DVD Review: The Invisible Enemy

This is such an unfairly maligned Doctor Who story. It is chock-full of brilliant high-concept Sci-Fi ideas. Even the spelling on the stencilled doors and windows rewards the careful viewer with little insights into the far future.

This is heavily "inspired" by Fantastic Voyage - and I think that's great; Doctor Who has always ripped off other sci-fi. It introduces younger viewers to concepts that they are going to encounter in the future.

The mad scientist has the requisite German accent, the doctors and nurses have some splendid costumes and technobabble, and the alien enemy has a decent motivation. There's blood, betrayal, jokes, and exploding space ships. What more do you want from a Saturday evening adventure?

Leela is so much more than the "dad-nip" she is often remembered as. She's the perfect cypher for kids watching. She's brave and gets a good deal of action. She isn't a passive girl along for the adventure - she drives it.

K-9 is, obviously, the star of the show. He gels with the Doctor straight away. He's a funny and expressive little blighter and it isn't had to see how he became a fan favourite.

The special effects are… OK, they're not even at the level of Star Trek - which was a decade old at that point - but they do the job. Mostly. Remember that this would have been viewed on a tiny TV screen, with hazy reception, and no possibility of rewinding. The use of CSO / Bluescreen to have the characters walk around in the Doctor's brain is particularly good.

Does the story make any sense? No, not really. But it's a good spectacle!

But…

There is a big but here. This has some of the most wobbly sets that I've seen. Everything seem flimsy and fragile. The laser blasts are static blobs on screen. The make-up is a bit ropey. The camera-work is a bit shoddy.

A few months after these episodes were broadcast, this happened:

And that changed everything.

How can you go back to this serial after seeing Industrial Light and Magic do their stuff on the big screen?

Special features

The DVD extras are great - if you're the sort of nerd who drinks in the behind-the-scenes action. A bunch of out-takes showing how the visual effects were done is particularly interesting, as is the mini documentary on model-making. There is a chance to watch some CGI "enhancements" to the original effects - but I didn't find them particularly convincing. And there's the usual smattering of clips featuring the stars.

Thanks!

Thanks to Skylar for the lovely gift.

If you've enjoyed this review, please leave a comment or buy me another Dr Who DVD to review 😊