The Power of the Daleks - Episode 4

In Episode 4, the Daleks realise that the clocks-a-tickin and that they need to get a wriggle on. I know that they have been playing the long game but at times I wish that there would be more of them. The episode returns with the Daleks with another great chant. This is where they really do step up and their behaviour is one of the best things about this story because its not their usual behaviour. I like how the Doctor notices that the floor isn’t metal as this is a reference to earlier Dalek stories. I think in this episode we get the first of the Doctor’s catchphrase when he says “When I say run…run!”. Patrick Troughton has definelty got to grips with the role and it seems that Michael Craze has calmed down slightly but oddly we don’t get any Anneke Wills. To be honest its not such a bad thing as she’s been pretty redundant for the last couple of episodes. At least it gives the Doctor and Ben something to do.

The little domestic between the colonists takes a bit more of the action in this episode but there is some good stuff from Lesterson who is my favourite of the supporting characters but to be fair there aren’t any weak links in the chain. There is a nice scene where we get to here very horrible noises in the form of Daleks outside of their casing. It sounds very similar to the scene in ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ where its squealing and it all sound nasty. It’s at times like this that I get annoyed that it doenst exist on videotape because this episode would have looked fantastic though sadly as is becoming the norm in this period of Doctor Who the episode is lost.

Like the previous episodes, this one moves along at a decent pace. It does feel like its settled down but there is enough going on to enjoy and at the centre is the Daleks genius performance. It’s the most interesting that they have been since their first story. This episode ends with one of the most memorable cliffhangers in Doctor Who. Daleks coming of a conveyable is something that I wish we could see. So as we enter the final third of this story it seems that there is no way that they could ruin it but there are some plot strands that need to be tided up and the story needs to deal with them in a satisfactory way.

The Power of the Daleks - Episode 3

Its surprising that despite being the most successful thing in Doctor Who that the Daleks haven’t been more involved in it. Thankfully that is about to change as the start of the episode begins with the ‘I AM YOUR SERVANT’ speech. It’s at this moment that the colonists are clearly stupid as they see the Dalek as a potential tool for mining. It’s very hard to sympathise for a group of people when they are being unbelievably dense. Hearing a Dalek say anything except EXTERMINATE is unusual. It’s almost like hearing a pensioner swear, its not normal. However at least there is a bit more to the Daleks (or Dalek) in this episode. Even when the Doctor attacks the Dalek it doesn’t divert from its acting and keeps up the act. The moment when the Daleks start to appear in greater numbers then it starts to step up. Lesterson’s ignorance is becoming amusing with every scene.

It seems like Patrick Troughton is getting to grips with the role and its more of a sensible performance rather than scattered one that we have had in the previous episodes. There are still flashes of the sort of child like sides to the character but it seems like a more confident performance from Troughton. I liked how they finally started to drop the façade of the Doctor being the examiner. I was also impressed with Michael Craze because his frustration at the Doctor seems to be part of trying to get the viewer to accept Troughton as the new Doctor and I think that it works well. Anneke Wills seems to suffer a little bit in this episode as Craze and Troughton take the lions share of the action.

It’s a stronger episode that the second because we finally get a bit more action from the Daleks. The music is helping to create an atmosphere which is adding to my enjoyment of the story. The central performances are good and the supporting performances are doing their job. There cunning plan seems to be taking shape and as we approach the second half of the story its clear that the new Doctor is going to get on well.

The Power of the Daleks - Episode 2

The second episode starts off in very creepy style. The music that runs throughout this episode helps make this episode that bit much better. There is a great deal of fear that runs in this episode as well and I like how its not long before we are reminded that the Doctor is still trying to get over his regeneration. The Doctor is still acting slightly strange and Ben is still doubtful about it whereas Polly is all but convinced. Troughton is really good in this episode. I like the moment where he says that one Dalek is enough to kill the colony.

There is a mystery about where the third Dalek has gone but its not long before we discover that Lesterson is keeping one for himself. I’m quite liking Lesterson as you know how this is going to end and even if you have never heard this story before you can clearly see this coming a mile off and if you don’t then your just not trying. The Daleks are still relatively inactive in this episode. The third Dalek gets a few moments but they are still not quite as involved in the story as I would like. It was understandable in the first episode as to why they were on the sidelines but now we want them back in.

The episode deals with the colony and the colonists but to be honest I don’t think it’s the most important part of the story because that honour goes to Patrick Troughton and his first encounter with the Daleks which is difficult to rate as apart from the final scene, there isn’t much in the way of proper interaction.  The scene where the Doctor is trying to convince everyone that the Daleks are evil is a compelling scene but its made even more compelling when the Daleks screams that he is their servant instead of exterminate. This is echoed in Victory of the Daleks and it’s a great cliffhanger, another great cliffhanger. I think that as an episode it doesn’t  quite have the same thing as the opening episode but I think that the second half makes up for the rather strolling pace that the first half had. Though with four more episodes I think that its perfectly fine to do this.

The Power of the Daleks - Episode 1

So for the first time ever. William Hartnell isn’t the Doctor, after a wonderful Cybermen story we are treated to a Dalek story. A Dalek story to introduce a new actor to the show. Back in 1966 this must have been a huge gamble to see whether viewers would want to see a new actor playing the part that William Hartnell had spent the best part of three years playing. The reluctance of Ben and Polly to accept this new face as the Doctor is exactly the same as what the viewers are experiencing. Polly is more willing to accept the change but Ben is very much in the opposite camp. It’s several minutes before the action moves out of the TARDIS but its interesting how Troughton’s Doctor doesn’t do any of the checks that Hartnell’s Doctor would have done. When the Doctor is outside he witnesses a murder and Ben and Polly become knocked out due to the fumes.

