#20 (3.6 - 3.9): The Myth Makers.

Odysseus (Ivor Salter) forces the Doctor to plot the fall of Troy!

4 episodes: Temple of Secrets; Small Prophet, Quick Return; Death of a Spy; Horse of Destruction. Running Time: Approx. 100 minutes. Written by: Donald Cotton. Directed by: Michael Leeston-Smith. Produced by: John Wiles.


THE PLOT:

Ancient Troy, near the end of the Trojan War. Greek soldier Achilles (Cavan Kendall) battles Trojan prince Hector (Alan Haywood) outside the walls of the city, mere feet away from a strange blue box. Hector is the better fighter, and his victory is at hand. He taunts his victim before the kill, challenging Zeus to intervene and save Achilles.

Which is the very second that the Doctor steps out of the TARDIS. Hector is stunned - and Achilles takes the chance to kill his opponent in the name of the god who has saved him: Zeus, the Father of the Gods and ruler of the world, who has now appeared to him "in the guise of an old beggar."

The Doctor tries to slip back into his ship, but Achilles insists on taking him back to the Greek camp. There, Odysseus (Ivor Salter) derides the idea that this old man might be Zeus, thinking it more likely that he is a Trojan spy. King Agamemnon (Francis de Wolff) is more cautious, not believing the Doctor is Zeus but not wanting to risk offending the gods. He allows Odysseus to set the Doctor a challenge: Defeat Troy in the next two days, or be executed!

Meanwhile, the TARDIS is brought into Troy on the orders of Paris (Barrie Ingham), the surviving prince. When Vicki emerges, she is immediately captured. The prophet Cassandra (Frances White) suspects her of being a Greek spy, and demands her execution. King Priam (Max Adrian) is sympathetic to the young girl, and gives her an opportunity to save herself. Her test? To defeat the Greeks!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: William Hartnell is always at his best in the historical stories, and this one is no exception. The Doctor/Odysseus dynamic is wonderfully played. The Doctor employs his usual tactics to try to escape: Bluster, delay, flattery. The battle-hardened Odysseus proves utterly immune. Largely in desperation, the Doctor proposes the idea of the Trojan Horse, and he finds himself among the soldiers inside as the horse is dragged into Troy. As the slaughter approaches, he is helpless to do anything but witness it in disgust and horror. In a striking moment, he denounces Odysseus: "You're selfish, greedy, corrupt, cheap, horrible! Your one thought is for yourself and what you can get out of it!" Hartnell summons a righteous fury worthy of the god he's pretended to be - And at the story's end, Odysseus is left to wonder if the Doctor truly was Zeus all along.

Vicki: Reportedly, incoming producer John Wiles was not pleased observing Maureen O'Brien's complaints about Galaxy Four, and decided not to renew her contract.  Thus, one of my favorite companions is lumbered with a rather weak exit, married off to Troilus - an overly earnest and naive young man with whom she's spent less than ten minutes of total screen time! She does get some good material before then, at least. Her interactions with Steven are entertaining, and she bonds quickly with King Priam and his family. Maureen O'Brien is terrific in the final episode, the sprightliness dropping out of Vicki's voice as she realizes what is about to happen to the people she's just befriended.

Steven: Has in many ways emerged as the anti-Ian. Where his predecessor tended to be very stoic in the face of frequent imprisonment and brushes with death, Steven is more inclined toward irritation and sarcasm. When the Doctor declares he did well to materialize on Earth, regardless of the situation, Steven snaps back: "I suppose I should be grateful for standing here, trussed like a chicken, ready to have me throat cut!" His attempt to get into Troy to rescue Vicki backfires, landing him in a dungeon while making her situation worse. His response is to trade barbs with her. Still behaving much like an older brother, he all but makes gagging noises when he sees her flirting with Troilus.  But like a good brother, he is highly protective; when hes sees that she cares for the young man, he urges her to get him out of Troy.

Katarina: Cassandra's handmaiden, introduced in Episode Four as a replacement for Vicki. There's really not much to say about her at this point. With the episode missing, there is no opportunity to observe any nonverbal reactions actress Adrienne Hill might have shown, and Katarina has very few lines. She does react to the Doctor and the TARDIS as probably anyone from her time and culture would - Assuming he must be a god, and that she must be dead and on her way to the underworld. Not an unreasonable assumption, given that she's just stumbled in from the site of a mass slaughter.


THOUGHTS:

John Wiles' brief, ill-fated tenure as producer begins. I have something of a split opinion on Wiles. On the one hand, effectively firing Maureen O'Brien was a spectacular act of self-sabotage; not only did he have no good plan for a replacement, but with that one act he soured any working relationship he might have built with William Hartnell - who was at that time, to all appearances, the one irreplaceable member of the cast. In effect, he set himself up for failure.

On the other hand, I have to acknowledge that Wiles produced some fine stories during his short run, and The Myth Makers very much counts among them.

Writer Donald Cotton's script is highly literate, drawing heavily on both The Iliad and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, but undercutting the heroic figures of those stories with broad irreverence. Achilles is mocked by Odysseus for running away from his enemies. Odysseus is referred to as a pirate, and actor Ivor Salter certainly plays him as such. King Priam seems vaguely ineffectual, Paris vain and foolish, Cassandra an outright shrew. The interactions in both Greek and Trojan camps are often very funny, but Cotton laces the humor with a bleak tone. We are constantly reminded that all of these characters are ready to kill on a moment's notice, with even the kindly Priam ready to burn Vicki as either a spy or a witch - "As one of them, anyway," he says wryly.

It's interesting to compare the ending of this initially comic historical with Season Two's semi-comic historical, The Romans. In both stories, the Doctor ends up being responsible for a devastating event - the burning of Rome, the fall of Troy. In The Romans, he witnesses the fire from a distance, safely removed from the human carnage, and literally laughs it off. Here, he is face-to-face with the suffering. Trojans are butchered by Odysseus' men in front of his eyes. The Doctor reacts with revulsion, probably all the more keenly felt because these people are dying because of him.

