N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
For its first half The Stones of Blood is a heady mix of English folk horror and Edgar Allan Poe: pagan cults, stone circles and birds that are augurs of doom.
“It’s getting rather exciting, isn’t it?”
Professor Rumford, The Stones of Blood: Part Two
Then it takes a trip to hyperspace, throws in an intergalactic trial and, back on Earth, a horrific death for a pair of innocent campers. Somehow it all ends up with the Doctor and Romana having the third segment of the Key to Time in their possession.
You might think this a rather odd way for Doctor Who to celebrate its 100th broadcast story (and pretty much its fifteenth anniversary by the time its final episode was shown), but it’s the possession of such variety that has always made the show so engaging. In that sense The Stones of Blood is no different.
“I’m more from what you’d call inner time. “
The Doctor, The Stones of Blood: Part Three
Curiously though, this is the second story in a row to have a female villain. Has that ever happened before? (I’m tempted to ask if indeed it’s happened since but with antagonists such as Madame Kovarian and Missy prominent in recent years, it more than likely has.)
With excellent support from Beatrix Lehmann as Professor Rumford and Susan Engel as Vivien Fay and the surprisingly effective Megara justice machines in the later episodes, it doesn’t matter too much that the moving stones themselves were perhaps a tad over-ambitious for the production team to achieve.
Besides, Doctor Who was never afraid to take risks and it perhaps should be no great shock that three serials into the Key to Time season, we’ve had three very different types of story.
Let’s hope this run of form continues!
"My 50th story blogging …"
"… and the 100th story of Doctor Who."
"Poor Romana – she is the victim of the first two cliffhangers!"
"The trail of the doctor. Judged by some sparkly lights. Reason for arrest? Opening door to forbidden room. Punishment? Death. (That's harsh!) "
Son of UT Rating: 7/10
