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Overdue Who Review: The Horns of Nimon

Season 17 1979-1980 (4 parts)

The declining Skonnan Empire is under control of the evil ‘god-like’ NIMON, which dwells in the power complex that is for some reason also a labyrinth. It communicates with the fabulously garbed Skonnan leader SOLDEED and promises armaments in exchange for a tribute of crystals and Anethian youngsters.

The Doctor and Romana come across a spaceship on its way to Skonnan, bringing the tribute. The ship has broken down and is stranded near a black hole, but the Time Lords fix it and make their way to Skonnan. 

When the Nimon summons more of its kind, we learn the Nimon travel via artificial black holes between planets, draining resources before moving on to conquer new worlds. Such will be the fate of Skonnos if the Nimons are not thwarted!

A notorious episode and for good reason. Bad script, dreadful pacing and the minotaurs, er, I mean – NIMONS do the usual Doctor Who laughably slow, pantomime lumbering that you see in most dudes in monster costumes. But HEY – they can shoot lasers from their horns!

Graham Crowden as Soldeed is reminiscent of Jonathan Pryce as the Master in the Doctor Who parody The Curse of Fatal Death, however…

Crowden does his best to take the award for Best Worst Death Captured on Video since that 1973 Turkish movie Karate Girl

Overall, a real stinker

Next: Shada!

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Overdue Who Review: Nightmare of Eden

Season 17, 1979, 4 parts, Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)

Due to poor navigation, two different space ships (a cruise ship and a trade ship) are interlocked, and The Doctor offers to help. However a zoologist on the cruise ship, recently back from the planet Eden, has a device that stores portions of planets on crystals and displays them as projections. A euphoric drug is making the rounds on the ship and monsters loosed from the Eden projection – which is less of a projection and more of a gateway – are the unwilling couriers of the drug running scheme between two baddies.

This one’s a bit of a slog. As is often the case, there’s a fair amount of technobabble workarounds to shore up the plot. The zoologist Tryst is played by an Australian actor who I think is trying to do a German accent? It’s all very weird and he reminds me of a high school teacher for some reason – at least that garnered my interest.

Next: The Horns of Nimon

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20 Minute Monster Series: Monster Manual II

This is the third in a series of annual timed drawing exercises. They were livestreamed on Sunday mornings on my youtube channel. First I went through the AD&D Monster Manual, choosing one monster from each letter of the alphabet. Then I did the same with the Fiend Folio and finally, here, the Monster Manual II (1983).

ABOLETH

Blue Behir upon a bisected boulder bravely defending her brood of babies, breathing blasts of lightning

Choke Creeper as seen in the D&D cartoon episode “The Garden of Zinn”

Drunk drider drawing a drowsy drow druid

Elderly elf with ELECTRIC EEL escapes with an enlarged EAGLE egg

Friendly fulvous FROGHEMOTH foisting frogurt on four frightened flumphs

Genuine ginger GIBBERING MOUTHER gently gesturing in a gibbet

Hoary host of heavenly HOLLYPHANTS hoisting a hungover halforc hierophant

Jade jumping JANNI with a jambiya

Kraken

Lithesome lady LYCANTRHOPE luring a lascivious low-level lyrist in a lavender labyrith (Foxwoman)

Millions of mechanically marching MODRON minions magnificently mismanaged by a monstrous malfunctioning master

Nereid on a Nautilus

Ork on an olive Oliphant (featuring Venger)

Phoenix

Quickling queen questions a quagga about the quartz quail on the quarterdeck

Robust red rancorous RAVENS regard rappelling ranger ransacking the rookery (featuring Hank the ranger from the D&D cartoon)

Speedy speckled SPECTATOR supports a spunky spellcaster spraying sparkles (featuring Zandora the sorceress from the D&D cartoon)

Titanic tangerine TARRASQUE tasting a templar at the temple of Tefnut.

Uncanny urban URCHINS upending upset unicorns (featuring Uni from the D&D cartoon)

Black velvet VEGEPYGMY veteran with a voulge

Weaponless warduke gets a wet willy from a watchet WOLF-IN-SHEEPS-CLOTHING while a wapiti watches in the woods

Xenagogue x-rayed on a xenolith by XAG-YA AND XEG-YI

Yellow YUAN-TI yogis at a yajna with a yummy yaffingale amongst the yucca

A zomp zendik saps a zaftig ZYGOM ZORBO zombie on a zuche