Save for the actual sacking of Troy and a couple brief swordfights, this story is almost entirely dialogue-driven. The story is presented and propelled through the sharp, witty exchanges of the Doctor and Odysseus in the Greek camp, or of Vicki and the dysfunctional royal family in the Trojan camp. As such, this is one missing story that works particularly well on audio, with only the sacking of Troy suffering for lack of visuals (and that's pretty well described in the narration, well-delivered by Peter Purves). The later Loose Cannon reconstruction is also good, with wonderfully clear stills throughout - though for whatever reason, this reconstruction suffers from irritating sound fluctuations in the incidental music, which makes the audio in my opinion the better overall option.

Either way, this is an excellent story. The potentially tricky transition from comedy to tragedy works seamlessly, and at four episodes the serial maintains a strong pace, never once threatening to overstay its welcome.


Rating: 9/10. I might have gone for full marks, if Vicki's departure felt a little more convincing and a little less rushed.

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#18 (3.1 - 3.4): Galaxy Four.

The Drahvin: The most ineffectual villains ever?

4 episodes: Four Hundred Dawns, Trap of Steel, Air Lock, The Exploding Planet. Running Time: Approx. 96 minutes. Written by: William Emms. Directed by: Derek Martinus. Produced by: Verity Lambert.


THE PLOT:

The Doctor, Steven, and Vicki find themselves on an apparently deserted planet. A blind robot, which Vicki nicknames a "Chumbley," appears and begins feelings its way around the outside of the TARDIS. This captures the Doctor's attention, and he determines to find whoever is controlling the machine.

They have only left the timeship for a few minutes when another Chumbley approaches, this one clearly armed and gesturing for them to come with it. They are rescued by a patrol of cloned female warriors known as Drahvin. The Drahvin take them back to their ship, where their leader, Maaga (Stephanie Bidmead) tells them they were shot down by the Rills, a vicious and repulsive alien species. The Rills also crashed on this planet, a planet they have determined will soon explode.

The Doctor not only verifies the planet's imminent destruction, but discovers that the end is coming in "two dawns - tomorrow is the last day this planet will ever see!" The Drahvin respond by holding Steven as a hostage, issuing the Doctor an ultimatum. If he is to save Steven, he and Vicki must capture the Rill spacecraft!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: The discovery of Episode Three reveals something a bit unwelcome: William Hartnell is just not on his game in this story. It was not apparent on past viewings of the story, when watching a still-frame reconstruction; but in the existing episode, at least, Hartnell doesn't seem to have the same energy as in previous stories. Given that this was shot at the tail end of Season Two, it's likely he was a bit tired; it's also a matter of record that none of the regulars were fans of this script, and he may have felt less than fully committed. Whatever the reason, he's neither as sharp nor as focused as in other serials.

Vicki: "I noted, observed, collated, concluded - and then I threw the rock.". Have I mentioned that I love Vicki? Aside from testing out a Chumbley's blind spot by tossing a rock at it, the story overall doesn't give her much to do, but Maureen O'Brien takes the scraps and runs with them. She is instantly hostile to the Drahvin, crossing her arms and glaring at them as they speak (very visible in the existing clip from Episode One). She is concerned for Steven's safety throughout, seeming again to regard him not as a grown man who can take care of himself, but rather as a stray they've picked up for whom she feels responsible.

Steven: Actor Peter Purves inherited a script originally written for Ian and Barbara, and he was given most of Barbara's bits - something which did not please him one bit, particularly in a scene in which Steven attempts to disarm a Drahvin and fails. The single most memorable bit of the story does belong to him, though. With a bit of patience and connivance, Steven finds an opportunity to escape into their ship's airlock - only to see a Chumbley waiting right outside. This leaves him caught between the Drahvin, who by this point are obviously evil, and the machines of the Rills, who might well be just as bad. Steven is left to consider his options - fireplace or fire - as the air is slowly removed. It's by far the best scene in the story, and it fortunately occurs in the existing episode, showcasing some fine nonverbal acting by Purves.


THOUGHTS

Galaxy Four is noteworthy as the last story with the Doctor and his companions to be produced by Verity Lambert. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she had been relieved upon learning that it was no longer in the archives, as The Time Meddler is a much more fitting swan song. Galaxy Four is watchable (if that's not a bizarre thing to say about a still mostly-missing story), but that represents its only achievement. This serial is entirely forgettable, and even a tiny bit dull.

The Drahvin would have to rank among the most ineffectual villains in Who history. Generally, a story will lazily attempt to build suspense by making sure the villains have either cunning, technological superiority, or both. Not so Galaxy Four, whose masterstroke is to make the Drahvin dumb as rocks, with technology that the Doctor literally scoffs at in Episode Two. Early in Episode Four, the Drahvin are forced to meekly retreat to their ship in the face of a single Chumbley with a loudspeaker - at which point, any tiny modicum of tension is effectively smothered.

With the villains utterly incapable of generating any threat, the climax of the story hinges on whether the Doctor can jump-start the Rill spaceship before the planet blows up. These scenes no longer exist, but from the reconstruction appear to center on the Doctor standing over some cables while Steven and Vicki ask, "How much longer, Doctor?" Doubtless, the sequel would have us thrill to the white-knuckle action as the Doctor attempts to inflate a rubber raft on a beach before the tide comes in!

Lest I go too far into making the story sound like a disaster, I'll repeat that it is never less than watchable (listenable?). The first episode does a solid job of introducing the situation, with the cliffhanger revelation of just how little time is left raising the stakes. Also, the sequence leading into the Episode Three cliffhanger, with Steven caught in the airlock between the Drahvin and a Chumbley, is very effective - Though it would have been even moreso had the story not already tipped us that the Rill and Chumbleys are not a threat.

While Galaxy Four is nowhere as bad as The Web Planet, it is an almost completely uninteresting story. At least The Web Planet failed in part because of overreach - This story isn't even particularly trying to do anything. The closest it has to ambition is the revelation that the beautiful Drahvin are evil while the ugly Rill are good - Fairly trite stuff, even by mid-1960s standards. The whole thing feels tired and lazy - adjectives I rarely apply to the creatively rich Hartnell era.