The story takes place on Vulcan where a colony exists and there seems to be a small amount of discontent. The Doctor is thought of as the examiner who was killed. The examiner’s appearance is not welcome so there is immediately a certain amount of conflict. With the word Daleks in the title, there is a certain amount of expectation to see when they would appear. It was never going to be at any point before the cliffhanger. In The Dalek Invasion of Earth, they didn’t appear until the very end so it’s a great way to introduce characters before the Daleks take over the story. As the episode runs out of time there is a distinct change in tone as the music by Tristam Cary makes the whole episode feel different.

Patrick Troughton’s first episode is a difficult one to judge. First episodes of any new Doctor are difficult because its not how the role will be played even by the end of the story. Troughton was fun and was trying to presumably try and help the audience with trying to get use to a new face. Troughton has some great moments but the best one was when he gently asked Ben and Polly if they wanted to meet the Daleks. It wasn’t done with a great sense of dread or fear but just casual. It’s a very promising start and I think that its great that they have decided to go for it in terms of creating a different version of the Doctor that William Hartnell had portrayed.

It’s an opening episode that it should have been. It managed to do two things very well. It introduced Troughton’s Doctor very well and Anneke Wills and Michael Craze walk that fine line of not driving the story forward yet not disappearing into insignificance. The Daleks were introduced at the right time and with five more episodes the Daleks will have their time to shine but in this opening 25 minutes we get to see the direction that Doctor Who will now be going in with a new actor steering the ship.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 4

Well the moment has been prepared for. This is the 134^th and final episode with William Hartnell as the Doctor. Sadly this is the final episode and it no longer exists so before we get the animated episode on DVD we get a mix of existing footage and telesnaps. After being away for the previous episode, William Hartnell returns for his final episode. There is a nice mention in his first scene where he talks about ‘this old body wearing a bit thin’. General Cutler is boarding on maniac. The desperation for getting his son down is quite fun to watch. He’s not interested in the Cybermen invading but is more concerned with his son’s rocket.  It’s a great little scene where Cutler is blaming the Doctor for his son’s death even though its not official. Sadly Cutler is killed and it’s a shame but I suspect that with everything going on he would have just been getting in the way.

The Cybermen make a welcome return and there’s a nice moment where the Doctor tries to negotiate with the Cybermen in trying to live on Earth in peace. They are more concerned with the rocket and the next portion of the episode is focusing on the rocket and disarming the warhead. Polly has suffered in the last couple of episodes and she has been reduced to being taken as a sort of hostage. Her purpose in this episode seems to be interacting with the Doctor. Ben helps Barclay to try and disarm the warhead and he comes up with a plan and uses his intelligence to try and defeat the Cyberman that is standing outside. The thing about this part of the episode is that despite showing that Ben is quite good at putting plans together, it feels like this area drags on a bit.

The episode benefits from the telesnaps and also the captions that run at the bottom of screen. It does its best but I don’t really pay much attention to the caption as the plot was quite entertaining.

William Hartnell’s final few scenes are quite sad to watch. It’s unclear how much acting is going on and its weird to think that this is the same William Hartnell who was the cranky grandfather figure that we met in that Junkyard. The regeneration is quite a mesmerising one it’s the build up to its that quite interesting. The way that the transition from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton  was achieved was very good and works effectively even 47 years after it was done.

The way that the Cybermen are defeated is a bit odd. It’s got nothing to do with the Doctor’s involvement. Mondas’ destruction is solely of its own doing and its only by nothing being done on Earth that meant that Mondas was destroyed. The story is written so that the Doctor isn’t involved as much as he normally would be and its probably because Anneke Wills and Michael Craze that make you realise that the Doctor’s involvement is pretty small. It’s a weird episode to try and review because of what happens. It’s not a normal season finale or final episode of a story. It’s the end of the first era of the show. It’s a shame that the Hartnell era is over. It’s been quite an enjoyable ride since the very first episode way back with An Unearthly Child. As a story, it’s a great first story for the Cybermen and the whole under siege base format makes the story much more claustrophobic and enjoyable. A brilliant way to end the Hartnell era.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 3

The penultimate episode in William Hartnell’s final story doesn’t feature in it as he told the production team via telegraph that he was too ill to attend. I think that the story manages to work around this as he was in the background in the previous episode anyway.  This is the final episode in the William Hartnell era to exist on video because the final episode doesn’t exist except in animated form. The plot of the episode is split into two. The first being the Cybermen invasion which is briefly shown at the begin at the episode and the second being the General’s attempt to get his son back.

The Z-Bomb is something that is very much of its period. Nowadays it would be a generic bomb or missle. However its effect seems to be just as big and when the General wants permission to use it and doesn’t get it he uses a technicality to get around this. I like how the General has gone slightly mad in this episode. It’s countered by Barclay who has become more likeable as the story has gone on and becomes an allie of Ben and Polly. He helps them come up with a way of stopping the Z-Bomb from being launched and rather predictably it falls to Ben to do it.

It’s 15 minutes into the episode before the Cybermen are heard from again and when they do we get the same walking across the horizon as we did in episode one but there are more of them and its looks just as good.  There is an ambush so their walk outside is somewhat cut short. The snowy set is rather more impressive in this episode. The Cybermen are somewhat on the side-lines in this episode which isn’t something that I’ve noticed before. The second half of the episode deals with the countdown to the launch of the Z-Bomb. There is a nice bit of tension when we see whether what Ben has done is enough to stop it and the countdown gets very close to lift-off. It’s a nice little cliffhanger which creates enough of an excuse to see what happens in the final episode.

