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The Mind Robber Format Reviewed: DVD Review The Mind Robber is quite a strange story in Doctor Who as it is in essence a filler, born due to a lack of budget. The production of Doctor Who has always been a struggle to keep within budget, and this story was proposed and commissioned because of a lack of money within the production. The lack of sets and real action is replaced with a psychological tale involving a mysterious character and predeturminism. The Mind Robber starts with the TARDIS breaking up, then reforming and materialising in a featureless place. This is outside time, and Jamie and Zoe are tricked into thinking that they have landed in their home places and times. The TARDIS crew then seem to foil a number of tasks, culminating in the discovery that this place is being stage managed by a fiction writer controlled by a mind that needs his imagination. The Doctor eventually outwits the enemy and escapes with Jamie and Zoe intact. This story is very interesting, as not only is it a filler as mentioned earlier, but Frazer Hines missed some of the filming because he was ill, and a plot point of his face being made up of 'photo-fit parts' meant he could be temporarily replaced. TRhis worked quite well, but the lack of budget was too obvious throughout the story. The robots, sets and even the white void were fairly poorly realised here, and do detract from what is in essence a decent story. THere is also a bit of obvious padding, as the story was drawn out from 4 episodes to 5 when The Dominators ran short. Patrick Troughton has really become established in the role of the Doctor by this point, and his thoughtful childishness comes to the fore again here to great effect, especially in the end scenes with the Master (no, not the one from later in the classic series, just a character that goes by the same epithet). Wendy Padbury as Zoe is rarely in the story, but what she has she does well. Frazer Hines equally does well when on screen as Jamie, but his 'understudy', Hamish WIlson, looked wooden and awkward filling Hines shoes. Of the guest cast, Bernard Horsfall and Emrys Jones provide the best entertainment as Gulliver and The Master of the Land respectively. THese aside, the cast is reasonable, but with probably Christopher Robbie as Karkus being the weakest. At its heart, The Mind Robber is a great story concept that could have probably have been done a lot better. The cast do an admirable job in what looks like difficult circumstances, but then you see the elements of the production that let it down. The torso of Karkas being so obviously cartoonesque. Perhaps if it was done a bit better it would have looked more like a cartoon rather than an ill fitting shirt. The white void where the lighting ephasised where the cloor met the walls and the robots made of cheap card that are supposed to look menacing. That said, the story is overall not a disaster and there is plenty that stands up to repeated viewing on DVD. The highlights are really Troughtons story making late on, and the repeat appearances of Gulliver do stick in the mind terribly well. Overall, The Mind Robber is a story that was concieved to save money, and the lack of spend here is really very noticable. What is unexpected though is the quality of the acting overall and the story where the concept is one that is really very interesting. It will however be remembered I feel as a story that could have been so much better had there been more money spent, and more care taken over the production. Rating:  |