Doctor Who (TV Series) The Visitation: Part Three (1982) User Reviews

A duff episode which does contain the end of the Sonic Screwdriver

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 13 August 2015]

Episode 2's brilliant cliffhanger lead us into the third part, under threat of execution The Doctor and Mace are temporarily saved by the head of the village and imprisoned. The Android (disguised as the Grim reaper) captures the Doctor and Mace, and take them back to the Terileptil, where we discover genesis of the human race is planned. The sonic screwdriver is destroyed and Mace controlled and ordered to guard the Doctor. The Terileptil has infected thousands of Black rats and plans to let them loose to wipe out the human race. It all ends with Tegan about to release the rats, but will she?....

The Terileptil has turned into a shouting mad thing, the costume is a mix of very good and terrible, it looks very very rubbery, but the gills and eyes look rather good, I think again the whole thing looks seriously too well lit, had it all been more subdued the sets and the Terileptil would have looked better, when it's out in daylight it looks very bad. Roller Disco Android continues to be dreadfully out of place.

Nyssa continues to be the best of the 3 companions, she's the most productive and is a very strong character, the other two fall a little flat here, Adric is rather poor.

It was decided to remove the Sonic screwdriver as it had become the Doctor's magic wand, at least this episode was remembered for that. It does end on a very good cliffhanger, 6/10

"I feel my mind slipping into a bottomless pit of gloom & despair." The Visitation is getting worse as it goes...

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 8 July 2007]

Doctor Who: The Visitation: Part 3 starts as the Doctor (Peter Davison) & Richard (Michael Robbins) are saved from execution when it's realised they are wanted men & worth more alive then dead, the Terileptil (Michael Melia) uses his android to capture the Doctor. The Doctor tries to convince the Terileptil to let him take them to another planet in the TARDIS but the Terileptil says he wants Earth & that he has genetically altered a disease which will be spread by rats to wipe out the entire human race, the Doctor has to save himself, his companions & stop those rats ever being released...

Episode 15 from season 19 this Doctor Who adventure was originally aired here in the UK during Februray 1982, directed by Peter Moffatt this is an OK story but nothing that special. The script by Eric Saward has included the historic event of the plague in it's plot although it's waited a fair while to reveal it, again I just don't think that much has happened during this episode. The Doctor has been trapped in a room for most of it, Nyssa hasn't done anything & Tegan gets about 30 seconds while Adric is as annoying as ever. I really didn't like the clichéd & tired scenes where the Terileptil alien talks to the Doctor & reveals it's entire plan in great detail & then doesn't kill him, this really isn't that original & feels old. The period setting isn't used to any great effect & the character's apart from Richard Mace have been poor. The Visitation is alright but not particularly memorable as far as I'm concerned.

The more I see this Terileptil alien the more I hate it, it looks really tatty & since it's on screen so often it starts to ruin any menace it might have generated. Again I just think the very poor monster suit hurts the story & it's credibility. The android isn't much better but there is a neat Grim Reaper gag during this episode.

The Visitation: Part 3 is alright, I personally don't think much has happened during it but that's just my opinion. This isn't too bad but isn't that good either & hasn't done anything with it's promising start.