‘IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
The Fendahl with the Fourth Doctor and Leela
This is one of the creepiest and chilling stories I’ve ever come across in the history of ‘Doctor Who’!
‘Image of the Fendahl’ was the third TV story shown in Tom Baker’s fourth season of ‘Doctor Who’. It was also the third story of Graham Williams’ first season as producer of the TV series. It was to be the last gothic horror adventure during Tom Baker’s era of the series as changes was made in the air.
Plans were made to make the show more light-hearted and less violent. It was to mark the end of Robert Holmes’ time as script editor and his era of gothic horror in the series. New script editor Anthony Read came and took the reins of handling the stories of Graham Williams’ era for the show.
The story was commissioned by Robert Holmes from writer Chris Boucher, who previously penned the first two Leela stories ‘The Face of Evil’ and ‘The Robots of Death’. This story is one creepy and chilling adventure. Even though I don’t fully understand the story, it was very disturbing all the same.
I did find that the story was rather slow-paced in places, especially the first half containing the first two episodes where things are set up for the characters; situation and environment. But the story progressed and got interesting halfway as the adventure proved to be exciting and worthy to enjoy.
The Doctor and Leela discover a sonic time scan in the TARDIS and trace it back to Earth in the present day. In the story, four scientists at a priory in Fetchborough study a human skull from a volcano that is twelve million years old. When experimenting on the skull, something strange occurs.
The skull glows brightly and seems to be taking control of scientist Thea Ransome’s mind. Connecting this to an old Time Lord nightmarish legend, the Doctor soon discovers it is the Fendahl. Soon he and Leela must stop it before it takes control of the Earth and homes on everyone’s fears.
In the story, a cult led by Max Stael form their beliefs in the Fendahl and they conduct a ceremonial ritual to bring the Fendahl to life. I don’t fully understand these rituals and religious beliefs, but they are fascinating and interesting to watch, especially from the characters and atmosphere in the story.
I’ve had the DVD cover of ‘Image of the Fendahl’ signed by Louise Jameson and Derek Martin. I met Louise at the ‘Regenerations 2011’ convention in Swansea, September 2011 when I asked her to sign the DVD cover. I met Derek Martin at the ‘Time Warp’ convention in Weston-super-Mare, July 2014.
I like Louise Jameson and have enjoyed chatting to her at conventions, during signings and mingling. Louise puts so much into her performance as Leela in many of the stories she’s done. I’ve found how there’s a difference of approach to Leela from the Phillip Hinchcliffe era to the Graham Williams era.
Leela was supposed to have the Doctor teaching her about things and not to be savage. It’s not as evident in this story as for the whole of the first Graham Williams season she’s in. But Louise does a tremendous job as Leela and it is very interesting to see a ‘Doctor Who’ companion who is a savage.
In this story, Leela does have some nice moments. It’s not a great story for developing her character though. Leela wears a new costume that still makes her scantily dressed. She also gets her hair in a bun which is quite unusual, but this was due to the hairdresser cutting Louise’s hair too short in this.
I liked it when Leela refers to K-9 as ‘he’ compared to the Doctor who calls him ‘it’. Leela gets to save the Doctor from a skull burning his hand in ‘Part Three’. I liked Leela’s connection to old Martha Tyler and I found it funny in ‘Part Four’ when the Doctor checks on Leela before dropping her to the floor.
Tom Baker as the Doctor is at the top of the game in this story. By this point, Tom has really settled into the part and has taken on the role of the Doctor with great abundance and energy. I really liked the moment when Tom’s Doctor discovers the skull at the end of ‘Part Two’ and offers it a jelly baby.
The Doctor’s relationship with Leela has improved during the stories they’ve been together. There’s still a hint of friction between Tom and Louise in their working relationship, but it seems to have mellowed here. The Doctor and Leela work really well as the TARDIS duo at this time in the mid 1970s.
K-9 only appears at the beginning and the end of the story, so he doesn’t have a big part to play. The Doctor and Leela took him on board since ‘The Invisible Enemy’. I was saddened K-9 didn’t appear much in this, but at least Tom’s Doctor called him ‘he’ instead of ‘it’ at the end which was reassuring.
