Who Reviews The Ribos Operation by Matt Rabjohns

Robert Holmes never ran out of juice in the whole time he was penning stories for the series. Every single one of his stories has a great central premise and a superb clientele of characters who helped to mould the story into an unforgettable experience. The Key to Time season thus begins with The Ribos Operation, and in many ways this story encapsulates every good thing about Bob Holmes's writing prowess.

Firstly, this is quite a simple story. The plot is not complicated and therefore the script is allowed time to breathe and the actors get the chance to inject their characters with so much vigour and strength that what could easily have been a dull and turgid tale actually is nothing of the sort whatsoever. The Ribos Operation has a character list that is hugely appealing, and the acting is award winningly sublime from all involved.

First at the beginning of events we have the brilliant Cyril Luckham portraying the White Guardian, an infinite eternal who wants the Doctor to complete a vital mission which is gathering all the segments of the Key to Time so that he can reset the universal balance and thus save the macrocosm from chaos. This is a really good theme which doesn't overtly assert itself through the season, rather it is just a background underlying theme that for six stories the Doctor is on a quest and these stories have a bit more purpose than more of the standalone stories.

We are then wonderfully introduced to the beautiful and talented Mary Tamm as Romanadvoratrelundar. The Doctor doesn't immediately take to his new companion, in fact there is some seriously hilarious jibing banter going back and forth between the Doctor and Romana for quite some time. But in no time at all the Doctor is warming to Romana and so am I. Mary Tamm is simply fantastic as the strait laced but wonderful time lady. She makes an immediately impressive debut performance and proves why she is still one of the best companions the show ever had. Here the Doctor and his friend are more equals than previously mere human companions. This is a good jab of fresh air and comes over extremely well on screen.

The absolute delight of this story though is the casting of Iain Cuthbertson and Nigel Plaskitt as Garron and Unstoffe. , my goodness these two men are incredible in their roles. They play the intergalactic Del Boy and Rodney to absolute perfection. Iain's wit and charm and Nigel's character's slight naivete and foolishness are absolutely one of the strongest aspects of the story. It is almost like these two men were born to play these roles on screen. This makes you root for them, despite the fact they're a little naughty, you want them to succeed! The scene where Unstoffe puts on his accent in an attempt to deceive the Graff Vynda K and Sholakh is absolute screen gold.

Talking of the Graff, Paul Seed is superbly cast as the nasty, big booted soldier, as is the brilliant Robert Keegan as Sholakh, his hardnosed henchman too. Paul is really delightful to watch as the vicious Graff, but he is never over the top or caricatured in the least. Yet again these two segments of casting are much to the stories benefit too. These two men exude superb acting acumen and they definitely rank amongst the best villains of the show because of it!

Then we come to the amazing Timothy Bateson, who portrays the deposed seer, but immensely loveable character, of Ribos. As Binro the Heretic Timothy is utterly captivating. The special scene of Unstoffe reporting to him that his theories of the stars and Ribos are all true is one of those magical and stirring Doctor Who moments that just brings a tear to the eye. Honestly this scene is so beautifully carried that it makes it one of the most gorgeous scenes the show ever put out. And it makes poor Binro's death all the more poignant because of it. That he dies with stating "I was right Unstoffe!" is a moment of absolute emotional platinum.

Even down to the what could have been the mostly thankless role of the Captain of the Guard, Prentis Hancock is an actor of the type that always delivers, so even this character never just fades into the background to be forgotten about.  Ann Tirard too is the perfect woman for portraying the Seeker, basically a witch blessed with the second sight. Even Ann gives some spice to her small, but important, role in this story.

The story sparkles with some extremely rich dialogue and some beautiful moments all along the way. I love the scenes of when Garron informs the Graff that he is no longer some mighty King but just another common criminal. It's a brilliant breaking down of the evil Graff and Paul Seed's final scene of the Graff descending into mania is brilliantly portrayed.

The sumptuousness of the background scenery too helps cement the fact that this is a backwards planet, with some gorgeous set design that just adds to the overall superb effect of the story on one. Not even the really poor design of the shrivenzale can dilute the pot too much in this story, because it truly is that good that it doesn't matter in the slightest.

Robert Holmes stories always featured a full on cast of brilliant characters, and here in the Ribos Operation we are treated to so many wonderful characters who seem to clearly relish the script and they bring it alive with such elan that The Ribos Operation can be called nothing but an unequivocal success as the debut story in the Key to Time season. Pure TV Gold and nothing less...

Who Reviews Target Zone: Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation by DJ Forrest

‘Reluctantly cancelling his well-earned holiday, the Doctor sets off in the TARDIS to trace and re-assemble the six segments of the Key to Time on which the stability of the entire Universe depends.

Assisted by the argumentative Romanadvoratrelundar and K9, he lands on the planet Ribos in search of the first segment and finds himself entangled in the machinations of two sinister strangers, Garron and the Graff Vynda Ka.’

Written by Ian Marter and Robert Holmes

Published in 1979

Target Books

I can’t remember watching this on the television or indeed DVD later, and so trying to figure out the creature lurking in the depths of the catacombs or protecting the Sacred Room that is about to be broken into by a skinny thief, is hard to imagine, apart from the image that does the creature no favours from the front of the book.

The story is interesting but there were a few times where I lost what was being sought after, and Romana (long title) drove me to distraction. It was almost as if she really didn’t need to be there, but for the search of the segments which held the story together.

I was rooting throughout the story for Unstoffe, the young robber of the jewel which was really the priceless segment the Doctor and his companion were after. It was also what the Graff Vynda Ka was after also, but for reasons different to the Doctor.

The Graff was a spoilt brat of a Prince who clearly liked to get his own way and was lost when his manservant was killed in a rock fall, because without Sholakh the Prince lost his mind and became unpredictable in his actions, which cost him dearly.

There was an old man who had predicted life on other planets and who had been exiled because nobody on Ribos believed that life existed anywhere else other than Ribos – bit like Earth then! I felt that his character was too short lived and wasted in the story – it might have saved Unstoffe from being run through by Vynda Ka but I felt that there was so much more in this old man that could have been explored, perhaps in another story. He seemed wasted in this story. A too ‘throw away’ character.

Overall the story was enjoyable and engaging and kept the momentum up throughout. It’s probably not one I’ll read again but I would like to see the televised episode to see just what the creature in the catacombs really looked like.