ARC OF INFINITY
BY JOHNNY BYRNE

PLOT SUMMARY
(Taken from the Television Companion, 1st Edition, by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker)
An antimatter creature has crossed into normal space via a phenomenon known as the Arc of Infinity but needs to bond physically with a Time Lord in order to remain stable. A traitor on Gallifrey has chosen the Doctor as the victim. The High Council, headed by President Borusa, decides that the Doctor's life must be terminated in order to aviod this danger. Tegan meanwhile arrives in Amsterdam to visit her cousin, Colin Frazer, only to learn that he has disappeared. She enters a crypt in search of him and is captured by a hideous creature, the Ergon. On Gallifrey, the traitor is revealed as Councillor Hedin and his master as the legendary Time Lord figure Omega, who has been trapped for centuries in a universe of antimatter. Omega seizes control of the Matrix. The Doctor however is able to trace him to Amsterdam thanks to clues received via the Matrix from Tegan- who has been taken to Omega's TARDIS by the Ergon. Omega's body is turning into a replica of the Doctor's, but the bonding is imcomplete and there will be soon be a massive explosion as he reverts to antimatter. The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan chase Omega through Amsterdam and eventually corner him. Omega wills his own destruction, but the Doctor fires the Ergon's matter converter at him and he fades harmlessly away.

PERSONAL REVIEW
BY BARRY STANTON
An interesting opening to the Twentieth season of the Classic series. Omega returns for his second and now what seems his final  outing in the series, played with a decent air of mystery by Ian Collier.
The guesat cast are decent but Colin Baker's Maxil and Michael Gough's Hedin stand out and you can see why JNT decided Colin for the role of Doctor number sixth based on this performance.
The regulars are ok. Sarah Sutton has more to do with Nyssa and she does well. Janet fielding is as annoying as ever but that's the charm of Tegan and Peter Davison is looking like he is now settled in the role confortably.
The first two parts are slow and is merely a st of chase scenes on Gallifrey and well, a set of searching scenes in Amsterdam after Tegan's Cousin, Colin Frazer, goes missing. The next two parts are quicker and the tension is building quite nicely only for it to fizz slightly at the end. My favourite scene is the bit where Omega is walking around Amsterdam after becoming a Doctor lookalike and you see how much he wants to just be back in the real world again.
Overall it is an ok romp but if you want something meaty this isn't really the story for you

RATING
6 out of 10