Time Lords on Gallifrey are a bit rubbish, really, aren't they

Last weekend my other half decided we should watch The Invasion of Time, the Fourth Doctor's second visit to Gallifrey.

Unlike Sarah Jane who was unceremoniously dumped in Croydon/Aberdeen because non-Gallifreyans weren't allowed, Leela is taken along for the ride. Perhaps the Doctor forgot about the strict immigration laws, after all he had other things on his mind. Those other things make for an intriguing set up.  For the first two episodes of this six-parter the Doctor is acting strangely, to say the least.  I can't remember seeing it on original broadcast but it must have made for a very unsettling fortnight, wondering why the Doctor was acting so out of character.

Eventually it transpires that the Doctor is being watched by the Vardans, who can monitor his thoughts, and he has to frustrate them whilst appearing to play along. The Vardans initially manifest themselves simply as shimmering sheets of tinfoil, so it is a disappointment when, finally secure in their objective, these all-powerful beings finally show their true selves to be humanoids in rather boring uniforms, who are surprisingly easy to defeat.

But just when everything seems to have been sorted out, a twist introduces the final two episodes: the Sontarans, and everything gets a bit weird, with a long chase through the interior of the TARDIS for no apparent reason, until the Doctor and K9 manage to save the day.

What were the Time Lords themselves doing whilst all this was going on? Not a lot. Chancellor Borusa spends the middle of the story shut up in the President's Office and the simpering Castellan throws in his lot with the invaders. Only Commander Andred seems to do anything positive to fight back, for which he is rewarded by getting shot in the arm and marrying Leela (those immigration rules must definitely have changed.)