Revisiting Old Doctor Who: The Ribos Operation

[Broomstick]

The Ribos Operation
(Let's give a warm welcome to Fred Romana)

Going to back and re-viewing this one was a pleasure. I'd first seen it in the early 1980's on PBS in Chicago, back when all I had was a black and white TV so it was nice to see it in color. Especially the costumes, which are so much better in color in this one, and the jethrick which in black and white was such a nondescript grey blob it got lost on the screen but in color really stands out. We were definitely out of the early color TV era where producers actually gave a consideration to how their color episodes came across on the monochrome screen (which accounts for a lot of the garish color of early color era TV).

I remembered a lot of it, but not which story it all happened in. We have the debut of Romana, the Time Lord companion. We have the line about "You can't be a thief with a DIShonest face" which I have always loved, and a number of other bits. Tom Baker had really settled into the Doctor role but wasn't tired of it yet. This is rare episode where you get a bit of Doctor backstory (his alleged age, the first hint he's lost track of his age, his grades at the academy weren't so good).

The pacing is faster than the prior Doctor serials, especially the Second and Third Doctor 6 or more part stories, and better than many of the other four-parters. There are actually two stories going on here. One is the Ribos story, which involves a bait-and-switch scame between two con artists selling near-worthless planets to a disgraced/out of favor nobleman trying to re-acquire his power. The second story is part of the season-long Key to Time arc which started out fairly well but ended with Dead Bird on the Head Guy which has to be one of the WORST costuming decisions in all of Who. I also don't like what the final piece of the Key to Time turned out to be, but that's another story entirely.

One of my favored stories from the Tom Baker years and I'm really glad its available on Netflix for people to see that way. I'm sure it's available by other means as well and if you haven't seen a Tom Baker episode yet (unlikely, but it happens) I'd definitely recommend it.

[Bedlam]

This is the one with the pseudo-Galileo Binro the heretic isn't it? The guy thrown into the labyrinth for claiming that the lights in the sky are other suns rather than ice crystals placed by the gods.

Just as he dies one of the aliens tells him that in the future people are going to look back and say that Binro was right.

A very powerful scene to me.

[Eternal_Freedom]

It was indeed very touching. Overall the episode was very good, although I sort of binge-watched it after getting The Key to Time box set for Christmas last year so I may have a different view than most.

[Darth Nostril]

Back in '78 I used to hide behind the sofa when the Shrivenzales lurched onto screen.
Definitely on my re-watch list.

[mr friendly guy]

I felt all of the Key of Time Sextant was pretty good, although Stones of Blood was most probably the weakest of them.

[Broomstick]

This is the one with the pseudo-Galileo Binro the heretic isn't it? The guy thrown into the labyrinth for claiming that the lights in the sky are other suns rather than ice crystals placed by the gods.

Yes.

I thought it was really well done, conveying with a few words and gestures that he had been tortured into recanting his views without coming out and directly saying it. Also notable that the actor was missing his front teeth, which lends a certain authenticity to the portrayal of a broken man. Presumably, the actor normally wore a bridge but took it out for the part. Binro was a secondary character but really well done.

I also liked the seeker/shaman character. Her whole chanting, bone-tossing, and screaming thing followed by a very matter of fact "the guy you're looking for is here". The contrast just made it charming.

Actually, the whole story had some really good acting from the supporting cast.

[Bedlam]

I felt all of the Key of Time Sextant was pretty good, although Stones of Blood was most probably the weakest of them.

Really? I would have said Power of Kroll.

Stones at least had that old historian woman in it.