Rate "The Android Invasion"

Returning from 1911, the TARDIS seems to have arrived in modern day Britain. But the Doctor and Sarah Jane soon discover that things are a bit off in the town in which they've arrived: The calendar only has one day, the locals are behaving quite oddly, and all the local coinage seems to have exactly the same date of minting. Eventually, both of our intrepid time travellers work out that in fact they are not in an English village, but in a simulation constructed by the Kraals to test their android creations before they launch an invasion of Earth. Earth's only hope to fend off this invasion now rests in the hands of the Doctor and Sarah Jane, who need to find a way to get to the real English village and raise the alarm before the Kraals' androids do.

Season 13 just keeps rolling right along. So what did you think of The Android Invasion?

Possibly the weakest story from Series 3, but Android Invasion still gives us some fantastic location work, Benton and Harry's last hurrah and a very silly piece of narrative with Guy Crayford's eye patch. Plenty of Terry Nation's regular plot devices as well. 3.5/5, not sure whether to round it up or down yet,.

I loved the idea of a simulation town. Played right into cold war fears of the sort of thing the Soviets would do to train operatives on how to appear/act/sound "western" in order to infiltrate the west. So it had a set up I was fully prepared to like. The problem were the Kraals. I didn't find them convincing. If they are such a technologically advanced species, why do they need to create androids versions of people on Earth in order to invade the Earth? Why not just invade? And more to the point, what was their reason for wanting to invade Earth?

Mind you, I think the chemistry between Liz and Tom is at an absolute zenith, and it shows in the relationship/regard between Sarah Jane and the Doctor. Even so, I still can't give this more than a 3.

Horrifyingly, you're right Fast Liver.