Doctor Who review: Tom Baker plays both hero and villain in The Face of Evil
By James Aggas
In the classic Doctor Who serial The Face of Evil, the Fourth Doctor makes a new friend and faces a dangerous new enemy – one that he helped to create…
After saving Gallifrey in The Deadly Assassin, (and meeting a future incarnation in new Doctor Who audio Out of Time,) the Doctor arrives on a planet with two distinct tribes at war with each other: the savage Sevateem and the cold but technologically advanced Tesh. As he tries to find out exactly what the god-like Xoanon is, he’s forced to face the consequences of one of his mistakes…
The Face of Evil is quite a significant Doctor Who story, for several reasons. It’s Chris Boucher’s first ever serial for the show, (one of two from this very season, in fact); it’s a rare case that features Tom Baker playing both the Doctor and the villain of the story, and it also introduces Leela.
Replacing a companion as greatly loved as Sarah Jane Smith was always going to be a challenging task for the production team. However, they did a good job when it came to creating Leela. One thing that leaps out is that, being raised as a warrior in a savage society, she’s incredibly different to Sarah Jane. As such, it’s more difficult to compare her and easier to judge her on her own terms. And – thanks to both a great script and Louise Jameson’s performance – the character is definitely given a strong start with this story.
Beginning a new friendship
Interestingly, the Doctor and Leela seem to bond almost straight away. The Doctor becomes vested in Leela’s safety, and over the course of the story, he’s constantly encouraging Leela to ask the right questions and to keep an open mind.
Leela, meanwhile, is interested in the Doctor’s wisdom and experience and is unsurprisingly keen to see the universe with him by the end of the story. It’s impressive that they develop such a strong friendship so quickly, especially since the Doctor shares the face of “the Evil One”, but it works.
Ah yes. “The Evil One”. As mentioned, Tom Baker gets to have another role to play in this story: the insane “god” Xoanon, or at least, one of its personalities. Having the hero also play the villain of the story is a great idea, and Tom Baker clearly had a lot of fun playing it.
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Exploring consequences
The Face of Evil is full of great ideas, and one of its very best is the fact that this whole adventure is the result of one of the Doctor’s mistakes. While it’s a mistake to an entirely off-screen adventure, it’s still fascinating to see what happens when the Doctor gets it wrong.
Along with great ideas, The Face of Evil is also rich in excellent dialogue, too. Tom Baker gets several brilliant lines to say as Four. In fact, he gets one of the best quotes in Doctor Who history with this story:
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don’t alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
Great cliffhangers
On top of that, we also get a couple of fantastic cliffhangers in this story. Part 1 ends with a spectacular reveal, while part 3 features a cliffhanger that’s truly horrifying, as we find out just how insane Xoanon really is.
Overall, The Face of Evil is a pretty solid serial from an extremely solid season. It’s full of great ideas, memorable dialogue, and it also begins a beautiful friendship. An extremely impressive story from Chris Boucher, especially for a Doctor Who debut. Though perhaps not as impressive a story as his next one…
dark. Next. Two iconic Doctors meet in Out of Time!
Have you seen The Face of Evil? What are your thoughts on it? Do you think Leela was a great companion? What did you think of Tom Baker playing both the hero and the villain of the story? Let us know in the comments below.