Wanda Ventham guest stars as Thea Ransome, the female scientist in the story. Thea works with the three other male scientists on a human skull, before the skull locks itself on her mind. Thea is soon chosen to be the Fendahl Core and transforms into this gold goddess-like being, looking quite scary.
Edward Arthur guest stars as Adam Colby, the youngest of the male scientists at the priory. Adam seems sceptical and sardonic at times, making wisecracks throughout the story. But Adam has this good heart; a sense of compassion about him and a sense of humour that’s masked by a tough edge.
Denis Lill guest stars as Dr. Fendelman, who could almost be the villain and has a deeper scientific knowledge about the human skull than anybody else does. He places security guards throughout the house in the tale when a number of deaths occur. He also reveals a disturbing point about his name.
Scott Fredericks guest stars as Max Stael, who previously appeared in ‘Day of the Daleks’. Max is a man who rarely smiles but does seem smug. He’s in charge of a cult that believes in the Fendahl. Stael shows his true colours when he gags Thea and when he points a gun at Adam and Fendelman.
The guest cast also includes Daphne Heard as old lady Martha Tyler or Ma Tyler; Geoffrey Hinsliff as Jack Tyler, Ma Tyler’s grandson; Edward Evans as Ted Moss and Derek Martin (of ‘EastEnders’ fame) as tough security man David Mitchell. Derek said “Hello, boss!” when I met him at a convention. Never been called that before. 😀
Apart from the gold Thea as the Fendahl Core which was scary, I found the actual Fendahl monsters disappointing. They look pathetic and seem like lumbering snake-like monsters with spaghetti-like tendrils from its mouth. Some of the Fendahl monsters like the small Fendahleen are really puppets.
The DVD special features are as follows. There’s the making-of documentary ‘After Image’; some deleted and extended scenes; a BBC1 trailer for the first episode of the story and a photo gallery of the story. There’s also an Easter Egg to look out for on the ‘special features’ menu of the DVD disc. There’s an entertaining audio commentary with Tom Baker; Louise Jameson; Wanda Ventham and Edward Arthur on the story. There’s also an info-text commentary option to enjoy; a ‘Radio Times Listings’ PDF of the story and also a ‘coming soon’ trailer for ‘The Deadly Assassin’ with Tom Baker.
‘Image of the Fendahl’ has been one eerie and creepy story from the Tom Baker era of ‘Doctor Who’. It’s the last in a long line of gothic adventures with the Fourth Doctor and an enjoyable one with him and Leela. It’s slow-paced at first, but it gets exciting later on and I found it intriguing and fascinating.
‘Image of the Fendahl’ rating – 7/10
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Bradley's Basement 
Arh don’t forget a slice of Ma Tyler fruit cake.
Excellent review Tim, if this had been in the previous Hinchcliffe season it would’ve been a far dark adventure, sadly Mary Whitehouse moaning made the BBC review the tone of Doctor Who & decided to tone it down (Boo).
I enjoy this one but the script feels choppy in places especially during the climax but overall this is still a entertaining Fourth Doctor adventure.
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Hi Simon.
Glad you enjoyed my review on ‘Image of the Fendahl’.
Yes, clearly this story belongs to the Philip Hinchcliffe era rather than the Graham Williams era, but then this was commissioned by Robert Holmes who was just leaving as script editor at the time of this story. I appreciate Mary Whitehouse’s concerns about the level of horror and violence in ‘Doctor Who’, but sometimes it works for well for gripping drama and perhaps her concerns were a little exaggerated somewhat.
The story did seem choppy and it was slow in building up pace in the early episodes, but I enjoyed this one nonetheless and pleased I’ve had the DVD cover signed by Louise Jameson, which was the first time I met her at a convention. Honest! 😀
Thanks for your comments, Simon.
Tim. 🙂
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Wanda Ventham as Thea (and the Fendahl core) is my favourite memory from Image Of The Fendahl. She could have been an interesting Dr. Who herself. Lovely actress. I was surprised to learn that she’s the mother of Benedict Cumberbatch.
