DOCTOR WHO, SEASON 15 SERIAL 3:

IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL

Doctor: Fourth (Tom Baker)

Companion: Leela

May 2023

Screencap from Image of the Fendahl: a woman in a lab coat stares at a glowing skull, her hands held to her temples.

I feel like more people should talk about Image of the Fendahl.

Is it perfect? No. Is it really quite good? Yes, actually!

So, whenever I look up reviews of this period of Doctor Who online, I tend to see some things repeated specifically: mostly, I see people noting that Philip Hinchcliffe (producer of the show from 1975-77) quit the job at the end of the last season, after Talons. Hinchcliffe is constantly noted for overseeing a somewhat darker tone on the show, and simultaneously for overseeing some of the best of the show. As such, it seems like it’s very easy for fans to look at the stories coming out immediately after he was replaced with Graham Williams (for the next three years) and say that they pale in comparison, and that they are not nearly as good as the heights of Hinchcliffe and the script editor working during the same period, Robert Holmes. And...I dunno, I haven’t seen a lot of those Hinchcliffe-produced stories, and they’re probably very good, but I feel like a lot of that’s just...untrue? Like, on the one hand, the Hinchcliffe-produced stories were probably a great showing of the best that Doctor Who can be; but on the other hand, to me, Doctor Who has always been a show about some schlocky-looking monsters and running around and doing weird sci-fi technobabble. It’s one of the selling points. And that’s in full force for the next several seasons at least.

I’m getting distracted. Let’s talk about Image of the Fendahl.

Image of the Fendahl is sort of a classic story in a couple ways: for one thing, it brings us back to contemporary Earth for the first time since we’ve met Leela. It also manages to be both within the format of Doctor Who’s “cult” stories (see The Daemons, the first half of The Stones of Blood, et al.) and “mad scientist” stories (see Nightmare of Eden, The Lazarus Experiment, et al.). And it does so largely pretty well. It’s like! It’s a pretty solid story!

That’s not to say it hangs together perfectly: some of the resolution, for example, just sort of...happens? But there are some really great ideas here: the entire core thrust of the story, for example, with an ancient human skull that seems to predate humanity overall.

The guest cast is largely decent: for the scientists, we have the mysterious Dr. Fendelman (I’m sure that name has nothing to do with anything important), the jerky Adam Colby, the...guy...Stael, and also Thea, who gets pretty completely underserved by the narrative, I won’t lie.

Let’s talk about Thea, actually, because it’s kinda disappointing what happens with her! She’s portrayed as one of the scientists on this archaeological (paleontological?) dig, along with Colby and Fendelman and Stael, and she starts having...weird reactions to the skull. And the skull starts glowing. All this is very cool and suspenseful, largely because we as an audience know something is happening but can’t tell what; the problem is, Thea’s ending basically just...writes her out? Like, she becomes the Fendahl, whatever, but then she just sort of...dissolves. And doesn’t even get any lines. I don’t know, it’s a weird sort of twist from a character who’s been pretty strongly characterized up until now. This adds to the sort of lack of resolution that sometimes feels apparent in the fourth episode: things just...stop being a problem.

Screencap from Image of the Fendahl: in a smoky basement, a golden woman in golden robes stands in the middle of a large pentagram on the floor. Two figures bow to her: one robed, and one in a white coat. A man in a lab coat is tied to a pillar nearby.

Let’s talk about women in these past few stories, though. In this story, there are two women in the guest cast: first is Thea, who I’ve just discussed: she gradually is given less and less to do as a character and has rather a disappointing ending despite a strong start. It also sort of removes her agency in a way that is really rather disappointing as well? Second is Jack’s grandmother, whose name according to the wiki is Martha. She’s pretty great, despite repeatedly having her concerns pushed aside by the rest of the cast (except Leela! I love the dynamic between the two of them, minor as it is). She’s nothing on Professor Amelia Rumford from The Stones of Blood in terms of “old woman pseudo-companion”, but then again, Professor Rumford is a strong candidate for the best pseudo-companion in the entire series. And I’m getting distracted again!

The suspense and mystery built up through the first three episodes especially really is very strong. I feel like I can’t overstate the way there keep being more things that we don’t quite understand: Dr Fendelman, the staring match between Thea and the skull, the skull’s existence, Fendelman’s machine—it builds up in a highly compelling way, and I think that’s the story’s main draw. It’s a little unfortunate that the fourth episode doesn’t quite resolve all of this as well as it deserves.

Maybe I’m being a little harsh on episode 4. Here’s some spoiler thoughts:

The revelation of Dr Fendelman...not being actually directly involved with the Fendahl, just being a scientist of dubious morality, is a little strange. Similarly with Stael, who then seems to be the whole mastermind behind it, but then...shoots himself? The wiki is telling me that he probably anticipated being able to use the Fendahl for his own purposes, which makes a fair bit of sense as a classic Doctor Who antagonist motive, but I wish it’d been more clear in the story itself. The worms are really funny looking and I kinda love them. Only Doctor Who will give me the worm content I crave.

It’s also interesting (a little) to me how Colby is the only survivor of the science team. I mean, it makes sense, because he’s the least interesting and most generic-man one (except maybe Stael), but it’s also disappointing for the same reason. I wish it was Thea! She’s less of an asshole! It frankly is very funny to me how Colby apparently physically cannot stop himself from mouthing off, and it nearly gets him killed multiple times. He sucks so bad. Why does Leela kiss him on the cheek?? I feel like I need to call this out specifically, because it’s so weird. This is in the same scene as where she threatens his life for being too much of an idiot! Then she tells him “good luck” or whatever and kisses him on the cheek as she leaves! Like, it’s not even framed as something being especially romantic, or her being sweet on him or anything (she seems to find him pretty pathetic!), which makes it all the more bewildering. I don’t know.

Aw, man, I forgot about K9. That’s okay, though, because so did the writers of this episode. Okay, that’s not quite fair: K9 does appear at the very beginning and very ending where he’s being fixed in the TARDIS. But K9 is a companion that sometimes stays home, and this is the first instance of that happening. Sorry K9! See you next time!

Top Leela quotes:

  • "There's a guard...I shall kill him." (Doctor: "No! ...You'll upset the dog")
  • (Threatening a man with a knife) "Listen! you nearly got us all killed down there, now be quiet or you'll get yourself killed up here!"
  • "Do not worry, Doctor. I shall protect you." (Doctor: "What? You'll protect me? ... :|")

Overall Thoughts:

Image of the Fendahl isn’t perfect, but it is a lot of fun! While the ending isn’t totally satisfying, it does resolve enough of the questions raised by the rather lovely sense of mystery cultivated throughout the first three episodes to make it an overall positive experience. I wouldn’t rate it as high as Horror of Fang Rock, but it slides into a comfortable second place with a pretty strong recommendation. This one’s a keeper, and I can see myself coming back to watch it again later, which is something I won’t say about all of these stories. It’s really quite solid!

Leela Kill Tally: 12 (+1, worm). she also conks a cop on the back of the head