It’s a solid enough episode especially when you consider that it doesn’t feature the Doctor and the Cybermen are somewhat conspicuous by their absence.  The story and the characters are good enough to make you forget those that aren’t in the episode. It’s building up nicely to what will be a fine finale to the end of an era in Doctor Who.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 2

The second episode is where we finally get to hear the Cybermen talk. After the great first glimpse at the end of the previous episode. It’s nearly five minutes before we get to hear them speak and it’s a great build up. It’s done with someone doing the voice off screen with the actor opening their mouth to try and time the words. Sadly this doesn’t quite work at times as the actor opens his mouth just a second after the speech starts. It’s the same problem that they have with the Daleks. There is a nice backstory as to what the Cybermen and where they have come from. It’s a short yet concise explanation and it fits the Cybermen well. The Cybermen instantly show their dominance over the humans by twisting a gun that Ben is holding like it’s a plastic prop. Oh wait a second!!

Ben gets to be quite resourceful when he is locked in a projector room. The moment is made even more dramatic when he has to kill a Cybermen and is horrified when he’s done it. He is the most active of the regulars in this episode as William Hartnell doesn’t really do anything apart from sit down. His involvement in this episode is somewhat limited. It’s a shame that in his final adventure he isn’t more active but that’s a fact of his illness and Anneke Wills also suffers from the same fate but at least she gets to stand up to the Cybermen for a short while.

The stakes get even more raised when General Cutler discovers that his son has been sent into space and the General thinks that his son has been sent on a death mission. This turns an amusing character into something quite different. The fun and humour has gone from him and we have someone who doesn’t care about anything else except for getting his son back.

The cliffhanger lacked the impact that the first one had. It was good but compared to episode one it was never going to be as good. As an episode it did its job very well and I thought that it was carried the story along well. Despite the Doctor being somewhat side-lined, the story continued well without (as many of the last half dozen stories have done) without him. I still think that the story uses all its positives well and I’m enjoying it immensely.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 1

It’s the end, but the moments been prepared for. This is the final story to feature William Hartnell as the lead man. It’s a story that also introduces the Cybermen to the world. Now this comes out on DVD in October (2013) and so all I have is a old copy on VHS so I was wait for this to come out but then decided against it. This is the period in Doctor Who where base under siege stories were commonplace. The story takes place in a base in the Antarctic and the claustrophobic setting is helped by the sound effect and the snowflakes. The story takes place twenty years in the future  and its good how they haven’t let their imaginations run wild when imagining what the future would be like.

Some of the people at the base do seem like they have come out of a Carry On movie with the Italian’s reaction to being told there is a woman outside verging on the slapstick. Thankfully after the initial arrival of the Doctor, Ben and Polly they are kept to a minimum. What we are then dealing with are some well realised characters. General Cutler is instantly entertaining. When the Doctor says that he doesn’t like his tone, the General replies with I don’t like your face or your hair. It’s a great line and it’s the start of one of the standout characters in the story. I like how the Doctor knows what they will see before they have seen it.  When the new planet is seen on a screen no one has clued that its basically the earth upside down. Someone has got a globe and spun it upside down.

The title is somewhat out of date because in 2006 it was decided that Pluto wasn’t a planet so Mondas is actually the 9^th planet and not the tenth.  However this is irrelevant and the Tenth Planet title isn’t mentioned at all during the story so

The final portion of this episode is brilliant. The sight of the Cybermen walking over the horizon towards the TARDIS is a fantastic shot and also the final shot for the cliffhanger is one of my favourite in Doctor Who. I love the look of this Cyberman and think it’s the best one ever. I know everyone will disagree but if you don’t think that this Cybermen has the best design then I’m sorry but your 100% wrong.  This opening episode has a different feel to previous episode and I don’t know whether those who watched in 1966 could tell that the end was going to come in this episode but as it stands it’s a cracking opening episode with great characters and the rest of the story is going to be a good send off to the original Doctor.

The Smugglers - Episode 4

Ok lets just get through this as best as we can. It’s not been a particularly enjoyable experience having to sit through the past three episodes even though the opening episode has been the highlight.  Sadly the same things happen in this episode as they did in the previous two, there’s a lot of people in west country accents threatening each other.  There did seem a bit more in terms of plot but I would be lying if I said that I knew or even cared what the plot was. I think that there is a clear reason why historical stories have gone off the boil recently. Apart from The Aztecs there haven’t been many historical adventures which have really worked for me.

Lets look at the positives. I think that William Hartnell still delivers a strong performance even though he must have been really unwell at this stage. It’s a testiment to his professionalism that he manages to perform when he must have felt that the show wasn’t quite the same as when he started. No William Russell, No Jacqueline Hill and no Carole Ann Ford. Anneke Wills and Michael Craze continue to impress and I think that they will suit Patrick Troughton’s Doctor more than William Hartnell’s.

At the end of the episode, Polly asks the Doctor where they are going and the Doctor admits that he has no control over the ship which is the opposite of what he would have said just a few seasons ago. It’s surprising as we approach the final Hartnell story that just how much the show and the Doctor has changed since that opening episode back in November 1963. Sadly I must admit that this episode along with this whole story is a poor one. It’s not just that its only on audio but its more that there isn’t much of a story and the first story of the fourth season is of the same standard as the opening of the first story of the previous season. However the end is coming and the moment has been prepared for.

The Smugglers - Episode 3

Ok so after a good start, the story has dipped somewhat in terms of quality. Here’s hoping that the story gets back on track. It does have a promising start as Ben and Polly are accused of being a smuggler and its clear that they are being framed. The Doctor starts the episode pretending to read cards. Sadly despite this good start it goes back to being a generic historical story with fairly generic characters. It’s another episode where I run out of interesting things to say as I don’t have anything to say about it except that it seems like there is something resembling a plot is working its way into it. Something that I didn’t notice before really in the previous two episodes is Anneke Wills’ narration. I have been so use to Peter Purves’ narration and think that whilst I think that Purves’ narration is better, there is something about the way that Anneke Wills delivers the links is rather charming and I could listen to more of it and I do when I listen to the Companion Chronicle adventures that she has done in the past.

