Who Review #86 - the Seeds of Doom

episode by episode, scene by scene

"The Thing" meets Dr.Who in a botanical monster mash.

The incidental music is to be applauded, again. There are some excellent guest appearances by Tony Beckley (Chase), John Challis (Scorby, and Boycie in "Only Fools and Horses") and Sylvia Coleridge (Ms. Ducat). Beckley is a great nutcase villain, Challis is Beckley's muscle and Coleridge is a very sweet, albiet half dotty, elderly floral painter.

The story nearly discusses environmentalism; it doesn't quite get there. Chase is an avid botanist, who is concerned about the state of world plant life. That aspect is lost when he gets the Krynoid and it starts to grow. If there is any commentary on "greenish things", then it is to portray "one of them" as a nut.

Some of my childhood memories are scenes of Keeler strapped to a bed, being fed raw meat and being tended to by the Butler - Keeler being a mass of plant tendrils by that time; and the Krynoid towering over the estate as Sarah and the Doctor try to get back through the door. Classic and scary! There is a lot of violence and body horror in this story: people are crushed and shredded to bits in a compost machine (unseen); people are strangled and drowned; people slowly turn into alien plants.

The Krynoid costume is actually impressive. One of my Dr.Who Club mates at school bought one at auction; rubbery, for sure, but the detail was exquisite. With the right lighting and other production touches, it is great! The full grown Krynoid (the thing at the end of episode 4 and the model in episode 6) are less well realised - a negative.

The Seeds of Doom is an absolute classic and a satisfactory close to the marvellous 13th season of the show.
******