After the gothic horror phase of Dr. Who ended, British sci-fi horror TV would soon find such excitements again with Sapphire & Steel and The Omega Factor. Despite the complaints by Mary Whitehouse, the horror formats of Dr. Who opened many doors for television. I’m glad to have known Dr. Who’s Golden Age to start with at a very young age. It truly prepared me for so much from the TV and cinema horror genre.
Thank you, Tim, for your review.
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Hi scifimike,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on ‘Image of the Fendahl’. Glad you enjoyed my review. Wanda Ventham is very good in this story and it’s amazing she did three ‘Doctor Who’ stories in the three different periods of the classic series – ‘The Faceless Ones’ in the 1960s, ‘Image of the Fendahl’ in the 1970s and ‘Time and the Rani’ in the 1980s. It’s funny you should say Wanda Ventham could have been an interesting Doctor, since Timelord007 wants Benedict Cumberbatch to be the Doctor as well. 😀 I’m sure both would be good at the role. And both have been in ‘Sherlock’ run by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. 😀 I’ve also seen Wanda Ventham in ‘A Family at War’.
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the gothic horror period that was prevalant in the first half of the Tom Baker/Fourth Doctor era, but I appreciate its significance in starting off shows like ‘Sapphire & Steel’ and ‘The Omega Factor’ that have horror elements to them. I’ve not seen those shows yet, but I’m sure they’re good in their way and they’ve clearly found their appeal with audiences, especially in the Big Finish audio productions made of them.
Many thanks,
Tim 🙂
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I remember Benedict saying in a interview (at some point during Dr. Who’s 50th Anniversary) that maybe he would want to play the next Dr. Who at some point. I can faintly remember someone saying that Benedict would be better as the next Master. Casting an actor who’s already famous for playing Sherlock Holmes as a new Doctor may in obvious ways seem like typecasting. Personally I think that the most against-type casting choices for Dr. Who like Peter Davison and Jodie Whittaker are all the more fascinating thanks to how much diversity is now welcomed into the role.
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Hi scifimike,
In all honesty, I don’t mind who gets cast as the Doctor, so long as the actor whether male or female is good and they can bring something new to the role. I’ve often fancied the idea of actors like Alistair Mackenzie and Stephen Mangan playing the Doctor, but that’s because I enjoyed them in shows like ‘Monarch of the Glen’ and BBC4’s ‘Dirk Gently’, and sometimes I wonder if that’s enough to give them a good reason to be cast as the Doctor. Benedict Cumberbatch would be good as the Master as well as the Doctor. I’ve joked in one of my April Fools videos about Jim Carrey being the Master in ‘Doctor Who’ and I know he was considered to play the Doctor at one time, but again, I have to wonder if having seen him in his comedy films over the years is a good enough reason for him to play the Doctor/the Master.
Thanks,
Tim 🙂
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As much as I like Jim Carrey, I for one wouldn’t cast him as Dr. Who or the Master. I remember a Dr. Who fan fiction site by a fan envisioning Rachel Weisz as the 11th Doctor. And I think that Lilly Nelson, who plays the Doctor in The Ginger Chronicles fan series on YouTube, had openly suggested herself to Steven Moffat as a contender for the 12th Doctor.
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Hi scifimike,
Yeah, thinking about it, having Jim Carrey cast as the Doctor and the Master might not be such a good idea. Like I said, I joked about Jim Carrey being the Master in an April Fool’s video. With that said, I fancy the idea of writing Jim Carrey as a Soldeed-like villain for one of my ‘Doctor Who’ stories called ‘Realm of the Sgrans’, which is a sequel to ‘The Coins of Deno’. I’ll have to work on that before figuring out how to make Jim Carrey work as an intimidating and comedic villain. 😀
Thanks,
Tim 🙂
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“Image of the Fendahl” intrinsically fascinates me. It’s a story of two faces. Like the Roman god, Janus.
On the one hand, the Fendahl might be one of the most genuinely unnerving creations of the season. A brilliant subversion of the cult sacrifice. The victim themselves becomes the focal point of the summoned creature’s power. A vicarious revenge for the dead exploited by the “head cultist” of the ritual. The Fendahleen, headless cobras with paralytic presences, make a striking appearance when they finally do appear. Well-directed, well-lit, and thoroughly memorable as a cliffhanger. The image of Tom Baker stepping into the emerald-green aura, raising the hunting rifle with wide eyes, certainly lingers in the memory.
On the other, it doesn’t work on a structural level. ‘Part One’ keeps the Doctor and Leela largely uninvolved in the goings on in the Priory. ‘Part Three’ leads them both on a wild goose chase (self-admitted by the Doctor) that takes them out of the setting altogether aboard the TARDIS. It feels almost like the dead end of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. “Image of the Fendahl” also struggles with the Doctor’s role in proceedings. He’s there as a font of information, but does very little to affect the story except remove the Fendahl as a threat at the end. His innate powerlessness here is treated as an obstacle, rather than an interesting point of conflict.
Bring those two halves together and you get a lumpy sort of tale. With the Doctor rendered largely ineffective, other characters step into the breach to accommodate. Instinctive Leela is our window into the occult superstitions of the Tylers and their place in Fetchborough. While Colby — dragged into murder cover-ups and disturbing behaviours among the research team — acts as the driving force for understanding Fendleman’s obsession and Thea’s breakdown. Between them, you get a good understanding of the substance behind the story’s ideas. The bait-and-switch with Fendleman is rather marvellous. We expect him to be yet another mad scientist, but he’s something far more complicated.
Although, speaking of complicated. Strangely… For all the intricacies of the Fendahl itself, we don’t really get a good sense of the cult around it. Stael’s involvement and that of the Fetchborough community feels like it’s brushed away with a hand. They’re a means to an end. Set dressing for the Fendahl. It would’ve been interesting to see what could have come from fleshing that element out. Would it have been like “The Curse of Fenric”, which shares similar roots of manipulated bloodlines? Or more like “The Daemons” with its uniquely sketched group of more conventionally-intimidated villagers?
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Hi Wolfie,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on ‘Image of the Fendahl’. It’s interesting how you’ve identified the strengths and weaknesses of this story. It’s something I hope to expand upon when it comes to updating my reviews on ths story and the rest of Season 15. There’s no getting away from the fact that this story has problems in terms of story structure and how characters are devdlopdd, but there are some interesting concepts featured throughout. It’s amazing ‘Image of the Fendahl’ has had its legacy, including making a return in a Big Finish audio story called ‘Island of the Fendahl’ with the Eighth Doctor and Lucie as well appearing in a ‘Torchwood’ audio story called ‘Night of the Fendahl’ with Gwen Cooper.
Many thanks for your comments.
Best wishes,
Tim 🙂
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Always interesting how originally stand-alone villains in the classic Dr. Who can be brought back via the magic of audio stories.
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Hi scifimike,
Indeed. I’ve still yet to hear the ‘Torchwood’ audio ‘The Green Life’, featuring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness and Katy Manning as Jo Jones fighting against the giant maggots from ‘The Green Death’. 😀
Many thanks,
Tim 🙂
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The portrayal of people who somehow feel motivated to worship such evil entities to gain power or fulfillment, like Namin worshipping Sutekh as an ultimately dangerous example, may be portrayable in a certain number of ways in Dr. Who. Including spinoffs like K-9 & Company and Downtime. I agree that we didn’t get a good sense of a cult for the Fendahl. But it was a good performance by Scott Fredericks as Stael that helps us to understand how seductive the forces of the Fendahl could be.
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Hi scifimike,
Yes, Scott Fredericks is very good as Max Stael in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. I also enjoyed him in ‘Day of the Daleks’ as well as the ‘Dad’s Army’ 1971 movie. It’s fascinating how things came together with Denis Lill as Dr. Fendelman revealing that his name was ‘Man of the Fendahl’ and that “Mankind has been used!”. It makes the supernatural elements of this story unnerving. Again, like I said, there are issues in terms of story structure and character developed, but I enjoyed how things unveiled, especially as the Fourth Doctor and Leela were solving the mystery step by step. Hopefully, I’ll delve more into this when it comes to updating my review for a potential Season 15 Blu-ray box set.