The Squire is finally becoming a good villain and I’m sure he’s the same bloke who appears in The Mutants (1972) and I’m also sure he played a villain in that one. He’s a good piece of casting but sadly the rest of the characters are pretty much your typical characters from this period. The fact that this isn’t on video is really hampering my enjoyment as I think that one of the few saving graces of ‘The Gunfighters’ is that you can see what they are doing and so at least its fun to look at. Here there isn’t any of that which is a shame. It’s a better episode the number 2 buts that only because it starts quite well before calming down a lot. Don’t think that the final episode is going to be much to impress me.

The Smugglers - Episode 2

The next part of this story starts off with the reprise of a mediocre cliffhanger.

The first scene with Ben and Polly was a mixture of amusing, Polly starts off by being scarred of rats and then uses the logic that as they are in a time when magic is seen as a sign of being a witch. Ben and Polly spend the episode trying to find the Doctor and after spending a long time looking for him they decide to go back to the TARDIS. Ian and Barbara wouldn’t have done this and its not a great moment for Ben and Polly.

William Hartnell seems to have fallen back in the habit of sitting down and not doing a great deal. It’s a shame really after several episodes of being mobile. I don’t really remember much involvement from Hartnell in this story. It’s Anneke Wills and Michael Craze who are the more active and it does seem like were back with what Peter Purves was doing for most of his time on the show. Luckily I am liking Anneke Wills and Michael Craze and think that they are doing well in the show even though its been said that Hartnell wasn’t so keen on Wills and Craze being on the show due to them being too young but not sure whether that’s true.

I have given up on this story really because there isn’t much going on. There are a bunch of smugglers trying to cover up a murder and that’s it really. There aren’t any interesting character any it seems like the good start that the first episode had managed to come up with has been ruined because it’s not a great idea and I’m struggling to come up with anything to say about this so its going to be another short entry, hopefully the next episode will be much better because it needs something to try and restore my faith in this story because apart from the combination of Ben and Polly there isn’t much to write about in this story.

The Smugglers - Episode 1

The Smugglers is the first story in the fourth series. It’s the beginning of the end as far as William Hartnell is concerned. The story picks up after the events of the War Machines and its good how the Doctor is angry when he discovers Ben and Polly in the TARDIS. The mood quickly changes when the TARDIS lands and he finds himself amused when Ben and Polly think that they are still in 1966. It drags on a bit but it’s the inevitable routine when someone joins the show. It’s quite funny how Polly is taken as a boy due to the way that she is dressed. The first 10 minutes or so are taken up with quite dull interaction. The Warden gets his injury dealt with and the regulars are on their way. The problem with this story is that not only does it not exist on video but that it’s a historical story that doesn’t actually have a dramatic moment to build up to. In effect it’s a different type of historical to what we have had in the past.

The central performances are all quite good. It’s nice to see a bit of the old cranky Doctor at the beginning of the episode and it shows how he’s mellowed when he’s chuckling to himself. It’s good to see how two people who are from the swinging sixties cope with being wrenched out of their period in time. Anneke Wills and Michael Craze do well in their first proper story and seem to interact well with each other and with the people that they encounter even if the locals are a bit clichéd.

There seems to be a nice moment (I use the word nice in the loosest sense) where there is quite a physical altercation where one person gets killed. It’s a shame that its not on video because I think that this story would work better on video. Sadly the story is just a bunch of people in West Country accents and its like a cheap prelude to Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s a perfectly fine opening episode and it’s a much better opening season episode that what we got with Galaxy 4. Sadly this is one of those stories that I’ve never been a big fan of and think that nothing will really make me change my mind.

The War Machines - Episode 4

Despite the great end to the previous episode it seems that the worst thing that could happen to William Hartnell is that he will either choke on the smoke or be a bit flat. Either didn’t happen and instead the War Machine just went around him. The inclusion of the pub/bar scene where Kenneth Kendall appears seemed a great way of making the WOTAN menace greater because every time the camera cuts to the machines I can’t quite believe it’s a threat.  Kenneth Kendall is a big name to have appeared in Doctor Who. He was a big BBC news reader of the period and so much have been a big coup for the show.

All it does is spray its smoke and smash boxes. When it starts to kill people it starts off with the War Machine killing someone in a phone box. Even the Doctor refers to it as a harmless machine. Despite the best efforts of everyone including an American journalist it just looks like they are worrying over nothing. It has to be said that the War Machine might have seemed good on paper but in reality it just didn’t have what the viewer would want and its hard to decide whether its due to budget or the resources available.

I like the interaction between Michael Craze and William Hartnell. Anneke Wills is reduced to be back with Professor Brett presumably under hypnosis. Craze does the heroic role very well and  despite not being the strongest (visually) in the world his determination is what is impressive. The way that the Doctor manages to save the day is quite good even though he’s not physically there when it happens. He gets the newly programmed War Machine to do all the work for him. It’s probably the most logical way of getting round the fact that Hartnell isn’t as mobile as he once was. They cant let Ben save the day because he’s a mere companion. I like how when Professor Brett’s hypnosis is gone and Sir Charles look towards the Doctor, all they see is an empty area where he once was. That’s what the Doctor should do.

The final scene is quite a bit haphazard because it’s the exit scene for Dodo as we hear that she’s going to stay in London. I think it would have been nice for a pre-filmed scene to have been filmed as it would have made for a more satisfying exit for the character.  The episode does all the action that there hasn’t been in the previous episodes. I thought that the episode was rather good though it was done largely due to Michael Craze and William Hartnell. As we approach the end of William Hartnell’s time on the show  it seems that the third series has picked up and is starting to be a more consistant than it was way back during Galaxy 4. As a four part adventure I think that despite the War Machines being about as scary as Sooty, The War Machines is a good story and does a good job in introducing Ben and Polly and the modern day setting helps make it appear more enjoyable than if it had been set 60 years before or after the transmission dates. Now we approach the final story of the season and its safe to say that this season has improved greatly.

