Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll - Story 102 (The Key to Time Series, Part 5)
by Norman Stewart
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DVD details
Actor: John Leeson, Mary Tamm, Philip Madoc, Tom BakerDirector: Norman Stewart
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-10-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Video / Warner Bros.
DVD Reviews of Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll - Story 102 (The Key to Time Series, Part 5)
DVD Review: "Progress is a very flexible word. It can mean whatever you want it to mean."
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, with "The Power of Kroll" the Doctor and Romana's quest for the Key to Time segments progresses apace, although some might say this storyline is a step backwards for "Doctor Who" as a whole. Okay, well, it's not perfect, but in some ways it's one of the stronger stories in the Key to Time sequence, and typifies much of what I like in this show.
First off, to address the giant octopus in the room, the special effects used to represent Kroll are, well, less than convincing, true. That said, it's a bit beyond me why this particular effect draws so much flak, when the show as a whole has never been famous for dazzling effects. Clearly the folks responsible for this one got a bit ambitious, sure; still, the Kroll model itself is pretty good, it just doesn't integrate well with the rest of the scene. Today, CGI would fix that right away, of course, but in 1978 that option wasn't available. So it goes, but to blame "Power of Kroll" for the fact that SFX has progressed way beyond it seems a bit unfair.
But why do we really watch "Doctor Who" anyway? For imaginative, thought-provoking, and interesting science fiction stories that are also extremely fun and entertaining, that's what--and "The Power of Kroll" fits this bill nicely. First of all, it demonstrates that key "Doctor Who" strength of suggesting an entire complex environment with historical and cultural depth mainly through deftly crafted dialogue. You get a very real sense of a vast span of different human colonies in space complete with interstellar corporations, resistance movements ("The Sons of Earth") and displaced natives with their own mythologies. Second of all, a key theme running throughout the whole series is very much integral to the plot here, that of science vs. superstition (to put it rather bluntly)--is Kroll a great god demanding sacrifice, or just a big hungry animal? This contrast in worldviews is not just handled through juxtaposing the technologically backwards culture of the Swampies (clearly modeled somewhat on Native Americans and Pacific Islanders) with the mechanistic civilization of the humans, though, but also explored within Swampie culture itself, as tensions increase between the tribe's high priest Ranquin, who can somehow manage to justify any act by Kroll according to his theology, and the younger Swampies who come to increasingly doubt Kroll's divinity and keep asking naggingly inconvenient empirical questions. Indeed, another key strength of this storyline is its underlying moral focus on the problems and issues of colonialism and imperialism in a balanced manner that is insistently ethical without being cloyingly preachy.
Finally, this storyline succeeds admirably as a "Key to Time" installment in ways that the prior two didn't. In both "Stones of Blood" and "Androids of Tara" the whole Key to Time element seemed extraneous, tacked on at the very end or else the very beginning almost as an afterthought. Here, though, it's an integral part of the story, responsible indirectly for the presence of the human colonists and directly for the power of Kroll, and finding it coincides neatly and seamlessly with the climax of the tale.
All of this sounds pretty heavy, but it's great fun, too, with cheesy human sacrifice scenes straight from B movies and paranoid, prejudiced refinery directors you love to hate. Tom Baker is in top form as the Doctor, full of delightfully witty lines (some a bit more sarcastic than usual) and the usual refined silliness, and Mary Tamm has finally hit her pace well as Romana with a few good one-liners of her own (what, are all Time Lords insufferable smart-alecks?). The location shots are fine, too, and it's good to see we've finally moved beyond the gravel pit in this season. All in all, then, this is a very well-written and enjoyable "Doctor Who" adventure, excelling where the show usually does well while dropping the ball where the show usually and understandably stumbles.
P.S. Since "The Power of Kroll" is the fifth storyline in the six-part "Key to Time" saga of the sixteenth season, this DVD is also included with five other DVDs in a box set, Doctor Who - The Key to Time Collection, so unless you have a particular interest just in this one storyline, that may be the better option both in terms of economics and convenience.
More Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll - Story 102 (The Key to Time Series, Part 5) reviews:
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Description of Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll - Story 102 (The Key to Time Series, Part 5)
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/06/2005 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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