Doctor Who #106: The Creature from the Pit

Data
Title: Doctor Who: “The Creature from the Pit”
Year: 1979
Network: BBC
Episodes: 4, at 25 minutes each; the third story (of five or six) from season seventeen
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: David Fisher
Starring: Tom Baker, Lalla Ward
Music: Ron Grainer (theme); Dudley Simpson

My reaction
Synopsis: a dictator enjoys throwing her enemies into a pit, where there is a creature
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Bad.
Story: Indifferent.
Characters: Indifferent.
Dialog: Great. Whoever's name might be on it, this is unmistakably Douglas Adams' script.
Pacing: Good.
Cinematography: Bad.
Special effects/design: Indifferent. The monster is a joke, but I'm okay with that. And, honestly, it is fairly menacing. The sets look fine, and some of the costume design is actually quite good.
Acting: Indifferent. The main villain is terrible. Baker is at his best.
Music: Indifferent.
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good). What would have been a terrible story if it had been produced a year later, rescued and then some by unrelenting silliness.
Objective Rating: 2.2/4 (Okay).