The War Machines - Episode 3

It dawned on me after finishing the last episode that despite some positives in this story, I don’t quite know why I have a soft spot for this story. It’s not because it writes Dodo out of the series or that it introduces Ben and Polly. Remarkably its exactly two minutes before a single word of dialogue is spoken we get the reprise of Ben being targeted by WOTAN. Polly has apparently been taken over though I must admit that I don’t find it terribly convincing. It’s hard to tell whether she’s just pretending or whether she is genuinely under WOTAN’s control though its revealed that she was under WOTAN’s control eventually.

I think that Michael Craze really stands up in this episode. The scene where he raises his voice at Sir Charles after he escapes is one of the best scenes in the episode. It’s clear that he’s going to be a great addition to the show and is the one to take over the strong male role after Peter Purves’ departure. Even though she spent the whole episode playing hypnotised, Anneke Wills gave a good performance and its clear from the previous two episodes that she’s going to another great addition to the cast. William Hartnell’s involvement in the story has been consistant in the last few episodes as he’s in it but its enough to let Craze and Wills do all the energetic stuff.

When the action moves to Covent Garden, there is an awful sense of the inevitable. It’s clear that the army aren’t taking things as serious as they should.  This section isn’t helped by the slowest killing of soldiers in TV history. The War Machines move so slowly and don’t really do anything that its amazing they lost one person. This whole section last for and its only because of how the episode ends that its worth enduring. The sight of the War Machine approaching the Doctor who stands in front of it in defiance is one of the best cliffhangers ever. It’s such a great way to end the episode that it makes me want to watch the final episode now. The final episode is one that I am looking forward to and I’ve decided that this story is one of my guilty pleasures.

The War Machines - Episode 2

The story doesn’t waste much time in continuing with the story. After the brief reprise it’s back to the story and the plan. The plan seems to become more confusing especially in terms of how they managed to get the workers to co-operate so quickly. There is a strange thing at the beginning where they call the Doctor ‘Doctor Who’. It’s always been Doctor and in the very first story it was thought that his name might be Doctor Foreman but this seems like a mistake by someone in production. The part of the episode where the tramp meets a sticky end is quite a good little scene as he seems nice enough and the whole thing was rather well done and the tramp did seem to have come straight out of an adaptation of Oliver Twist. The scene ends with the first full shot of a War Machine. It’s not the greatest thing ever designed as its bulkier than a Dalek, doesn’t seem to do very much apart from destroy cardboard boxes and when it fires at people it misses them. Also they cant communicate with anyone and just not a good creation.

The final scene of Dodo is quite a good one. Its where WOTAN tries to hypnotise the Doctor and after he puts the phone down there is the moment where Dodo thinks that he has been taken over WOTAN. After a moment of the Doctor trying to get Dodo’s mind cleared, she’s packed off to Sir Charles’ house where his wife will take care of her. That’s the last time that she will ever been seen again and that’s effectively her goodbye scene and it happens half way through the episode. It’s a shame that she wasn’t given a better exit as even though she was annoying at times, she had redeemed herself somewhat in the previous episode and every companion deserves better than what Jackie Lane got here.

One thing that I like is the location filming. Setting it in Modern day London means that we get some great scenes outside and it allows us in a weird kind of way to see 1966 London. The filming lends something different to the story that we haven’t had for a long time and that a bit of reality which is a funny thing to want in a science fiction drama. The whole feel of the story is much more real than other stories this season and its also the characters that have helped with this and in particular Anneke Wills and Michael Craze who have immediately striking as Polly and Ben respectively. There is a bit of feistiness between them but its not that often. Sir Charles Summer (William Mervyn) is quite likeable and seems like he’s designed to be an ally of the Doctor’s. Even Professor Brett (John Harvey) and Major Green (Alan Curtis) have been effective villains.

I think that this is another episode which doesn’t allow you take a breath. It starts from the very beginning and continues until the very end and I’m really enjoying this story which I think is only let down by the weak way that Jackie Lane was written out. Other than that the second half of this adventure is just going to be as good as the first half.

The War Machines - Episode 1

The War Machines is the final story to feature Jackie Lane and thus starts the era of awkward exit for companions.  The story was written by Ian Stuart Black who’s previous work had only finished airing seven days before this episode was transmitted.  The DVD lists that he wrote this based on an idea by Kit Pedlar. I’m never quite sure why they do this. Why didn’t Kit Pedlar write the whole story? Why did ISB have to do it? I suppose that unless it’s been answered somewhere else that we will never know. This episode also introduces Anneke Wills and Michael Craze as Polly and Ben respectively. The episode starts off in a weird fashion with a title sequence that we haven’t seen in Doctor Who before, its very 1960’s and when that’s done the story starts off with the arrival of the TARDIS on modern day earth. The story likes to use the newly built Post Office Tower as a part of the story. The story deals with what is in effect a super computer, one that connects to other computers around the world which is pretty much what we have now. In 1966 it must have been something that seemed like 100 years away whereas in less than half that time this idea became a reality (but without evil computers). It’s never really explained what created the evil aspect of WOTAN and why it wants to overthrow humanity. It’s a shame really as it would have given a bit more to the story.

There’s a lovely opening scene with Dodo and the Doctor where they notice the PO Tower and the Doctor talks about the same prickly sensation that he experienced when he first met the Daleks which obviously confuses Dodo.  Polly is introduced in rather a dull way. She is purely introduced as a secretary and judging by the cheeky way she interacts with Professor Brett its clear that this isn’t the line of work that she’s suited to. When the story shifts to the Inferno which is apparently the hippest place in town, we are introduced to Ben who comes across as a rather sad and downbeat person. Ben is a sailor who’s a bit glum because he’s got to spend 6 months away from the sea. Ben is clearly the one who takes the mantle of action hero/tough guy from Peter Purves. Within minutes of being introduced he’s gone from being a sad person to a gentleman.

