5M5 - Shada 5

The Krargs are interesting creatures, if only because it's sometimes difficult to pick out what shape they actually are. This could be because of the video effects used on them to make them appear to be made out of molten lava (was this an original effect?), but they are at least better than the Mandrels from a story before.

The cliffhanger reprise in this episode is much longer than the others in this story, if only pad out the length even more, as it's obvious now that most of the material that was never shot was intended for the final two episodes.

Chris Parsons is actually a memorable de facto companion in this story, replacing Romana who spends most of the story captured by Skagra. He even has a nickname given to him by The Doctor - "Bristol". What's more alarming about Parsons (who is slightly based on Douglas Adams) is that he's a young, impulsive, know-it-all - not too different from the character of Adric who would be introduced into the series the next season Of course, unlike Adric, Bristol is actually an interesting and well acted character...