October 24: Snakedance Parts Three & Four

The Doctor and Nyssa discuss the Little Mind's Eye crystal.
(Snakedance Part Three) ©BBC

One of the impressive things about part three is that this is the episode where the Doctor works out the backstory of the Mara -- despite being locked in a cell for the majority of the episode -- through a combination of Dojjen's journal (the previous director's, given to the Doctor by Ambril's assistant Chela) and Nyssa's working through the properties of the crystal -- concluding that it must be man-made with no imperfections of any kind (not even distortions from gravity), an incredibly advanced technique from a people who now appear to be too primitive to be able to perform it.  Therefore, the Manussans were once very advanced, but when they made the Great Crystal (aka the Great Mind's Eye) in order to harness their mental powers, they brought the Mara into being, leading to the downfall of their civilization and the rise of the Sumaran Empire.

Of course, while the Doctor and Nyssa are locked up, the Mara is making plans for its return.  Curiously, though Lon is clearly in the thrall of the Mara, he still seems to retain some semblance of his old self (unlike Tegan), and while he's being controlled by the Mara, it's not actually living inside him.  But he's fascinatingly manipulative with Ambril, who ultimately seems willing to let Lon use the Great Crystal during the Defeat of the Mara Ceremony, even though a) it's expressly forbidden, and b) he's seen some weird stuff inside the cave full of artifacts -- like Dugdale doing his barker routine to no one in particular.  Incidentally, it's the "expressly forbidden" part that seems to convince Chela to release the Doctor, who's the only one who's been warning of dangers while Ambril is continually dismissive of the possibility.  And incidentally, I really like the incorporation of the Mara into the Punch and Judy show -- it's a really nice touch.

Part four has two moments that are really wonderful.  The first is the Doctor's interaction with Dojjen, who's gone off into the hills to become a snakedancer.  The telepathic conversation they share (thanks, it seems, to a snake bite) is enigmatic and charming, with some great lines, such as "Fear is the only poison" and "The still point is within yourself ... To destroy the Mara you must find the still point."  I also like how the Doctor takes full responsibility for Tegan having succumbed to the Mara; it's a nice touch.

The second moment is the ceremony itself; there's something pleasingly elegant about the (obviously well-known) lines spoken during it: "I offer you fear in a handful of dust", "I offer you despair in a withered branch", and so forth.  Plus, the way in which Lon causes the ceremony to go off the rails is really well done ("What do you mean, [the crystal has] hidden depths?  Where are they?  Show them to me.  It's just a fake.  Your whole ceremony is a fake"), and the reveal of the Mara is a lot better than it was in Kinda.  It's a significantly more convincing snake.  The defeat of the Mara here is also better than it was in Kinda -- there's nothing here about mirrors, but instead it's about one man's refusal (the Doctor's) to submit to fear, to instead find the still point inside and thus disrupt the Mara's power.

Snakedance is a much more accessible story than Kinda was, and I think that's a real strength, for while Kinda was fascinating in its use of metaphors and imagery, Snakedance has much of the same feel while telling a more coherent tale.  There are also some brave elements to this story (making the Doctor seem like a crazy outsider, for instance), and the whole thing coheres thanks to the sterling directorial work of Fiona Cumming.  I've already mentioned the excellent work that Martin Clunes and John Carson have put into this, but I haven't mentioned Janet Fielding, who finally gets a chance to really let loose as the possessed Tegan.  It's a frightening performance (even more so because we're familiar with how Tegan usually is) and one that Fielding takes full advantage of.  All this and a great script make Snakedance easily one of the standouts so far of Peter Davison's tenure.