Welcome to the Incredible Power Game, in which three brave Earthlings enter the Void Pit in search of strange gems to help return the alien Hostess to her home dimension. Today's contestants include Graham, Sadia... and Tegan, an air stewardess from Brisbane!
Power Game contains examples of:
- Alien Sky: Tegan mentions that the sky of the Hostess' world is a dark purple.
- Armor-Piercing Question: "If this is a TV show, then where are the cameras?"
- Call-Forward: When Turlough moans about the TARDIS managing to land in York rather than New York, The Doctor tells him to count himself lucky they didn't end up in New New York.
- Demonic Possession: The way the Hostess controls Kamelion is more like this than when he is usually influenced by others. She completely dominates his mind, making an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight impossible, and she boosts his powers to far beyond their usual capacity.
- Demoted to Extra: Technically, Kamelion does appear throughout the story, however, his body and voice are taken over by the Hostess. Kamelion only appears in his natural form in the last few minutes.
- Do Not Adjust Your Set: This is how the Hostess is broadcasting The Incredible Power Game, but it's stated that it's only being transmitted across the greater York area, not worldwide.
- Glamor Failure: The Doctor is able to interfere with Kamelion's systems enough that this starts to happen to the Hostess' alien world.
- Energy Beings: The true form of The Hostess' and her race.
- Hand Wave: The Hostess supposedly broadcasts the show to Earth because when she needs new contestants, its easier to mind control people whose minds are adjusted to the trappings of the Power Game. Yet she has no problem controlling Turlough, who'd never seen it before. Turlough is noted as being psychically vulnerable, but it's not elaborated on.
- Immoral Reality Show: That kidnaps its contestants into another universes, mind controls them into gathering fuel for devastating weapons, and does nothing to prevent their highly probable deaths.
- Lampshade Hanging: Turlough points out how strange it is that the TARDIS should end up in York instead of New York, since its navigation systems search by coordinates, not place names. The Doctor avoids giving a proper answer.
- More than Mind Control: The Hostess is able to convince her victims that they are merely contestants in a reality show, and that they really want to play.
- Psychic Powers: The Hostess, and her powers are able to extend to electronic life, enabling her to control Kamelion.
- Sequel Hook: Kamelion intercepts a transmission from another planet: his home world.
- Spotting the Thread: Una, Richard and Stewart are more willing to believe that something strange is going on with The Incredible Power Game than others, since they've already noticed
how strange it is that an illegal show that has no advertising and hijacks other broadcasts has such a high special effects budget. - Special Effects Failure: In-universe; the Glamor Failure that The Doctor forces into Kamelion's systems makes the alien world appear to suffer from this.
- Squee: Una is thrilled to be caught up in an alien abduction plot.
- Stylistic Suck: The Incredible Power Game does this as part of its illusion, making the very real and deadly alien planet the contestants are trapped in seem like high quality (for the '80s) but still obvious computer graphics.
- Trapped in Another World: The Hostess doesn't just kidnap people to another planet, but to another universe entirely.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's mentioned that the failed contestants don't necessarily die, they are just left behind, and Tegan's fellow contestant Sadia managed to survive her ship crash landing. So what about all of the other contestants who might have survived?
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Turlough tries to console The Doctor after Kamelion goes missing by comparing it to the time he lost his digital watch. The Doctor is not impressed.
- Would Hit a Girl: Well, a shapeshifting android possessed by an energy being choosing to present as female, but yes, Turlough would. Right in the face.
- You Cannot Grasp the True Form: The Hostess casually mentions that her true name is completely impossible for human brains to process.
