The Face Of Evil

The underlying concept of this story is one used in several Hinchcliffes, that being the apparent return of a vengeful would-be god. The ingenious thing here is that that concept is actually turned on its head with the returning figure actually being the Doctor. And while it's not unusual for the Doctor to be mistaken for an enemy by people he meets, it is unusual for that identity to have been grounded in - indeed, to be the origin of - the civilisation the Doctor encounters. Leela and the others' identification of him as "The Evil One" who has control over Xoanon isn't actually a mistake even though the descriptive verb they use might not be accurate. The Doctor has indeed been accidentally responsible for the longstanding situation that this story ends, with the division between the Sevateem and Tesh and the "experiment in eugenics" perpetuated in his name. It's even arguable that the Doctor should feel more guilt than he apparently does for (inadvertently) causing this deplorable state of affairs, although he seems content with the cured Xoanon's reassurance that "yours was a mistake anyone could have made".

The concept is taken to disturbing extremes when, after seeing Neeva accepting, in a state of religious ecstasy, commands from the Doctor's voice in a microphone, we are later shown a visual representation of Xoanon on a screen, with a livid red-lined image of Tom Baker's face on a black background, whispering hoarsely or laughing madly, commanding destruction and staring with wide boggle eyes. Even more shocking is the climax of Episode 3, when, after the Doctor has been vainly trying to reason with the many babbling voices of the computer, huge images of his face zoom up onto the screens, bellowing "No! No! No!" in a rising pitch, and the Doctor collapses amid frenzied screams in different voices of "Who am I?"

It follows that religious belief is not depicted in an especially flattering light here (the story's title was going to be "The Day God Went Mad" originally until this was changed for fear of causing offence), with Neeva being one of several unscrupulous high priests who seems to be using his position for power purposes, controlling and manipulating the tribal law in such a way that people who deny the existence of Xoanon - like Leela - can be banished, and exerting a hold over the leader, Andor. Calib and Tomas both have ambitions to unseat him but clearly realise he is too powerful to act against openly. Calib is secretly contemptuous of Neeva's beliefs and highly ruthless in his methods (almost killing Leela at one point), preferring to operate relatively subtly rather than attempt open defiance when it is impolitic.

The sincerity of Neeva's own beliefs might be said to brought into question when the Doctor broadcasts to him pretending to be Xoanon, and he responds faithfully before calling him "Doctor". Alternatively perhaps it simply means that he is more aware of what is going on than the Doctor realises - the Doctor remarks "I've underestimated him". It's stated at the end that he had simply gone insane, and perhaps his not being fooled by the Doctor is a reflection of the clear-eyed certainty this gives him (including the conviction that Xoanon must be destroyed). He can't be manipulated for any ends other than his own any more.

There is less to say about the Tesh, who are mostly shown as a rather cold and unsympathetic bunch (and they're not helped by some rather silly green uniforms), devoted to efficiency and lack of emotion, to the point of having this as a religious belief themselves. This can be seen in the scene where Jabel forces Gentek to stop panicking and regain his dignity (Gentek:"I accept my fault." and Jabel's forgiving reply, "The flesh is strong, the spirit is weak"). They worship Xoanon as strongly as the Sevateem in their own way, and the Tesh who the Doctor and Leela struggle with at the start of Episode 4 also talks in tones of messianic expectation. They are also harsher than the Sevateem to outsiders, intending to break Leela down into her constituent parts for study - as "a savage" she obviously doesn't count, and the Doctor's objections to this are a sufficient reason for him to share the same fate.

The realisation of all these concepts is somewhat patchy. There's an excellent filmed jungle, which doesn't look quite as food in the VT studios, some rather standard hut sets and the old standby of lots of white corridors (although the mirrorwalls are quite unusual admittedly). As mentioned I tend to find the Tesh costumes fairly silly, although the Sevateem ones are reasonably realistic, and indeed show off quite a high proportion of flesh. Leela is the only female we see, apart from one extra, glimpsed briefly, who looks a little like a Native American squaw, and her clothes could be said to sexualise her image in a way not normally seen with the Doctor's sidekicks (while many have been objectified and presented as physically attractive, Leela's own image has a primal aggressive edge that isn't really rivalled by any of the other female companions seen in the series).

It is as well that Leela is a very strong character, as written and acted, with a fiery, even murderous instinct (although the Doctor's admonitions for her not to use the Janis Thorn so freely ("Who gave you a licence to go slaughtering people?") are rather hollow, considering he himself is apparently happy to throw Horda at aggressive tribesmen. The character's bravery and defiance in the face of threats are never in doubt, although she has an oddly well-spoken accent, with Tomas even nominating her to be the new leader of both peoples at the end. I think the character is a stereotype of sorts, of the Raquel-Welch-in-the-jungle-variety (John Nathan-Turner once said in a 1988 interview that they would "never be able to get away with a character like that now"), although she is certainly by no means the most regressive the series has ever featured. Louise Jameson puts in a very spirited performance anyway, which manages to combine childlike naivety with an upfront killer instinct.

Tom Baker also has quite a good showing, although it's true that the initial talking to himself scenes look forced because he addresses them straight to the camera. But whether manically grinning when about to be lowered into the Horda pit, loudly protesting to Jabel about Leela's intended fate, threatening to kill a tribesman with a "deadly jelly baby" or cheerfully defying Neeva's attempts to intimidate him with ritual when captured, he keeps up a highly charismatic and exuberant performance. Although the ruthlessness, as seen in the scene mentioned earlier where he throws the Horda at one tribesman, is also significant, as is the hard-nosed moral indignation he adopts when realising Jabel's plans for Leela. The latter seems to bring out a more remote side to his character, and their relationship is closer to that of an authority figure taking a pupil under his wing than the straightforward cosy friendship he and Sarah had.

Rather an unusual story for its era then, and all the more interesting for that, for all its rough edges.