Day 46: The Dalek Invasion of Earth - Worlds End

After the success of the Daleks in the last season, it was obvious that there was going to be a second story. However it had to serve a purpose and that was to write out the exit of Carole Ann Ford who had decided that the restrictive character was getting tiresome. It’s also interesting that ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ is production wise the last story of the first season. This story and Planet of Giants were kept over to launch the second season. This is also Terry Nation’s third offering to the show after the first Dalek story and ‘The Keys of Marinus’. This time the adventure takes place on Earth in 2164. Though it’s not the London that Barbara and Ian know. We get this idea due to the fact that they don’t encounter anyone for a long time, they don’t hear any traffic and Battersea Power Station has lost its chimneys.


First shot is of someone in ragged clothes walking into the river and killing himself. Quite a bold thing to do in a family drama. It pretty much sets the tone for this story. It’s not a cheery story with a faint hint of terror but the terror is the overwhelming factor and the Daleks haven’t even appeared. This episode has the most substantial location filming that we have had. It’s not just someone pretending to be the Doctor but actually outside filming at its quite good because it gives a great scale of where the story is set and makes it feel like London and not just a studio. The smiles on Barbara and Ian’s face as they realise that they are in London is a joy to see. It’s a very different reaction compared to in ‘The Reign of Terror’.

Despite this being Susan’s last story it’s a shame that she starts off by spraining her ankle. Then the Doctor tells her that she need a “jolly good smacked bottom”. It does muddy the waters of what her age is. Cant believe Gallifreyans would put up with that type of talk even from someone like their grandfather. The exit (or the Doctor and Susan) is somewhat stopped by the fact that a girder that has fallen on the TARDIS blocking the door. Like ‘The Keys of Marinus’ and ‘The Sensorites’ and ‘The Aztecs’ there is a contrivance that is put in place to prevent them from just leaving.

Nice bit of dramatic music to go over the scene where Susan, Barbara and Tyler are running. It’s helped by the where they were filming and the fact it’s a nice sunny day. We are introduced to David who’s first question to Barbara is if she can cook. Clearly womens rights took a battering in the year 2164. The first interaction between these future love interest doesn’t get off to the best start. Dortmund is the leader but has been put in a wheelchair. He’s not letting his disability get in the way and feels he can contribute just as much as everyone else.

There is a slight downside and its that the flying saucer is a bit poor. Apart from that it was a good and solidly produced episode. Richard Martin directs this six part story and its clear because its very good and there are some shots which are really well done.

When this episode went out no one would have known that the Daleks were going to return. So when the cliffhanger comes it must have been tremendously exciting for viewers. After being surrounded by guards. The sight of the Dalek coming out of the water is one of the most impressive sights since the show started. The mere idea of a Dalek underwater is something could have come out of the comic strips that were out at the time. It was a great opening episode as it was atmospheric and seemed that it was going to be very gloomy.

Day 45: Planet of Giants - Crisis

The final part of this three part story resumes where the Doctor and Susan are about to drown after Smithers pulls the tap. There’s some good acting when Susan and the Doctor are in the overflow pipe watching the water go past them.

We are introduced to the final two supporting cast members. Bert and Hilda who appear to be a couple and Hilda is the one answer the phone and is the one that starts to put things together. It all starts when Forrester decides to impersonate Farrow by putting a handkerchief over the bottom of the phone. It was never going to work and its all Forrester’s fault by thinking that this was going to work.

The regulars have to do a nice selection of weird and wonderful things. They first try and prop up the phone to raise the alarm but being so small it’s a difficult task and also it doesn’t work because their voices are too low to understand. It does achieve something as it further puzzles Hilda. I love the cut away that they use when the phone is being propped up. It’s such a funny sight and its obvious how they are doing it. Not quite sure how they could have done it without looking daft so it may have been a bit harsh of me to make fun of it. When that doesn’t work they try something far more ambitious. The plan is to set a fire in the lab to try and alert the authorities to the lab. They try and use a match stick against the gas tap. There’s some clever editing done to try and make it look bigger than a studio. The explosion is well done and it’s at this point that the policeman walks in and as their story ends it seems that they are being apprehended.

Barbara’s getting worse and by the halfway point she’s fainted. When she recovers we learn that once they get back to the TARDIS they will return to normal size and she will be better so it’s a matter of trying to get the police to the house whilst getting back to the TARDIS in time. They do and the Doctor manages to bring a massive nut that when it goes inside the TARDIS it shrinks to its normal size. It’s a good bit of special effect.

The central performances are all good and no one really puts a foot wrong. Even Susan is given a good time in this story and its one of those rare stories where everyone is given a good crack of the whip. The supporting cast at times almost steals the show with Forrester being one of my favourite baddies so far in the show. Hilda and Bert were good late additions to the story and even though it was late in the story it was just right and they because quite important to the story.

The cliffhanger is leading us into the second Dalek story and the final story for Carole Ann Ford. As it is we don’t see anything because the scanner is faulty. As a three part story this is better than the second one as its more action packed and fun than the middle episode. There is a nice bit of drama with Barbara and trying to stop Forrester and Smithers. I have always liked this story and watching it like this shows why it wouldn’t have worked as a four parter. When the DVD was released they wasted their time in trying to reconstruct in some feeble attempt to make us wonder and feel like we were robbed but to be honest there was a lot of padding in that reconstructed episode and it works much better like we have it.

Day 44: Planet of Giants - Dangerous Journey

The episode starts with the regulars trying to not get killed by a cat. It’s actually quite good moment as they are waiting for the cat to get bored. Once it does then the story moves on and we are introduced to Smithers who seems to be working with Forester and is just as calm about the death of Farrow. He tries to be someone who wants the same as Forrester but is more interested in the scientific fame than the money.


There is a fair amount of credit that should go to Raymond Cusick. He has managed to create the sets for the regulars to walk around and do it too the right scale. The sets look brilliant and even when they are looking at a giant photo of something its still impressive. Also the fly that Barbara sees is well realised. The four regulars wander from one place to the other and its back to the amusing briefcase for Ian and the first time for Barbara and one of them get a tap from a paperclip which just adds to the madness of this tale.

There is an extra threat introduced in this story after Barbara picks up some wheat which at the time has this chemical on and its clear that its could kill her. Not quite sure why Barbara doesn’t persist in telling Ian that she has touched the insecticide. Even when she gets the chance towards the episode and she lets the opportunity slide. This might be to prolong some sort of exciting in the final episode.

There’s a shot where the Doctor is climbing up the pipe and he looks exhausted which is either acting or not (cant tell). William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford get to do some good acting together and it’s the first time in a long time since its just been them two. It’s a nice opportunity to see what they were like before Barbara and Ian joined them. It’s a good performance from Ford and even though she’s talked down to by Ian its her interaction with her grandfather that is nice in this episode.

The B-Plot of this story is the DN6 insecticide. Forester has killed Farrow and the thing about Smither is that he is just a slightly less horrible person that Forrester and he’s quite a slow person because he spends most of the episode trying to clean up Farrow’s blood. He also never really wants to get involved in what Forester is doing even though he will benefit from it. It is Forester that is the fun part of this bit of the story and it’s Alan Tilvern that make it fun to watch. Sadly though not much tends to happen in this bit and its good how it tends to have a play like feel with just the two of them.

The cliffhanger is just as barmy as the previous one. The danger in this cliffhanger comes from a sink, as I write this it just seems to get stranger than I ever thought it was. As an episode it seemed to move along at a good pace and the idea of a tiny Doctor and a tiny Barbara is quite an amusing one. It’s clear why they reduced it to three episodes because there isn’t much of a story in four episodes.

Day 43: Planet of Giants: Planet of Giants

The second season of Doctor Who starts with a three part story. It was intended to be a four part but was reduced to three to make it more tighter. If you buy the DVD then you will the truly awful reconstructed episode. This opening episode doenst have to do a reprise so there its not clear just how much time has passed since the last episode. At the start of the episode the doors opening during flight and was quites interesting is that presumably outside is the vortex and yet its basically a white cyclorama. There must have been a worry for the viewers at the time this was transmitted that it was going to be like Inside the Spaceship which of course it isn’t.


