Who Review#110 - Shada

Shada was never finished so a couple of versions exist for the story:

- one is a BBC flash animation with 8th Doctor Paul McGann in the role of Tom's Doctor and Lalla Ward again as Romana. It's quite good and one wishes that Paul had done more than the film. (I liked him in the Monocled Mutineer.) Still, he has a great voice and has done some good audio Who adventures.

- the second has the footage, with linking narration by Tom.

Naturally, the second version is more appealing. The story is typical Douglas Adams. (In his introduction, Tom explains how Adams remarked anyone can design a visible spaceship but it takes imagination to design an invisible one! ) That the key to the story is a book is not all that surprising.

There are numerous nice shots of Cambridge, like the Doctor and Romana punting on the Cam with the university in the background. That was the scene used later in the Five Doctors. It's humerous: Romana thinks they are on Earth in Spring but it's October and when the Doctor explains they had come for May Week, which is held in June, she is confused and the Doctor says so was the TARDIS.

It isn't really a story that can be carried over six episodes and it does feel padded
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