Overall Rating: 3/10. This is one missing story where I'd have to say that no one's really missing anything.

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#17 (2.36 - 2.39): The Time Meddler.

The Doctor demands answers from 

The Meddling Monk (Peter Butterworth).

4 episodes: The Watcher, The Meddling Monk, A Battle of Wits, Checkmate. Running Time: Approx. 98 minutes. Written by: Dennis Spooner. Directed by: Douglas Camfield. Produced by: Verity Lambert.


THE PLOT:

The TARDIS materializes on an English beach in the year 1066, but this time its appearance does not go unnoticed. Unbeknownst to the Doctor, a mysterious Monk (Peter Butterworth) observes the timeship's landing, and does not seem particularly startled by it.

The Doctor's temper is tested by an argument with new companion Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), who is skeptical that the TARDIS travels in time. He decides to explore alone, telling Steven and Vicki to join him at the top of a nearby cliff. By the time the Doctor finds a Saxon village, his irritation has faded - but he is intrigued when he hears a strange "skip" in the chanting of the local monastery, and he can't help but investigate. Inside the monastery, he discovers the source of the chanting: Not monks, but a gramophone!

Steven and Vicki make some a strange find of their own - a wristwatch, discovered on the ground by a Saxon villager.  Their path also takes them to the monastery, where they become convinced that the Monk is holding the Doctor prisoner. They break in that night, only to find the Doctor has already escaped. More than that - the Monk's authentic Saxon sarcophagus isn't a sarcophagus at all.

"It's a TARDIS!" Vicki exclaims. "The Monk's got a TARDIS!"


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: He clearly finds it exasperating that Steven refuses to believe they've traveled in time. When they discover a Viking helmet and Steven scoffs at it, the Doctor snaps, "What do you think it is - A space helmet for a cow?" He clearly misses Ian and Barbara, and voices concern that Vicki is choosing to stay with him just to look after an old man, none of which helps his mood.  When he discovers the anachronisms caused by the Monk, he is delighted to have a mystery to sink his teeth into... until he discovers the Monk's intention to meddle with history, that is, at which point the lightness is replaced by a stern, angry authority. Hartnell is magnetic, and his interactions with Peter Butterworth's conniving Monk are hugely entertaining.

Vicki: "Either let us go or do whatever you're going to do, but make up your minds!" Vicki is fantastic in this story. Captured along with Steven by Saxon villagers, who fear they are Viking scouts, she more or less berates them into believing her.  When they agree to let them go, with some food in the bargain, she forcefully glares at Steven until he takes the hint and gives thanks. Her interactions with Steven are entirely different than with Ian and Barbara. There, she was essentially a surrogate child, allowing (if occasionally chafing at) their protectiveness. Here, she mostly takes the lead, treating Steven like a slightly dim-witted older brother. Her scenes with the Doctor remain charming, as she spends the opening moments of the story reassuring him that she genuinely wants to stay and travel with him.

Steven: His first proper story shows that he is very different than Ian was. He still fulfills the action man role - But with a lot less judgment and restraint. When they see a Saxon villager picking the Monk's watch up off the ground, he ignores Vicki's protests and jumps out of hiding to basically tackle the man, simply to see what it is he is holding. Despite being headstrong and stubborn, however, he is not stupid. When he and Vicki search for the Doctor at the monastery, he knows immediately that the Monk is lying to them, and comes up with a ploy to make the man reveal himself. Peter Purves is an agreeable screen presence, and he and Maureen O'Brien spark instantly together.

The Meddling Monk: The first time we meet one of the Doctor's own race - A rival, whose agenda the Doctor feels duty bound to fight against. No, the Monk isn't the Master - But you can pretty easily see him as a sort of less sinister prototype. Unlike The Master, he doesn't come across as evil so much as irresponsible. He doesn't want to rule the planet, he has no visions of galactic conquest. The sense is of a child, stirring things up just to see what will happen, so that he can sit back and enjoy the chaos. When he reveals his "master plan" to the Doctor, he seems to genuinely want the older man's approval - And is disappointed when he doesn't get it.


THOUGHTS:

Confession time: I loved Barbara, and I liked Ian, and the ensemble of Ian, Barbara, and Vicki was often delightful... But I actually prefer the Steven/Vicki team. Sadly, thanks in part to the arrival of a new producer in Season Three, this team would not last long - But they are an absolute delight, O'Brien and Purves playing wonderfully (often hilariously) opposite each other, and also both enjoying strong rapport with William Hartnell. This is my favorite First Doctor lineup, and I regret that The Time Meddler is their only fully existing story.

That said, if only one of their stories was to survive, I am glad it was this one! The Time Meddler is significant, of course, both as the first story not to feature Ian and Barbara and as the first story to introduce another member of the Doctor's people. But forget all of that - It is a cracker of a story: well-paced, often quite funny but never at the expense of the drama, and constantly imaginative.

Dennis Spooner's script is engaging and well-structured. The first episode takes a bit of time to reflect on the departure of Ian and Barbara, then takes another few minutes to introduce Steven and establish him as a new regular. The first two episodes reveal information in pieces. At first, we seem to be firmly in the familiar "Hartnell historical" territory, with Saxons and an imminent Viking invasion. But the Monk isn't at all surprised by the TARDIS... the Doctor finds the phonograph... Steven and Vicki find the wristwatch. It's made clear in tiny bits and pieces that something more is going on, until the big revelations hit in the final episodes.

It's also a strong visual story. I noticed right away, in the opening TARDIS scenes, how many shots stand out - from Vicki regarding a clock, to the way the Doctor and Vicki are framed when discussing Ian and Barbara. I made a bet with myself and, at the end of Episode One, carefully watched the credits. Sure enough, the final credit popped up: "Directed by Douglas Camfield." As with The Crusade, it just was instantly apparent how much more care was taken to the visual element here than in any of the surrounding stories. This is only Camfield's second full story as director, but I already feel very confident labeling him the series' best director at this stage of its run. There isn't even a close choice for second place!

