Who Review #152 - Dragonfire

The season finale sees the series return to slightly more normal Who and is a distinct improvement on the proceeding stories.

There are some nice touches throughout the story. There is Pythonesque moment when the Doctor talks to a guard, in order to distract him, and the latter turns out to be an expert in Philosophy. Tony Selby is back once again as the comic crook Glitz. They finally get rid of Mel, who is replaced by the sweet Sophie Aldred (Ace). The "Dragon" is actually an OK design. Edward Peel is excellent as Kane. Kane's death is one of the Who moments as the special effect is comparable to the famous face melting scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The end of episode 1 is the silliest in the history of the show, surely? The Doctor, for no reason, climbs over a railing and looks set to plummet to his death! (This is compounded still more when the girls climb down to a ledge using a rope ladder; the drop has vanished?)

Classic Mel
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarg!" (when she sees the Dragon)

Classic Ace
"Ace!" "Professor." "Brill!" "Nitro 9"

An OK story.
******