Doctor Who – The
Horns Of Nimon (BBC DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B- Episodes: B+
The
Horns of Nimon is classic, golden age Doctor Who, an exciting adventure, with a patented blend of drama
and humor, the whole overseen by script consultant Douglas Adams. Perhaps
I’m reading more into it than is there, but the Adams
stamp seems to be firmly, if subtly, apparent. Though production values
appear relatively low (there certainly have been worse), the show manages to
maintain believability with some steady pacing and solid turns by both Romana
and the Doctor.
The story appears to be another attempt of the
script writers (this time Anthony Read) to tie into ancient myth, this time
that of the Minotaur and the labyrinth, akin to what was done in the Underworld episode (reviewed here
recently) with a less successful result. This time out, the Tardis is
having all manner of mechanical problems and crashes into a space ship on the
way to Skonnos, with a cargo of Aneths (read “Athenians,” who were sacrificed
to the Minotaur) to be sacrificed to the “god” Nimon (i.e. mino-taur).
The inhabitants of Skonnos believe that once these sacrifices are completed,
the Nimon will return the planet to its form glory. Unfortunately, in
reality these sacrifices are a precursor to all out invasion, the Nimons moving
through space like a plague of locusts exfoliating entire planets. The
Nimon themselves resemble a sort of alien Minotaurs, living in a maze
(actually, as seen from above, a huge working electronic circuit) of ever
shifting walls, awaiting the sacrifices which are provided by the Skonnos
people. Using fuel cells they exact as tribute from the Aneths, the Nimon
create a tunnel utilizing a black hole in order to move from planet to planet.
There is some Grand Guignol acting in the form of
Soldeed (Graham Crowden), the Skonnans’ leader, and the ritual
side-to-side weaving dance of the Nimon is a sight to behold. The humor
in the episode is not to everyone’s taste, but it is obvious that Baker and Ward
are having a great time and the guest actors give it their all, by and large,
pull it off (“Weakling scum” being a humorous, recurring epithet). The various noises of the ailing Tardis are
hysterical, in a slapstick sort of way; if Star
Trek can have its Tribbles, why shouldn’t the Who audience lighten up a bit and have a couple of belly laughs? Romana takes the lead in many an instance and
at one point reveals that she has built her own sonic screwdriver. The
Doctor manages to pull it all together and destroy the Power Complex,
effectively trapping the Nimons on the previous planet, Crinoth (read Corinth) which they were
trying to migrate from having already denuded of life. For a low budget
effect, the destruction of the complex is impressive in a Doctor Who kind-of-way.
There are two extras of note: Who/Peter, Partners in Time, which chronicles all
the appearances and promotions of Doctor
Who through the years on the BBC’s popular children’s show, Blue Peter, and Read the Writer, an interview with Anthony Read, former script
consultant and writer of The Horns of
Nimon. A hidden bonus bit is the Scottish Falsetto Puppet Theatre, in
which two Scottish puppets attempt to come up with a mnemonic to remember the
names of all the actors who have played Doctor. The puppets settle on
singing the names to the tune of “Frère Jacques” with amusing results.
- Don
Wentworth