It falls just shy of full marks because the resolution feels a touch rushed (although the Doctor's final surprise for the Monk is a delight). Still, this is a very good story, possibly one I would label ideal for introducing modern viewers to the Hartnell era.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

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#16 (2.30 - 2.35): The Chase.

The Daleks face their archenemy: 

Alabama tourist Morton Dill (Peter Purves).

6 episodes: The Executioners, The Death of Time, Flight Through Eternity, Journey into Terror, The Death of Doctor Who, The Planet of Decision. Running Time: Approx. 148 minutes. Written by: Terry Nation. Directed by: Richard Martin. Produced by: Verity Lambert.


THE PLOT:

The TARDIS has materialized on Aridius, an apparently unpopulated desert planet, allowing the time travelers a chance to rest. It also gives the Doctor time to get working the device he liberated from the Space Museum: A Time/Space Visualizer, a monitor capable of viewing any point in time and space. Each of the team takes a turn viewing a moment of import: Ian, the Gettysburg Address; Barbara, the encounter that inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet; Vicki, a performance by The Beatles.

The mood grows considerably more serious when the monitor picks up something they hadn't been looking for: The Daleks, discussing plans to locate and exterminate the four of them!

The team manage to escape Aridius, but they are far from safe. The Daleks have their own time machine, and are in pursuit. With the TARDIS unable to just remain in flight, they have no choice but to materialize at various points in time and space. Each stop reduces their lead over the Daleks, and it is clear that a confrontation is inevitable... Leaving the Doctor to work on a device that might stop their enemies, even as he and Ian evaluate each new stop as a potential battleground!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: The opening episode of The Chase affords a rare chance to see the Doctor and his friends relaxing. It's fun to see the First Doctor just enjoying himself, whether playing with his new toy or relaxing in the sun(s) of a desert planet. He's very pleased with himself when they appear to have escaped the Daleks - Then all business when he discovers that they are in pursuit. Season Two has seen Hartnell's performance moving from strength to strength, and he is wonderful again here - Though it should be noted that this story also boasts his most unintentionally funny line fluff, as he shouts to Ian and Barbara that they could "end up as a couple of burnt cinders, flying around in Spain! Er, space."

Vicki: I continue to adore Vicki. The opening scenes have a real sense of a family dynamic, with Vicki as the bored and slightly awkward teenager managing to accidentally irritate every single adult in the TARDIS. On Aridius, the Doctor compares her enthusiasm to explore to his own. I love the squeal of nervous laughter she lets in Episode One, right after Ian opens a passage to an underground city - a perfect mix of fear and excitement. She's smart enough to be nervous about going down into the unknown... But she (and Ian!) are far too curious at this open door to do anything but step through it.

Ian/Barbara: Ian remains a pragmatic man of action. As soon as it becomes apparent that they can't escape the Daleks, he and the Doctor survey each stop the TARDIS makes, evaluating it as a place they might make a last stand. Barbara defaults to being a caretaker. This is particularly apparent during the escape from the Mechanoids' city in Episode Six. The only route is to climb down a thick cord. Barbara expresses her reservations - Until Vicki reveals a paralyzing fear of heights, at which point Barbara focuses on trying to calm the younger woman while they wrap the cord around her and lower her down.

Steven: The final episode sees the debut of new companion Steven Taylor (Peter Purves). Steven is a pilot who crash landed on the planet Mechanus and has spent the past two years in isolation, with only the robot Mechanoids for company. He has basically given up on the idea of rescue, which earns a reproof from Ian: "We don't give up that easily." When he learns that the Doctor's ship is actually functional, his attitude changes significantly, the prospect of actual freedom spurring him to aid in the escape.


THOUGHTS

The Chase is silly, tacky, and occasionally downright bizarre. After The Dalek Invasion of Earth transformed Terry Nation's creations into a genuinely formidable foe, The Chase transforms them again... into the butt of multiple jokes at their expense, as they are thwarted by the TARDIS team sticking their heads up over rocks to draw fire, by mechanical recreations of Hollywood monsters, and by an American Southern yokel named Morton Dill. They are effectively taken from intergalactic conquerors to the space equivalent of Curly from The Three Stooges, making it no surprise that this story has often come under fire.

The story's saving grace? It's a lot of fun.

Much like Season One's The Keys of Marinus, also by Nation, the overall story here is more of a thread tying together the visits to different locations. The first two episodes feel like a standard Who runaround, as the time travelers find themselves involved with (and being captured and escaping from) aliens under threat of extinction by unconvincing puppet monsters. Episode Three is pretty much outright comedy, with the broadly-played Empire State Building scene followed by an encounter on the Mary Celeste that is - somewhat bizarrely - played as slapstic. Part Four sees hijinks in a haunted house. Part Five is more of a suspense piece, with the regulars surviving carnivorous plants while trying to evade the Daleks. Then Part Six moves the action to a futuristic city populated by robots.

This structure has its benefits. The pace remains energetic throughout the six episodes, only really threatening to bog down in the underground city in Episode Two. But it does mean that all scenarios and guest characters are only thinly sketched, with no real opportunity to explore or become involved in the narrative. While this story is enjoyable - as was Marinus - my preference would be for such stories to be rare exceptions to the norm, as I don't ultimately feel it plays to the series' strengths.

The Chase ends its story with a good ten minutes left in the running time - time that is devoted to the departures of original companions Ian and Barbara. Their farewell is effective, as the original companions take their chance to return to their own time and place. The Doctor, who originally viewed them as a nuisance, all but shuts down at the prospect of their departure. Vicki has to all but physically push her way through his defenses, while at the same time promising that she has no intention of leaving, before he agrees to help his friends return home.

He doesn't really say goodbye to them - As someone close to him in the future will observe, the Doctor hates goodbyes. But he does watch on the Time/Space Visualizer, making sure they made it back safely. The story ends as he quietly acknowledges what's obvious to all:

"I shall miss them. Yes, I shall miss them."


Overall Rating: 7/10.

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#15 (2.26 - 2.29): The Space Museum.

The TARDIS crew as exhibits in a museum!

