Armageddon Factor

Well, that's an...erm...unusual perspective, but it's good to hear refreshing views. I'm delighted you enjoyed it so much, but 'easily my favourite of season 16' is not a sentence that's typically associated with viewing Armageddon Factor. Good for you! I very much enjoy how it starts, but once the middle gets bogged down in the endless time loops with John Woodvine (and prior to that, I had thought I could watch John Woodvine forever - this story sadly disabused me of that notion), and then we go into the finish with the very silly barrow-boy Time Lord Drax scenes, and the shrinking, it's all got a bit too silly. And then Tom does his boggle eyes, and the end undermines the entire premise of the whole season in the first place. Princess Astra is brilliant, and is rightly called back the next year. But rather as a final microcosm of the whole season, it starts off very well, but eventually collapses into silliness at the end.

Just a painted face on a trip down suicide row

Very interesting, indeed. The Armageddon Factor is my least favorite of the Key to Time season, mainly because of how drawn out it is.

At the beginning of the next story, Destiny of the Daleks, Romana does have a bit of a regeneration scene, but it doesn't make any sense whatsoever to everything we know about regeneration. However, in the story "The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe," it's revealed that the Romana we see in Destiny of the Daleks is actually the TARDIS, who has trapped Romana inside her wardrobe and taken on the form of Princess Astra. Basically Romana I knows her regeneration is near due to 'exposure of chronotron particles' and decides to go to the wardrobe to change into something. There she meets Iraj/The TARDIS, who tricks her and freezes her in time. Iraj/The TARDIS has a crush on the Doctor and transforms into many different bodies, eventually tricking the Doctor into accepting Princess Astra's form. After the events of Destiny of the Daleks, Iraj/the TARDIS returns to the wardrobe where Romana I is still frozen, having realized that the Doctor only wants a companion that he can show off to. She disappears and unfreezes Romana I, who regenerates immediately into Princess Astra's form, since that was the last person she saw while she was frozen in time.

I know this isn't what you're saying but

Just as I felt Mary was coming into the persona of Romana, arguing with the Doctor, standing up to him, as a Time Lady, I learn, however, she left of her own free will, Bad decision, Mary, (R.I.P.)

I don't think it's as bad as it's made out but it has a lot of flaws, others have mentioned how it gets drawn out because of the time loop which is also a waste of John Woodvine.

It has some good ideas but Merak is the biggest plonker in the observable universe, OK I can understand that a civilisation on the brink of total collapse will end up with people rushed through training and promoted way above their station. But he's so vacuous and totally obsessed with Astra. Davyd Harries' Shap is good in most of it as a foul for first the Marshal then the Doctor but he ruins it when he gets shot.

Overall 5/10 but still worth watching.