Doctor Who:
Dragonfire
By Ian Briggs
“No, Glitz. You can't go
on stealing everything you want, like this Stradivarius and that Dutch master.
Pay Kane back his debt, even if it costs a thousand crowns, ten thousand
crowns. Pay back the debt. And as for you, your debt to Kane, I don't think you'll
be able to pay it off. Ever.”
The Doctor heads to
Iceworld because he is interested to finding out if the legend of a dragon
living in the caves is true. They stop
at a restaurant where they run into Sabalom Glitz. Apparently he is interested in the dragon
also as the dragon is guarding a treasure and that is something tha Glitz would
love to get his hands on. The Doctor and
Mel befriend a waitress named Ace who wants to come along and help them find
the dragon.
The ruler of Iceworld is
Kane. Kane is a harden criminal exiled
to Iceworld for the many crimes he committed on his home planet. Kane also wants the dragon but he wants it
dead as the dragon holds the key for him to getting off of Iceworld. But before he goes Kane wants to kill
everyone who is on the planet and it is up to The Doctor to prevent that from
happening.
I like Dragonfire as it is
a pretty decent story and the best story of season 24. Considering how bad season 24 Sylvester
McCoy’s debut season it wasn’t hard to single out Dragonfire as the seasons
best story as it is the only one that felt like a Doctor Who story. Sylvester McCoy final acted like The Doctor
and those silly mis quotes were gone and he started to be a tad more devious
and some mystery was creeping in. It
just seemed right considering how silly he was in the previous three stories.
Not only was Sylvester
McCoy more Doctorish in this story than the previous three but this story felt
more like a Doctor Who story that viewers were used to. It had a classic style villain that had a stranglehold
on the people who worked for him it also had an alien creature roaming around
that had an air of mystery surrounding him.
After the past three stories it was really good to have a story that was
familiar and also more like Doctor Who.
The story is well done and very enjoyable which is a plus considering
how mediocre season 24 was.
Dragonfire is also famous
for having one of the worst cliffhangers in all of Doctor Who’s history. We all know it and it was also features in “The
Name of The Doctor” as the Seventh Doctor’s appearance in it. That’s right the one where The Doctor decides
to climb down an ice cliff with his umbrella and his feet do not reach the
bottom. Why in god’s name would The Doctor
do that and why wasn’t it ever explained in the story. That scene should have been edited out and
another scene should have been used instead. I still laugh and shake my head when I see
that.
Dragonfire also is the
first appearance of one of the more popular companions in the shows
history. Ace played by Sofie Aldred is
the mainstay companion of the Seventh Doctor’s era. When you think of the McCoy years you also
think of Ace also. She is a fiery
teenager who is rough around the edges who just needs someone to trust and be a
fatherly figure for her. Ace and The
Doctor have a great relationship and what is coming up is pretty good and makes
you wonder about The Doctor and what he has in mind for Ace.
Dragonfire thankfully sees
the departure of Mel. Mel just did not
cut it as a companion and just was a bad idea.
Making Bonnie Langford a screaming neurotic health nut was just a really
bad idea and the chemistry between her and Sylvester McCoy just wasn’t as good
as Sylvester and Sophie. I feel sorry
for Sabalom Glitz who gets stuck with her.
I’m sure he will dump Mel off on the first planet he gets to.
Grade B +
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