4 episodes: The Space Museum, The Dimensions of Time, The Search, The Final Phase. Running Time: Approx. 89 minutes. Written by: Glyn Jones. Directed by: Mervyn Pinfield. Produced by: Verity Lambert.


THE PLOT:

When the TARDIS materializes on the planet Xeron, the time travelers suddenly find themselves no longer in their Crusade outfits, but back in their normal clothes. More oddities follow. Vicki drops a glass of water, which shatters... only to reassemble itself, water and all, and jump back into her hand. Going out to explore the planet, Ian observes the thick layer of dust on the surface... in which they are leaving no footprints. When they reach a nearby building, a museum of the space conquests of the Morok Empire, the guards are unable to see them even when staring directly at them!

The Doctor deduces that they "jumped a time track," that they are exploring this museum before actually physically arriving. That's when they discover the museum's newest and most disturbing exhibits: The TARDIS; and the four of them, embalmed and encased in glass!
The Doctor informs them that this is one possible future. When time catches back up with them, they will need to act decisively to avoid it. But without knowing what actions led to their fate, how can they know whether a choice will avoid it or lead them straight to it?


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: Can't help but be fascinated by the various bits of technology in the museum. His curiosity works against him, as the others get just far enough ahead of him to not notice when he is captured. He is brought before the museum's governor, Lobos (Richard Shaw), who questions him using a device that visualizes the Doctor's thoughts on a monitor. The Doctor takes great satisfaction in thwarting this effort, summoning up a series of bizarre responses until Lobos finally loses patience and has him taken away. Hartnell is on great form throughout, and it's likely no coincidence that the weakest episode of the story is the one he sits out.

Ian: Put into a scenario where any action (or inaction) can be the wrong one, he becomes highly irritable. He snaps at Barbara and Vicki for losing track of the Doctor, then has a Hamlet-like moment of hesitation in which he reflects that "Choice is only possible when you know all the facts... We know nothing about this place!" He finally decides that, right or wrong, he will act, taking a guard's gun and staging a one-man rescue of the Doctor. His anger remains evident, however, as he appears almost eager for an excuse to shoot Lobos.

Barbara: It's her turn to be pushed to the background in this story. She does get a few good scenes with a rebel youth, as she helps him to move through gas-filled rooms to an exit. She also calls Ian on his irritability, getting him to at least admit to his own snappishness. Outside of that, however, she gets easily the least to do of the four regulars.

Vicki: After being backgrounded in The Crusade, she's back to getting strong material here. When the Doctor figures out that they've jumped a time track, Vicki is the one of the companions who actually grasps what he means. "Time... although a dimension in itself, also has dimensions of its own," she says, sounding very like she's puzzling it out as she talks - Earning the Doctor's enthusiastic approval. She falls in with the rebel Xerons, whose planet was taken over to create the museum, and pushes them to stop talking about a revolution and actually do something... And she makes that possible, when she figures out how to reprogram the automated security to allow the rebels access to the (conveniently unguarded) armory.


THOUGHTS:

The Space Museum is a good example of what I call "bread-and-butter Who." After an arresting first episode, time catches back up with the regulars... And we find ourselves in a bog standard runaround, with a group of militaristic aliens who need to be overthrown. Some capture/escape mechanics follow, until ultimately the regulars are able to help the sympathetic rebels to defeat the villains before flying off in the TARDIS. The End.

I think this is a big reason why The Space Museum is often rated on the lower end of the Hartnell era. It begins with a genuinely imaginative scenario that makes intriguing use of the series' time travel conceit... Only to see that scenario flattened out more and more, until the serial is left with nothing distinctive about it.

I can't argue that the first episode is considerably more interesting than the rest. However, Parts 2 - 4 remain entertaining. The dilemma of what action to take when any action can be wrong is an intriguing one, and fuels some engaging conversations among the regulars. It also spurs William Russell to one of his better Season Two performances, with Ian's frustration at not being able to just do something becoming a tangible force, particularly when he has the villain at gunpoint and is clearly itching to shoot.

There certainly are issues with the later episodes, though. The guest performances are below the usual standard. I know the Moroks are meant to be listless and bored, but Richard Shaw's Lobos feels like he's sleepwalking even when he finally is given something to investigate. The other Moroks are wooden. The Xeron youths are even worse; some of their line readings are so inept, you'd swear a random teenager had been pulled in from the street, given funny eyebrows, and asked to deliver lines they'd never seen before with no knowledge of the story context.

Some of the problem likely lies with director Mervyn Pinfield. In previous stories, Pinfield has proved himself adept with visual effects, but lacking much sense of drama.  He isn't particularly good with actors, and he stages things in a way that's not even remotely visually interesting. This is particularly apparent here, on the heels of the highly visual, energetically performed The Crusade.

Still, The Space Museum is never less than entertaining. A fascinating initial premise may be reduced to just a backdrop for a bog-standard Doctor Who serial; then again, if I didn't generally enjoy bog-standard Doctor Who, there's not much chance I'd be watching (let alone reviewing) it all these decades later.


Overall Rating: 5/10.

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#14 (2.22 - 2.25): The Crusade.

The Doctor restrains Ian from arguing

with King Richard (Julian Glover).

4 episodes: The Lion, The Knight of Jaffa, The Wheel of Fortune, The Warlords. Running Time: Approx. 97 minutes. Written by: David Whitaker. Directed by: Douglas Camfield. Produced by: Verity Lambert.


THE PLOT:

The TARDIS materialises in 12th century Palestine during the Third Crusade... And the crew emerge right in the middle of an ambush of King Richard the Lionheart (Julian Glover) by the Saracen El Akir (Walter Randall). The Doctor, Ian, and Vicki are able to rescue a knight and fend off the attackers - But Barbara is kidnapped and taken to the brother of the sultan, Saladin (Bernard Kay).

Barbara is in the company of a knight who posed as King Richard, and he chivalrously tells their captors that Barbara is the king's sister, Joanna. El Akir eagerly presents them, anticipating glory... Only to be shown up as a fool when Saladin and his brother recognize the deception. Saladin insists the prisoners be treated with respect and dismisses El AKir scornfully - leaving the villain plotting to kidnap Barbara to take his revenge on her.

