Doctor Who has long been my favorite show, but it’s been a couple of years since I’ve actually watched anything but the newest episodes. Before that, I was making a respectable run at getting through the original series, most of which I haven’t seen for decades. For various reasons, lately it has felt like it’s time to get back into it. 

State of Decay

Starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.
Companions:  Lalla Ward as Romana, Matthew Waterhouse as Adrian and John Leeson as the voice of K9

Written by Terrance Dicks.  Directed by Peter Moffatt. Produced by John Nathan-Turner. Script Edited by Christopher H. Bidmead.

Format:  4 episodes, each about 25 minutes long
Originally Aired:  November – December 1981 (Episodes 13-16 of Season 18)

We’re here in the midst of the so-called E-Space Trilogy, dealing with the stories when the TARDIS was trapped outside of the normal universe in “Exo-Space.” This sort of thing was pretty rare in Doctor Who back in those days, although it was becoming more common. The production team used this as a way to introduce a new companion, Adric, and to write out the previous ones, Romana & K9. However, neither of those things happen in State of Decay, it being the middle chapter. So what does happen, and is it any good?

Spoilers Ahead!

Okay, right up front, I want to say that generally I don’t like vampire stories.

There are a whole bunch of reasons for this, but generally I find the idea of these ghoulish nigh-invulnerable creatures lurking in the corners of human civilisation doing whatever they please because ordinary people are just helpless before them to be kind of annoying. So I went into State of Decay (at least this rewatch–like many of these stories, I’ve seen all or most of it decades ago) pre-disposed not to like it. I’m happy to say that I ended up finding lots of reasons to like it quite a bit. This E-Space trilogy is shaping up to be pretty good!

Probably the most notably positive thing about the serial is the atmosphere. The creative team does a great job bringing a Gothic horror tone to every aspect of the production, especially the sets, costumes, make-up and performances.

Emrys James, Rachel Davies and William Lindsay as Aukon, Camilla and Zargo are incredibly over-the-top in their portrayal of the “Three Who Rule”, but so utterly committed that the characters end up being completely compelling, even as they are utterly ridiculous. And there is a relentlessness to the production design (in a good way), in that once we get stuck into the story’s creepy world, there is very little respite (aside from the TARDIS itself).

As far as my whole anti-vampire thing goes, one of the things I like about State of Decay is the lore it build around the creatures. The idea of a giant interplanetary vampire ready to emerge from the ground, its hand breaking forth like some kind of Lovecraftian horror, is quite an interesting one, and definitely adds a unique flavor to this version of vampires.

Tying into the mythology of Gallifrey and the Time Lords in the way that they do just adds to all that.

Of course, the real reason that Aukon and his pals look they were pulled into E-Space out of an old Hammer horror movie is because the tropes demand it, even over the objections of script editor Christopher H. Bidmead, who apparently tried to tone them down in favor of a stronger science fiction vibe. It seems that both director Peter Moffatt and scriptwriter Terrance Dicks were at odds with him over this. I generally enjoy Bidmead’s approach to Doctor Who, but I think State of Decay works better leaning into its Hammer horror roots than it would have avoiding it, especially since it means it nicely contrasts with the stories around it.

State of Decay is a surprisingly non-gruesome story, given the subject matter. Only one good guy, Tarak, gets killed on-screen, and that because of general non-gory physical damage (Camilla wants to drink his blood, but cannot because he’s already dead). I suppose that this may have been because of the limitations of what was allowed to be shown on this children’s TV show–although I feel like the bit where we find out what happens to a Vampire when they die might have been pretty traumatising for some British kids in the early 80s.

Though Adric debuted in Full Circle, State of Decay was filmed first. I’ve read that Matthew Waterhouse found Adric complicated to play in Full Circle because he seemed so different than he had been in State of Decay. Watching the stories in the proper order I have to agree, and unfortunately whatever made Adric potentially interesting in his first story is pretty much lost here. Rather than being young person whose life has been marked by tragedy, he just comes across as obnoxious and bratty. No hint is given as to why Adric stowed away on the TARDIS, and the story is structured so that he barely has any scenes with the Doctor, so any implications to his presence are just glossed over.

His scenes with Romana are largely taken up with them bickering, which seems like a disservice to Romana. You’ll see this kind of dynamic later between Adric and Tegan, but in that case the characters are on more equal footing–with Romana, one can’t imagine why someone like her would bother.

Instead, Adric spend much of the story appearing to be kind of into what the vampires are offering. Of course it’s a ruse, but it’s bad look for the character in what was essentially his first story as a companion. And it was an idea the show seemed to become regrettably obsessed with over the rest of his run as a character, which I think only contributed to his unpopularity. “Adric sides with the villains” is kind of like Doctor Who‘s “Wesley saves the ship”–something which didn’t happen as much as people remember, but definitely colors the impression one has of the character.

Other Thoughts

• Storywise, the one plot point that seems like it’s going to be important but ends up being mostly ignored is the fate of Karl, the son of Ivo, the village headman. He gets taken away at the start by Habris main guard, who promises to do what he can to make sure that Karl gets to be a guard, rather than just having his blood consumed by the Lords for their sustenance. Ivo shows up in a scene in Part Three to announce that he’s learned Karl is dead, but we don’t see this happen, and we don’t even see Ivo learn this. Later there is a brief moment where Ivo is obviously intending to kill Habris, but it’s too brief to be meaningful.

• There are also a couple of references to the “Wasting” in Part One (something the Lords keep the villagers from experiencing) but this is never explained. And later, when the Lords are dead, nobody seems particularly concerned about it.

• After spending a bunch of Full Circle being decapitated, K9 gets to be pretty awesome in this story. He is pretty instrumental in the villager’s success in storming the tower (getting to zap lots of guards) and gets this random funny shot where the villagers are all waiting for K9 to give them a signal to act, and when we see him give it, he’s been repositioned so he’s sitting on one of the vampire’s thrones.

It’s pretty funny.