Scary…aren’t we?
Two ships merge after encountering each other in hyperpace and the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalia Ward) work to free them. When they discover one of the ships is running a dangerous drug called Vraxoin. When the Doctor and Romana are accused of being the smugglers, they must free the ships, find the smugglers, and stop the threat of creatures called Mandrels who have invaded the ship.
Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden aired in the seventeenth season of the long running Doctor Who. It aired in four parts from November 24, 1979 to December 15, 1979. Following Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit, Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden has been collected in The Tom Baker Years as Story #107.
Romana…Welcome to the Jungle!
The story in Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden has some interesting aspects (I don’t recall the Doctor ever fighting drug smugglers). The idea of a virtual saving of worlds (almost like an ark for planets) also provides a nice story…but the stories don’t mix well. I wish the story had been about the virtual world or about the drug smuggling. Even a series based on the merged ship could have been good, but the writers put too much into the series and nothing seems to be developed enough. This is a common Doctor Who problem and partially due to the serial format of the show…something that has been corrected by the modern Doctor Who series.
Doctor…he just wants a hug!
I have to say I like the Mandrels. They look like H.R. Pufnstuf except green and with claws. They aren’t very mobile and they are extremely non-threatening. I like near the end of the series where the Doctor “tames” them and moves them like the Pied Piper. I want to see a modernized version of the Mandrels…more mobile and more dangerous…less goofy.
Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden was a rather failed episode. It doesn’t help that I am not sold on Romana as a companion (I feel she is too bland following Sarah Jane and Leela). I really did want to like this series, but like so many serials in this season, it just falls flat. Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden was followed by Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon.
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Preceded By:
Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (Story #106)
Followed By:
