Still trapped in E-Space, the Doctor and Romana find themselves on an unknown planet with a medieval society consisting, it seems, of only a village and the tower. Of course, as one might expect, things aren’t quite that simple.
Harry -
It was an unexpected thrill to see Terrance Dicks' name in the credits again. I had forgotten that he wrote "State of Decay." Forgot most of the story too. Seeing that tower in the opening shot brought it all back.
Sarah -
It's always reassuring to see Uncle Terry in the credits, isn't it? "State of Decay" is one of those stories that remains extremely vivid for me. I've been eagerly anticipating our visit to the tower, which is inhabited by The Three Who Rule, who started out as the crew of the Earth spaceship Hydrax, which is now their tower. They were drawn into E-Space by a giant vampire – the lone survivor of a great war with the Time Lords – and are now vampires themselves, ruling over the village and preparing for the eventual return of the Great Vampire.
The villagers are also not all they seem to be. Seemingly docile, they allow themselves to be selected for delivery to The Three, never to be heard from again. Meanwhile, a hearty band of rebels has a storehouse of technology from the spaceship, which they hope will eventually help them overthrow the vampires and find their way back to Earth.
Harry -
It's great how you can always sense what era a Doctor Who story is part of - and I mean beyond the obvious details like which Doctor and which companions are in it. An eerie, gothic air permeates this story right from the start. As The Three Who Rule vamped it up in the throne room, it felt like watching something out of the Hinchcliffe Horror era.
I did some reading up, and it turns out that Uncle Terry's story was intended to be part of the 1977 season. However, the Beeb was producing a version of Dracula that year, and they didn't want vampire overload, so the story got shelved for three years. Still a story for Tom Baker, but by then Romana had replaced Leela as the main companion.
Sarah -
Apparently "Horror of Fang Rock" took its place in 1977. It's amusing to imagine what Leela would have made of the vampires!
The Doctor and Romana set out from the TARDIS, quickly making contact with the village. Meanwhile, Adric reveals himself as a stowaway to K-9 and sets out after them.
Harry -
That kid from Alzarius stowed away! At least we found out where he went. I liked how he talked his way past K-9, entered the village unchallenged, and within minutes one of the local women was offering him food and clothing.
Sarah -
He does have a way about him, doesn't he?
Harry -
While Adric enjoyed the local hospitality, the Doctor and Romana met some of the other locals, an increasingly suspicious lot. First there was the villagers themselves, then some hooded characters who turned out to be a group of rebels. The Doctor helped them make some sense of the battered old computer equipment they were harbouring in a cave. After a brief bat attack (eek!), the Doctor and Romana talked their way right into the throne room, for their first encounter with the King and Queen of the land.
Sarah -
A spider in the last story, and now a bat. Hope you're holding up under all this, Old Boy!
Harry -
They did a great job scouting out the park for those external scenes. Some lovely old, gnarled trees there. Very atmospheric.
My word, they nailed the casting for The Three Who Rule, didn't they? William Lindsay and Rachel Davies play Zargo and Camilla with unnerving "deadness". Both have amazingly cold eyes. As for Aukon their chamberlain, Emrys James plays him with smooth malevolence. Campy or not, I love these vampires!
Sarah -
I love the vampires, love the camp, love the sets. Seriously, I just love everything about this story! It has one of the creepiest moments in Doctor Who for me: when the flying bat is super-imposed over Aukon's face. I'm getting the willies just thinking about it now. I still remember seeing it for the first time and it's still my lasting image from "State of Decay."
Harry -
There were many moments in this story that were decidedly not for the kiddies.
The closing sequence of Part Two was brilliant. Having realized that they were inside the shell of the Hydrax, the Doctor and Romana explore the tower. When they climb down to the fuel tanks, an ominous heartbeat can be heard. They find the fuel tanks filled with blood. They find a room full of drained corpses piled high. As Aukon sneaks up and confronts them, they discover that they are in the lair of the last Great Vampire. This was a fantastic few minutes of atmosphere and looming dread.
Sarah -
And so much blood! That has to be more blood than we've seen in all other Doctor Who stories combined. Get thee behind the sofa, kiddies!
