Don’t worry Romana, the costume inhibits the Nimon from ever seeing us!
The Doctor (Tom Baker), Romana (Lalla Ward), and K-9 (Voiced by David Brierly) are forced to land the TARDIS on a Skonnan spaceship near a black hole and discover the people are preparing a sacrifice of children for a creature called the Nimon. When the Doctor and Romana begins to investigate the Nimon, they discover him inhabiting a maze and consuming the children. The Nimon has lied to the Skonnan and is part of an invasion from the planet Crinoth…will the Doctor be able to stop them?
Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon was the final episode of the seventeenth season of Doctor Who (due to a writer’s strike which led to the cancellation of the final storyline Doctor Who: Shada). It was a four episode serial running from December 22, 1979 to January 12, 1980. It followed Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden. It has been collected in The Tom Baker Years collection as Story #108.
Mmmmmmm….those children are good eatin’s
Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon is a rather dull episode of Doctor Who. The lead up to the Nimon and the maze is very, very slow paced. The story does pick-up once the Doctor enters the maze and Romana is separated on Crinoth. It is far too late though by this point. I also don’t think the sub-plot of Soldeed (Graham Crowden) as the supporter of the Nimon works. If it got into it quicker, it might be a good story, but as it is set-up, it just seems like more of a hindrance than any developmental story until the end.
Feel the power of my mighty horns!
I got to say I love the Nimon in the sheer cheesiness. First the actor playing the Nimon, can barely walk. It appears he is on stilts and a bit uncomfortable with them. The second thing about the Nimon is that it is about blind. There is a bunch of cat-and-mouse gains with the Nimon where Romana, the Doctor, and the kids are almost hiding in playing sight, but the Nimon cannot see them for some reason. Sorry, if the Nimon can’t tell the Doctor is standing right next to him watching him, that isn’t a threatening villain…It is unfortunate because the Minotaur and maze is a fun mythology story that could have been utilized much better.
Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon is probably for fans or completionists only. The Nimon have returned in a few other episodes, but don’t rank up there with some of the Doctor’s other villains. With the abridged season ended with the writer’s strike, Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon was followed by Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive (though clips of Shada were used in Doctor Who: The Five Doctors).
Preceded By:
Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden (Story #107)
Followed By:
