Doctor Who - Inferno (1970)

I've been watching the first year of Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who stories. In the past I had seen several of his adventures but this is the first time I'm trying to go through the series in order starting with his first season. It's an entertaining way to look at the show as it entered the 1970's and altered itself to be broadcast in color. Marooning the time hopping traveler on Earth in one time period was an odd way to hem the writers in but they responded with some extraordinary tales within those strictures. One of the strengths of Pertwee's years on the show is that often the stories were longer than the standard length that became the custom by the Tom Baker run. It was not unusual for a Pertwee era tale to run six or seven episodes. This extra time was often dreaded by the writers because that meant that they had more time to fill when telling their story. But, this weakness was sometimes turned into a strength. I just finished Inferno which stretches to seven episodes but never feels as if things are being stretched. The writers used the extra time to add scenes between the regular characters that move beyond just plot mechanics and give the actors the chance to flesh out the ongoing relationships on the shows. These scenes add detail and deepen the emotional tension of the suspenseful events later on as the danger ramps up. There are later long Who stories that don't use the extra time as well as it is used in Inferno making events feel slow. This is an excellent example of working well within the restrictions placed on a show and it's one of the best of the Pertwee years.