Doctor Who: Suburban Hell

This is a base-under-siege story in which the ‘base' happens to be a suburban house in north London. When the Doctor and Leela arrive they are immediately mistaken for guests at a house-warming party, and the history of the apparently unremarkable home turns out to be key to events. In the early part of the story, however, there's a bit of poking fun at the mundanities of middle-class life, and, in particular, the late '70s setting.

Once the monsters arrive, they are not really all that interesting, just standard aliens whose motives the 60-minute story only has time to deal with superficially. Fortunately, they aren't the real strength of the story, which involves a disruption in the flow of time and the lives of the people caught up in it. The story pops back and forth between two points in the house's history but does so in a sufficiently straightforward manner that it isn't especially hard to follow.

It's the interactions between the characters that make the story work, with the bossy mistress of the house being particularly notable (if a little stereotyped). Leela has her usual ‘fish out of water' role, although this is less overdone here than it has been in some other stories, and there are certainly some other elements here reminiscent of the '70s version of the show. Having said which, it isn't much like any particular episode of the era, particularly because of the time travel elements - which were more often pushed into the background in those days.

I'm not sure I'd describe it as a comedy, but there are certainly comedic elements - the deadly fondue set being especially memorable. These might work better for those who remember Britain in the '70s than for those who don't, and without them, the story is perhaps a little slight. (Hey, it's only 60 minutes long...) But I feel happy giving it 3.5 stars and rounding up.