Many thanks,
Tim 🙂
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Well, scifimike70, it’s as Sutekh said to the Doctor: “Your evil is my good.” The reverence of fundamentally malevolent forces in ‘Doctor Who’ seems to come from a mistaken belief on the part of the believer. Leela, for instance, warring with the Tesh. In a conflict perpetuated by Xoanon. A hostile, ill-defined presence among the Sevateem that comes from a very real and material thing — a computer in the mountain.
For Namin in “Pyramids of Mars”, it’s the fulfilment of a family duty stretching down the generations. Someone born into a fanatical cult dedicated to the veneration of the Great Ones and to do their will. The novelisation adds the unfortunate crimp that Ibrahim’s faith was designed by the Osirans to *protect* the Pyramid that ensnared Sutekh. Not destroy it. Sutekh took advantage and used the time-worn gap in knowledge to make Namin his agent. With the belief that he was fulfilling his sacred duty. When Scarman arrives, Namin is not punished for his faith, but discarded, instead. His god is a pragmatic being who sees no use in two agents when one is enough.
In Stael’s case, it appears a lot more self-motivated. A desire to be worshipped by others. To attain that sort of power, he hopes to use the Fendahl, but what is “power” in this context, really? Veneration. He’ll call upon a demon to make him a god. Except, after a certain fashion, that power is bestowed upon Thea, instead. Even if Thea herself is lost during the transformation process. Stael’s ultimate fate… Well, it’s an interesting twist. For a man singularly devoted to self-worship, he makes the ultimate sacrifice for the benefit of everyone else. His death stops the Fendahl Core from becoming unbeatable. Unlike Fendleman, who only realised too late, Stael refuses to be used.
I don’t remember the coven in ‘K9 & Company’, but the New World University in “Downtime” has echoes of ‘Dark Season’ and its cyberpunk-adjacent themes. The connection between human consciousness and raw computing power. Victoria becomes the head of a cult that mirrors her own sense of being adrift in Time. Something the Intelligence uses to its own advantage. Another believer following a Lovecraftian higher power with no interest in their worship beyond their “usefulness” to their own schemes.
‘Doctor Who’ seems to often side with the notion that blind worship without inquiry — scientific or otherwise — is practically a death sentence. Especially when said “god” has no love for their flock.
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Hi Wolfie,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about cults and covens featured in stories like ‘Pyramids of Mars’ and ‘Image of the Fendahl’. I should check out the Target novelizaton/audiobook of ‘Pyramids of Mars’ sometime to uncover more about Ibrahim Namin’s motivations in serving Sutekh. It’s been a while since I’ve seen ‘Downtime’, but interesting how you make comparisons between that and ‘Dark Season’, which I saw recently on DVD last year. I hope to revisit ‘Downtime’ again soon, possibly for my blog’s 10th anniversary. Interesting comments you’ve made about how ‘blind worship without inquiry’ is ‘practically a death sentence’ and that the gods of those blind worshippers have ‘no love for their flock’. It’s often the case when the Doctor deals with entities like Sutekh and the Fendahl in the series.
Many thanks for your comments.
Tim 🙂
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In the cases of Namin and Ted Moss, Dr. Who has indeed often made the point on how blind worship can lead to an ultimate doom. Even if Stael, after killing Fendelman and subjecting Thea to her fate, had earned some sense of sympathy and redemption in his self-sacrifice and thanks to the Doctor’s own regard for mercy, understanding his misguided lust for power in the first place can be most disturbing in the blunt realization of how vulnerable some people can be. It may ring true for certain cult member tragedies in reality. So perhaps it has become one of Dr. Who’s most important cautionary messages.
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Hi scifimike,
I agree. It’s one of the things I’ve admired about ‘Doctor Who’ in terms of its storytelling. I’m sure the Doctor has said it about ‘curosity without caution’ can often lead people to undignified ends. It’s like how Lesterton became curious about the Daleks in ‘The Power of the Daleks’ before realising the mistake he made in not being cautious first.
Many thanks,
Tim 🙂
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