King Richard is persuaded, not without difficulty, to allow Ian to serve an emissary to the sultan. But by the time he arrives, Barbara has been taken again - leaving Ian determined to press on into El Akir's own territory to rescue her!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: While Barbara and Ian are left to carry the action plot, the Doctor becomes involved in the intrigue of Richard's court. He navigates by quick thinking.  He neatly transforms a clothes merchant's denunciations of him as a thief into a way to gain the man's confidence, much to Vicki's amusement. He is eager to protect Vicki, observing that the situation at court is potentially dangerous - And indeed, he makes an enemy of one knight when he denounces the man for arguing against even a chance of peace.

Barbara: Quick-witted in dealing with El Akir at Saladin's court, turning the villain's suggestions of torture against him by observing that it "sound like the punishment for a fool," leaving an amused Saladin to observe that El Akir has proved far more foolish than Barbara. Rescued by Haroun (George Little), whose family was destroyed by El Akir, she is entrusted with his remaining daughter and a knife - With a request to kill the girl if the villain's men find them.  Barbara is horrified, insisting that "life is better than this." When it's clear she and the girl will be discovered, Barbara saves her by revealing herself. She remains defiant when dragged before El Akir. Pushed to her knees, she looks at him with loathing, refusing to show any sign of weakness - Then uses his own taunts about how his gold will buy her torment as an impetus for escape.

Ian: "Brave, brave Sir Ian, he bravely ran..." Well, it's Ian, so you know he doesn't run away... But he does get knighted! The Crusade is Ian's best showing in a while. Finding Barbara is pretty much his only thought from the moment she is kidnapped. When the Doctor, reading King Richard's mood, urges patience in enlisting aid, Ian ignores him and presses the king at the worst possible time, prompting an outburst. Discovering that El Akir abducted Barbara from Saladin's camp, he insists on pushing forward on his own, despite the danger. He predictably runs afoul of danger, but through quick wits he manages to turn even that to his advantage.

Vicki: Left largely to the background this time...Which is more than fair enough; after three stories in a row with Vicki front and center, it really was Ian and Barbara's turn. Continues to make a fun counterpart for the Doctor, with her reactions to his interplay with the various members of Richard's court regularly entertaining.

King Richard: Portrayed in this story as young and impetuous, driven by passion from one extreme to another. He insists on staying in the forest, against his knights' advice, all but inviting the initial attack. Later, when Ian begs for help to negotiate for Barbara's release, he angrily refuses to trade with those who killed his friends - But then, feeling weary of war, not only sends Ian to negotiate but drafts a peace offer that includes the hand of his sister, Joanna (Jean Marsh), in marriage to Saladin's brother. He does so without consulting her, and flies into yet another rage when she refuses.

Saladin: Bernard Kay's Saladin is Richard's opposite number. Where the young English king is all temper and passion, Saladin is pure calculation. "You must serve my purpose, or you have no purpose, he bluntly tells Barbara early on. He is not portrayed as a bad man - quite the reverse, he is painted throughout as honorable. He also acknowledges the sincerity of Richard's peace offer, even as he doubts peace can be achieved. He is older than Richard, quite frankly smarter than Richard, and is determined to be prepared for whatever may occur. As he says to his brother, "Hold one hand out in friendship, but keep the other on your sword."

El AKir: Richard isn't quite a hero; Saladin definitely isn't a villain; but in El Akir, we have a figure who is utterly twisted, evil, and depraved. He becomes obsessed with Barbara for no reason other than that she made him look foolish in front of the sultan - And for that, he risks kidnapping her from Saladin's camp, he raids homes in a village, he is quite happy for his men to set fire to houses - All so that he can take his revenge. You could argue that such a melodramatically evil baddie sticks out in a story otherwise populated by complex, multilayered individuals... But actor Walter Randall throws himself in with vigor and just the right amount of restraint, making El AKir genuinely menacing.


THOUGHTS

This is the first story with missing episodes I've watched via reconstruction since Marco Polo, and the difference in viewing experience shows just how far the series has come in terms of visual ambition. In Marco Polo's case, the story was so dialogue driven, the still reconstruction felt almost as good as watching the real thing. It was, to coin a phrase regarding much archive television, "radio with pictures." By contrast, the action scenes in the existing episodes of The Crusade play out predominately visually, with the action well-choreographed, well-shot, and highly effective.

Which creates a bit of a problem in the two missing episodes. Part Two ends with a sequence of Barbara escaping from, then evading, El Akir's men. It is dialogue-free... Which turns the reconstruction into a sequence of still photos of Barbara in an alley at this point, or the audio into a string of narration over music. Full credit to those involved in either effort - But this just can't convey the tension the filmed scene would have. Part Four suffers even more, as the story climaxes with an action set piece at El Akir's palace. This does weaken the available viewing experience for this story; but it also demonstrates that even in its second season, Doctor Who had already moved forward significantly in purely technical terms.

This was the first Who story fully directed by Douglas Camfield (he had previously directed Part Three of Planet of Giants), and the existing episodes show him already making his mark. In addition to strong action scenes, actors are positioned to create a strong sense of dimension and depth.  Actors will be positioned in foreground, middle ground, and background, with reactions at all planes. At every turn, cameras are positioned to capture the actors in a visually interesting way... Which, however much I may love 1960's Who, isn't something that can generally be said of the series.

David Whitaker's script is a good one. After serving as the series' first script editor, it's hardly a surprise that he has the regulars down, and he balances them well. The dialogue is exceptional, and the guest cast seems to relish the words they've been given. Particularly noteworthy is the argument between Richard and Joanna in Episode Three, as she shouts down his attempt to marry her off for peace with absolute fury. As the king, he should ostensibly be the more powerful figure - But she seems dominant from the start, even before she invokes the Pope and the certainty that he would refuse to authorize such a union.

