Arc of Infinity is often forgotten or maligned, and there are decent enough reasons for that: it’s a bit dull and it doesn’t entirely make sense. Nonetheless, it’s not as bad as some make it out to be; it’s just not as good as you’d hope it to be for a story that not only kicked off Doctor Who‘s 20th anniversary season but also brought back Omega, last seen in The Three Doctors. Compared to Omega’s next appearance, in The Reality War, however, Arc of Infinity is The Caves of freaking Androzani.
And the final part is particularly good. It largely sees the Doctor, played here by Peter Davison, chasing Omega, played here by Peter Davison, around Amsterdam with his companions, Nyssa and Tegan, not played here by Peter Davison, in tow. The underrated moment that’s largely forgotten about, probably because the serial itself is so frequently overlooked, comes when Omega, taking the Doctor’s face, stumbles upon a group of Dutch folk crowding around a street organ that belts out Tulips from Amsterdam.
It’s a bit weird, too, because a small child pushes past Omega in a rude fashion, then turns back to give a friendly/gloating smile as if to say “I can get away with this because I’m a child and you can’t shout at a child in public without questions being asked.” Instead of calling him an arrogant, self-centred little sh*t, Omega smiles back.
There’s an unease to this, likely caused by them not wanting to impose Ian Collier’s voice into Peter Davison’s mouth (which is such an odd sentence to write) — though it has to be said that, when they do, they do it very, very well.
Still, the lovely thing about this scene is how Davison plays it. It’s Omega appreciating life again. There’s music, happy people, a breeze from the river, tulips in the flower market, and all sorts of wonder. If he weren’t about to explode, it would be a joyous scene.
Alas, he develops a skin condition and starts turning back into antimatter. We’ve all had days like that, eh? Either way, seeing Amsterdam on screen, in the 1980s or even now, is great, and, outside of Van der Valk, pretty rare. So let Omega enjoy this small slice of life for now; it won’t be long until he’s a skeleton who’s hungry for Archie Panjabi. It’s just the way these things go.
