early evening news on Wednesday 20 December and the dispute was resolved in time for services to resume at 3pm on Saturday 23 December. (BBC2 had been similarly affected, and BBC Radio operated a reduced service.) This disruption accounts for the large drop in ratings compared with the preceding episode, Part Four of The Androids of Tara, which was watched by 9m viewers. By contrast Part Two of The Power of Kroll aired during the week between Christmas and New Year, when viewing figures are often higher, and was watched by nearly twice as many people as Part One: BBC ratings were also boosted by a strike which had taken the Yorkshire region of ITV off-air for the entire Christmas period. In their book The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping wrote that The Power of Kroll was "very slow" with little humour, and "horribly acted" aside from Madoc and Abineri. They also criticised the "unconvincing" realisation of Kroll. In 2011, Mark Braxton of Radio Times gave a negative review of the serial, describing it as uninteresting with poor effects, "tepid dialogue and dull characters". However, he felt that some parts were "enlivened by Tom Baker's sprightly performance". DVD Talk's Justin Felix gave the story two and a half out of five stars, calling it the "least inspired" story of The Key to Time. While he praised Baker and Tamm and their dialogue, he criticised the "flimsy" concept and the Swampies. The Power of Kroll was voted at #174 by readers of Doctor Who Magazine in a 2009 poll of the top 200 stories — the fifth lowest of any Tom Baker story. Commercial Releases In print A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in May 1980. Home media The Power of Kroll was released on VHS on 5 June 1995. This serial, along with the rest of season sixteen, was released as part of the Key to Time box set on region 2 DVD on 24 September 2007, and in Region 1 on 3 March 2009. References External links Target novelisation On Target — Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll Fourth Doctor serials Doctor Who serials novelised by Terrance Dicks 1978 British television episodes 1979 British television episodes