YMMV / Doctor Who S18 E1 "The Leisure Hive"

• Once Original, Now Common: This serial was one of the most revolutionary in the show's history, featuring much more lavish sets and effects than previously seen, and a complex plot full of twists that were largely unprecedented. However, all of this feel nowhere near as special nowadays, when subsequent Who adopted them as a base standard. Consequently, to modern eyes, "The Leisure Hive" feels less like an innovative new take on Doctor Who and more like the bare minimum of what Doctor Who should be.
• Padding: Part One infamously opens with a slow, nearly two-minute pan across an empty beach. Reportedly, this was because the story was a holdover from Graham Williams' tenure as producer, and when John Nathan-Turner took over, he ordered all the comedy to be stripped out to fit the Darker and Edgier direction he had in mind, which had the side-effect of causing Part One to underrun.
• Special Effect Failure: Despite being lauded for its otherwise cutting-edge special effects, the serial features some of the most dreadful use of CSO the series has ever seen, rivalling "The Power of Kroll" for terrible execution. Pay attention to the silver ball prop that keeps disappearing when it reflects the screen. Keep in mind, this story got the director blacklisted from the series for going over budget over the other special effects.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The aliens look fantastic, some of the best in the Classic series ever. Tom Baker's age makeup looks excellent and convincing. The creepy Cliffhanger effect of the Doctor being dismembered works really well. The camera pulling back through the materializing TARDIS is amazing. The serial in fact went considerably over budget for once during production, and it ended up benefiting the product (even if it resulted in the director being blacklisted from the BBC).

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