The groundwork for Dodo’s exit is started quite early when its clear that her interaction with WOTAN has had a difficult effect on her. It leads to her spending most of the episode is spent by her having headaches and quite quickly she is taken over properly by WOTAN. In fact lots of people seem to be taken over by WOTAN which is quite impressive considering its just a computer with a silly W on the front. Professor Brett, Dodo and Major Green are the first three to be hypnotised. The final scene where the hypnotised are gathered and we hear the voice of WOTAN. It’s a well created voice but I think that they could probably have done something that was slightly more audible and easier to understand.

It’s a very good opening episode. It’s nice to have a story set on modern day Earth where they don’t immediately get into trouble. All the building blocks are in place and its great how it doesn’t seem obvious from this episode that Ben and Polly are about to becomes permanent additions to the TARDIS. There has been something about this story that I have liked and I think that the modern day setting is what is making this one of my favourite stories of the third season.

The Savages - Episode 4

The final episode of The Savages is where hopefully it ends in a satisfactory manner and also does the same in giving Peter Purves a satisfactory ending. The episode starts off with Dodo and Steven being choked by smoke and its quickly resolves. The episode allows Steven to show his leadership skills without even really knowing it. I really liked this episode as I thought that it tied up all the loose ends and does it well. When the Doctor was having his life forced drained from him it turns out that Jano got more than he bargained for and I thought that it was a clever spin on what looked like a rather normal plot point. The story builds up to the inevitable moment where the bad guys are taken down a peg or two and the good guys are victorious. The moment where things get smashed up by the locals is a moment which I think would have looked good on TV.

The moment that Steven is picked to be the leader is a curious one. The fact that he Doctor is pretty much pushing Steven into this position of leadership is something that wouldn’t have happened with Ian and it shows how far the Doctor has come since the very first episode. The departure is quite sad as I have grown to like Steven and thought that Peter Purves has done the role and the show proud and he has been a very good part of the show. Even Jackie Lane was quite emotional in this scene and it made Peter Purves final scene even stronger.

It’s a shame that Peter Purves final story doesn’t exist on video but as a four part story its half a good story and half an ok story. I think that the characters were all quite good but it was Jano that stood out for me and after the initial interest the story seemed to settle down and it was only in the final episode that it picked up. The Savages certainly continues the upward trend that the quality of stories are taking in this third series. Just when things are getting good, they get better with the next story seeing another departure and

The Savages - Episode 3

The third part of this story picks up from the life force being sucked out of him and it seems like William Hartnell is going to feature in this episode less than he had done. This is a tad bit frustrating as he seemed to be more involved like he had been in previous stories. In fact as a result of this being on audio you wouldn’t know that he had actually been in the episode. The story meanders along quite well but it isn’t until Jano wakes up after having some of the Doctor’s life energy and starts to mimic Hartnell. It’s a great impression of him and I almost wish that it had carried on a bit more. The episode allows Peter Purves to lead the story and moves things along which is what he has been doing for several episodes now. However due to the fact that this is his final adventure it seems to take on a new meaning and its shows what a good leader he has been to the show and what a good leader he will become. Peter Purves puts in a solid performance whilst Jackie Lane seemed to give a rather mediocre performance.

In terms of plot its safe to say that its not a particularly strong one as it seems to lose some of its pace which is a shame after the previous two episodes. I don’t know why but I just found myself being less interested in the situations featuring the locals. I just wish at times like this that the whole thing or at least a snippet of it existed on video so that we could get a sense of what a good story this appears to be. However the fact that its on audio does mean that my enthusiasm is somewhat reduced.

The Doctor is motionless when Dodo and Steven try and rescue him and its quite a nice image to think that whilst Dodo and Steven are choking to death the Doctor is something that would have looked quite good on tv because the Doctor is someone who wouldn’t let any harm come to his friends so it’s a great way to end the episode. I think that half the episode is perfectly fine and its only the latter part that makes the episode any good.

The Savages - Episode 2

The next episode starts of with a quite a creepy opening as there is a strange figure coming towards Dodo. Sadly its not as bad as it seems as the stranger just goes past her. The improvement of Dodo continues in this episode with Dodo being very feisty towards people around her. It shows what can be done with the character when there is the right story and setting. Despite knowing that this is Peter Purves’ final story it seems at the moment that he’s going to get one of those surprise exits that come out of the blue. The Doctor is the one that explains what is going on and that is the locals are trying to suck the life-force out of people. It’s a pretty good plot point.

With the story not being on video, it’s down to important stuff like music to help the story and it definelty works here as its quite effective. The performances from everyone are all pretty good and even though the story does seem to lack something even though it moves along at a pretty good pace. It’s the most the William Hartnell has been used in a story for sometime after weeks of Peter Purves doing most of the story. Though due to the fact that the Doctor falls victim to the life-sucker device thing. It’s this that forms the cliffhanger and its good that the Doctor does something in this episode because at the beginning it seemed like he was just going to get an easy ride like in The Celestial Toymaker.

This is a good episode but only cause things move along at a pace that you don’t really realise until the end that not very much has happened. It’s a good trick by ISB and the story does seem slightly better than I remember it so I’m looking forward to the remaining two episodes.

