The Randomiser: The Hand of Fear

I am repeatedly stuck, in this Randomiser exercise, at how good the Philip Hinchcliffe stories are. It is difficult to put a finger on what makes them work so well. They are frequently fairly cliched, and have their fair share of unfortunate set design, costume and acting choices. The best I can manage is that the general level of competent-to-good is higher than it was anywhere else in the classic series, and although the era unashamedly mines (particularly horror) tropes and cliches it does so with a deft hand which neither insults the audience's intelligence nor gets delusions about how clever or deep it is. The Hand of Fear is no exception to the era as a whole.

( Speaking of Unfortunate Costume Choices )

Sarah Jane leaves at the end of The Hand of Fear. Tame layman had to wipe a tear from his eye. "They really were the best Doctor Companion team," he said.

Yes they were.