Image of The Fendahl has something of a special meaning for me, as the last episode was set on the day I was born. That aside, it is an enjoyable serial with a nice plot. The Fendahleen may look a bit silly, but I like it that way. It's part of the classic Doctor Who charm. They're actually not that bad a design idea, the crew just didn't have the time and budget to fully realize them. Wanda Ventham does an excellent job as both Thea Ransome and The Fendahl Core, and I felt sympathy for both characters. I'm not really a fan of Leela, but I actually like the way she is portrayed as opposed to some of her other stories. The glowing skull is a great effect, and Tom Baker is wonderful. Edward Arthur is great as the sarcastic, skeptical scientist Adam Colby. All of the actors give high-quality performances, though Dr. Fendelman's on/off fake German accent is a bit distracting. There are a few plot holes, such as where Colby's dog Leaky went after his minute or so of screen-time and a few other things I wont mention. We have commentary from Tom Baker (The Doctor) Louise Jameson (Leela) Wanda Ventham (Thea Ransome or now known as Benedict Cumberbatch's Mother and Edward Arthur (Adam Colby) The idea that the development of mankind has been influenced by aliens from another world is a recurring concept, both in Doctor Who and beyond. The Daemons from The Daemons and the Jagaroth in City of Death both claim to have helped humanity along the way and in The Runaway Bride it’s even suggested that the Racnoss were responsible for the formation of our planet. The scan catches the attention of the Fourth Doctor and Leela when they are pulled down to Earth by it. They set off to find it before it creates a continuum implosion and destroys the planet. They separate and Leela finds the cottage of ‘Mother’ Tyler, a local modern-day witch gifted with psychic powers. The Doctor ends up narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the creature created by the skull, which then kills the leader of a detachment of guards Fendelman has brought in after the death of the hiker, sealing everyone into the priory.

Thea falls into a trance-like state as the scanner is activated. Outside, a large unseen creature approaches the Doctor through the woods, and he seems unable to move. DOCTOR: The Fendahl absorbs the full spectrum of energy, what some people call a life force or soul. It eats life itself. The Doctor says 'We're being dragged towards a relative continuum displacement zone' (his other explanation 'a hole in time' is more understandable). GoofsBut Tom Baker's fourth season in the role did contain this story, a script originally commissioned during those earlier years, and as a result it's pretty much the last attempt at gothic horror they mounted.

The Fendahleen aren’t the greatest monster costume you’ll see on classic Who, but I admire the concept.During her final transformation into the Fendahl Core, Wanda Ventham blinks just as the top of her face is transformed

On the plus side, we see a return of someone being able to write for Leela and the Doctor is enigmatic yet serious. The star of the show however is Mrs Tyler who rightfully enchants any scene she is in. Ted Moss a decent follow up, but doesn’t make the same impact. Fendhalman is interesting with an almost split personality. The biggest missed opportunity however is Thea Ransome. who plays her part so well, yet we’re treated to so little of it. Why didn’t they delve into the relationship she has with Stael? They also gloss over the uneasy friendship the two have with Coby, and the delicate respect and fear they share for Fendahlman. Even the monster of the week doesn’t do enough to become truly significant. After that it’s mood or it’s blah.

Summary: I vaguely recall something about a skull, worms, Medusa Lady, the mad-as-a-box-of-frogs Gran, and the costumes. The more gold paint they put on Wanda Ventham, the more desirable she became. I was disturbed for hours after!" Leela says, "Professor Marius would not be very pleased" about the damages of K9. Marius appeared in the previous story, TV: The Invisible Enemy. Thirteen physically separate organisms made up the Fendahl, twelve Fendahleen and the core. Additionally, a High Priestess of the Fendahleen would merge with them to complete the Fendahl creature. ( PROSE: Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl)

There's a lot going on story-wise, so the rest of the cast turn out to be sophisticated plot devices as well as individuals. Dr. Fendelman, the inventor of the Time Scanner, turns out to have a mystical connection to the Fendahl skull, which awkwardly manifests in the character's final 30 seconds. Thea Ransome is (for no apparent reason) turned by the skull into a golden-skinned evil goddess. Local "white witch" Granny Tyler turns out to possess just the right amount of homespun wisdom that allows her to defeat the 12 million year-old menace with a few shakers of salt. Goal-Oriented Evolution: The skull from the Core of the Fendahl had, over millions of years, subtly altered a life form on the planet it landed on until that life form was suitable for creating a new Fendhal and had a subgroup manipulated into actually creating it. The human who learned he and his species existed only to spawn the rebirthed Fendahl was not happy. This is great story and deserves to have much more praise heaped on it, we have some fine actors working on it including one woman who is Benedict Cumberbatch's mother. The model `baby' Fendahleen work far better, like particularly sinister little cobras. There is a bizarre moment when Thea collapses in a golden glow and two baby Fendahleen monsters appear sitting on her body. Bizarre, because it's effectively done and a dramatic moment, which everyone then seems to forget about within five minutes, including Thea's assumed boyfriend Adam, whose next scenes with Thea are mostly spent worrying about a disconnected telephone! There are four scientists in this house, and by the end of the story, only one will be left alive, just one - and it's the immensely likable Adam Colby, beautifully played by Edward Arthur - I wonder what happened to him.

Plot

Commentary by Tom Baker ( The Doctor), Louise Jameson ( Leela), Wanda Ventham ( Thea Ransome) and Edward Arthur ( Adam Colby) MARTHA: I ain’t involved in anything. I were consulted. A lot of people consult me. You know I’ve got the second sight. Fendelman, well you assume is gong to be the villain of the piece – it is a nice feint in the story structure which leaves him as the patsy – his whole life a fiction, manipulated into serving the Fendahl and facilitating its rebirth. Enter the Fendahl, slowly at first, stalking hikers through the darkness of the wood at night before bursting onto the scene in the final episode. It's a complex idea of a gestalt or group monster, made up of 12 `Fendahleen' and the golden Core. Thea's transformation into the Core is a superb and quite chilling variant on an ancient myth, a golden Medusa, beautiful but evil and fatal to look upon. The `Fendahleen' are unfortunately less successful. Costs meant that only one full-size monster was built and although Mrs. Tyler memorably describes her vision of it as "hungry for my soul!" it looks more hungry for her cabbages. The DVD features and commentary describe 15 minutes of laughter when the cast first encountered it. It's not that bad, but would have been more effective if made less visible... Yes. In other words, the Fendahl. Then the Time Lords decided to destroy the entire planet, and hid the fact from posterity. They're not supposed to do that sort of thing, you know."