NNN1 - The Mutants 1

The Mutants doesn't really get off to the best of starts. The first scene shows the "It's Man" from Monty Python's Flying Circus being chased by a bunch of soldiers (one of whom, Cotton, clearly can't say his lines without imagining that he's reading them at the same time) who are led by Boss Hogg's understudy - the ranting and raving Marshall.

The first scene featuring Jo and The Doctor has Jon Pertwee repeating the line "No, I'm not meant to open it. I could open it even if I wanted to" twice. It's always been pointed out that this is a fluff on the part of Pertwee, but it looks more like a very clumsy line in and even clumsier exchange of dialogue.

Speaking of clumsy dialogue, the first scene between Ky and Varan is an exercise in horribly plodding exposition, with James Mellor playing Varan as if he was negotiating a coma, and Garrick Hagon's Ky flying over the top in an attempt to make sure Mellor stays awake.

Having said all that, for some reason, I didn't find myself loathing the entire episode as much as I thought I would, although most of that can be explained by the fact that a good chunk of this episode takes place in a space station, and I've always had a remarkable soft spot for stories set in space stations.