The Androids of Tara (Review]
From
Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to
rec.arts.drwho on Sat Aug 15 17:22:11 2026
From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho
The ongoing quest for the Key to Time brings our intrepid
heroes to the planet Tara, where the Doctor decides to go
fishing while Romana goes off in search of the fourth segment.
For once, Romana discovers the missing segment early on...
which was quite handy, as now the Doctor and Romana have plenty
of time to engage in a swashbuckling adventure featuring loads
of men with dodgy moustaches and android doubles. Despite the
robots, "The Androids of Tara" is more a Prisoner of Zenda
pastiche than hard sci-fi, with duels, disguises, and courtly
intrigue.
After locating the fourth segment Romana has an encounter with
a wild beast, only to be 'rescued' by the charming Count
Grendel... of course, this chivalrous gentlemen was always going
to be too good to be true wasn't he? Romana has injured her
ankle along the way too (always a good companion trope) so needs
the assistance of this Count, who then carries her away to his
castle. Clearly her mother didn't do the talk about going off
with strange men.
Anyway, this Grendel fella assumes the lovely Romana is an
android double of Princess Strella, whom he has already
kidnapped and has locked up in his dungeon as part of his plot
to seize the Taran throne. Once he realises Romana is flesh and
blood, he locks her up too. Count Grendel than starts juggling
hostages, android decoys, and a forced marriage scheme so he can
become King by proxy.
Meanwhile, The Doctor has meet the other 'team' on Tara, Team
Reinhart. This Prince Reynart is the rightful heir to the Taran
throne and needs to be crowned by a certain time. So The Doctor
gets roped into supporting the Prince (With some assistance from
K9.) and ends up repairing the android double of the Prince to
pull off a coronation under the Count's nose. Yes, it's Game of
Thrones... without the Dragons.
"The Androids of Tara" is a fun adventure, with most of the plot
revolving around doubles, mistaken identities, and the quest for
the throne of Tara. It's not an overly serious episode. The tone
of the story is light enough and the script has the Doctor
delivering quips with that familiar mix of charm and mischief.
For me, this was Mary Tamm's show though... Romana gets one of
her most delightful outings and it's a shame she only had one
season in the role. She played the multiple roles effortlessly
and lit up most of the scenes she was in, either as Romana or
Princess Strella (either version). Romana was surely the most
glamorous companion the Doctor has had. Mary Tamm really was
beautiful.
9/10
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