If there was a writer who revelled in the mysterious and horrifying, it was Robert Holmes. If there was a writer who could follow him, it would be his prodigy, Chris Boucher, the writer of this story. His script was brilliant and full of brilliant ideas and characters, all of the elements which worked perfectly in a mystery style plot. Not that it counted for anything, though. This is a story which refuses to actually sit down and consider what the fashions of the future might be like. Instead, it opts to take fashion advice from sea monsters or something. There's one woman, for example, who wears a headdress that makes her look like a horny Zoidberg. Theres another one who looks like the undersea things in The Underwater Menace. Shes the communications officer on the sandminer. Luckily she only uses audio because if she used visual links to contact people theyd all fall about laughing. But the man who comes off the worst is easily the main villain, Taren Capel. Raised by robots, he dresses like them, too. Then paints his face to look like them in a move that is probably supposed to appear psychologically menacing but instead his poor make up design is reminiscent of a 14 year old in a crummy Poundland Halloween mask trying desperately to look like a member of Slipknot. It almost ruins the story since youre so mesmerized by the awful costumes that you miss half of whats going on, which is ultimately a testament to truly brilliant screenwriting that this is a good story. Once you stop falling about laughing long enough to watch it properly, that is. What did you think of this list? Are there any other Doctor Who costume design disasters? Let us know in the comments section below.
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