Roots: H R Pufnstuf's Witchy-Poo. Night of the Living Dead, The Doctor refers to Jonah and the Whale and starts to quote Mark Twain ('rumours of my death'), Peri refers to Star Trek ('beam me up, Scotty').

Intertextuality: Pakhars are on Garazone. (Legacy)

Goofs: Why distort someone's voice on a transmission to disguise them and then call them by name? [The distortion is a side-effect of encrypting the transmission, not the intention.]

Although Yal Rom's ship is cloaked, no one seems to have any trouble detecting it.

The Beggar sounds like Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Dialogue Disasters: 'I think Harlon had a beam-me-up-scotty'

'You always were too hot to handle!' (what??)

Double Entendres: 'I have Enlightenment!' (Oh, we didn't know that story was missing.)

'I was so looking forward to abusing you.'

Continuity: Nekromanteia is referred to variously as a district, a spatial region and a star system. Talderun is the primary world in the Nekromanteia system. The first dynasty of Nekromanteia was two hundred thousand years ago.

On Talderun is a relic which powers an energy convert which generates an energy signature which can be detected on long-range sensors on other systems. The relic is the skeleton of Shara, a physicist who lived long ago and has preserved himself in a moment in time. It is worshipped by a cult of witches. If the relic is removed from the energy converter, the resulting explosion could rupture the space/time continuum.

The witches operate a fleet of some 2000 fighter ships which they can use to attack and shoot down spaceships. They are all reanimated dead and feed on the flesh of the living.

The corporation headed by Wendle Marr has an energy converter in construction on Challis Prime.

Spaceships can achieve interstellar travel through wormholes, the interior of which is referred to as "Worm Space". Teleporters are in common use.

The TARDIS can be used as a telepathic relay. The Doctor has a tendency to hit the console every time it breaks. The food machine can handle requests for dead rat. There are certain materials (such as selgentonin) that Gallifreyans consider restricted. Removing a Time Lord's head stops them from regenerating. (It also kills them!!!)

The Doctor helped make Cricket an Olympic Sport (see Future History). He 'always' says 'I won't be long'. He carries something like a smoke grenade in his pockets. He likes audience participation in large shows. He is 'always' desecrating a holy temple.

Peri doesn't wear perfume. She is from Baltimore (she knows a good orthodontist). She has her own key to the TARDIS.

Links: 'Sword of Orion' (the Garazone System), 'The Eye of the Scorpion', 'The Church and the Crown' (Erimem refers to gunpowder), 'No Place Like Home', 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth' (Baltimore is a ruin after the Dalek's invasion).

Location: A market in the Garazone System, the planet Talderun in the Nekromanteia system.

Future History: The 2060 Olympics take place in Barcelona - Cricket is by then included as a sport.

The Bottom Line: A real mish-mash of a story that reminds one of many previous Doctor Who stories. Let's face it, it's not the most original of ideas. Given that the script was delayed by several months, it's doubtful this time was used tightening up the story into a more comprehensive flow. A bit of a wasted opportunity. (But on the positive side, there are some great moments where Peri and Erimem show up the Doctor!)