The Savages - Episode 1

This is the first time that a Doctor Who story hasn’t had its own episode title, we just get episode 1. It’s also the final story to feature Peter Purves who leaves at the end of the story and this is another story which doesn’t exist on video at all so its back to the audios for the next four episodes. The story is the first to be written by Ian Stuart Black and sees the Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive on a planet which is supposed to be idyllic but even if you ignore the title, its clear that its anything but. The thing that I’ve noticed from the telesnaps is that it is filmed on location and it would have been the most significant location filming since ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’.

It’s something that I never thought I would be sad to see but its nice when the episode has a name as it gives the episode an identity in the story. Whereas just calling it ‘Episode 1’ or ‘Episode 2’ removes any identity about it which is a shame really but a title doesn’t make an episode. What does make the story is the actual idea of a peaceful planet that doesn’t quite turn out like that. It’s strange that the residents seem to have anticipated the Doctor’s arrival. The story starts off quite interesting and despite losing a bit of a mystery there is something about this story which I have never really noticed before. It’s a shame that this story doesn’t exist on video because judging by the telesnaps this story visually is quite stunning.

I think that this story has the potential to be a good story but its one of those that in the past I haven’t thought of highly but theres a good chance that things will change and if its done right then Steven will get the departure that he deserves. Even stood out in this episode from the very beginning and even Dodo managed to not be as annoying and there is something quite good about her being in a situation which isn’t as warming and cheery as The Gunfighters or The Ark and so it seems like she has finally found the tone of story which enables her character to be less annoying.

I am looking forward to the rest of the episode and as the third season draws to a close its seems that after the lacklustre start, the series has finally found its feet.

The Gunfighters - The OK Corral

The final episode of this story starts off with the Doctor becoming a deputy sheriff. We then have lots and lots of singing narration which seems to have undone all the good work from the previous episodes. The whole episode is cantered around a shootout. Though its quite impressive how Donald Cotton had managed to string it out for as long as he did.

The build up to the shootout was quite enjoyable and once we got to the shootout itself it was a curious mix of enjoyment and confusion. I mention confusion because it seems like a lot of bullets were fired but no one seemed to go down until Johnny Ringo met his maker at the hands of Doc Holiday. It lasted for several minutes and once Ringo went down, everyone went down and before too long it was all over and Doc Holiday and Kate walked off into the sunset. it wasn't the ending that the Doctor wanted and it was good how he was tempted to change history but knew his own rules. Being a historical adventure it was never going to be wrapped up in a nice bow and I think that it was the only way that things could have ended.

When we get to the final scene we have a nice tight three shot where the Doctor, Dod and Steven are in the TARDIS where the Doctor discuses where they have landed and he uses three words that spell doom in the next story. Peace and Prosperity are the words used and that should have sent alarm bells ringing for Steven and Dodo. As an episode it's rather good as it did what it needed to do in terms of telling drama even though it takes some liberties in what the characters do and how they end up. As a story its not improved as much as previous stories but I didn't mind it tha much.  Thought that the music was an irritation which I could have done without but I thought that the characters were all well played and I must day that the production crew should be applauded for doing a western on a limited budget and whereas in the past an ambitious set would have failed (like the Web Planet), I thought tha due to some clever camera angles and authentic sets they manage to get it to work. 

The Gunfighters - Johnny Ringo

Despite the tone of the story having gone up a bit we still have put up with more singing. We have the prospect of Steven being hanged which is the closest I think they come to putting a regular in serious peril. The opening part of this episode is a nice little stalemate with guns and its only thanks to the dopey looking barman that Steven doesn't meet a sticky end. It's a solid opening five or six minutes.

There are some cracking bits of dialogue which I haven't noticed in the previous two episodes. My favourite line comes from the barman when he says "The next extractions gonna be a tooth". There are some good camera shots which is where Rex Tucker deserves credit because being in a studio its difficult to make this western look interesting. Despite not being a 100% fan of the barman it was a bit of a shame that he got shot because he could have just hidden under the bar and stayed there.

The Johnny Ringo of the piece is well cast and he seems the perfect person to go up against Doc Holiday. Whilst its clear that Donald Cotton has taken dramatic licence with the story, it means that the characters are larger than life and that helps move the story along because without them then the adventure would just grind to a halt. Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp are still two of my favourite characters. Even Dodo is used well in this story but that might be to do with that she was with Doc Holiday.

All in all this was another good episode with a few weak moments kept to a minimum. The story isn't going to be a classic and I don't think it's better than I had thought of it in the past but its still got some good characters and the have managed to pull off a western on a BBC budget but it wouldn't be until the new era tha we would see a western done well.

The Gunfighters - Dont Shoot the Pianist

The next episode starts off with the stupid singing of the last chance saloon. There is a look that Steven gives that mplies that he is sick of singing it Not often does the actor match the view of the viewer. The episode picks up when William Hartnell enters the saloon and says that he would be happy with a glass of milk. The locals still think that the Doctor is Doc Holiday and its fun when he finally realises the confusion. After the chuckle I got from the milk line, the fact that he shot someone (accidentally) was another funny sight.

As the Doctor is trying to explain the truth he keeps getting cut off by various people and its somewhat frustrating because I feel like they are just trying to kill time. Having said that Donald Cotton has done a better job of at least looking like he knows where the story is heading. Dodo is being kept to one sode b Doc Holiday and the Doctor is behind bars because they still think that he is Doc Holiday. The singing has become tolerable during this episode but I still think that the storycould benefit a little from not having it playing every couple of minutes.

The central performances have discarded the silly playing up of their surroundings and get stuck into the stor and all do a good job but frankly they don't really have much to do so I think that its the supporting performances that are noticeable. Anthony Jacobs is very good as Doc Holiday. There is a sense of slimeyness about him and I think that's what I like about his performance. John Alderson continues to impress as Wyatt Earp. Every time that he is on screen he is very good.

