On the plus side, Leela joins.
On the down side, Leela joins...decide for yourself if this was a good or bad move.


One of the best   October 24, 2000
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is certainly one of my favourite dr who stories. It makes a change from the monster stories and doesn't involve the doctor saving the world. Leela is a babe, much better than Sarah and the skimpy amazon outfit does it for me everytime! I think this is the start of the best dr who era with all of the next few episodes being extremely varied and ambitious.

Barnz


Leela's Debut? - NB!   July 26, 2000
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Arriving in a marshy jungle on some distant alien world, the Doc is suprised when the savage natives, the Sevateem, recognise him as ''the Evil One'' despite the fact that he has never seen them before, nor set foot on this very planet. Or has he? On the run from the Sevateem, the Doctor finds that his only ally is Leela, an outcast from the tribe, and he begins to unravel a mystery inextricably linked to his own shady past...

A break from the gothic tales that populate Baker's early years, The Face Of Evil is blessed with an intelligent and thought-provoking, if somewhat slow, script and some brill performances. Baker's at his boyish best and Louise Jameson makes nice her debut as Leela, although she isn't as good as in her next story - bloody masterpiece The Robots Of Death. Speaking of that tale, it is worth mentioning that Face has often been overlooked in favour of Robots, Talons or The Deadly Assassin, but trust me, it's a worthy purchase.

James


The Doctor faces past actions in a cracking Baker adventure   June 4, 2000
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

The Face of Evil is unusual in many respects. It finally gives us a story that examines the consequences of the Doctor's sometimes irresponsible actions. It gives us Leela, the savage who would just as soon knife someone as trip over and scream. And who can forget those strange cliffhangers? (Part 3 especially)

This is a weird and wonderful adventure set on an unnamed planet population by a savage tribe, the Sevateem, and a technologically advanced society who practice mind control, the Tesh. But by far the best character in this is Xoanon, the mysterious God of both tribes.

This is one of the best Fourth Doctor adventures you are likely to see, and a big round of applause for Chris Boucher, the writer, who also comes up with the Robots of Death and the Image of the Fendhal.