2001-03-18
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
In essence, 'Inferno' is like many other Pertwee adventures: it is set on Earth, features UNIT and a struggle between the Doctor and the authorities. However, 'Inferno' is certainly one of the best of its time (and in my opinion only 'The Invasion' was a better UNIT story). Much of this is down to the suspense provided by Douglas Camfield's outstanding direction, which builds the tension in every episode. Another asset for 'Inferno' is the script. Pertwee is abrupt, temperamental and argumentative (reminiscent of William Hartnell, in fact) and the confrontations between him and Professor Stahlman (played by Olaf Pooley) are great, with the scene when the Doctor uses his Venusian karate against him being particularly funny.
The story also has plenty of scary moments as well. The Primords are one of the best realised of all Doctor Who's many monsters, and are in fact an early example of the "man into monster" villain of the series. And of course, being Doctor Who, the incidental music is brilliant.