The one where an old foe returns before it was cool.
The Doctor and Peri finally get to Blackpool for a bit of a holiday, only to find the Celestial Toymaker has set out his stall, and he's itching for a rematch with the Doctor.
Based off a television script from former producer Graham Williams, this was planned as the first story of the original Season 23, but was shelved when Doctor Who was placed on hiatus in 1985 and the entire planned Season 23 was replaced with "The Trial of a Time Lord".
Tropes:
- Batman Gambit: The Toymaker lets the Doctor meet one of his former victims (who lost a backgammon game in 1782 and is now the Toymaker's servant) in order to get Six's dander up and make the stakes more fun.
- Brick Joke: For Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, the brick finally lands, as they finally reach Blackpool after a cliffhanger they recorded in 1985!
- The Bus Came Back: The Celestial Toymaker returns, and after a very Long Bus Trip, both in-universe and out.
- Flanderisation: As this thread notes
the Toymaker’s first appearance merely had him dressed in a Chinese-looking costume to go with what was assumed at the time to be a Chinese-original game. This story goes full out with that, having Asian minions serving under him, a reference to opium wars and the novelisation calling him “the Mandarin” in narration for long stretches (which has led to this being an Audience-Colouring Adaptation for the character, due to it being more accessible than the original story) - The Golden Age of Video Games: It's the mid-80s, so the Toymaker's got into classic video games of the Space Invaders era.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Doctor traps the Toymaker within his own telepathic relay, leaving him trapped in a holographic prison powered by his own brain.The Doctor: I detest caging even the wildest beast, Toymaker. But for you, there is no other answer. Goodbye.
- Humans Are Special: Why the Toymaker likes Earth so much - we love games. Crosses over into Humans Are Bastards since one of those games is playing with your opponent's head.
- Imposter Forgot One Detail: The hologram version of Kevin the Toymaker creates to fool Peri does not have the wound to the arm that real Kevin sustained while escaping.
- In the Style of: Season 22, in that it's two 45 minute episodes rather than four half hours. Six is also his bolshier, more mouthy younger self, but his and Peri's relationship is warmer in line with his gradual Character Development.
- The Multiverse: The Doctor works out the Toymaker's rules are because he's from another universe.
- Murderous Mannequin: Peri and Kevin are attacked the dummies of miner on the Gold Mine Ride.
- Spotting the Thread: Peri quickly realises Kevin's been replaced with an android because his arm's no longer nicked by a bullet.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After Yatsumoto have finalized the preparations for the Toymaker's master plan, the Toymaker has no further use for him and so uses him to test the newest Deadly Game.
