Doctor Who-The Invasion Of Time

                          Something is not quite right on the TARDIS. K-9 and a very confused Leela are awaiting the doctors return from private negotiations negotiations an unknown alien race. Upon returning,he is openly hostile to Leela and returns the TARDIS to his home world of Galifrey into the Citadel-home to the time lords themselves. Upon arrival he declares his intention to accept the position of Lord President of the time lords from Chancellor Borusa following the demise of Chancellor Goth. Demanding to use the presidential chamber and have it covered with a lead lining Borusa,who once mentored the doctor is  suspicious of the doctors irascible behavior. This becomes especially apparent when,upon being inducted into the matrix of Rassilon,from which all time lord knowledge derives he first collapses,banishes Leela to the wastelands of that planet and than announces that he has "sold out" the time lords to a race of telepathic aliens called the Vardans.

                     Of course all of this is a pretense. The doctor set up the lead lined presidential room to inform Borusa that the Vardans are attempting to overtake Galifrey. And because they could read thoughts of even a time lord,he had to pretend to be working against his people to protect them from a possible invasion. Leela meets up with a time lady named Rodan in charge of investigated outside spacecraft who escapes the Citadel with her while time lord Andred,who is also on the side of his people and against the new invading Vardans,stays behind to protect the Citadel. Outside Leela and Rodan encounter a race of exiled time lords led by Nesbin-willing to help the time lords fight against their invading force even if it means violating the time lord's pacifism. While they are successful, with the assistance of K-9 to his his sensors to detect the coordinates of the Vardan home world to repel the invaders,all changes when they learn this was only a front for the real invaders the Sontarans-led by the highly aggressive Commandor Stor.

                    Stor was hoping to again access through the doctor as Lord President to the rod,matrix and great key of Rassilon in order to gain all access to the knowledge of the time lords and gain access to space/time travel by taking over their Citadel and society. The doctor,Leela,Andred,Borusa and Rodan all take up inside the doctors TARDIS in order to formulate a plan handle the Sontarans and Castellan Kelner,who is assisting the Sontarans believing the doctor has betrayed his people,with the use of the Demat gun,an ancient time lord weapon and the reason Borusa withheld the great key-because it unlocked the power of the weapon. When the doctor returns to the Citadel, he vaporizes Stor with the weapon-knocking himself out,saving his world and erasing his memory of the incident. Before departing in the TARDIS,Leela decides to stay behind with K-9 on Galifrey as she has fallen in love and Andred. The doctor departs alone with the plans to construct a second K-9.

                   This is not only an excellent departure for Louise Jameson's Leela, but also a wonderfully sweeping epic story that delves deep into what life might've been like for the doctor before he departed from his home world. You have the uncertain and distrustful Borusa, the sheltered Rodan-who learns much from Leela's bravery and unwavering devotion to justice and fairness. Than their is Castellan Kelner: the collaborator who defers easily to any authority that happens to take charge at any given time. The doctor,although spending half of the story as an "actor playing a part" in pretending to turn villainous traitor to his own people in order to save them, seems very much removed from the awkwardness the other time lords seem to possess. Interestingly we also see a lot of the massive interior of the TARDIS in the final part of this story which,interestingly enough, is often much more Earthly than one would expect-minus the addition of a carnivorous plant that consumes a Sontaran of course. Overall one of the most engaging and enjoying Tom Baker era stories and the most telling about how time lord society operates.