History Recap / DoctorWhoS18E1TheLeisureHive

'''Production code:''' 5N

Written by David Fisher. This four-episode serial first aired from August 30 to September 20, 1980.

The Doctor, now in burgundy, and Romana are in the mood for a holiday. After trying out the English seaside -- shown during [[LeaveTheCameraRunning a 2-minute pan across a deserted beach]] -- during the off-season, when the weather's bad and everything's shut, and it turns out that K-9 isn't waterproof, they head for the Leisure Hive, a famous resort on the planet Argolis in the 23rd century.

* CloningBlues: Part of the plot involves an attempt to repopulate the Argolins by generating tachyon clones. Needless to say, this does not end well.

* The show gets a new script editor in Creator/ChristopherHBidmead, a former journalist for computer-centred periodicals. Under his brief tenure, he would noticeably overhaul the show's tone and approach to storytelling, emphasizing more concerted and cohesive worldbuilding (in an attempt to curb the more theatrical elements of the Williams era) and plotting and concepts [[ViewersAreGeniuses more firmly grounded in hard science]] (or at least things that ''[[{{Technobabble}} look]]'' [[{{Technobabble}} like hard science]]) than it was in the past. Don't know what a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon tachyon]] is? You're not alone.

[[caption-width-right:344:Is this a photo of the Doctor, or modern-day Tom Baker? '''''YOU DECIDE!''''']]
->'''Brock:''' His scarf killed Stimson!
->'''The Doctor:''' Arrest the scarf then.

The one where ''Doctor Who'' goes full '80s.

[[caption-width-right:344:Even when rapidly aged 500 years, the Doctor still doesn't look a day over 760.]]

* The Doctor wears a heavier (and more aesthetically subdued, in line with Nathan-Turner and Bidmead's revision of the character) burgundy & purple version of his hat-coat-scarf ensemble for the rest of the season, and his collar is now adorned with a question mark on each side; the question mark motif would become a staple of later Doctors' costumes for the remainder of the show's original run. The scarf is also ''[[UpToEleven much]]'' longer and he's donned a pair of riding boots.

* The show gets a new script editor in Creator/ChristopherHBidmead, a former journalist for computer-centred periodicals. Under his brief tenure, he would noticeably overhaul the show's tone and approach to storytelling, emphasizing more concerted and cohesive worldbuilding (in an attempt to curb the more theatrical elements of the Williams era) and plotting and concepts [[ViewersAreGeniuses more firmly grounded in hard science]] (or at least things that ''[[{{Technobabble}} look]]'' [[{{Technobabble}} like hard science]]) than it was in the past. Don't know what tachyonics is? You're not alone.
* The comedic elements of the Creator/GrahamWilliams Seasons (15-17) have been considerably toned down, making this season [[CerebusSyndrome much more sombre and funereal]] [[DarkerAndEdgier in comparison]] to the six preceding it, even in comparison to the (oft-pulpier) Gothic-horror stories of the Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe era.[[note]]Though for ''this'' story, which had been written earlier, this was achieved by Creator/JohnNathanTurner taking the script and stripping all the jokes out. This caused the first episode to under-run slightly which allegedly led to {{padding}} like the infamously long beach pan.[[/note]]

* TheEighties: This serial marked the point where ''Doctor Who'' hit the decade and where the decade hit it. While Season 17 finished airing in January 1980 (and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada "Shada"]] would've aired up to the end of February had it been completed), that was still decidedly rooted in the late '70s; from here on out, the show would take on a sleeker style grounded in surprisingly accurate insight on the look and feel of the years ahead, and would only continue to maintain it until the series' initial cancellation in December 1989. As most people agree that the 80's didn't come into its own from a cultural standpoint until around 1981 or 1982, this essentially means that ''Doctor Who'' stepped into the '80s before the '80s themselves!
* ActualPacifist: The Argolins.

* CloningBlues: Part of the plot involves an attempt to repopulate the Arglins by generating tachyon clones. Needless to say, this does not end well.

* CurseOfBabel: A Foamasi detective is presented as a villain until we find that he just lacks a speech synthesizer.

* DyingRace: the Argolians.

