DVD Reviews

Doctor Who: Kinda – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll May 3, 2011, 14:33 GMT

The Doctor arrives on the paradise planet of Deva Loka to find a colonial mission on the verge of collapse. Several of its members have vanished into the jungle without a trace, leaving the survivors suspicious and paranoid. The mystery deepens as it becomes clear that the planet\'s native inhabitants, the Kinda, possess hitherto unsuspected powers that challenge human understanding. Meanwhile the Doctor\'s companion Tegan becomes possessed by the Mara, ...more

There’s a serpent in the grassy mind of Tegan and the Doctor has to save his companion before it’s too late.  Can he do it?  Can the BBC pull off the ambitious script?  Kinda, um kind of. 

The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka, where the ill Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) remains inside, while the Doctor (Peter Davison), Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) explore. Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force, the Mara. 

Also on Deva Loka is a survey team assessing the planet for colonization, but three of their number has disappeared and the remainder – leader Sanders (Richard Todd), his paranoid deputy Hindle (Simon Rouse) and the fed-up scientist Todd (Nerys Hughes) - are encountering difficulties in their dealings with the outwardly primitive but telepathically gifted native people, the Kinda.  

However, there is dissension in the ranks against elder Panna (Mary Morris) by the Mara possessed Aris (Adrian Mills).  So now the Doctor has to figure out a way to avert the Mara and clear Tegan’s mind before the mad Hindle blows up the station. 

Fledgling scriptwriter Christopher Bailey took his interest in Buddhism and incorporated it into his script for Doctor Who.  What he didn’t realize was the budget that the team had to work with so his lofty printed pages lost something in translation. 

Especially in the form of the final manifestation of the Mara – a rather fake looking giant snake.  That trouble has been remedied with a computer generated replacement. 

However, they couldn’t do anything about the set-bound plastic jungle.  However, you don’t watch Doctor Who for its production values.  Most times teams were up against little (or no) money and a time crunch.  What you do watch it for is the acting and scripts.  Bailey’s script is full of interesting ideas as well as some clinkers. 

Nyssa is sidelined so we don’t have too many folks running around, Adric has some annoying bits, and the episode endings are less-than suspenseful, but the Buddhist connections are intriguing. 

The acting is also top notch.  Davison is a delight (as usual), Fielding gets to play possessed sexily, Mary Morris is the voice of wizened wisdom (and quite the character offscreen), Hughes a worthy ally, and Todd a “tut tut” Major General until he becomes childlike.  Rouse also goes mad with style.  The good certainly outweighs the disappointing. 

Kinda is presented in fullscreen.  Special features an audio commentary with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse, and Nerys Hughes, the 34 minute “Dream Time” making of, the 23 minute “Directing With Attitude” career retrospective on director Peter Grimwade, 14 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, updated CGI special effects in the episode, a 1 minute CGI comparison of those effects, an isolated music score, 4 minutes of trails and continuity (aka commercials), a photo gallery, info text pop up production notes, and a PDF of the Radio Times listings. 

Kinda is an interesting concept that isn’t weighed down by the usual Doctor Who detriments.  The special features also add immensely to the value of the disc.

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