 |
The Doctor suspects something evil lies
at the core of an advanced civilization.
|
4 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 97 minutes. Written by: Ian Stuart Black. Directed by: Christopher Barry. Produced by: Innes Lloyd.
THE PLOT:
The TARDIS materializes in the distant future, in what the Doctor announces is "an age of peace and prosperity." He is eager to see this civilization, so much so that he leaves Steven and Dodo behind. He is greeted by Edal (Peter Thomas), the captain of the guards and Exorse (Geoffrey Frederick), his right hand. The guards take him to see the Elders, led by Jano (Frederick Jaeger), who enthuses about the "great honor" it is to receive a visit from the Doctor.
Meanwhile, Dodo and Steven are waylaid by primitive, aggressive-seeming savages. They are rescued by the guards, who bring them to the city. Jano talks with the Doctor about their advanced civilization, explaining that is sustained by transferring life energy directly into themselves, hoping to gain his approval. The Doctor's companions receive a tour of the city - a tour that Dodo notes is carefully guided, as if there is something to hide. She slips away, and unwittingly stumbles across the secret.
The life energy that sustains this civilization, allowing for their advanced achievements? It is transferred directly from the Savages, who are hunted and drained regularly, leaving them just enough life force to stay alive until their next capture. When the Doctor responds with outrage, Jano decides he must protect their way of life - By draining the Doctor and infusing himself with the time traveler's life energy!
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: "Oppose you? Indeed I am going to oppose you, just in the same way that I oppose the Daleks or any other menace to common humanity!" Does anyone do righteous anger as well as Hartnell? The rage and indignation in his voice as he rails against the dark secret behind Jano's civilization is as vivid as an Old Testament prophet. The Doctor plays along with Jano at the story's start, accepting gifts and accolades while quietly observing that something is amiss. He is all set to steer his friends out of the city, to go on his way and leave this place behind - right up to the moment he discovers a "savage" almost killed by a transferrence. At that moment, he becomes determined to stop this process. "There's something very satisfying in destroying something that's evil," he observes near the story's end.
Steven: The first half overdoes Steven's natural skepticism, when we see Steven believing that Dodo is imagining things, first with the savages and then later when Dodo is suspicious of their carefully-guided tour of the city. I know Dodo is... well, Dodo - But Steven's the one who comes across as a bit thick here. He finally starts to grow suspicious when Edal's retrieval of Dodo less resembles a guard doing his duty than a Gestapo agent. When the Doctor is incapacitated, he takes charge. He impresses the savages when he is able to take Exorse captive, and he holds the city guards at bay as the Doctor recovers in the final episode.
Dodo: Maybe I'm just developing immunity, but I think she's reasonably decent in this story. In the first two episodes, she senses that something is off about the too-perfect city, even as Steven remains oblivious. When she wanders into the laboratory and is mistaken for a subject, she thinks quickly and is able to hold the scientists at bay by threatening to smash their equipment. She's back to being a bit useless in the story's second half, particularly when she idiotically throws her weapon away at the start of Episode Four, but overall this is the second story in a row where I find myself not minding Dodo.
Jano: An effectively sinister presence in the first two episodes, as his seeming benevolence gives way to suspicion of the Doctor. He isn't evil for the sake of evil (we have Edal for that) - Jano genuinely sees the draining of the savages as something necessary for his civilization to thrive. After the Doctor is drained, he refuses to allow anyone else to take the risk of this untested transferrence, instead insisting on testing it on himself - Which results in him more or less turning into the Doctor, leading to an entertaining Hartnell impersonation in the final episode.
THOUGHTS:
The Savages is the first story to feature only an umbrella title, with no episode-specific titles. Probably a smart change, though I admit I'll miss the matinee serial feel of "Next Episode: Escape Into Danger!"
That trivia tidbit aside, The Savages has never been a story I've felt any real enthusiastic for, only really reaching for it as part of a chronological run. Nevertheless, every time I've sat down to either watch the reconstruction or listen to the audio, I've ended up enjoying it. It's the third story this season to play with the idea of people not being what they seem. The initially threatening "Savages" are actually sympathetic victims, while the ostensibly "civilized" citizens of the city prey on them like vampires.
This story is considerably more engaging than Galaxy Four or the final two episodes of The Ark, however. The guest characters are more rounded, for one thing - Even before the transferrence in Episode Three, it is clear that Jano firmly believes his society is right to behave as it does; meanwhile, Tor (Patrick Godfrey), one of the savages, lives down to the slur by being both cowardly and violent. Also, this story does not repeat the Galaxy Four/Ark mistake of making the sympathetic group the stronger and smarter. The "savages" are considerably weaker than the people of the city, which means that the regulars have to overcome steep odds to restore balance.
I do have issues with the story's resolution. The regulars and their allies trick their way into the laboratory and solve the problem of the savages' exploitation by... um, smashing the equipment. Meaning Dodo could have cut this whole story short in Episode Two if she had simply made good on her threat.
It's too easy, and it doesn't ring true. If I smash a television set, that doesn't mean engineers are henceforth unable to create more TVs. We've been specifically told that the scientists have incredible advanced knowledge, and by the end of the story only two city residents - Jano and Exorse - have been converted into seeing the oppressed savages as people rather than resources. So after the Doctor leaves, what stops the other guards and elders from confining those two, recreating the destroyed and damaged technology, and just going on as before?
The oversimplified climax aside, though, this is pretty good. It's by no means one of the series' highlights, but it is well-performed and generally well-paced and structured. A fine, solid example of "bread-and-butter" Who.
Rating: 7/10.
Previous Story: The Gunfighters
Next Story: The War Machines
Search Amazon.com for Doctor Who
Review Index
No comments:
Post a Comment