* FacelessGoons: The story features an army of clones with their faces covered in helmets and the Doctor hides among them.

* RapidAging: As a side-effect of the radiation, Argolians remain youthful for decades and then all their age catches up with them over the course of a few hours.

* SterilityPlague: The Argolian race were rendered sterile by their twenty-minute war with the Foamasi. That's why Pangol's looking into cloning.

* As mentioned above, it's TheEighties. That means we're taking a long, loooooooooong trip to Synth City![[note]] As per his 'new broom' approach, Nathan-Turner dismissed the series's longtime mainstay composer Dudley Simpson in favour of producing the show's musical scores in-house at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, then chiefly equipped with a Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer in lieu of the amalgam of electronic and orchestral elements long used by Simpson. The scores, particularly within this serial (arguably overwhelmingly, to composer Peter Howell's admission), also become noticeably denser and more prominent than the sparser and more theme-based structures of the '60s and '70s scores, lending serials such as this one a more forthrightly sombre, futuristic atmosphere[[/note]]

* EvolvingCredits: This story introduces a new title sequence that will be used until the end of the Sixth Doctor era, getting modified three times during its run (twice due to new Doctors, and one final time to update the music).

Written by David Fisher. This serial first aired August 30-September 20, 1980.

The one where ''Doctor Who'' goes full 80's.

"The Leisure Hive", and by extension Season 18 as a whole, brought ''Doctor Who'' into the 1980's in full force, with new ShowRunner Creator/JohnNathanTurner, a new look, and a [[EvolvingCredits new title sequence]] (complete with a new electronic synthesizer version of the theme tune and a bright neon-tube logo). Let's see what else is new to this era:

* As mentioned above, it's TheEighties. That means we're taking a long, loooooooooong trip to Synth City![[note]] As per his 'new broom' approach, Nathan-Turner dismissed the series's longtime mainstay composer Dudley Simpson in favour of producing the show's musical scores in-house at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, then chiefly equipped with a Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer en lieu of the amalgam of electronic and orchestral elements long used by Simpson. The scores, particularly within this serial (arguably overwhelmingly, to composer Peter Howell's admission), also become noticeably denser and more prominent than the sparser and more theme-based structures of the '60s and '70s scores, lending serials such as this one a more forthrightly sombre, futuristic atmosphere[[/note]]

* K-9, having been deemed too overpowered by the new regime, gets put through the wringer in every serial before his departure, with the exception of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E4StateOfDecay "State of Decay"]], in which he gets one last chance to laser people.

* The jokier elements of the Creator/GrahamWilliams Seasons (15-17) have been considerably toned down, making this season [[CerebusSyndrome much more sombre and funereal]] [[DarkerAndEdgier in comparison]] to the six preceding it, even in comparison to the (oft-pulpier) Gothic-horror stories of the Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe era.[[note]]Though for ''this'' story, which had been written earlier, this was achieved by Creator/JohnNathanTurner taking the script and stripping all the jokes out. This caused the first episode to under-run slightly which allegedly led to {{padding}} like the infamously long beach pan.[[/note]]

* TheEighties: This serial marked the point where ''Doctor Who'' hit the decade and where the decade hit it. While Season 17 finished airing in January 1980 (and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada "Shada"]] would've aired up to the end of February had it been completed), that was still decidedly rooted in the late 70's; from here on out, the show would take on a sleeker style grounded in surprisingly accurate insight on the look and feel of the years ahead, and would only continue to maintain it until the series' initial cancellation in December 1989. As most people agree that the 80's didn't come into its own from a cultural standpoint until around 1981 or 1982, this essentially means that ''Doctor Who'' stepped into the 80's before the 80's themselves!

* LatexPerfection: The Foamasi body-suits -- undetectable when being worn, obvious rubber when they're taken off.

* PleasurePlanet: Argolis.

* The Doctor is himself more sombre, less disposed for fun and frolic and more weary at the universe than his Williams-era incarnation (or his Hinchcliffe-era form, to a lesser extent). The general feeling appears to be that he knew his time was near, and he wanted to get as much done as possible before [[Creator/PeterDavison his regeneration]]. RealitySubtext seemed to play a role in this, given how the unusually long amount of time spent in the role, combined with his own mental issues, led Creator/TomBaker to take a significant dip in well-being that had noticeable effects on his physical health; among other things, his trademark curly hair started to deflate to such a degree that he actually had to get it permed for "State of Decay". Similarly, Nathan-Turner's brief to rein in Tom Baker's SpotlightStealingSquad tendencies and creative control (and thereby reduce his erratic behaviour during production, an issue that had plagued the show with increasing intensity since Season 14) led to the season's scripts noticeably reducing both the proactivity and trademark comedic quipping and gestures of the Fourth Doctor, further contributing to Baker's more subdued and funereal performance.

* LaterInstalmentWeirdness: An unusual example for the series, given the length of Creator/TomBaker's tenure on the show at large. After starring in three different successive incarnations of the show during the '70s (the tail end of the light, action-based Creator/BarryLetts era, the lurid, visceral Gothic horror of the Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe era and the stagier, more comedic 'mock-epics' of Creator/GrahamWilliams' tenure), the Fourth Doctor (or a more subdued variation of him) is plugged into a higher-concept, higher-budgeted succession of sombre, cerebral sci-fi plots (albeit tinted with a dark mysticism) with a more cohesive inter-serial continuity and a more sobering depiction of both the multiverse and the Doctor's role in traversing it (a motif continued and accentuated throughout Eric Saward's run as script editor in seasons 19-23) thus resembling the prototype for Creator/PeterDavison's first two seasons over the aesthetics of any of the preceding six seasons.

* RapidAging: As a side-effect of the radiation, Argolins remain youthful for decades and then all their age catches up with them over the course of a few hours.

* SterilityPlague: The Argolian race were rendered sterile by their twenty minute war with the Foamasi. That's why Pangol's looking into cloning.

* The production competence and budget of the show undergo a conspicuous boost with this story. Following the largely-unconvincing special effects, awkward set design and aggressively utilitarian cinematography plaguing much of of the Williams era's output, this story's visual sensibilities are (to a jarring degree) noticeably more cinematic, employing greater use of perspective and creative staging, lengthy, ponderous scenes focalizing a more 'visual' form of plot exposition, use of rapid cutting for dramatic effect (partially thanks to Nathan-Turner's own gifts as an editor), atmospheric miniature work, extensive use of digital special effects (including the Questal Paintbox, in its maiden use for TV effects) and more detailed and bombastic design and costume work (particularly for the convincingly-alien Foamasi) than Seasons 15-17, arguably more so than even the remainder of the higher-budgeted Season 18. Conversely, this serial's director, Lovett Bickford, was subsequently blacklisted for the BBC due to running over budget, rendering this serial more of a visual anomaly than necessarily intended by Nathan-Turner at the time.

* HeroesGoneFishing: The story starts out with the Doctor and Romana at Blackpool beach.

* LaterInstalmentWeirdness: An unusual example for Creator/TomBaker's tenure on the show at large. After starring in three different successive incarnations of the show during the '70s (the tail end of the light, action-based Creator/BarryLetts era, the lurid, visceral Gothic horror of the Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe era and the stagier, more comedic 'mock-epics' of Creator/GrahamWilliams' tenure), the Fourth Doctor (or a more subdued variation of him) is plugged into a higher-concept, higher-budgeted succession of sombre, cerebral sci-fi plots (albeit tinted with a dark mysticism) with a more cohesive inter-serial continuity and a more sobering depiction of both the multiverse and the Doctor's role in traversing it (a motif continued and accentuated throughout Eric Saward's run as script editor in seasons 19-23) thus resembling the prototype for Creator/PeterDavison's first two seasons over the aesthetics of any of the preceding six seasons.

* The production competence and budget of the show undergo a conspicuous boost with this story. Following the largely-unconvincing special effects, awkward set design and aggressively utilitarian cinematography plaguing much of of the Williams era's output, this story's visual sensibilities are (to a jarring degree) noticeably more cinematic, employing greater use of perspective and creative staging, lengthy, ponderous scenes focalizing more a more 'visual' form of plot exposition, use of rapid cutting for dramatic effect (partially thanks to Nathan-Turner's own gifts as an editor), atmospheric miniature work, extensive use of digital special effects (including the Questal Paintbox, in its maiden use for TV effects) and more detailed and bombastic design and costume work (particularly for the convincingly-alien Foamasi) than Seasons 15-17, arguably more so than even the remainder of the higher-budgeted Season 18. Conversely, this serial's director, Lovett Bickford, was subsequently blacklisted for the BBC due to running over budget, rendering this serial more of a visual anomaly than necessarily intended by Nathan-Turner at the time.

* The production competence and budget of the show undergo a conspicuous boost with this episode. Following the largely-unconvincing special effects, awkward set design and aggressively utilitarian cinematography plaguing much of of the Williams era's output, this episode's visual sensibilities are (to a jarring degree) noticeably more cinematic, employing greater use of perspective and creative staging, lengthy, ponderous scenes focalizing more a more 'visual' form of plot exposition, use of rapid cutting for dramatic effect (partially thanks to Nathan-Turner's own gifts as an editor), atmospheric miniature work, extensive use of digital special effects (including the Questal Paintbox, in its maiden use for TV effects) and more detailed and bombastic design and costume work (particularly for the convincingly-alien Foamasi) than Seasons 15-17, arguably more so than even the remainder of the higher-budgeted Season 18. Conversely, this serial's director, Lovett Bickford, was subsequently blacklisted for the BBC due to running over budget, rendering this serial more of a visual anomaly than necessarily intended by Nathan-Turner at the time.

* EvolvingCredits: This episode introduces a new title sequence that will be used until the end of the Sixth Doctor era, getting modified three times during its run (twice due to new Doctors, and one final time to update the music).

* The jokier elements of the Creator/GrahamWilliams Seasons (15-17) have been considerably toned down, making this season [[CerebusSyndrome much more sombre and funereal]] [[DarkerAndEdgier in comparison]] to the 6 preceding it, even in comparison to the (oft-pulpier) Gothic-horror stories of the Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe era.[[note]]Though for ''this'' story, which had been written earlier, this was achieved by Creator/JohnNathanTurner taking the script and stripping all the jokes out. This caused the first episode to under-run slightly which allegedly led to {{padding}} like the infamously long beach pan.[[/note]]

* The Doctor is himself more sombre, less disposed for fun and frolic and more weary at the universe than his Williams-era incarnation. The general feeling appears to be that he knew his time was near, and he wanted to get as much done as possible before [[Creator/PeterDavison his regeneration]]. RealitySubtext seemed to play a role in this, given how the unusually long amount of time spent in the role, combined with his own mental issues, led Creator/TomBaker to take a significant dip in well-being that had noticeable effects on his physical health; among other things, his trademark curly hair started to deflate to such a degree that he actually had to get it permed for "State of Decay". Similarly, Nathan-Turner's brief to rein in Tom Baker's SpotlightStealingSquad tendencies and creative control (and thereby reduce his erratic behaviour during production, an issue that had plagued the show with increasing intensity since Season 14) led to the season's scripts noticeably reducing both the proactivity and trademark comedic quipping and gestures of the Fourth Doctor, further contributing to Baker's more subdued and funereal performance.

* The show gets a new script editor in Creator/ChristopherHBidmead, a former journalist for computer-centered periodicals. Under his brief tenure, he would noticeably overhaul the show's tone and approach to storytelling, emphasizing more concerted and cohesive worldbuilding (in an attempt to curb the more theatrical elements of the Williams era) and plotting and concepts [[ViewersAreGeniuses more firmly grounded in hard science]] (or at least things that ''[[{{Technobabble}} look]]'' [[{{Technobabble}} like hard science]]) than it was in the past. Don't know what tachyonics is? You're not alone.
* The jokier elements of the Graham Williams seasons (15-17) have been considerably toned down, making this season [[CerebusSyndrome much more sombre and funereal]] [[DarkerAndEdgier in comparison]] to the 6 preceding it, even in comparison to the (oft-pulpier) Gothic-horror stories of the Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe era.[[note]]Though for ''this'' story, which had been written earlier, this was achieved by Creator/JohnNathanTurner taking the script and stripping all the jokes out. This caused the first episode to under-run slightly which allegedly led to {{padding}} like the infamously long beach pan.[[/note]]
* The Doctor is himself more sombre, less disposed for fun and frolic and more weary at the universe than his Williams-era incarnation. The general feeling appears to be that he knew his time was near, and he wanted to get as much done as possible before [[Creator/PeterDavison his regeneration]]. RealitySubtext seemed to play a role in this, given how the unusually long amount of time spent in the role, combined with his own mental issues, led Creator/TomBaker to take a significant dip in well-being that had noticeable effects on his physical health; among other things, his trademark curly hair started to deflate to such a degree that he actually had to get it permed for "State of Decay". Similarly, Nathan-Turner's brief to rein in Tom Baker's SpotlightStealingSquad tendencies and creative control (and thereby reduce his erratic behaviour during production, an issue that had plagued the show with increasing intensity since season 14) led to the season's scripts noticeably reducing both the proactivity and trademark comedic quipping and gestures of the Fourth Doctor, further contributing to Baker's more subdued and funereal performance.
* The production competence and budget of the show undergo a conspicuous boost with this episode. Following the largely-unconvincing special effects, awkward set design and aggressively utilitarian cinematography plaguing much of of the Williams era's output, this episode's visual sensibilities are (to a jarring degree) noticeably more cinematic, employing greater use of perspective and creative staging, lengthy, ponderous scenes focalizing more a more 'visual' form of plot exposition, use of rapid cutting for dramatic effect (partially thanks to Nathan-Turner's own gifts as an editor), atmospheric miniature work, extensive use of digital special effects (including the Questal Paintbox, in its maiden use for TV effects) and more detailed and bombastic design and costume work (particularly for the convincingly-alien Foamasi) than seasons 15-17, arguably more so than even the remainder of the higher-budgeted season 18. Conversely, this serial's director, Lovett Bickford, was subsequently blacklisted for the BBC due to running over budget, rendering this serial more of a visual anomaly than necessarily intended by Nathan-Turner at the time.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: An unusual example for Tom Baker's tenure on the show at large. After starring in three different successive incarnations of the show during the '70s (the tail end of the light, action-based Letts era, the lurid, visceral Gothic horror of the Hinchcliffe era and the stagier, more comedic 'mock-epics' of Williams' tenure), the Fourth Doctor (or a more subdued variation of him) is plugged into a higher-concept, higher-budgeted succession of sombre, cerebral sci-fi plots (albeit tinted with a dark mysticism) with a more cohesive inter-serial continuity and a more sobering depiction of both the multiverse and the Doctor's role in traversing it (a motif continued and accentuated throughout Eric Saward's run as script editor in seasons 19-23) thus resembling the prototype for Peter Davison's first two seasons over the aesthetics of any of the preceding six seasons.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: An unusual example for Tom Baker's tenure on the show at large. After starring in three different successive incarnations of the show during the '70s (the tail end of the light, action-based Letts era, the lurid, visceral Gothic horror of the Hinchcliffe era and the stagier, more comedic 'mock-epics' of Williams' tenure), the Fourth Doctor (or a more subdued variation of him) is plugged into a higher-concept, higher-budgeted succession of sombre, cerebral sci-fi plots (albeit tinted with a dark mysticism) with a more cohesive inter-serial continuity and a more sobering depiction of both the multiverse and the Doctor's role in traversing it (a motif continued and accentuated throughout Eric Saward's run as script editor in seasons 19-23) thus resembling the prototype for Peter Davison's first two seasons more than any of the preceding six seasons.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: An unusual example for Tom Baker's tenure on the show at large. After starring in three different successive incarnations of the show during the '70s (the tail end of the light, action-based Letts era, the lurid, visceral Gothic horror of the Hinchcliffe era and the stagier, more comedic 'mock-epics' of Williams' tenure), the Fourth Doctor (or a variation of him) is plugged into a higher-concept, higher-budgeted succession of sombre, cerebral sci-fi plots (albeit tinted with a dark mysticism) with a more cohesive inter-serial continuity and a more sobering depiction of both the multiverse and the Doctor's role in traversing it (a motif continued and accentuated throughout Eric Saward's run as script editor in seasons 19-23) thus resembling the prototype for Peter Davison's first two seasons more than any of the preceding six seasons.