The final episode is the weakest of the set - Not just because it's missing, but because the story resolves a little too easily, with El Akir's palace proving remarkably easy for multiple parties to infiltrate. An epilogue in which the Doctor escapes a wrathful knight feels tacked-on and rushed. This isn't enough to make The Crusade less than an extremely good story, and even the missing episodes are engrossing and pass quickly... But the weakness of the ending does keep this out of my top tier.

Overall Rating: 8/10.


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#13 (2.16 - 2.21): The Web Planet.

The Doctor and Vicki are made prisoners of the Zarbi!

6 episodes: The Web Planet, The Zarbi, Escape to Danger, Crater of Needles, Invasion, The Centre. Running Time: Approx. 147 minutes. Written by: Bill Strutton. Directed by: Richard Martin. Produced by: Verity Lambert.


THE PLOT

The TARDIS is dragged down to Vortis, an alien world with a thin atmosphere. The planet is populated by man-sized insects. The Doctor and Vicki are captured by the ant-like Zarbi, who serve an evil being known as The Animus (alas, not the one from Assassin's Creed). The Doctor is able to convince the Animus of his value, and he and Vicki are allowed to remain alive and free if he helps thwart an invasion force.

The invasion is by a butterfly-like race known as The Menoptera. Vortis was their planet before the Animus came, but the evil intelligence forced them to flee to a nearby moon. Now they have developed a technology that will allow them to destroy their enemy - But only if they can get into direct physical proximity. No easy task, particularly when the Zarbi are impervious to their weapons!

As the Doctor tries to misdirect the Animus, Barbara falls in with the Menoptera. Meanwhile, Ian finds himself underground, with yet another band of insects, plotting an attack of his own...


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: Another strong showing for the First Doctor. Yes, there's an infamous bit early on that sees Hartnell visibly blank on the script, covering by chortling like a lunatic while William Russell gamely steers him back on track. But once that moment has passed, Hartnell is on form for the rest of it. Particularly good are the scenes in which the Doctor negotiates with the Animus, playing for time and opportunity by teasing out just enough information to keep himself and Vicki alive. I love the moment when Hartnell (almost certainly ad-libbing) refers to the interface with the Animus as a "hair dryer."

Vicki: Maureen O'Brien is wonderfully expressive. A scene late in the story has her pretending to be under the spell of the Zarbi's, uh, halter/stick thing (don't ask). Vicki cocks open one eye, then makes a subtle but very funny face before carefully freeing the Doctor and working with him to figure out their next move. Her tendency to make pets of strange creatures pops up when she and the Doctor capture a Zarbi, and she takes time to name it! O'Brien continues to have great rapport with Hartnell, and their pairing is so much fun to watch.

Barbara: Despite Jacqueline Hill being absent for Episode Three, Barbara ends up being central to the story. She teams with the Menoptera reconnaissance party, leading an escape from the ominously-named Crater of Needles in an attempt to stop the massacre of a Menoptera invasion force. The attempt is unsuccessful (in no small part due to the idiotic stubbornness of the force's leader), but Barbara quickly takes charge of the survivors, pushing them to regroup and carry on with an attack on the Animus.

Ian: Once again gets stuck with the weakest strand. After tagging along with the Doctor for the first two episodes, he's sent off to "find Barbara" ; apparently, searching an entire planet on foot for a single person is considered a simple task. Unsurprisingly, Ian does not find Barbara, but he does fall in with the "Optera," caterpillar-like aliens who communicate by grunting broken English and move by hopping. Ian convinces the Optera to take a perilous underground route to the Animus, in a subplot that in no way feels like a retread of the closing episodes of The Daleks. He reaches the Animus just in time to... watch as Barbara saves the day, while it becomes clear that his entire subplot existed only to pad the story out to six episodes.


WELL, THAT HAPPENED.

Um.

Readers of my reviews will know that I'm an unabashed fan of the Hartnell era. So many decades later, the First Doctor remains my favorite Doctor. Ian and Barbara are a serious contender for all-time best companion team, and I absolutely adore Vicki. I will defend the overall quality of the Hartnell era to the hilt, and I remain nothing short of in awe at the miracles Verity Lambert and her crew were able to pull off with such limited resources. I love the Hartnell era, pretty much unreservedly.

Except for The Web Planet. This is only my second time watching this serial, and I am fairly certain it will be my last. Ignoring all other issues, this surely is the most migraine-inducing story Doctor Who has ever produced. A rough text recreation of entirely too many scenes would run something like:

"Zarrr-BEE!" <<Pulsating Zarbi Chirp>>  "Zarrr-BEE!"  <<Alarm chimes>> (People in butterfly costumes inflict interpretive dance on the audience for entirely too many unbroken seconds.)  "Zarrr-BEE!"  <<Alien gun noises.  Pulsating Zarbi Chirp.>>  Repeat as needed to pad out runtime.


THOUGHTS:

The Web Planet represents an attempt to create a completely alien world. Doing so on a 1960's Doctor Who budget was arguably ill-advised in much the same way that it might be ill-advised to bungee jump over metal spikes. Without a cord. Attempts to showcase the alien nature of the atmosphere are conveyed, in part, by slathering enough vaseline on the camera lens to supply a 1970's porn extravaganza. This does create distortion... But also means that at least one entire dialogue scene plays out with a visible, static glob of stuff overtop William Hartnell's face.

Bizarrely, the vaseline misstep aside, the story's problem really isn't the realization. The sets and backdrops are surprisingly effective by the show's standards, comparing positively against those used in The Daleks. The Menoptera flying effects are passable, the ant-like Zarbi honestly look pretty good, and even the shoddier props convey a unified, organic feeling.

What lets it down are some bad directing decisions and some glaring weaknesses in the script.


BARRIERS TO ENJOYMENT:

I've mentioned elsewhere that director Richard Martin liked to push the envelope in his serials. More often than not, I quite appreciate his efforts to back up solid storytelling with cinematic technique. But in The Web Planet, he gets it badly wrong. I've already mentioned the vaseline, a decision which makes an already difficult story physically hard to watch. The choreography of the Menoptera is a good idea, but is taken much too far, with their swaying and hand-waving distracting from the story rather than enhancing it.