Harry -
Part Three was a bit of a lull as the various forces in the story marshalled themselves for the final battle. Aukon realizes that the Doctor and Romana are Time Lords. The Doctor slips away to go read up on the Great Vampires (what a bizarre way to pull him out of the story for an episode). Meanwhile, Romana and Adric are both seized and prepared for sacrifice to the "Great One." The vampire attack at the end of this episode was another horror chiller.
Sarah -
As this story was written for another Doctor-companion combo, Dicks had to do a bit of reworking to get Adric in the story. It feels shoehorned in at times, but I do like the scene where Adric seemingly abandons Romana to her fate, saying that there's no reason for them both to die. We almost suspect that he is still in the thrall of the vampires -- or at least a completely heartless bastard! In the end, he mounts a rescue attempt that fails miserably, but redeems himself as a companion.
Harry -
Adric's heel turn was a shocker, but it turned out he was just bluffing, and, yes, his rescue attempt did fail miserably. He did get some flash threads to wear. I wish he could have kept that outfit and ditched the PJs.
Sarah -
I will admit I was admiring the brocade jacket-thingy he wore.
Harry -
Anyway, having completed his reading -- and provided John Leeson with some justification for his paycheque -- the Doctor rallies the rebellious villagers with a faux-St. Crispin's Day speech, and they storm the tower. (I couldn't help notice that Tom got a haircut halfway through the filming of this story. He has extremely shagged out hair in all the interior TARDIS scenes, but over at the tower, he's found the time to get a quick trim.)
Sarah -
I thought perhaps I was imaging the change in his hair. I read somewhere that Baker's hair had lost its curl due to health issues and he actually had to have it permed for this story.
In the end, of course, the day is saved when the Doctor uses one of the rockets that comprise the tower to drive a steel bolt through the heart of the Great Vampire. Romana, Adric, and the hirsute villagers scamper to safety, the not-so-great vampires crumble to ash, and all is well on this planet without a name.
Harry -
Uncle Terry couldn't be fussed with too many details, haha.
One of the best things about "State of Decay" is that the ultimate evil -- the Great Vampire -- remains concealed for almost the entire story. The Three Who Rule were wicked baddies, but to realize that they were merely servants to Something Even More Monstrously Evil, well, the imagination ran rampant. That is, until the villagers used the scanner to pick up an infrared image of the Great One as he stirred to life. That image was lame. Much better was the image of the gigantic talon-like hand pushing up through the ground as the Great Vampire began to emerge. That hand was all we needed to see. The scale of it was awesome. It was truly believable that this was a colossal monster stirring up from the depths of planet no-name.
Sarah -
The monster you can't see is always scarier than the one you can see. Don't you think?
Harry -
Absolutely, and perhaps especially in classic Who. And if there were any kiddies still left unscarred by the experience, we got to see The Three Who Rule decay, wither and crumble to dust in a matter of seconds, after the Great Vampire's hold over them was released. Oh my!
Sarah -
I wonder how the villagers will fare without their vampire overlords. Oh well, no time to stick around and find out -- Adric needs returning to the starliner.
Harry -
That was such an awkward goodbye scene. The villagers were so desperate for help escaping E-Space, but the Doctor clearly has no interest in ferrying people around the universe. He practically made a run for the TARDIS. And so ends one of the real standout stories of Season 18.
Sarah -
Best Line:
The Doctor: “Knowing’s easy. Everyone does that ad nauseam. I just sort of hope.”
Favorite Moment: When the Doctor tells Romana, “You are wonderful.” She responds with, “Me? I suppose I am. Never really thought about it.” Maybe I’m feeling a little emotional about Romana’s impending departure, but this scene summed up the wonderfulness of the Tom-Lalla on-screen partnership for me.
Lasting Image: The flying bat superimposed on Aukon’s face is still one of the most terrifying Doctor Who images ever!
9/10
Harry -
Best Line:
DOCTOR: "What is the Wasting?"
TARAK: "The Wasting?"
DOCTOR: "Yes."
TARAK: "The Wasting is... The Wasting.
DOCTOR: "Ah."
(I giggled at that one.)
Favourite Moment: Zargo and Camilla's synchronized hand-washing scene.
Lasting Image: The Three Who Rule.
9/10
Our marathon continues with Story #113: Warriors' Gate...
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