First things first, as mentioned in the 'coming soon' post, I have to state that I really didn't like this serial on original transmission (1982) and I know I wasn't alone as it came bottom in the Doctor Who Magazine poll for the season. I hadn't seen it in the intervening 28 years but in that time its reputation has apparently undergone something of a renaissance and it is now highly regarded in a significant number of 'fan circles'. So now I've watched it again, have I changed my mind at all? Read on...
An inauspicious start sees Nyssa (my favourite of the three companions at the time) disappear into the TARDIS for a couple of days induced sleep (I know now that the script was written before they decided to invite the actress to stay on beyond one serial and they didn't want to do the huge rewrites that her presence would have required). Tegan, Adric and the Doctor discover some big wind chimes and Tegan decides to take a nap too, whilst the Doctor and Adric get captured by a rather unrealistic looking automated sedan chair contraption. Luckily this perfect jungle also includes perfectly flat floors (visible in all wide shots as the studio floor) so the automated sedan chair can roll along on it's little castors without difficulties... and meanwhile in the mission dome the commander seems to have reverted to 1900s attitudes whilst the scientist acts with those of the late 20th century and the security officer is just acting 'strange'...
As a long time Doctor Who fan whilst I appreciate good sets and monsters I can pretty much suspend my disbelief when they're not so good, plus I suspect I'm not really giving the characters a chance to explain their actions. I think it's my poor opinion of the story that's making me quite so picky... OK, more positive attitude onboard I continue...
The 'inside Tegan's mind' bit I remember as not being much of a fan of first time around... a bit too weird; people either get taken over by aliens or they don't in Doctor Who - you don't see them having a chat about it in a surreal dreamworld . I didn't mind it as much this time - acually it was quite interesting and technically very well done and effective. Actually with Tegan being my least favourite companion I always remember her being even more annoying in this serial due to having a central/important role as the evil Mara possesses her and enters the real world (hmmm, still not sure about that being scientific enough either but lets just go with the flow) but in fact, on rewatching, Tegan doesn't actually annoy me in this one so I think that was more of a 'memory cheating negatively' problem that's now gone... and she does seem to be enjoying herself with the rather obvious, but fun, snake/apple symbolism...
The largest area where I've change my mind though is the acting of Simon Rouse as he depicts the mental collapse of Hindle. A younger me just didn't 'get it' and thought it was stupid and over the top; today I really appreciate his performance and just how threatening (rather than silly) he comes across when he really becomes unhinged. And there's more; for example, the telepathy is portrayed probably more 'realistically' and certainly more interestingly than the usual 'we can talk with our minds' simplistic approach and the direction by Peter Grimwade is really rather good despite the limitations the studio places on him.
Of course there are still negatives; as I mentioned in my review of the David Tennant Doctor Who Special: "The End of Time" I just don't believe Doctor Who works well with 'magic'; I'm OK if the magic is explained away as science/pseudo-science but not when its accepted as magic, and where this serial is based on a lot of Buddhist religious (rather than scientific) concepts I think it strays a little too far from the path. I will accept though that there was actually quite a bit more explanation than I ever remember having been there (thanks to script editor Eric Saward who 'fought' the writer to ensure some explanation was put in) but still not enough to address some of the bigger metaphysical concepts on display.
Back to nit-picking and there are a few logic inconsistencies for me, characters and simple technical "why does that still work if that doesn't" ones, the whole thing is horribly over lit and the big monster stretches the suspension of disbelief somewhat... but then again those are pretty much true of all Doctor Who serials of the time (and the new, optional CGI for the monster, which I'll go into more in the extras review, certainly sorted out the latter of those).
I suppose the question I'm left asking though is whether it's a really good piece of drama but not suited to Doctor Who, or whether I can accept it within the Doctor Who oeuvre. After all these years and now having watched lots of different takes on, and experiments with, the format I know the answer is "Yes", I can. It may have stood out like a sore thumb amongst the very science-driven stories of the rest of the season, but taken as a part of a huge history it certainly works not only as a powerful, if strange, story but also within the very wide limits of what Doctor Who can be.
I still not sure I'd be impressed by Kinda if I watched it for the first time today but it does seem to be one that improves on further viewings, at least in my recent experience. It also improves as you start to understand the basic concepts of what was behind the story, as explained in the documentaries and on the trivia notes, so when watching for the third time in total (for the commentary) it improved again, for me, over the initial re-watch.
Not that I'm sure a programme should require you to watch documentaries to appreciate it but in this case I think you are rewarded with a better experience if you do... in my case, though I don't think it'll ever become a favourite, it has moved from from active dislike to appreciation!
So my advice is whether you are presently a fan of Kinda or not, make sure you give it another chance. It may surprise you how much your opinion changes on repeated viewings, especially if those viewings are after you've watched some of the extra features... it certainly pleasantly surprised me.
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Please feel free to disagree (the reviews are just my personal opinion after all) or correct technical points - all constructive criticism welcome. I also accept praise if you actually like what I've written :)