Everybody dance the Charleston!
I must say that Black Orchid is my favorite episode of season 19, one of my all time favorite of the Peter Davison era and all time classic of the series. There are no aliens. There are no monsters (so to speak). There are no invasions. There are no doomsday devices. No plots to destroy/take over the world/galaxy/universe.
The Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric land in 1920's England and are quickly swept up into a cricket match. There they meet the Cranleighs and are whisked off to the Cranleigh estate for a costume charity ball. They soon discover that Nyssa has a twin in the form of Anne Talbot. Hijinx ensues.
This is a return for Doctor Who to an old fashioned historical story that hadn't been done since the 60's. And in my opinion, a welcomed returned! For this two episode story, no one argues, everyone pretty much gets along, and seemingly have a good time. The crew get out of their usual costumes and put on fancy costumes. Tegan, Nyssa and Adric take a spin on the dance floor with Tegan actually being quite good. Tegan also is quite nice in this one, not too sarcastic, complaining, bitchy, or otherwise unpleasant. Adric is tolerable and just eats the whole time. But as Adric's penultimate story, it's pleasant story for him as they stuff him before the slaughter.
In the grande view of season 19, this story is a quite, peaceful moment for a crew that was plagued by strife and conflict. And knowing the eventual fate of this TARDIS crew, this is the first, last and only time they had a good time together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Orchid_(Doctor_Who)
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