City of Death

The thing that I think makes 'City of Death' great rather than merely good is that there is no real obvious weakness. The humour is seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of the production allowing the comedy to arise from the situation; the dialogue is fantastic. Little details like when Romana asks why anyone would want to steal the Mona Lisa and The Doctor just keeps saying, "Well, it is a very pretty painting." Using the potential thief's appreciation of the aesthetic value of the painting as his perceived motivation for the theft shows a how money never figures much into The Doctor's thinking. Then, of course, there are the more memorable lines, such as "What a wonderful butler, he's so violent."

Then there is the casting and the ensemble bravura cast who each play their parts to perfection. But one character that I think is of particular note is Duggan. If he was written as a more serious part his flawed nature as a character would be too transparent and I think this highlights Adams' genius. He turns Duggan's overzealous urge to thump people while not really knowing or understanding much of what is going on into a joke; therefore, we ignore the obvious deficiencies of the character because... it's a joke. It's meant to be funny; not taken entirely seriously. The characters are probably the best part of this but the plot, despite some obvious flaws, is excellent too.

But the directing and production values, especially for the time, are also superb and the story never lets up on the pace. The sets are mostly contemporary which helps maintain the production values. Every scene serves a purpose and it has a detailed and consistent plot.

This being the first story I watched from Baker, I liked it, but that was it, it's over rated as hell as a lot of the walking around could've seriously been cut out and it made for some really boring scenes. I did like some of the ideas presented. I loved Duggan and Baker, though Romana II didn't have much to do. I'm looking forward to more of her and Baker

City of Death is just superb. Doctor Who (in the classic era) is usually a show you have to enjoy "in spite of" issues caused mostly by the show's budget leading to stories where Doctor Who's reach exceeds its grasp.

No such problem here. The production values are amazing. There's lots of Paris location shooting and it's absolutely fabulous. Even the shots of Earth "400 million years ago" are far better than a typical Doctor Who landscape. The camera work is inspired with some amazing shots and angles in this one. And then there's the musical score which is just fantastic. It's pure class.

The performances are great with Tom Baker pulling in a usual solid performance in addition to Julian Glover as a superb villain as the Count, and Tom Chadbon as the ever-violent ever bumbling Duggan.

As for the story itself, it sets up a great premise that draws you regarding jumps in time (though strangely enough that doesn't happen after Episode 1) and seven original copies of the Mona Lisa, with the Doctor going back in time to ask Leonardo what's going on. The solution is clever. However, the cosmology is silly and it actually contradicts other Doctor Who stories. However, the whole production is pulled off with enough style that that doesn't matter. This remains one of Doctor Who's very best.

What an overrated, smug, self congratulatory story. Does not deserve the praise