5K1 - Nightmare of Eden 1

There is something magical about the Doctor Who stories that you remember from your childhood, no matter how they're looked upon in retrospect. Nightmare of Eden is one of those stories that I remember from my youth as fondly as I remember Star Wars, although, heading into viewing this story, I was worried that my memory would collide with reality just as the Hecate collided with the Empress.

Nightmare of Eden is what Doctor Who was all about in my 10-year-old - space ships, captains, bridges, aliens. Eden was a cornucopia that fed my imagination so much that most of the LEGO space cruisers that I built as a kid were based on what I saw in Nightmare of Eden. And looking at it now, the story hasn't actually aged that badly.

Tom Baker shows a return to earlier form in Episode One, bringing a certain gravitas to the proceedings that hasn't been seen in some time. Whether or not it was Baker's legendary feud with director Alan Bromly that brought a more focused performance out of him, Baker is as good as he's ever been in this. I don't even mind the Mandrel's first appearance at the cliffhanger, although I am watching this immediately after The Creature From The Pit...