"Doctor Who"
Paradise Towers: Part 1 (1987)

Director:

Nicholas Mallett

Writer:

Stephen Wyatt (writer)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (1963)

Original Air Date:

5 October 1987 (Season 24, Episode 5)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor and Mel visits Paradise Towers, a apartment complex in the 21st century. Only to find the...

Plot Keywords:

Space Hero | Extraterrestrial | Scientist Hero | Multiple Actors For One Character | Extraterrestrial Hero

Cast

Sylvester McCoy	...	The Doctor
Bonnie Langford	...	Melanie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Brennon	...	Fire Escape
Richard Briers	...	Chief Caretaker
Brenda Bruce	...	Tilda
Howard Cooke	...	Pex
Catherine Cusack	...	Blue Kang Leader
Clive Merrison	...	Deputy Chief Caretaker
Astra Sheridan	...	Yellow Kang
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Tabby
Joseph Young	...	Young Caretaker
Annabel Yuresha	...	Bin Liner

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Elmswell House, Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Trivia:

Judy Cornwell was 3rd choice for Maddy.

Quotes:

Maddy: No cause for panic? Two of my next-door neighbours have just disappeared down the waste disposal chute!

Watchable but rather camp.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This story is a parable of high-rise tower blocks which, in the '80s, were controversial, were subject to decay and social breakdown. If it had been played seriously, I've no doubt 'Paradise Towers' could have been an Orwell-like vision of a grim future. But this was 1987, when Dr Who was seen as a bit of light-hearted kids' entertainment rather than serious sci-fi. The main problem I have with this story is the villain. I know Richard Briars is not just a comedy actor, as I've seen him in serious roles as villains. But here he seems to be doing panto, camping up a Hitler-like character as though goose-stepping figures of fun are going out of fashion. The monsters are not much better. The 'cleaners' are slow and clunky, and the 'pool cleaner' only catches Mel because she somehow fails to notice this huge bright-yellow metal crab floating in clear water about six feet away. The music, though nice to listen to, is completely at odds with the goings-on.

It's not all bad, however. There are good scenes, such as the Doctor outwitting the Caretakers by use of their own 'red tape' mentality. The Kangs, with their inventive slang, are interesting, and Pex is a likable character. All in all, this story, though certainly not a classic, is at least entertaining and is thankfully free of the constant in-jokes and continuity references which bogged down so many Dr Who stories in the eighties.