Then there are the sound effects. The Zarbi chirps, the alarms, the bizarre laser sound made by the one beetle-like creature (that looks more like a mop)... It creates a sensory overload that isn't particularly alien, but is definitely unpleasant. If the production team was actively trying to make the story impossible to enjoy, they couldn't have done a better job of it.


TOO MANY EPISODES, TOO LITTLE STORY:

Bill Strutton's script does have some good scenes. Pretty much everything involving the Doctor and Vicki works, and the Doctor's negotiations with the Animus are a joy to watch. Some of the scenes between Barbara and the Menoptera are quite well-written, though they're undermined by the excess choreography. Even in the Ian/Optera thread, there's a memorably gruesome moment in which an Optera sacrifices herself by using her body to plug an acid leak - A genuinely disturbing moment in an otherwise tiresome subplot.

But everything that's good is buried underneath so much junk! There simply isn't enough story to fill six episodes; I'm genuinely uncertain there's enough to fill four. As a result, each episode crawls by at an increasingly attenuated pace. On both of my viewings, I've found the first two episodes to be just about OK... But it gets ever more slow-paced, duller, and noisier as it goes.


THE ENDING:

The whole thing ends with the Animus defeated several minutes before the end of the final part, leaving a seemingly endless epilogue. The time travelers leave, and the last couple minutes are taken up by the Menoptera and Optera singing/grunting at each other, followed by another bit of choreographed hand-waving. I half-expect them to break out into a full-on dance number!

It's a mercy when the camera finally tilts up to the sky and the "Next Episode" caption appears, announcing the end of the dreary slog that was The Web Planet.


Overall Rating: 2/10.

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#12 (2.12 - 2.15): The Romans.

Partners in Crime: The Doctor and Vicki.

4 episodes: The Slave Traders, All Roads Lead to Rome, Conpiracy, Inferno. Approx. 96 minutes. Written by: Dennis Spooner. Directed by: Christopher Barry. Produced by: Verity Lambert.


THE PLOT:

An unusually rocky TARDIS landing sees the crew in ancient Rome, during the reign of Emperor Nero (Derek Francis). They are not in Rome itself, however, but in a villa near an outlying village. The owners have left the place vacant, and the TARDIS team have taken the opportunity to enjoy a month-long rest. A rest that Ian and Barbara have fully enjoyed, but that has left the Doctor and Vicki the tiniest bit restless. The Doctor announces that he's going to take a trip to Rome, and Vicki eagerly volunteers to accompany him, while Ian and Barbara decide to stay behind and enjoy their vacation.

Unfortunately for them, Barbara has caught the eye of a gang of slave traders, and both are captured. Barbara is taken to auction in Rome, while Ian is sold to a ship captain. A lucky storm allows him to escape, leaving him determined to make his way to Rome to rescue Barbara... Who finds herself sold to the court of Nero, who finds himself a little too taken with her.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is mistaken for a lyre player who was murdered on the road to Rome. He is also escorted to Nero's court, where he learns why the man was murdered - He and Vicki have found themselves in the center of a plot to assassinate the emperor!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: You can really see Hartnell enjoying himself. The Doctor's scenes opposite Nero, in which he flatters the vain emperor to keep out of trouble, are consistently delightful, and Hartnell and Derek Francis make a very funny double act. The story pairs him with Vicki throughout, cementing them as a duo and capitalizing on the two actors' chemistry.

Vicki: Maureen O'Brien continues to impress, as does the character she's playing. Vicki is game in a way Susan never was - She wants to explore, to see sights and go places and have adventures. While the others have enjoyed relaxing in the safety of the villa, she has become bored and restless. I think this is what makes Vicki and the Doctor so much fun together - They essentially fuel each other's worst impulses, but they are also both very quick-witted and able to think and talk their way out of any situations they land themselves in.

Ian/Barbara: They are definitely a couple by this point. It's a family show, so the text doesn't come out and say so - But they are framed and scripted as a couple, most obviously in the scenes in the villa in Episode One. When they are captured, Action Man Ian remains poised and alert for opportunities to escape. Barbara knows her history all too well, however, and despairs, realizing the exact kind of treatment they (most specifically, she) can expect as a slave in the Roman Empire. Ian remains stuck in the least interesting of the story's strands, but Barbara's slapstick evasions of Nero's interest in Part Three gives her a chance to get in on the story's fun.


THOUGHTS:

The Romans seems to have been designed as an antithesis to the stolid, serious historicals that preceded it. Previous historicals have seen the TARDIS team desperate to get back to the TARDIS to escape the dangers of history. This story opens with them on vacation in the past, and in no hurry to put an end to their well-earned rest.

A restless Doctor and Vicki basically deliberately get themselves involved in Nero's court, and seem to be having a whale of a time mentally fencing with the emperor while untangling various plots and plans. And in a final slap to previous historical's insistence that "You cannot rewrite history - Not one line!", the whole thing ends with the Doctor inspiring a historical disaster... and being delighted by it!

That's not to say this isn't as carefully-constructed as previous historicals. Like The Aztecs, it's actually been very tightly scripted. The regulars are divided into three strands, each getting to explore a different facet of Roman society (or at least, Rome as envisioned by a 1960's middle-class Brit, filtered through a "G"-rated family television lens). The Doctor and Vicki mix with the aristocracy and their political games. Barbara gets a taste of slave life, and her friendship with Tavius (Michael Peake) gives a window into the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Ian gets a Vikings-style gladiator battle. Each strand allows a glimpse of a different piece of Rome, creating a much fuller picture than if they had all gotten involved in a single adventure.

Spooner's script is also brilliant in the way it moves between the strands. I particularly enjoyed all of the near-misses between the Doctor and Barbara in Nero's court, though it was also effective to see Ian imprisoned next to a woman who previously shared a cell with Barbara. The script manages to bring them just enough together to keep the narrative unified, while still having enormous fun with keeping them apart far longer than Who conventions have led us to expect.

Most of all, The Romans is just great fun to watch. It's well over 50 years since this story's original transmission, and it remains a remarkably entertaining and genuinely joyful viewing experience.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

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