There’s a lovely moment when the Doctor apologies to Barbara for being snappy with her. He admits that he loses his manners at stressful moments. This episode sees the return of the fault locator, its days are numbered but it was quite fun to see it. It’s clear that something has happened and when the regulars leave the TARDIS they notice that something isn’t quite right and the natural assumption for the viewer is the that the Giants refer to something else and the regulars are normal height.

It takes just before the half way mark before they figure out that they have been reduced in size. They spot an ant and also the tail end of an earthworm. At this point the story moves to introducing the supporting cast. Well we just get two of them. Mr Forrester is instantly a horrible character. He is behind a new insectide and is more worried about the money he would lose than its affects. I think that Forrester is a wonderful character and Alan Tilvern plays it brilliantly. Forrester kills the government man because he doesn’t give him the result that he wanted. It was a brief but important scene.

Ian is caught in a briefcase and he gets to do some fantastic acting in the briefcase. Not quite sure where you learn that sort of acting but it’s a unintentially funny moment. After Ian gets ‘caught’ Susan becomes a bit too hysterical and its seems like its back to square one. It’s another reason why you can understand what made Carole Ann Ford want to leave the show.

It’s not something that you notice at first but it’s a very small cast. There are only 6 speaking parts including the regulars. It’s a very tight number of characters in this story and that’s always good because it means that people will get more action.

This is an notable episode because it is the first to be worked on by Dudley Simpson who would go on to work on Doctor Who through out the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The cliffhanger is an absolutely barmy one. After being reunited, Susan screams and they all look at an extreme close up of a cat. It’s the only time in the shows history (until Survival 25 years later) where a cat becomes menacing. It’s a good opening episode. It’s clear that the production team felt comfortable to try and do something different because they feel that the audience could suspend their believe and go with the flow. I have always liked this story and it’s a good opening episode.

Day 42: The Reign of Terror - Prisoners of Conciergerie

The final episode of Doctor Who’s first season. It wasn’t the final story to be filmed in this production block but it’s the first season finale in Doctor Who. There’s an awkward moment when they stand around waiting for the captions appear on screen. It could only happen in 1960’s TV. When they do eventually get started its not quite the getting out of the blocks that I would expect from the final part of the story. The first six minutes are made up of just standing around and talking about things that cropped up in the first episode. Once the story gets going the action moves to a pub where Barbara is dressed like a maid and Ian looks like….well I don’t know what like but it’s a funny look.

Napoleon Bonaparte is possibly the biggest historical figure that the show has encountered. It seems like a late addition to include him in as when he does get introduced then the shift of the story seems to change. It’s almost like Dennis Spooner has thrown this in at the last minute because they were worried that the story needed something to keep the story going for 20 minutes.

It’s 20 minutes before Susan appears and its another episode where Susan seems to be given a redundant role. She cant really do much in five minutes and it would have been nice if they had done something else or re-written the script to have Susan at least appear instead of just stagger into the story. Barbara and Ian get the most amount of the action and the Doctor seems to be getting more and more impatient as he waits for Susan to be freed. It’s another episode where the regulars seem to be passengers in the story and allowing the historical figures to do what they need to do.

There is a rather crude map of what I think is France but could have been designed by a five year old. It’s then mixed in with stock footage of a horse and carriage. It seems to be a theme of this story where the production values aren’t quite as good as they normally would be. Even when you consider that the budget wouldn’t have been there even at this stage of the production process, you think that professional integrity was sacrificed

The Destiny is in the stars speech was a lovely way to end the episode. It would be seven weeks before the show returns and I suppose there is no point in doing a cliffhanger because people would have forgotten after nearly two months. As an episode it was slightly better than the previous one because there seemed to be bit more of people moving around. It seems to have halted the decline that there was over the last couple of episodes. As a story it was quite a good one. The first half of the story is stronger because it seemed more active whereas the latter half was just people standing around talking about French politics which with the best will in the world isn’t something that really excities me.



Day 41: The Reign of Terror - A Baragin of Necessity

This is the second episode to be animated. I’m still impressed with how good the animation looks and how it feels part of the episode. It’s great to see how this episode would have looked up. Obviously there are some things that they have probably had to make up but its still animation wise a good episode.


Ian spends the first few minutes of the story tied up after being fooled by Leon there is quite an exciting moment when Ian is saved and it’s a problem with this episode is that its not a particularly memomrable episode. After the initial couple of episodes, it’s a shame that this latter part of the story has essentially been about standing in rooms and trying to win this battle. It’s the problem that comes with historical stories because there is only so much that can be done and when it’s a historical story with aliens then its different but with a pure historical there is a pretty strict course of events and you cant really do much.

Another problem with this story is that there is a lot of nothing happening. The best that we get is Leon’s death leading to a moral debate between Ian and Barbara and their difference of opinion about how to feel about Leon. It’s different from what they were like in the early part of this story. Carole Ann Ford may as well have not bothered turning up because she wasn’t given very much to do as all we do see of her is her face through the bars of the cell door and then she tries to escape the jail and gets stopped. In fact this episode sees the lion share of the action given to the supporting cast which isn’t something that has happened before but the performances were all quite good.

The title refers to the deal that the Doctor does with Lemaitre. He has to as he says otherwise Susan wont be released and that would be the only reason that the Doctor would help him. Hartnell seems to be still having fun in his current role. It’s a shame that he will have to go back to his old garb because it’s a brilliant site and seems more eccentric than his old one and more in line with the other outfits.

The cliffhanger was another good one and was probably the most exciting part of the episode. The Doctor arrives back at Jules Renan’s house accompanied with Lemaitre and Renan claims that the Doctor has betrayed them. It’s a fair assumption based on what they see and it will be interesting to see how the Doctor gets himself out of this. Hopefully the final episode will redeem this because the last couple of episodes have felt a bit stagnant and what this story deserves is a cracking finale because its not just the final episode of the story but it’s the final episode of the season.

Day 40: The Reign of Terror - The Tyrant of France

The fourth episode of this story is the first animated one of the release. Up until this was released on DVD, all we had was the audio version and a narrated version on VHS. So this was the first time that we would get to see what this episode was like when it was first transmitted in August 1964. The cliffhanger from the previous episode saw the shopkeeper say that he’s got evidence of the traitor and shows the Doctor’s ring. The Doctor tries a nice bit if diplomatic diplomacy with Robespierre (Keith Anderson). It’s good how Hartnell seems to be having fun in this episode and its good how despite Robespierre being quite an important part of the story, the Doctor doesn’t really have much respect for him.


William Russell has come off holiday so he is back to being in the thick of the action. His return is rather dramatic after being bought in by Jules. After being out of it pretty much for a fortnight, it’s a shame that he doesn’t really do much except talk and sit down or the course of this episode.

Susan is getting worse and its deducted that Susan caught something whilst in prison. This means that Carole Ann Ford’s involvement is somewhat limited. The partnership between Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill is again quite good in this episode. Carole Ann Ford has been given a nice run of episodes where she hasn’t been a whiney schoolkid. Ok so she’s playing been unwell but its better than acting like a four year old. When the Psychian is treating Susan its clear that he’s making a quick exit so that he can report them to the Jailer. At least Susan and Barbara saw it coming straight away and were hampered by a locked door. However they are soon caught and end up back in prison. It seems like it’s a way of extending the story a bit because the whole thing about this episode is that it’s a lot of nothing happening. There’s a nice moment when Barbara and the Doctor are reunited. It’s a lovely little moment and a rare one of happiness. I always think about the early episodes of this series when the relationship as a lot more frosty than it is now and how they have all mellowed and become friends over the course of the series.

