Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear

As with all Doctor Who DVD releases, The Hand of Fear features a number of well-produced extras that flesh out the production history of the episodes. The commentary by Baker, Sladen, co-star Judith Paris (who plays the reconfigured Eldrad in an early female form), co-author Bob Baker, and producer Phillip Hinchcliffe is an excellent place to start for first-time viewers and longtime fans; all except Paris are also featured in an informative 50-minute featurette titled "Changing Time," which illuminates the warm working relationship between Baker and Sladen, as well as her reasons for departing the series. An 11-minute videotape clip from the U.K. children's show Swap Shop featuring Baker and Sladen before the broadcast of The Hand of Fear is also included, as well as the now-standard photo gallery, text-only commentary, and PDF of the 1977 Doctor Who Annual and Radio Times. --Paul Gaita

The Doctor hypothesizes that the hand, originating from a silicon-based lifeform, is alive and is using radiation to regenerate itself. That does explain why Sarah comes out of the radiation chamber alive and well despite being exposed to enough radiation to kill a school of whales. But who or what is Eldrad?

There is a scene when the director of Nunton, Professor Watson, phones his wife and tells her in a calm voice that he may be delayed. He lies that there is nothing wrong and to kiss the children for him. This is when it looks like the facility might undergo meltdown. At the end of the call, his expression is one having resigned to the fact that he might well die before the day is over. This is Glyn Houston's best part in his role as Watson.

The crystalline costume for Eldrad is quite a beaut, which is clearly a blue-gray body suit with crystals and metal pieces attached to resemble a clump of jewels at various points. Judith Paris's portrayal of Eldrad retains the alien nature of this being, down to the voice. As Eldrad has been an alien exiled from Kastria and sentenced to obliteration, something that didn't succeed, the obsession of paranoia, in not trusting people, is well-acted. And the sight of a hand moving by itself isn't something one sees everyday. As Sarah says, "Careful, that's not as 'armless as it looks." Harmless, armless,... right.

The one thing that may throw fans is the farewell between the Doctor and one of his longest traveling companions. In contrast to the Third Doctor being shattered when Jo leaves him, here, the Fourth Doctor's not too emotional goodbye is a bit questionable. Then again, Tom Baker and Liz Sladen reworked that part of the dialogue themselves, so who knows?

The scenes in the nuclear plant, mainly episodes 2 and 3, are the bright points of The Hand Of Fear, as it's fast-moving and tense. Indeed, location filming was done at the Oldbury Nuclear Power Station in Avon, where the people there were enthusiastic in helping out the production team. Things slow down in the last episode, but it's an all right story.


Eldrad Must Live!   May 2, 2003
Bob Baker and Dave Martin seemed to have a knack for embedding catchphrases into the minds of their viewers: these are the same guys that gave us "Contact Has Been Made" (The Invisible Enemy), and "The Quest is The Quest" (Underworld). Here the catchphrase is the simple imperative: "Eldrad Must Live." By the end of chapter two, this mantra has been repeated at least once by every principal cast member, building up to the moment when we finally get a look at this Eldrad character -and SHE is not at all what we expected!

The episode kicks off by making fun of the series itself: the TARDIS materializes in what looks like yet another rock quarry --Sarah immediately concludes that they have once again gone astray and landed on some remote alien planet. The joke is, of course, that they have in fact arrived in present-day England...in an actual rock quarry!

The first half of the story plays out in the present day, with the Doctor interacting with ordinary everyday characters in a hospital, a pathology lab, and a nuclear reactor complex --certainly no clue is given as to the long-ago and far-distant goings-on of the planet Kastria and the fate of its people. Eldrad goes from being a fright element that possesses people (in two cases, to their deaths), to an actual multifaceted --even passionate-- character who elicits some audience sympathy, then finally into a stomping, shouting, villain who only dreams of conquest --the sort of shallow character with which Sarah and the Doctor are altogether too familiar, thank you. Perhaps the Kastrians knew something about themselves and their nature that Eldrad was never willing to accept?

Of course this episode is critical to the overall Doctor Who story arc because it features Sarah Jane's departure; hands-down she is the most popular traveling companion in the series' history to date, and rumors of her exit actually make a few headlines and the evening news. Sarah certainly gets put through the ringer in her swansong: she is nearly crushed to death in a rockfall, she is possessed by an alien intelligence and nearly triggers a nuclear reactor meltdown; she is shot at, dodges alien traps and pitfalls with alarming regularity, and even must endure the indignity of being "re-hypnotized" by the Doctor all over again. It is little wonder that after departing Kastria, she snaps and launches into a long-overdue angry tirade. Actress Elizabeth Sladen improvises this "rant" with such petulance that the audience is clucking in total sympathy by the time she storms out. Not one of the greatest Dr. Who episodes of all time, but definitely one of the best of the Tom Baker era.


Oh no! Not another Doctor Who in a quarry story!   May 5, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This story begins with a death sentence to be carried out on an alien found guilty of a most treacherous act which is not carried out exactly according to plan.

