5Q3 - Meglos 3

I love how, in the pursuit of a cliffhanger, sometimes characters in Doctor Who will stray so far from their ideals just to provide some tension to end an episode on. Case in point: Brotadac, who has been nothing but a bumbling sidekick since the beginning of this story, but slips into homicidal maniac mode by barking "She's seen to much! Kill her!" at his men in regards to Romana. Fortunately, the members of Grugger's crew are taking his sudden change of heart as seriously as we, the viewers, are, and they just continue to slowly advance on Romana as Episode Three begins until General Grugger intervenes, allowing Brotadac to calm down again.

Speaking of stepping out of character, this is what "the human" (for lack of a more specific name) literally does in a scene in this episode when he is trying to wrestle free from Meglos, who is strolling around Tigella in the guise of The Doctor. The portrayal of Meglos is the second in as many strong performances in Season 18 by Tom Baker. Baker is genuinely chilling as the title villain and is a delight to watch in this, as he is throughout a season that saw Baker take a few more risks in the role of The Doctor that he had seldom done since the Hinchcliffe era.

Despite the studio lit jungle sets and an overly poor reputation in fan circles, I really am enjoying Meglos much more than I ought to be...