It’s not been mentioned before
but the set designs are quite good. It’s not really evident that it’s been
filmed in a studio. The cave sets in particular are well designed and have a
claustrophobic feel to them which is I know what you would want from a cave but
it’s lit quite badly and that helps to create the right impression.
Ian’s role as the action man of
the group is established in part three as he is the one who’s hopes of setting
them free rely upon. He becomes the one who is quite resourceful and is always
trying to come up with ways of helping someone. Russell has been a strong
presence in these episodes whether its having the argument with the Doctor in
the previous episode or being resourceful.
It’s Barbara’s turn to be the hysterical one. After two episodes of
being the strong one taking things in her stride, she then becomes the one that
just screams and cries during the course of the episode. Her decision to go and
help Hur after Za has been attacked might seem like a stupid thing to do but it
recovers Barbara from being the hysterical one and establishes the character as
a caring person.
The Old Woman doesn’t want the
Doctor to make fire. It’s a curious request considering how much everyone else
wants it. It’s a shame when she dies cause I thought that she was a really good
character and well played. Eileen Way has been one of the gems of this story
but I think that her usefulness has run its course but its still a shame when a
good character gets written out. Za and Hur are really good in this as Za’s
desperation intensifies and Hur is doing everything she can to help him. Za
does raise a good point about why Hur did nothing when Old Mother took Za’s
rock. Apart from that she is really good and even Za is quite good.
The middle section of the episode
is the highlight of the episode because it’s a good chase sequence with Za and
Hur chasing Ian, Barbara, Susan and the Doctor. It’s halted when Hur gets
attacked by something which we don’t see (presumably a tiger or a lion). The
moment when the Doctor picks up a rock and is clearly going to kill Hur is
something that you wouldn’t associate with the character. It shows the darker
side of the character and its quite a surprising thing because he of course
would play the grand father figure quite well in the rest of his time on the
show and he continues to be the anti-grandfather. Hartnell’s performance is
very good and is the best out of the
regular characters.
The cliffhanger was quite good. Just when we
think that the Doctor and the rest have made it back to the TARDIS then they
encounter some of the tribe who come out of the darkness its quite well done
and then when Ian tells the other to go back they face more trouble in the form
of Kal. The look on his face is very serious as his power in the tribe grows. I
thought that this was a much improved episode on Cave of Skulls. For one, the
title actually has some meaning here as most of the story takes place in the
forest and there is a certain amount of fear. The final episode is set up
nicely by what goes on in this episode.
RATING
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