. It’s quite a dark and unique way to do it, but this story actually shows the Doctor that the Earth he’s stuck on isn’t as bad as he thinks, it offers the Doctor a glimmer of hope. Perhaps he can make a difference to our world after all. It's brilliantly summed up by this bit of dialogue: DOCTOR: “Yes, of course, of course. An infinity of universes, ergo an infinite number of choices. So free will is not an illusion after all. The pattern can be changed.”
Azmat Mahmood
2023-09-28 09:22:04 +0000 UTC