The shopkeeper who has news about the traitor is in one cell whilst the Doctor manages to dodge him (unknowingly). It creates a bit of tension about whether the keeper will be able to point out the Doctor as the traitor. Just as it looks like he is about to leave he is stopped by the jailer. It would be rude not to mention something about the animation. It’s the second story so far that has had lost episodes animated and this one was several years after the last lot and the style of the drawing matches the mood of the story and was very good to watch.

The cliffhanger was rather good as Ian was being set up and ended up being captured by Leon and his guards. With Barbara and the Doctor being reunitd and Susan bound to get better its just typical that someone is prevented from making it a proper reunion. It’s not been the most exciting episode as it was a lot of sitting down and talking and not much else happening. The only thing that makes this episode worth watching is seeing the very good animation.

Day 39: The Reign of Terror - A Change of Identity

I commented on the poor cliffhanger from ‘Guests of Madame Guillotine’ where Ian looks slightly shocked to see Barbara and Suasn on their way to the guillotine. The directors have a choice of either replaying the cliffhanger or do it again live but give it a slightly different emphasis to it and it would have been nice if Henric Hirsch had done this but no we don’t get that we get to see the lacklustre ending. The Doctor finally reaches Paris which is a good studio set. Whilst Ian is in a cell and Barbara and Susan are being taken from pillar to post, the Doctor spends a lot of time in this episode to walking around and getting dressed. He walks into a clothes shop and despite having no money, he arranges for a clothes swap. Hartnell really goes for 11 on the comedy front when he goes into the conciergerie as a regency officer. It’s the first time that Hartnell has had a change of costumes in 39 episodes. It’s a fantastic costume and Hartnell plays the role well

This is the second week that William Russell is on holiday and his presence - is maintained by some more pre-filmed stuff. He uses his chance to breakout by removing the key from the big set that the jailer left when it got stuck and his attention was diverted. All his scenes don’t actually have any dialogue which I think is a bit strange but Russell does well with them and manages to make them fit in what the rest of the story. There’s a nice shoot-out that takes place and despite it being brief it was rather well done and it leads to Barbara and Susan being freed/captured again.

Danielle is the first female supporting character that we have encountered in this story which is strange considering we are into episode 3 of this story. She is the person who seems to be more of friend to Susan and Barbara. Susan becomes ill in this episode and it at first looks like fatigue but by the end of the episode it looks like it’s something a bit more serious. Carole Ann Ford has been allowed to settle down after her hysterics from ‘A Land of Fear’ and Ford puts in a good performance in this episode. Jacqueline Hill doesn’t really do very much in the story as she is playing mother to Susan and it’s a shame really because Hill deserves better.

Jules (played by Donald Morely) is a very likeable person and vows to Barbara to get Ian out of the Conciergerie. It shows the despite the possibility of being killed, he is willing to get people out even when he doesn’t know them and must know that they aren’t French. Jean (Roy Herrick) is also a likeable person but is outshone by Jules. It’s good to have characters in this story that are nice and are there to be supportive to the regulars as it makes the story less bleak than it could have been.

The sets are really good in this episode and again Roderick Laing has done a good job. I thought that the home of Jules and Jean was lit in a good way as it wasn’t overdone and the candles help create the right atmosphere. It’s a very small set and almost has a theatre feel to it. After the

The cliffhanger is very interesting. The shopkeeper shows the Doctors ring and says that its evidence against the traitor. It’s much better than the one we got in the Guests of Madame Guillotine. The whole episode felt better than the previous two. If you watch the documentary about this story you will know that this is the episode that there was a bit of a problem with the director Henric Hirsch who became ill during the recording and none of that shows in the story and the story continues to tick along nicely.

Day 38: The Reign of Terror - Guests of Madam Guillotine

We get a map and a caption to indicate we are in Paris and a brief cliff of the guillotine and another picture to show us some more. Sometimes the small budget is evident and in this brief moment it shows. This is the first of two episodes where William Russell doesn’t appear except in pre-filmed scenes as he was on holiday during this time. His scene in this episode was very good and he and Jeffrey Wickham (Webster) should be applauded for this all too short moment. This is where all the regulars are split up and this is where they have to go on their various plot strands.


There is a weird scene where someone of authority is talking directly to the camera as if Barbara and Susan are in front of him. It’s another quite good piece of directing from Henric Hirsch. It then leads to them being put into prison where Ian has been put in a cell just moments earlier. The Doctor was last seen in the house burning and somehow he was rescued by the young boy that he was a bit rude to in the previous episode. He goes on his journey to Paris and gets caught up in a little bit of drama where he is force to work mending the road. Thankfully it just takes place in this episode and doesn’t spill into the next one. The way that the Doctor bashes the Road Works overseer (as he’s credited) is quite a surprising moment and one that I wouldn’t have expected from the Doctor. It must have been someone in the production office to make sure that the guy was just sleeping as it was quite a violent moment.

This episode is sees another first as its the first time that there has been some outside location. It is of the Doctor walking through a field and along a path going to Paris. It isn’t William Hartnell of course (its Brian Proudfoot) but its still a nice moment in the shows history as it. It’s complimented by some music that sounds like its from the period.

Barbara and Susan are locked together whilst Ian gets a cell to himself. They really get the lions share of the stuff to do in this 25 minutes. They notice how they have always managed to get out and Susan rather pessimistically notes that they always had Ian and/or the Doctor with them. Susan talks about things catching up with you and it hindsight it seems like it’s another indication of Susan’s impending departure and even though I know this isn’t the case it’s still fun to think of RTD or Steven Moffat style story arc in action here. Susan is all doom and gloom in this episode though despite this they are a very good double act and Jacqueline Hill puts in another great performance.

The jailer is a comedy character as despite how rough he looks he is still quite an amusing sight in this episode. Even when he’s sending Barbara and Susan to the guillotine it doesn’t quite carry the menace that it could and maybe should have done. We get more of him and its Dennis Spooner’s comedic writing that has meant we get a slightly comedic figure in what is a very dark and grim story.

The cliffhanger is simply Ian reacting to seeing Barbara and Susan at the gallows. It’s a bit understated and I think it could be been handled better. It’s not William Russell’s fault as he did the best that he could but its wasn’t the most exciting ending to an episode that there has ever been.

Day 37: The Reign of Terror - A Land of Fear

The Reign of Terror is the final story of the first series and its another pure historical adventure. It’s the most recent historical story that the TARDIS has visited so far. It’s also the one where there is a greater sense that the regulars are in peril. In the previous episode, the Doctor was throwing a hissy fit after Ian cracked a joke. The opening scene sees Susan get over emotional about the impending departure and whilst its obviously sad that they would be apart it seems that Susan forgot that Ian and Barbara didn’t plan on being a part of the TARDIS crew and all the adventures that they have been on was never going to change that.


I like how confident the Doctor is about getting the TARDIS back to earth considering that its taken 37 episodes to get even this close to 1963. Even Ian isn’t getting his hopes up. It’s nice that once Ian realises that they aren’t where the Doctor thought they were, he isn’t disappointed. Though thatt’s short lived when he realises that they are in the middle of the French Revolution or The Reign of Terror as Barbara calls it. The Reign of Terorr is the Doctor’s favourite period in Earth’s history. Not quite sure why but everyone has their quirks.

To me the best performances came from William Russell and Jacqueline Hill. Individually they are strong but when they are working together then they are even better. I like how they work together to manipulate the Doctor to come out with them instead of just leaving them and going off into time and space. Then they are simply great throughout the episode. Carole Ann Ford has a ropey start but once they are at the house then she improves greatly whilst William Hartnell doesn’t really do much in this episode and his best contribution comes when he gets knocked out.

The boy that Ian grabs sees some unusual reactions from Barbara and Susan. Barbara reckons Ian is hurting the boy by just grabbing him by his shirt and Susan has a go at the Doctor for scaring him. I don’t think that Ian was particularly hard with him and the Doctor was just been himself yet that didn’t seem to make any difference to the ladies.

The sets are a mixed lot. The woodland scenes at the beginning are somewhat disappointing yet the abandoned house they come across is very impressive. Obviously they decided to spend the money where it would be of most use. The house looks exactly as it is meant to and yet it still looks quite spacious in what was probably a tiny studio. Credit to Roderick Laing for what he has done here.

It’s not long before they are captured and they are separated with the Doctor being knocked out whilst the others are taken away. The cliffhanger is a good one as it sees the Doctor in the strange position of being burned to death. It’s made even more effective with the camera focusing in on the flames of the house before panning upwards with the highest flames appearing on screen just to remind us of the Doctor’s peril.

It’s directed rather well by Henric Hirsch. There are some interesting shots and the story moves along at a snappy pace considering that the story takes place in just the one location but its still very enjoyable and it sets up the rest of the serial very well.

Day 36: The Sensorites - A Desperate Venture

The final episode has to finish the story in a satisfactory way. Carol is forced to write a note saying that she is going up to the ship but it doesn’t fool Barbara, Susan and John. Barbara finally returns and she seems to stroll right back into the action. It is clear that Jacqueline Hill has been somewhere sunny as she looks a lot more tanned than she did the last time we saw her. The spaceship must have quite the tanning booth. I like the moment when the First Elder tries to reassure Susan that no danger will come to Ian and the Doctor and then it cuts to them realising that the guns they have are useless as is the map that they were given.


After the rather atmospheric lighting that was used for some of the earlier tunnel scenes, it’s sad to notice that they lighting has been bought up a bit. Not enough to ruin it but noticeably enough. It would have helped the scene work if the lights were turned down as the sets did look quite ordinary. The Doctor and Ian encounter someone from the crashed ship. I was personally expecting just one or two people but what we get here are several of them. They are the ones that have been poisoning the Sensorites. They have been living in the caves so that the Sensorites don’t read their minds. They look like an erratic bunch.

We get our first ever reference to the Doctor and Susan’s home world. It’s a lovely description and the look on Susan’s face shows how she really wants to be back there. Then in the final scene in the TARDIS sees Susan wanting to belong somewhere seems to start the path of her departure.

There’s a nice bit of teamwork between Ian and the Doctor. Everytime there is a moment like this I am reminded of their first encounters which were anything but friendly. The partnership of John and Barbara was good as well. I thought that this was another good episode for Susan as she was quite important in the story and normally her being side-lined would have been perfectly fine because she would be annoying but here its different because she’s being used in a good way and actually contributing something. Quite why it could have been the other way around isn’t quite clear but it wouldn’t have changed how well they all worked.

When Ian and the Doctor encounter the leader of the group there is an attempt to convince them that they have won their war against the Sensorites. They had gone made and this is what led them to try and poison the Sensorites and they believed that they were at war. The humans were stunned and they disappeared onto the ship. That was basically how it ended.

There are several instances of people fluffing their lines. No one seems to be immune to a bit of fluffing. I’m not sure for the reason and normally its not really an issue but here there seems to be so much that it almost becomes amusing. The ending of the episode sees the Doctor throwing a hissy fit after the Doctor makes a joke about the Doctor not knowing where they are going and this just moments after he admits that the TARDIS has a mind of its own.

I must admit that I was slightly disappointed with this episode as I don’t think that the story gave the ending that it should have done. It seemed like they should have spent more time with the humans in the tunnel because it seems like so much time waiting to get to this moment that when they turned up it seemed rushed. The performances were good and its was nice to have Jacqueline Hill back in the story. As a six part adventure I still like it for the reasons I did when I first saw it. It’s got some good characters and some atmospheric moments. Well worth the time and effort.

Day 35: The Sensorites - Kidnap

The reprise is noticeably different from what we saw at the end of the previous episode. The question still remains as to what is causing that noise. I’m surprised at how dimly lit the tunnel scenes are. What makes it more striking is when the camera is focused on Ian and Susan we hear the Doctor scream out in terror which is something that I never thought I would witness. The early stages of the episode are quite exiciting and it’s down to the lighting and also the performances from the regulars. This is the second episode that Jacqueline Hill doesn’t appear though they do at least mention Barbara. At least they have remembered there is someone else in the group though they don’t actually mention Maitland which is a shame because the character was a good one and what he went through a lot with Carol yet isn’t regarded very highly as we don’t hear from him again.

John is still undergoing treatment in what looks like the weirdest hairdryer in existence. This means that John isn’t really allowed to do very much which is a shame really after he was so strong in the early episodes. Carol also suffers from not having a great deal to do as she has to play nurse to John. When John recovers you can tell this has happened because his hair is normal and now he is better his involvement is more important. He can reveal the City Administrator/Second Elder as the traitor.

The City Administrator really takes a leap in the utterly nasty stakes. His fear of the humans is getting to be quite silly (but in a good way). When the real Second Elder is killed by the City Administrator it looks like his plan has gone up the spout but the City Administrator comes up with a new plan on the spot. It led to the Doctor suggesting that the City Administrator becomes Second Elder. It’s not long before the regulars realise that they made a mistake by suggesting the City Administrator be promoted but by then its too late. It’s not long before the Doctor and Ian go back to the acquaduct but thanks to the new Second Elder the weapons they have don’t work all we see from them for this episode. The cliffhanger actually features Carol who is walking around the city and a hand (clearly a sensorite) covers up her mouth and pulls out of shot. This is a good cliffhanger and quite a shocking one considering it’s a family show. It’s another solid episode as it feels like things are starting to move to a climax with John getting better and the City Administrator/Second Elder’s plans taking strength, the final episode has a lot to live up to and my enjoyment in this episode was quite high.

Day 34: The Sensorites - A Race Against Death

This is the first time that Jacqueline Hill hasn’t featured at any point in an episode. Barbara is still on the spaceship and with Ian sick for most of the episode. He’s up on his feet by the end of the episode but he’s not 100%. The race against death that the title suggests is more of a sprint as its dealt with relatively quickly and Ian is up and about by the 2/3 mark. The Doctor is quick to figure out what might be causing Ian’s encounter with the floor.


The First Elder is quite trusting of the humans yet the Second Elder isn’t so keen. There is a nice split with some wanting to work with the humans and let them have what they need whilst some think that they shouldn’t be allowed this courtesy. It’s an interesting bit of conflict and it plays out well in the episode. The City Administrator jokes about not being able to tell the humans apart and that they don’t carry any signs of position. This is a theme of the episode and it is Carol that gives the city administrator a way of tricking the humans. The City Administrator works quick to come up with a plan.

William Hartnell seems to be in his prime in this episode as he goes from being angry at the First and Second Elders but then progresses to being the scientist. It’s good when the Doctor isn’t just satisfied with finding a cure but finding out the source of the problem and goes on an expedition. As William Russell is playing the patient for most of the episode it falls to Carole Ann Ford to be one of the people driving the story and she does it well and the partnership between Hartnell and Ford is one of the best things about this episode.

There is a nice montage where they are trying to find out where the poisoned water is coming from. It’s not something that we have seen before but it helps pass the time.

The City Administrator stages a coup d'etat when he steals the sash of the First Elder after he goes on a rant about the Doctor pretending to look for a cure and Ian pretending to be ill. He also manages to intercept the antidote. Now this could have led to another episode of trying to find the cure but its quickly resolved and it doesn’t hold up the story. It’s strange that with so little really happening the episode moves along at a good pace.

The last part of the story sees the Doctor venture into the caverns where he starts to suspect that this isn’t just a case of water poisoning. There is a myth about there being monsters in the caverns. The Doctor is rather blasé about these so called monsters and so goes straight into the darkness without so much as a care in the world.

The cliffhanger is a cracker. The Doctor is in a very dimly lit tunnel and comes across a possible conclusion to his mission and the light focuses on his face as he is ‘looking’ at a roar. Who knows what is making that noise. This story is impressing me just as much as it did when I have watched it in one go in the past.

Day 33: The Sensorites - Hidden Danger

The start of the episode sees the regulars trying to prevent Susan from going with the Sensorites. There is a nice moment of the Doctor, Susan and Barbara are teaming against Susan. We get the first bit of proper friction between the Doctor and Susan. It’s the first time that Susan has defied her grandfather and it causes the Doctor to be angry in a way that we haven’t really seen before. Ian thinks that Susan has been hypnotised by the Sensorites but Barbara tells him that she’s just growing up. Considering that she’s an alien and they haven’t really talked about alien things how would Barbara know she’s growing up.


The Doctor has another reason why he doesn’t like the Sensorites and that’s because he feels they are turning his granddaughter against him. It doesn’t really last long but it seems to be the reason why everybody goes to the sense-sphere. There is a plot contrivance to explain Jacqueline Hill’s holiday and that is she is staying up with Maitland whilst everyone else goes to the sense-sphere.

We get to learn about why the Sensorites aren’t quite trusting of humans. Due to a previous human encounter the Sensorites on their planet are dying. It makes the reason why the Sensorites do what they do more understanding and you can sympathise with them. We finally get to see something other than the spaceship and we get to encounter more Sensorites. A downside the characters show themselves in this story as we get to see their feet. They look like ducks feet.

The sets for the Sensorites is quite good. It’s a lot brighter than the spaceship and so it is a nice warming place to visit. The sets are done so that it feels like a big place and not just a couple of sets put next to each other. There is a sense of scale and its good to get out of the confines of the spaceship.

They all look the same as the only difference is the black sash that some of them wear. Otherwise there is no way of telling them apart which is going to be difficult but there is a minor difference because some are a bit portly and some are slimmer.

It’s good that the Sensorites are just as distrusting to people that they don’t know just like humans can be. This fear is something that runs through the episode quite blatantly and it’s not something that’s been explored like this before. John has the ability to tell who is evil and who isn’t and despite not really being in the episode that much his involvement is quite good and he’s been the most consistent thing in the story.

No sooner have the humans arrived than someone is trying to kill them. The city administrator is going all the way to try and kill the humans. Just when it looks like that the regulars are going to kill them they are stopped by the First Elder. However it’s just seems to delay the inevitable as Ian becomes ill. After moments of coughing he just stands up and collapses to the floor and we are told he is dying.

It’s a really good cliffhanger as it puts Ian in genuine danger. Unlike in the Aztecs when he was in the tunnel filled with water I think if I were watching this for the first time then I would wonder whether Ian was going to make it. I thought that the episode was a transitional one as we move from the spaceship to the Sensorites home world and its good that there seems like a purpose to it but also a genuine meance. Best episode of the stry.

Day 32: The Sensorites - The Unwilling Warriors

After the great clifhanger in ‘Strangers in Space’ we get our first proper glimpse of the Sensorites. It’s just as well that this story was made in black and white because I think in colour they don’t quite have the same impact that they do in monochrome. Something I never commented on in the cliffhanger was how I liked that out of the Doctor, Ian, Maitland and Carol. It was only Ian that walked around like he was the most mentally strongest of the four.


There is a moment when John is talking to thin air but he is looking just to the side of the camera. It’s a nice moment. Stephen Dartnell gives a superb performance and it helps add to the tension. It’s good who they have turned the one person who has been affected the most by the Sensorites and as a result is more strange, is the one that they turn to for help. They are still using that stupid little laser blaster to get through the door. Still cant believe they are using something so ridiculously small.

Barbara and Susan continue to be a good double act in the early part of this episode. Working together to calm John down. Susan is the one that comes up with the idea of telepathy and talks about a previous adventure that they have. She talks about the planet Esto. Susan’s involvement in this story is becoming stronger and its nice to see Susan to become better written for after the inconsistent recent episodes.

There is a nice theory about why the Sensorites are doing what they are doing and why John’s hair has turned white. Ian surmises that John has discovered something and they are trying to stop him or the team from going down to the sense-sphere. It’s all down to fear and that they don’t want the humans to go back to earth and bring other to ravage their world. When its explained you sort of understand why they have felt the need to act the way they have and it explains why they don’t actually harm them even though they are effectively kept prisoner.

Ian’s first encounter with the Sensorites is a good one as he is prepared to get violent if he needs to. It’s perhaps the downside of being the action hero of the group that he instantly resorts to this instead of trying to talk and reason with them. William Russell is good in this episode and has some good scenes. As does William Hartnell who’s best moment comes when he is standing up to the Sensorites. It was quite interesting to note that in the previous episode he was having a go a Maitland for the laser being so slow on the door yet in this episode he is a lot more calmer because he understand that anger leaves them open to attack.

Mervyn Pinfield’s direction is very good as he keeps it very tense for large parts of the story. At times it feels claustrophobic and Raymond Cusick does a good job in creating some good sets. The lighting was another thing that helped to create a wonderful spaceship and that credit goes to Peter Murray who keeps it light in the main control room but when it came to the corridor and the sleeping quarters it is a different matter and the lighting makes it look menacing.

We get the first proper encounter between the humans and the Sensorites. The Sensorites want them to stay on the sense-sphere where they will live there until they die but the humans don’t want that and there is a nice moment when the Doctor uses his anger to hurt the Sensorites.

Susan’s telepathy comes into proper use towards the end when the Sensorites contact her directly. Apparently the Sensorites and Susan work out a plan that leads to her going with the Sensorites and the humans surviving. It comes out of the blue and that is what makes it a good cliffhanger. The episode as a whole was good because it continued the atmospheric tension that we saw in the first episode and didn’t just put it to one side now that the introduction episode is out of the way but instead built on it. This story is just as good as I remember thinking the first time I saw it.



Day 31: The Sensorites - Strangers in Space

The Sensorites is one of those stories that when I first saw it was bowled over by. It’s another long story but written by Peter R Newman and my advise to anyone reading this would be to buy the DVD and watch the documentary about him as its one of the saddest and most impressive documentaries that I remember seeing on a Doctor Who DVD. There is a mystery about whether they have landed or not. There is a nice moment when they talk about how they have all changed since that very first episode. Amazingly its been eight months since the series started and its almost like they are reminiscing with the audience about how far they have all come since that very first episode .The moment where they walk from the TARDIS into the spaceship control room was a nice bit of continuity.

It seems like the two people they encounter are dead and its quite a sombre opening. After accepting the fact that they are dead there is a surprising moment when the chap starts to move. It turns out that they were in a deep sleep.

The woman is called Carol and the man is called Maitland and their story is that the ship is by a planet called the Sense-sphere. They don’t kill them but actually go to the trouble feeding them. They don’t sound like your typical alien. It’s at this moment that we learn that Susan has telepathic abilities. It starts when she senses something. This isn’t really given much time to settle in our minds but its enough to encourage the regulars to leave and go back to the TARDIS. The taking of the lock seems like another excuse to prevent the regulars from leaving. It’s similar to what was used in ‘The Keys of Marinus’. When Barbara smells something burning I don’t get why they don’t think to check the TARDIS or how they could miss the Sense-sphere taking the lock of the TARDIS. It’s not that great a distance to the TARDIS.

The first shot of the Sense-sphere isn’t a good one as its clearly a glove. It’s good that we don’t get a good full look of them. All we get is a glove and their head. By not showing us the full creature its making the viewer want to seem them all that much more.

There is regular mention of a third member of the crew called John. He seemed to be the worst affected by what the Sensorites have been doing and seems to be lurking around parts of the ship that Maitland and Carol don’t go to. In fact they don’t seem to have any urge to look for him until they realise that Susan and Barbara are missing. This is when the story starts to get going because it becomes very tense and atmospheric. It is Barbara and Susan that get separated and are the first to encounter John. He doesn’t exactly come out of it very well. Both Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill do very well in this story.

There’s a fun moment when they are trying to get through a door to get to Susan and Barbara with the smallest device ever. It wouldn’t get you into a can of beans let alone a door.

The cliffhanger was brilliant and it was the first time since An Unearthly Child: Episode 1 that I was genuinely stunned by what I saw. It was a Sensorite popping up into the window and its must have been great to think what was going to happen in the next episode. Despite not much happening in this episode I still enjoyed it. I thought the introduction of Carol and Maitland were good additions and helped interact with the regulars. A good opening episode.

Day 30: The Aztecs - The Day of Darkness

The final episode starts with us being reminded that Ian is facing almost certain death from drowning. There is a nice montage of Ian climbing through the tunnels and what I found funny was when he exited the tunnel it was right under the tomb of Yetaxa that we saw way back in the first episode. Tlotoxl does quite have the same fire about him than he did in previous episodes. He gets better as the episode progresses but in the early part he is a bit less menacing than he had been.

William Hartnell is very good in this episode as we get to see a side to him that we haven’t seen before and its not just once that this happens but several times. We get one final scene between the Doctor and Cameca. It’s lovingly played by Margot Van der Burgh and William Hartnell. Then there is the moment where Cameca talks about staying by the Doctor’s side and the Doctor knows it cant happen. Then there is a lovely moment when the Doctor runs in to tell Barbara that Ian is dead and he pops out and the relive in the Doctor’s voice is very moving.

The main thing about this episode is that they have to try and get back into the TARDIS and now they know how to get back there is just the small matter of trying to get everyone in the same place without getting caught by Tlotoxl or Tonila. I really like the moment when Ian pops up behind Ixta and deals him a humiliating blow. It’s good because you feel like Ixta was just Tlotoxl’s whipping boy and his demise was more satisfying. John Ringham and Ian Cullen have been a good double act. Ringham in particular has been the star of the story with the maddest face paint that I’ve ever seen.

It’s so good that Susan is back and the Carole Ann Ford has returned from holiday. It means that she gets involved in the story. It’s the most active that she has been and the bonus has been over the four episodes is that Susan has been more mature than she otherwise has been. Barbara seems to have lost some of the fight of recent episodes. Jacqueline Hill still gives a dignified performance and you could believe that she could be a goddess.

Autloc is willing to help Cameca break Ian and Susan out of ‘prison’. I have always like Autloc in these four episodes and Barbara’s sadness about how his fortunes have ended up is the one that the viewer should have. Keith Pyott has given a wonderful performance. Margot Van der Burgh was someone else that gave a loving performance and worked very well with William Hartnell.

There is a really good fight that takes place in this episode between Ian and Ixta. It feels like they are going at it and that they aren’t being restricted. It was a well cherographed scene and the ending was probably not the ending I was expecting with Ixta falling to his death. The moment when Ian takes off his helmet and looks out at presumably the dead Ixta there looked like there was a small chance that Ian was going to say something flippant but thankfully he doesn’t as it would have demeaned what had just happened and not something that Ian would have done.

There is a great scene between Barbara and the Doctor about what the point of going into history if they cant change anything. It’s the main problem with travelling in history on the show is that you cant really do anything to what happens and its addressed well in this story.

The Doctor puts something that Cameca gave him next to Yetaxa and then starts to walk away towards the TARDIS before changing his mind and picking it up almost annoyed with himself for being a sentimental fool. The end of the episode is a bit of a mystery because the TARDIS instruments say that the TARDIS has landed but other instruments say that it is still travelling. The tease for the viewer would be to find out exactly what was going on. It’s a good cliffhanger. What it lacked in drama it made up for mystery and I liked it. As an episode I think that it was the weakest of the four, it felt rather like they were going through the motions and just passing time until they could all go back into the TARDIS set. Had it not been for the Doctor/Cameca storyline being as sad as it was then I would have felt that this was a total let down. Over the four part adventure the story was as good as I remember the first time I ever saw it. I thought that the characters were all well written with Tlotoxl being the best character in the story. This was definitely Barbara’s story and Jacqueline Hill did well with it and it’s a pure historical story that I rank as one of the best.

Day 29: The Aztecs - The Bride of Sacrifice

The penultimate episode sees things start to step up a gear. At the end of the previous episode we saw Tlotoxl gaud Barbara into trying to save Ian. The way that Barbara gets over Tlotoxl demand is quite clever. She puts a knife against his throat to stop Ixta. I thought that this was a great moment for Barbara and its quite a surprising moment where a regular is doing such as an aggressive act. There is a nice scene between Barbara and Autloc where she is trying to convince him that sacrifices aren’t needed. You can tell that Autloc is conflicted because he knows there is something not quite right but he cant quite face to go against Yetaxa.


The Doctor and Tlotoxl have a good scene where the Doctor basically tells Tlotoxl that if he wants proof that Barbara is a false goddess then they need to open up the tomb. It’s the first proper scene that the two have had together and it’s a good scene. John Ringham continues to put in a great performance as Tlotoxl and he takes the next step into madness when Tlotoxl plans to poison Barbara to prove she is a false goddess. Tlotoxl is like a dog with a bone as he is obsessed with proving the Barbara isn’t Yetaxa. Barbara admits that to Ytoxl that she isn’t the real Yetaxa. It was good that she finally admitted it. I think that this moment took place at the right time. The scene where Barbara is to drink the poison is good because had it not been for Ian then Barbara would have died and she subtlety manages to call Tlotoxl’s bluff by getting him to drink it and when he shows sign of reluctant then Barbara knows that its true.

The Doctor is very funny in this episode and it centres around his budding romance with Cameca. Unaware that cocoa has such meanings he offers to make her a drink. This leads to us learning that the Doctor has gotten engaged. The reaction when the Doctor is told by Cameca the look on his face is priceless. When Ian finds out it’s the first time that he has smiled since this story began. It’s a bit of humour in an otherwise sombre setting. The only time that the Doctor becomes serious is towards the end but its nice to see Hartnell showing his (dare I say it) human side and being quite normal.

There is another pre-filmed scene with Susan as Carole Ann Ford was still on holiday. She is still against the idea of being married to someone she doesn’t know. It’s a shame that Carole Ann Ford was on holiday as this is basically all she does in this story and it would have been nice had she had something more substantial. Though she did have a wonderful moment where she is looking to the side of the camera and is calling out for her grandfather. It’s well played by Ford.

They finally gain access to the tunnel that leads from the garden however it isn’t long before Ixta puts the stone back. There is a nice moment where Ixta is looking at the Doctor with a ‘we both know Ian is dead’. It’s a well directed scene as it means that they have to turn down the lights and that twinned with it being in black and white means that its very atmospheric. This leads to Ian being trapped as the waters are rising leading to the very real possibility of him drowning and it’s a great cliffhanger.

It was another very strong episode with some good performances from the regulars and the supporting actors. The action moves along at a nice pace and the story is interesting enough so that we forget about the slightly dodgy background cloths which really let the side down a bit. The final episode is going to compliment this story. Lucarotti has written a story which I think is stronger than ‘Marco Polo’.

Day 28: The Aztecs - The Warriors of Death

The episode starts off with the wonderful reprise of Tlotoxl looking directly at the screen. The reprise leads directly into a wonderful scene between the Doctor and Barbara where the Doctor berates Barbara for interfering in the sacrifice. The Doctor keeps chipping away at Barbara and its not long before Barbara breaks down and its at that point that the Doctor relents. They soon seem to make up quite quickly and by the end they are back to being friends again however the feud between Tlotoxl and Barbara continues. John Ringham is superb as Tlotoxl and every time he’s on screen I love the story that bit more.

I liked the scene between Autloc, Ian and Ixta with Ian winning a quick battle against Ixta by using his thumb. Ixta is going to use the fact that the Doctor doesn’t know that Ian will have to fight Ixta and the Doctor unknowingly helps him to defeat Ian. This nice bit of deception is what I like about Ixta because it shows that he is a cunning character and that he is smart. The budding romance between the Doctor and Cameca is quite fun to witness. Cameca believes there is true love but the Doctor is naïve to it and is only interested in gaining access to the tomb. I do feel sorry for Cameca because she is lovingly played by Margot Van der Burgh that it makes the Doctor seem slightly cruel with what he’s doing. Barbara is showing signs of disliking her current promotion. She feels the weight of pressure from Tlotoxl and trying to keep Autloc on his side.

Susan only appears in a pre-filmed sequence as she becomes the second of the regulars to go on holiday during the story. In the brief scene she turns down the idea of an arranged marriage. Despite only being in this short scene it somehow helps add to the troubles of Barbara.

The latter half of the story is the build up to the fight between Ixta and Ian and it’s a good moment because we know what’s going to happen things are going well for Ian until the Doctor distracts him by telling him to not let Ixta scratch him which of course is what happens. The next few minutes are a well cheorographed fight when Ian is slowly getting weaker. William Russell is very good in this episode because he’s having to do something that he doesn’t really want to do but we all know he can do.

There is a lot of looking directly at the camera. Starting with Tlotoxl at the beginning there are a few moments where someone spends time looking if not directly then roughly in its direction. It’s a well directed episode with some good camera shots though there are moments where its clear that the background is a cloth.

The cliffhanger is a good one as it involves Tlotoxl. He is demanding that Barbara saves Ian and this leads to a wonderful thing about how Barbara will get round this. It was a good ending to a good episode. The whole build up to the fight was well done and everyone was on good form and this story is slowly taking shape. I’ve always liked this story and these past two episodes have done nothing to make me change my mind.

Day 27: The Aztecs - The Temple of Evil

The Aztecs: The Temple of Evil is another historical story and its another written by John Lucarotti. I remember the first time that I ever saw this story and was extremely impressed with it and continue to be so. The TARDIS has gone from the futuristic Marinus to 15^th Century Earth. The first shot is of a skeleton which suggests the tone of the next four episodes. The TARDIS has landed in the tomb of Yetaxa. There is a nice scene with Barbara and Susan where Barbara shows that she has an interest in the Aztecs. During the examination of the tomb, Barbara puts on a bracelet which doesn’t seem to be of any importance and its only when Barbara leaves the tomb that its importance becomes evident. Barbara is discovered by Autloc and we learn that only Yetaxa can wear the bracelet and so Autloc assumes that Barbara is the reincarnation of Yetaxa. Autloc is the high priest and is low on intelligence. When he first appears he doesn’t come across as a particular impressive and he doesn’t ooze warmth.

Another character that we are introduced to is Tlotoxl. He is introduced brilliantly with him swinging his head towards the camera. Ian wonderfully describes him as ‘the local butcher’. Tlotoxl is brilliantly played by John Ringham who is clearly going to be this stories version of Tegana. He is clearly the stories strong (and amusing villain).

The Doctor is very amusing when he’s trying to pretend that Barbara is Yetaxa. The Doctor has a relatively light episode as he is farmed out to the garden. The Doctor has to spend time in a retirement garden where we are introduced to Cameca who is the love interest for the Doctor. She isn’t just there to make up the numbers and she’s well played by Margot Van der Burgh.

There’s an odd moment where the Doctor wanders to far into the scene where he is blocked by Barbara’s gigantic headgear. Apart from that this opening episode is well directed by John Crockett who returns after directing episode 4 of John Lucarotti’s ‘Marco Polo’ (The Wall of Lies).

Ian is draughted into to being a fighter which is suitable to his action man image. Ixta is the main fighter and his involvement will grow in future episodes but even here he is someone that shouldn’t be trusted. The fight scenes are quite good even though there isn’t much too much that they would be allowed to do. Ian has to hold down the person who is about to be sacrificed. Here there is a nice bit of anguish for Ian who clearly doesn’t want to do it but has to.

Barbara wants to stop sacrifices. Barbara thinks that the people who are sacrificed do not want to but when she stops the sacrifice, the man is miffed that she has denied him honour and he kills himself. Moments later there is rain and the conflict between Yetaxa and Yetoxal begins. He sees Barbara as a false goddess and when she stops the sacrifice this only intensifies this doubt.

This story sees one of the greatest lines in the shows history. “You cant rewrite history, not one line!” It forms the basic theme of the story and the Doctor spends most of the story trying to tell her of this fact yet she wont listen.

We never see the crowd but just here them. The fact we only hear them cheer is a slight disappointment as it would have been nice to have heard rumblings.

The cliffhanger was a good one as Tlotoxl looks towards the camera and says he will destroy her. Ok so its not the most exciting cliffhanger in the history of the show its still a good way to end the show. This is a good opening episode where we have a wonderful idea of what the story will be and we also have several strong characters.

Day 26: The Keys of Marinus - The Keys of Marinus

The final part of this story has to do two things and do it in only 25 minutes. At the end of the previous episode, Susan have been kidnapped by someone. With Susan out of the picture at the beginning and Ian in custody, it falls to Barbara, Sabetha and Altos play the Scooby gang with Barbara as the leader. Carla drops herself in it when she says about them being worried after speaking to Susan but its several moments before Barbara twigs. When she does manage to make it back to Carla’s apartment it’s just in time to stop Carla killing Susan. It’s a great moment when they all try and overpower her. Despite admitting being involved, Carla pretends that Ian was the one she was working with. This seemed like it was delaying moving the story onwards for just a couple of moments.

The key was in the mace and the Doctor knew all along. When I first saw this episode I didn’t see it coming and now I come to think of it, I wonder whether Terry Nation had that in mind when he wrote the episode because there is never any indication that it was so close. Half this story is taken up with tying up the loose ends of getting Ian off the execution.  With Ian about to be executed, the Doctor is very solemn when we first see him. It’s the first time that we have seen the Doctor like this and it shows how much they have all changed since that very first episode. Minutes later when he sees that there is a way out to help Ian, his mood changes greatly.

When the action returns to the Voords we find that Altos and Sabetha have been captured. One thing we learn is that the lead Voord is in fact called Yartek. Yartek is pretending to be Arbitan. The fact that he doesn’t show his face to Ian and Susan should have raised alarm bells but Ian doesn’t show that’s anything wrong but he gives Yartek the wrong micro-key and this will cause the area to blow up. The Voord haven’t been the greatest creation because apart from the first episode and this one they didn’t really serve the part as a threat. Had things been thought of differently then it would have been better to move the Voord’s into the other episodes.

The central performances have all been good in this episode. However it was William Hartnell that I was most impressed with largely due to his scene where he’s very sad about the thought of Ian’s impending death. Though I was also impressed with Jacqueline Hill who started off really well in this episode. Hopefully I will never see Ian in that outfit that has worn for at least 10 episodes. If he wears it any longer then we can class it as a companion. The goodbye scene is a sad one really. After six episodes with these supporting characters it was sad to say goodbye and that shows how good they have been because normally they would be annoying. There’s a nice moment when Barbara says she will miss them and Ian says ‘come on’ in a way that implies he is telling her to pull herself together.

Oddly there’s no cliffhanger. It just fades to black and tells us the name of the next episode. It’s odd after 25 cliffhangers that we suddenly don’t get one. As an episode it was two in one really. The change happened at just the right time and the second half happened at just the right time. The story ended in a good way though I would have been annoyed that after all that time spent looking for the micro-key and then for it just to be destroyed must seem like a waste of time.

As a six part story it’s been good overall. At times it’s felt a bit stagnant but overall its moved along at a good pace with some good characters and some good writing. The sets have been of a good standing and the directing has also been solid. I have always liked this episode but I have appreciated this six part adventure in a whole new way. Something about it worked quite well and it never dragged.

Day 25: The Keys of Marinus - Sentence of Death

In this era of the show, it wasn’t clear to the viewer when a story started and when it finished. So for the 1964 viewer, this was effectively the first in a two part episode. At the end of the previous episode, Ian has been knocked out and is by a dead body. Tarron’s introduction into the story is quite odd as he is casually sitting in a chair waiting for Ian to wake up. He is the one that has to investigate the murder and quizzes Ian. I love the serious moment of music when Ian is told he will be charged with murder. It quickly comes and goes and just seems like a comedy moment. The legal system is that Ian is guilty until proven innocent. This means that there is a greater sense to prove that Ian didn’t murder anyone. There is still no sign of Susan, Barbara, Sabetha and Atos. When they do finally make an appearance there is no explanation as to why they weren’t with Ian when he discovered the body.

