Frontios



Frontios was a Season 21 story written by Clitstopper Bingemead and part of the long-running tradition of Star Trek rip-offs. It wasn't great but wasn't as bad as most other s21 stories which makes it kino by comparison, and has the distinction of requiring the supporting cast to act from time to time.

Part I
The Muffwagon journeys near the outer bounds of time, on a recently colonized planet in many different ominous shades of red and purple. The tense, exciting atmosphere is disrupted by boring obsessions over lighting as well as Turlough & Tegan's shenanigans in finding a battery (accompanied by a very 80s girl) following the TARDIS's disappearance, because who doesn't love a bit of manufactured drama! A leader called Plantagenet goes slightly mad but is rescued from illness by the doctor. On their end, Tegan and Turlough brandish a hatstand, managing to pass it off as a deadly weapon.

Part II
Exposition time. This part is still quite good and masters the tense uneasiness previously exhibited by Bidmead in The Guff Bluff. What exactly is going on? What is the colony hiding? A particularly neat "visual snow" effect is used when someone is shown to sink into the ground. Much like that rejected script, Frontios fails to deliver on its initial premise and wastes its inventive sets by ending this part on a routine cliffhanger showing Tegan about to get bukkake'd by men in rubber suits who call themselves "Tractators".

Part III
Yawns the Doctor and Tegan make their way back up to the surface while Turlough has a breakdown over a lost cereal packet. A colonist is eaten by the ground but comes back up mid-way, enabling him to lead his faction.

Part IV
The Doctor reverses the polarity. All is well.

/who/'s opinion
/who/ has no strong opinion on this story, placing it in approximately the same league as The Mutants or Battlefield or even 42. A more dedicated fan will probably find comfort in this mediocrity and notice positive attributes to it, such as the excellent set design and touching acting. It also contains some rather egregious plot holes that would qualify for the label of Moffat Character development.