Switch to the quarry, a bit of an in-joke after all of the Pertwee years where the quarry seemed to become an almost required set. It is ironic too that the alien story element is actually a silicon based lifeform!

In the last Sarah Jane Smith story, I believe that she was the longest serving of the Doctor's companions, the story involves regeneration of an alien life-form through the consumption of radiation from a nuclear power station despite military intervention which, as always, is ineffective. The story is reminiscent of the old horror movie of the hand which has a life of it's own but in a different way. The alien life form when recreated has a strange beauty and a believable tale to tell convincing the Doctor to return it to it's own planet.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, the usual story of treachery and deceit is relived again with an interesting transformation of form once again and a twist in the tale.

This story is not apparently as dark a tale as the others under Philip Hinchcliffe's excellent production. On closer inspection however, this is a story of genocide, but it is not really explored sufficiently. It is also like the Egyptian theme of 'Pyramids of Mars' and the story of Horus and Osiris. A stunning contrast to the 'Masque of Mandragora' which precedded it and to the 'Deadly Assassin' which followed it, this is certainly an interesting story.

Just one thing, it always irritated me about Elisabeth Sladen wearing those Andy Pandy overall things.


Somewhat disjointed but good enough   July 26, 2001
Although certainly not dealing with unusual subject matter, the structure of this story is a bit odd for Doctor Who. The better part of the first three episodes happen on Earth, where Sarah Jane is accidentally hypnotized and converted into the servant of Eldrad, a long-dead alien ruler, by the fossilized remains of Eldrad's hand. Eldrad itself is reborn about halfway through the story, and becomes a "good guy" (well, sort of), enlisting the Doctor and Sarah to take it back to its home planet. From there, the last episode-and-then-some takes place on the alien planet of Kastria.

Because of the major change in plot and location, the story feels somewhat disjointed or slow in places. One odd point is that although a lot of the Earth plot involves Eldrad sending a nuclear plant critical, UNIT is never called in to do anything (that seems like their usual cup of tea). Despite a bit of plodding, the adventure is overall pretty good, with some very fun bits. Tom Baker is a bit more subdued than usual, but Lis Sladen really shines in her final adventure as Sarah Jane - her "hypnotised" performance is really nicely done without being too over-the-top, and worth the price of admission alone. The costume design for Eldrad is quite nice, and the actress who plays Eldrad's female form does quite well. Of particular note is a touching and very sad departure scene for Sarah, in which she is forced to leave the Doctor for her old life in England.

Not the very best of the Whos, but quite serviceable, and definitely worth seeing if you like Sarah Jane.


"We're in a quarry!"   November 2, 2000
"The Hand of Fear" is a very unusual story. It is definitely not the best Doctor Who story made, and it is hardly what fandom calls a "classic". But there is something about it that makes it different from your run of the mill alien invasion story. Firstly it is very well written and acted, but the best thing about it is the way the story is played out. All through the first two episodes the viewer never expects where the story is going or what will happen next. This is especially poignant because in the last two episodes the story shifts dramatically. The first half focuses on the hand and its possession of Sarah and is more action oriented, while the second half centres on Eldrad (only hinted at in episodes one and two), with less action, more character development and further steps into the unknown (especially after arriving on Kastria). This factor of the unexpected is probably what makes "The Hand of Fear" so satisfying. Eldrad is a fascinating character - especially being one who changes sex! Judith Paris's performance is exceptional, portraying a guarded yet determined being. She can never be trusted, but her motives always remain unclear. Stephen Thorne's performance as the male Eldrad is probably less satisfying (like Brian Blessed, he is a shouting actor!), but his method is more appropriate to the new side the character shows, a revelation of his true colours now he is on home turf. The costumes for both the female and male Eldrads are brilliant as well. The usual "Earth in danger" storyline that prevailed through this era of Doctor Who is also presented with a different slant - for most of the story the Earth is not presented as being under threat of conquest or destruction - not until the last five minutes. This notion of no threat to the Earth until the end is a satisfying alternative to the sci-fi cliche. There are other small touches that make "The Hand of Fear" a worthwhile story - for once a quarry in England IS a quarry in England and not an alien landscape! The hand coming to life at the end of episode one is spine-tingling and amazing (another great cliffhanger); its spider-like movements are creepy. There is a touching moment when Professor Watson talks to his wife on the phone, believing he will soon be dead and wanting to say some last words - thought is given to the embodiment of the supporting characters. There is, however, a problem with Watson's character in episode three, when he calls in the RAF to bomb the nuclear reactor - an idiotic move, especially coming from a nuclear scientist! The story ends with the farewell of Sarah Jane, a favourite companion of many fans. Her sending off is touching, dignified and quite sad. "The Hand of Fear" should have three stars; however, the "something" that makes it better than it should be (which I have hopefully tried to explain and justify in this review), makes it a four star story.