UK Mall 1 - Doctor Who - The Power Of Kroll [1978]

Of course with such monster to play with there must be quite a build up - the build up takes three episodes with us only seeing it at the end of episode three. It is this build up which is the most entertaining. It first shows on scanners at the oil refinery with lots of "I can't believe this thing it is five miles across!" and the like. If you have a sense of wonder and still a part of a child in you then you will enjoy 'Kroll'

I'm digressing. The plot:-

In their search for the 'Key To Time' Tom Bakers doctor (arguably the best) and the lovely Romana (Mary Tamm) land on one of the moons of Magnus Delta. Somehow on this moon is a piece of the key which they may find. The moon is a kind of reservation for an indigenous people known as 'the swampies' who live a fearsome primitive existance worshipping an ancient god called Kroll. Recently methane gas miners have colonised the moon and have built a refinery and are extracting the mineral to send to their home planet. They see the swampies as savages and the swampies see them as interlopers so there is ground for lots of conflict. Their refinery also seems to be built on a vast lake. At the bottom of the lake lies Kroll, the gigantic deity, and the miners seem to have woken him from his century old slumber.

As you can see this means lots of fun. The technicians on the refinery are brilliantly acted and are portrayed as selfish colonists treading on each other and the swampies to get what they want. And there is a theme running through this adventure which is the treatment of indigenous people. Paralells can be drawn between the Americans/Indians & British/Africans. As the Doctor says "progress...well that's a very flexible word.."

THe special effects are OK with the arrival of Kroll being espeically grandiose, but the model of the refinery is very obvious. And whoever came up with the idea to make the swampies green was having a laugh. The green paint was so tough they couldn't get it off after filming finished.Mary Tammn is excellent as Romana (one of my favourite companions) and there is a superb small part of Glyn Owen who plays the cynical arms dealer Rohm Dutt.

I enjoyed this one. And if you can get over lots of swampies jumping up and down, waving their spears and shouting "Kroll! Kroll! Kroll!" - you will too...

Of course with such monster to play with there must be quite a build up - the build up takes three episodes with us only seeing it at the end of episode three. It is this build up which is the most entertaining. It first shows on scanners at the oil refinery with lots of "I can't believe this thing it is five miles across!" and the like. If you have a sense of wonder then you will enjoy 'Kroll'

I'm digressing. The plot:-

In their search for the 'Key To Time' Tom Bakers doctor (arguably the best) and the lovely Romana (Mary Tamm) land on one of the moons of Magnus Delta. Somehow on this moon is a piece of the key which they may find. The moon is a kind of reservation for an indigenous people known as 'the swampies' who live a fearsome primitive existance worshipping an ancient god called Kroll. Recently methane gas miners have colonised the moon and have built a refinery and are extracting the mineral to send to their home planet. They see the swampies as savages and the swampies see them as interlopers so there is ground for lots of conflict. Their refinery also seems to be built on a vast lake. At the bottom of the lake lies Kroll, the gigantic deity, and the miners seem to have woken him from his century old slumber.

As you can see this means lots of fun. The technicians on the refinery are brilliantly acted and are portrayed as selfish colonists treading on each other and the swampies to get what they want. And there is a theme running through this adventure which is the treatment of indigenous people. Paralells can be drawn between the Americans/Indians & British/Africans. As the Doctor says "progress...well that's a very flexible word.."

THe special effects are OK with the arrival of Kroll being espeically grandiose, but the model of the refinery is very obvious. And whoever came up with the idea to make the swampies green was having a laugh. The green paint was so tough they couldn't get it off after filming finished.Mary Tammn is excellent as Romana (one of my favourite companions) and there is a superb small part of Glyn Thomas who plays the cynical arms dealer Rohm Dutt.

I enjoyed this one. And if you can get over lots of swampies jumping up and down, waving their spears and shouting "Kroll! Kroll! Kroll!" - you will too...