Review of all 6 episodes:
The first episode is titled simply 'Invasion; Part One' so does not give away the content of the story. That works well as when the creatures appear late in the episode it would be surprising to an audience unaware of what to expect. The remainder of the story is given its full title of Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Many people know this story as 'the one with the rubbish dinosaurs' and it is used as an embarrassing example of poor special effects in the series. I do agree that the dinosaurs are very poor indeed, particularly the T- Rex which is simply awful. But I do not judge such effects too harshly as I understand the limitations of the age and the low budget. Anyway, this can be rectified by being re-released with well done CGI dinosaurs which would certainly improve the production and impact of many scenes. The dinosaurs are used purely for fun, for spectacle and novelty value. When they cannot have been certain (despite assurances from the company supplying the models) of good quality, they should probably never have included dinosaurs at all. However, if done with really good effects they would certainly add a lot of fun and dramatic scenes. If you overlook the effects it is very enjoyable indeed and an interesting twist on a monster invasion. Malcolm Hulke has, as usual, done a great job as writer.
It seems a little far-fetched I suppose that 1970s Earth scientists could manage to achieve the power of moving dinosaurs through time or returning the Earth to the state it was in millions of years ago. A more sensible and logical plot would have had a devious non-Earth villain providing the scientific know- how for this (as The Master used to be involved in many previous stories). That is a very minor issue though as much of Doctor Who and most science fiction has such far-fetched ideas, you cannot really complain unless it is clearly illogical and I don't think it is. It is not much to ask that we just accept the scifi/fantasy concept that a scientist might somehow find a way to rewind time just as they did later in the much loved 4th Doctor classic City of Death (although that was done with advanced alien knowhow). If you overlook that and the rubbish dinosaurs there is so much in this story that is entertaining and interesting.
The acting, script and many scenes are of great quality. In the first episode where The Doctor and Sarah Jane find themselves in an eerily quiet London not knowing that dinosaurs have started appearing it is intriguing and effective. The dialogue and performances remain excellent throughout with so many superb scenes of fascinating science fiction but also lots of humorous exchanges. It is a great idea to have environmental/political extremists feeling they need to take drastic action to save the Earth and their selected section of humanity from the ecological damage and wars that ravage our planet. The way they are duped to thinking they are travelling to a new planet is really good and all of the characters are very well written and very well acted. Grover, Finch, Butler, Whitaker, Ruth and Robinson are all superb, convincing guest characters wonderfully performed by the whole cast. The ideas presented are really interesting. I must say that the way the damage humans are doing to the world is shown in films in the 'Reminder Room' and the way the 3rd Doctor explains that he agrees with the views of the extremists but not with their methods and almost looks into the camera saying how we should "make the best out of the world we have, it's not too late" is a very overt ecological message which makes a mockery of those who try to say this era of Who was much more subtle in its messages than any later eras. It also makes a mockery of those who say this story portrays the 'lefties' as the villains. In fact it just suggests that if we keep destroying our planet we will push people to extreme measures. Their cause is shown to be correct but the methods of the leaders is condemned as too cruel and extreme.
The main cast are terrific:
Lis Sladen in only her second story establishes herself as the best possible companion. She is brave, intelligent, takes the lead in acting to save others, hugely strong minded, tough but compassionate, she is an absolute joy! Her acting is flawless and there are beautiful moments of humour from her too.
John Levene has one of his finest stories as he shows wonderful loyalty and puts his neck on the line to help save the day with several enjoyable physical interventions and funny lines.
Nicholas Briggs is on absolute top form as the Brigadier and is fantastic in every scene.
Richard Franklin acts perfectly as Mike Yates as his character is taken in a brave new direction. It is shocking and very cleverly done bringing a real depth and emotion with the dark character development.
Jon Pertwee is at the top of his game as the Doctor with his intellect, morality, bravery and martial arts all shown off well.
So, is this story perfect? No. Is it a fun, interesting, thoroughly entertaining story with great ideas, dialogue and acting? Yes!
My ratings: Parts 1 & 2 - 9/10, Parts 3, 4 & 5 - 8.5/10, Part 6 - 9/10. Overall - 8.75/10.
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