Fireball XL5 Ep 26: The Granatoid TanksRating out of 10: 7.0
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807594/?ref_=ttep_ep26In which one of Fireball's better and more impressive enemy concepts meets with a frankly naff piece of plot writing.
Perhaps I'm being overly harsh about the core plot piece - there's a certain odd sort of charm to the "old lady turns up and solves absurdly dangerous situation", but it didn't feel right at all, and the various odd shenanigans to do with her stowing away were likewise frankly odd. Ma seems to keep with the "I know I can help" thing rather than actually trying to explain properly (if indeed she knows), which also doesn't help the episode's oddities much, and her early scenes just feel like an odd version of Jonathan Zero's "I wanna ride in a patrol ship because SPACE" type thing which is honestly pretty annoying. The Granatoids themselves could also have been done better - why they have an English G-symbol on their chests is unclear and they could have done without that too.
The episode does have some saving graces - the Granatoids are actually quite a good enemy, this is one of the few cases where the aliens actually feel like a militarily capable army which definitely helps matters. The build-up as the heroes get increasingly desperate is pretty good as well, even if the deus ex machina isn't what might have been hoped for. The Granatoids have a nice sort of cybermen aesthetic going on, which is enjoyable, and it's a pity they didn't turn up more times later in the series. They're actually developed fairly well, too, with the idea of them as a nomad army "seeking a home for years" which has nice (albeit unrealised) potential.
The good opponents were let down by a weak plot, though, giving a weakened score overall.
