The Doctor's Companion Blog

Prior to watching Delta and the Bannerman I had not really understood why some Who fans were so negative about Sylvester McCoy, or indeed why Dr Who the program was held is such disdain at the end of the classic period.  Then I watched Delta and the Bannerman.

I suppose it is not the worst thing I have ever seen, but there is no getting away from it  It is dire.

Sylvester McCoy himself is more or less all right.  I like Sylvester McCoy. But:

1. Mel is truly awful (although she is quite good at screaming)
2. The actress playing  Delta is incredibly wooden
3. Billy is pretty dire too

For example, I find it impossible to believe that he could accept a green baby coming out of an egg and growing up within 24 hours without a blink, even if he had fallen desperately in love with Delta.  And whats all this about him changing his species just by sucking on a tube?

I think that the fault probably lies mainly with the dreadful script.  However the whole thing is completely unbelievable, and the only way you can make sense of it is to treat it as nonsense, and just enjoy it as that.  It is not completely unenjoyable, but it is not good Who.

Although, strange to say, Ken Dodd, compared to the rest of it, is really not that bad. At least he gets killed off early on.  Would that the same fate could have befallen Mel.

Doctor Who – Delta And The Bannermen [DVD] [1987] can be bought online from Amazon.