Doctor Who (TV Series) Inferno: Episode 5 (1970) User Reviews

It's Doomsday

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 24 August 2015]

In the general setup the middle of a 7 part story would be a dramatic dip, Part 4 had proved to be possibly the best episode so far.

The Doctor is in danger, due to be shot, and countdown reaches zero, to what effect?....

Penetration Zero has had a huge effect, something's been unleashed and the staff run in fear. Huge explosions happen outside and steam fills the air. Stahlman locks down in the control room and pushes the staff into the green slime on the drill. Earthquakes and tremors are reported all over the country, all looks bleak. The Doctor asks for help to save 'his' world. The Brigade Leader demands to be taken back with him. Petra tries desperately to get power through to the TARDIS council. Stahlman talks to Petra on the intercom, and the barrier is lifted, releasing the Primords.....

This is just brilliant, it's so dark, the scene of Stahlman pushing the employees faces into the green slime is so nasty. The music is so eerie, it just fits so well, there's something to bleak about the whole thing.

I think the Primords are a great creation, a new storyline featuring them would work so well.

Brilliant, loses a point as the cliffhanger is less thrilling then last weeks. 9/10

"Compared to the forces you people have unleashed an atomic blast would be like a summer breeze." Classic story.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 3 July 2007]

Doctor Who: Inferno: Episode 5 starts as the drilling rig breaks through the Earth's crust & unleashes tremendous forces which send tremors all over England & the world. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) hypothesises that the forces will destroy the entire planet within weeks or even possibly days, the Doctor pleads with the alternate Lethbridge Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) to let him have some nuclear power from the facility so he can return home & stop the same thing happening in our world but Stewart doesn't seem interested & the facility is being overrun by Werewolf type creatures who kill on sight...

This Doctor Who adventure was episode 23 from season 7 & originally aired here in the UK during June 1970, directed by Douglas Camfield who due to illness was replaced by producer Barry Letts for the studio filming on episodes 3 to 7 this is a great story. The script by Don Houghton takes itself pretty seriously which works well enough, the whole parallel universe thing is intriguing & attention grabbing. As a plot device it works very well within Inferno, the Werewolf creature things not so much as they don't really do much but it was thought Doctor Who needed a monster so that's the reason they were included for better or worse. Overall Inferno has kept me interested over it five episodes so far & I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends, sure there's a bit of padding here & there but nothing too distracting.

In this episode we see the Werewolf type creatures in their full glory for the first time, to me they looked like actors with their faces painted green & huge Santa Claus type beards stuck on. They aren't the scariest looking monsters ever but at least they don't look too silly. There's a good atmosphere to this story with some effective ambient sound effects in the background & the real life Berry Wiggins & Co. oil refinery near Strood in Kent where the exterior shots of the facility were filmed look suitably industrial.

Inferno: Episode 5 is yet another fun & entertaining way to pass 25 minutes & goes to make up one of Pertwee's best, if not the best, stories.

Hot stuff!

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 21 September 2014]

Review of all 7 episodes:

Inferno has a tremendous reputation and that is very well deserved, it is fabulous in almost every way. The brilliance of the story, script and acting is clear throughout and particularly in the famous portion of the story which involves an alternative reality with fascist versions of the Brigadier, Liz, Benton and guest characters. This highly entertaining aspect of the story brings out fantastic performances from Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John as villainous versions of their regular characters. When this alternative reality is brought in, it is Doctor Who at its truly magnificent best.

The story involves a scientific project lead by Professor Stahlman to drill through the earth's crust which runs into trouble due to Stahlman's refusal to slow down or take precautions and due to a mysterious green substance coming from underground which causes physical and mental changes to those who touch it. The Doctor throws in a whole new dimension - literally - when he accidentally causes the TARDIS console to transport him to a parallel universe where the same scenario is occurring but in a fascist Britain.

The entire script is superb, intelligent and believable with great dialogue delivered perfectly by the whole cast. Pertwee, Courtney and Caroline John are at their very best throughout whilst John Levene not only fully establishes Benton as an extremely good regular character he also plays the fascist version of Benton with gusto. There are great realistic guest characters played to perfection. Olaf Pooley (Stahlman), Christopher Benjamin (Sir Keith), Sheila Dunn (Petra Williams) and Derek Newark (Greg Sutton) could not be better. The story has a nice gritty, grown up science fiction feel but also has bags of action, stunts, thrills and fun.

The plot thread where people touch a substance emanating from beneath the Earth's crust and turn into werewolf-like creatures known as 'primords' is the least impressive aspect of the story in my opinion and even that is very entertaining. At first I disliked the primords subplot but after repeated viewings I realised it makes more sense than it first appeared. The substance affects the people physically and mentally at different rates depending on how much they touch. It drives them to seek extreme heat and to try to achieve the penetration of the earth's crust. They use the knowledge they had before being affected to help them. It is actually a fun idea providing a lot of thrills but the make-up effects were limited by the age and budget. That does not detract from the quality of this really fantastic story which I would put easily in my top 15 or 20 stories of all time. It is a true classic.

The vast majority of this 7 parter is truly special and it deserves the huge praise it receives.

My Ratings: All 7 Episodes - 10/10

Season 7 Review:

Season 7 was the biggest change in the show's history. A new colour presentation instead of black and white. A new Doctor with a very different persona. A new format with fewer stories which generally had more episodes. A new concentration on contemporary Earth. A new team helping the Doctor with the extensive use of UNIT. This all worked terrifically well thanks to the incredible writing, acting and production. It simply is one of the best seasons of Doctor Who (both classic and new series) of all time. Near perfect magic.

Season 7 average rating: 9.34/10