August 10: The Face of Evil Parts Three & Four

The first two episodes focused on the Sevateem out in the jungle; these two focus more on the Tesh, the enemies of the Sevateem who are holding Xoanon captive inside the barrier, according to Sevateem legend.  The Tesh are less interesting -- probably partly because they're not really the main focus, and partly because they're dressed in silly-looking uniforms.  Still, it's clear what Chris Boucher is trying to do, having the Tesh be more intellectual than the Sevateem; it just doesn't quite work.

Leela admiring her handiwork in the Tesh ship. (The Face of
Evil Part Three) ©BBC

But that's okay for part three, because it's far more interesting learning about the Tesh's ship (even if it's not the most exciting-looking set ever; still, there are some nice angles and such) and hearing from the Doctor as he works out how he caused the problems in the first place, with a really nifty idea at the core.  "I didn't recognise a birth trauma and that was my mistake.  And when I connected my own brain to it, it didn't just take compatible information as a machine should have done.  It took everything. ... When it woke, it had a complete personality.  Mine.  It thought I was itself.  Then it began to develop another separate self, its own self.  And that's when it started to go mad."  The thought of a computer going mad because it has two separate, distinct personalities competing for supremacy is a wonderful idea, and I like how that schizophrenia is mirrored in the development of the Sevateem and the Tesh.  Plus this gives us one of the most wonderfully odd cliffhangers in the series' history, as Xoanon has trouble accepting the new information the Doctor provides and proceeds to psychically assault the Doctor, while a young voice cries out, "Who am I?"

After the superb last three episodes, part four is a bit of a letdown, since a large portion of it consists of Xoanon using the various means at his disposal to try and kill the Doctor while he tries to figure out how to "cure" Xoanon.  That's not to say there aren't some good moments and lines -- for instance, Xoanon's motivation for trying to kill the Doctor, which is that he simply doesn't fit in Xoanon's worldview: "You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common," the Doctor remarks, as he's looking for the things he'll need to help Xoanon.  "They don't alter their views to fit the facts.  They alter the facts to fit their views, which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering." However, this episode feels more like a typical Doctor Who story than the more literary feel the first three episodes had.  The resolution is great though, as the Doctor not only fixes Xoanon in the nick of time (as it's about to blow everything up in a nuclear-fueled explosion) but then has a very pleasant chat with the now Doctor-personality-free Xoanon -- and, as has been remarked elsewhere, it's nice to have a story that doesn't end with the computer being blown up.

And finally, we see Leela become the Doctor's latest companion, despite his reluctance: "You like me, don't you?" Leela asks, after being initially rebuffed by the Doctor to travel with him.  "Well, yes, I suppose I do like you.  But then, I like lots of people but I can't go carting them around the universe with me," the Doctor replies.  But it's too late -- Leela has dashed inside the TARDIS and started its flight.

The Face of Evil is a story that seems to be overshadowed by the surrounding stories, which have received a significant amount of praise.  This is a great shame, as this story is perhaps one of the best examples in Doctor Who of an author thinking his way through an SF conceit and exploring the result -- it's certainly the best example up to this point.  Yes, there are moments where things slip a little, but everything else is so good that the dips are easily forgivable; there's an intelligence at work here, a crisp sharpness that shines through everything else.  It's one of the best "villains" ever, and the ideas and thought involved are top-notch, giving us a production that's just as much at home playing with those ideas as they've been pastiching old horror stories and scaring us.  The Face of Evil is an undeservedly neglected gem.