The Doctor makes his first appearance since The Velvet Web and it’s like a massive sense of relief. When he comes back, William Hartnell instantly throws himself into the story and instantly decides that he is going to defend Ian. We learn that before we saw him he had arranged with Eprim who was going to give him the micro-key and it was his body that we saw at the beginning of the episode. He was also a friend of Atos. Hartnell loves the opportunity of being the lawyer. His body language is very amusing. It’s good to have him back. Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill get to do their Cagney and Lacey impression (several years before the duo were on TV) when they start asking questions.  Being the accused means that William Russell doesn’t get to do very much but at least Ian is in the focus of the story and so he is always on screen. It’s good to have the regulars back together. I do love the scene where they are re-enacting the scene of the crime. It seems weird that they stop the story to basically go through what we already know

Eyesen is a dodgy character. He is the one that just has to continuing with the assumption that Ian is guilty. Even though he doesn’t do anything sneaky, its clear just by the way that Donald Pickering is performing that there is something about him which wont help the regulars. The fact that Ayden is the one involved is revealed relatively quickly. Ayden makes a bid for freedom and he is easily caught by Barbara and Susan and just as he is about to name who helped him he is killed but it’s not clear how.

Kala is instantly a character that oozes badness. She doesn’t show it in this episode but its clear that she will do something. We are thrown off the scent by her being there when Ayden is killed and she sobs.Susan is captured and to be honest I hadn’t noticed that she was gone. I was so involved with the court action I didn’t notice she had left. When her voice sounds its quite a surprise and it leads to the cliffhanger which is another good one because there is the mystery of who has got Susan and what will they do with her.

This is another good episode where despite the action taking place in the same area it moves along at a really good pace and there are characters that are well written and it sets up the final episode nicely because it’s a question of having to get Ian cleared of the charges and get the keys back to Arbitan. I think that having the regulars back together seems to have bought a bit of familiarity back to the story. An enjoyable 25 minutes.

Day 24: The Keys of Marinus - The Snows of Terror

With a lack of snow but just the sound effects, Barbara and Ian react brilliantly to the cold. They are rescued by a large bearded man who at first seems like a nice person. Vasor is a man who asks Barbara if she fears him and when she says no he then says that he killed a bear with his hands. The way that Vasor tells Barbara about the warming of their hands is an odd thing because you would expect Ian and Barbara to have known that. We discover that Atos has been there before him but when Ian finds him he discovers that Atos’ hands have been tied together. It’s at this moment that we all know Vasor’s true colours and how sneaky is really is.

Barbara is left with him and she does a good job of standing up to him though that only last for so long. Jacqueline Hill is good in this episode though once she fends off Vasor she doesn’t really do anything. William Russell gets to be the big hero and leads the group to find Sabetha and Susan and then to get back to the hut after finding the micro-key. It’s always fun when William Russell gets to do the sort of things he does here because he seems to thrive in it. This is the second episode where there is no Doctor. To be honest I think that due to the introduction of Sabetha and Atos, the gap that has been left by William Hartnell has been filled well by Katherine Schofield and Robin Phillips.

It’s 10 minutes before we are reunited with Sabetha and Susan. I must admit I was missing Susan despite how backward the character has been in recent weeks. There is a nice sense of a sisterly relationship between Sabetha and Susan. It’s a bit like Ping-Cho and Susan in ‘Marco Polo’. Quite amusingly, Susan is the first one that goes over the newly constructed ‘bridge’.  I thought that this was her strongest episode for a while and Carole Ann Ford is very good as a result.

The sets in the Ice Caves are quite good. I’ve been a bit disappointed with the sets in recent episodes and this is the first time in a while that I have been impressed with what I have seen on screen. It seems like a vast area and not just a couple of sets knocked up together.

When they do find the key it turn out that it’s in a block of ice and it becomes a group task to try and melt the ice. It’s just a matter of waiting for the ice to melt and then they can try and get over. There is a ‘threat’ which are the four figures guarding the ice and they aren’t particularly noticed by the characters. The ‘guards’ that are standing by the block of ice try their best to stay absolutely still but don’t quite manage it. I cant quite believe that they are very dangerous even when they are breaking their way into Vasor’s hut I don’t think that there is anything to them. Vassor gets the cumupance that he deserves when he seems to die of fear.  It’s a good way to tie up the loose ends. He was well played by Francis De Wolff who plays it just right between sinister and slightly clichéd.

The cliffhanger is the best one of the story so far. They all jump but we only see Ian who after discovering a body on the floor gets knocked out before the micro-key is taken out of an alarmed cabinet. There is a certain mystery about who the person was on the floor and who is the person that has knocked Ian out and took the micro-key. It’s a good episode with plenty of interesting things going to and I didn’t find myself bored at any point during the episode, largely due to Vasor who I found to be an entertaining character (much in the same way as Tegana did in Marco Polo). I think that the cliffhanger shows that the final two episodes are going to be interesting and the return of the Doctor is imminent.

Day 23: The Keys of Marinus - The Screaming Jungle

The Screaming Jungle is a very historic episode in Doctor Who. It’s the first time that William Hartnell doesn’t appear at all. He was on holiday so it means that it’s the three regulars with Altos and Sabetha who are moving the story forward.  When we get back to Susan, the ‘screaming’ has stopped yet Susan looks like she is having a nervous breakdown. It falls to Barbara to do her teacher role and calm Susan down. Ian is still wearing his outfit from Marco Polo, I know that this isn’t a fashion review but it would be nice if Ian could have got a change of clothes somehow.

Barbara shows signs of rebelling or at least her desire to rebel with the Dresden china line. I thought this was a nice moment as it’s the first time since The Expedition way back in The Daleks that Barbara entertains the thought of defying Ian. It’s a shame that it never goes beyond this. Susan is really annoying in this episode. It’s worst when part of the foliage just touches Susan’s leg and she cries like its about to kill her. A total over reaction in my opinion. Thankfully she’s not in the episode very much as she gets to jump ahead. It takes them less than six minutes to find the micro-key or what we think is the key. It seems like the idea to include the fake key was something to keep the story going until the end of the episode.

By the ten minute mark, Atos, Sabetha and Susan have all jumped on ahead whilst Ian tries to find the real key and Barbara. It doesn’t take long to find Barbara as she saves Ian from almost being decapitated. With it being just Ian and Barbara, it means that they get most of the action and there’s a nice bit where Barbara is about to be killed whilst Ian is trapped. Then we meet a figure who has set the traps and has hidden the real micro-key. He gives them a code which they must try and figure out what it means and how it will lead them to the micro-key. After searching for ages and with the forest starting to attack them they finally find it.

When Barbara is climbing to grab the key there are two human hands and it’s like a big arrow is drawing the viewers’ attention to the hands. Not sure whether it was intentional but it seems like a bit of an odd thing.

Performance wise, everyone does quite well. Susan seems to have gone backwards in recent episodes and it feels like an awfully long time ago since ‘Inside the Spaceship’. It’s a shame for Carole Ann Ford and its easy to understand why she became frustrated with the role and didn’t last long in the show. It seems like her character is somewhat poorly written for and yet Barbara and Ian are given the stronger things to do. I think the fact that William Hartnell isn’t in this episode means that William Russell and Jacqueline Hill get to take centre stage and thrive under it.

The cliffhanger was marginally better except that it replaced screaming with snow. It must be really cold as it doesn’t take Barbara or Ian to feel the effects of the snow.  It was an ok episode which picked up once it was just Ian and Barbara. The thing about this episode is that there isn’t a lot of moment geographically speaking. Credit to Terry Nation for managing to make 25 minutes fly with not a lot happening.