This was a much better episode than the first. I still don't think my opinion of the whole story will change over the course of the four episodes but at least the quality has gone up instead of down but its not difficult to go up when our at the bottom. The ending of the episode was quite good as the rabble are about to hang the Doctor and Doc Holiday is trying to get out of town with Dodo. It's quite a dramatic ending though its ruined by the singing but I think that at least we get a funny look of Willam Hartnell due see us out of the episode.

The Gunfighters - A Holiday for the Doctor

From the moment that the theme music ends I can feel my toe curling. The Gunfighters is when Doctor Who meets the Western genre. It's another instance if the shows ambitions hitting reality. Would the show be able to pull off a western stor on a tiny BBC budget? The story starts to go downhill when Steven and Dodo get into their Western gear. Purves feels the need to do a terrible accent. The first scene when they are dressed up its only saved by Wyatt Earp. It's surprising that Peter Purves does this as when he first appeared in The Chase he did a rather good American accent. When he has to sing he does it quite well though its slightly undermined by Jackie Lane's exaggerated piano playing.

Sadly when you try and get past the cringy singing and accents, there isnt a great deal that happens during this opening 25 minutes. Theres a lot of people waiting and then Dodo and Steven start singing and playing. The characters in this episode are the only thing worth watching as the Doctor spends most of the episode in pain and its not long before he gets confused for Doc Holiday. Doc Holiday is well played by Anthony Jacobs and the character is instantly likeable though he not meant to be likeable. 

I had hopes that after getting a new appreciation of The Ark and The Celestial Toymaker that I would see a new side to this story but sadly that isn't going to happen. Apart from John Alderson as Wyatt Earp and Anthony Jacobs as Doc Holiday, the story is excruciatingly bad and I'm trying to decide whether its so bad that its good. Only time will tell I suppose but I'm safe in thinking that the chances are slim that I will be seeing a new side to this story.

The Celestial Toymaker - The Final Test

The final part of this story is the only thing of this story that exists on DVD and its nice to see how creative this story could have been. The first thing that I noticed is that Cyril bears an uncanny resemblance to Captain Mainwaring from Dads Army. The game that Dodo, Steven and Cyril have to play is quite good now that we get to see it as its clear the Steven and Dodo will have a challenge to defeat Cyril. However what I like it that Cyril gets caught out by his own trap when he puts some slippery stuff on the square.

Like previous episodes we get a little bit of the Toymaker and the mute Doctor. I still don't fully understand the point of the Doctors game and think that its even stranger when the Toymaker is shouting for the moves to race ahead. Its not long before William Hartnell's voice makes a welcome return. It's not until the penultimate move before we get to see William Hartnell. We finally get a bit more of the Toymaker, after three episodes we get the right amount of Michael Gough and we get to see what a great performer he is.

Now it might seem like once the Doctor wins his game and Dodo and Steven win their game then that would be it but what I like about this episode is that there is a final plot twist. If the Doctor makes his final move then the TARDIS will be destroyed and so there is a wonderful bit of stalemate. Thanks to Steven the Doctor works out how to foil the Toymaker and its a clever way. Certainly makes up for the parlour games that we have had to endure over the last couple of episodes. The whole thing is played out well enough and it doesn't require any music and instead relies on the direction and also the performances.

The final scene is a nice explanation as to how they were able to defeat the Toymaker and it again took Steven to do the explaining because William Hartnell didn't exactly do a great job himself. Whereas Steven had a positive effect on the story, Dodo had the opposite because its due to her offering the Doctor a sweet that led to his discomfort. Sadly the discomfort will be on the viewer because The Gunfighters is next but if anything has been shown, its that my opinion could be changed but after two stories would it be three in a row? Only time will tell.

It's difficult to compare this episode in relation to the previous episodes because this is the only one that exists on DVD. However I think that its a good episode where things are tied up nicely and we got more of the Doctor and the Toymaker which made up for the lack of both in previous episodes. As a four part adventure, the story should be credited for being quite creative. I have appreciated this more than I have done in the past and think that it should be watched/listened to again because there are some good moments.

The Celestial Toymaker - The Dancing Floor

The episode starts off yet again with the Toymaker talking to a silent and invisible Doctor and this means that this is another episode where Peter Purves and Jackie Lane are left in charge of moving the story forward. There is another game that Steven and Dodo have to find a key to a door. Luckily they manage to get through the game with no problem and its not until the end before Cyril is teasingly introduced to us.

This was the first time in the story where I began to lose and bit of interest in the story. The early part of this story was more comedic than it had been and despite the setting being as it is, I thought it just didn't serve any good to the story. It just seems like padding of the worst kind. Like the previous episode I would have liked more of the Toymaker and again we get very little. We also get nothing of William Hartnell. It's the first time since the third episode of The Dalek Invasion of Earth where we haven't had a single shot of Hartnell. 

There seems to be a moment where Dodo and Steven are dancing in a manner that won't win them an fans on Strictly Come Dancing. It would have been nice to see this but sadly we can't. The problem with the whole episode is that it does feel like they were just hovering in terms of plot progression. Unfortunatley as best as they try Peter Purves does struggle in this though he is the best thing in it.

To be honest I'm struggling for things to say so I'm just going to cut it short this time and look towards the final episode which thankfully exists on video and it will hopefully have more movement than this one and also will have William Hartnell will finally make an appearance.

The Celestial Toymaker - The Hall of Dolls

The second part of this story starts off with Dodo and Steven before quickly returning to the Doctor and the Toymaker and instantly the Toymaker becomes just as menacing as he was in the previous episode.  Its good that at least we can see that the Doctor can see how Dodo and Steven are getting on. Now the Doctor is mute as well as invisible and this immediately reduces William Hartnell's involvement in the episode. As Peter Purves is such a strong on screen presence it means that I don't mind as much, sadly Jackie Lane is becoming annoying in this story and whilst she's given more to do that in The Ark, the way that she acts is somewhat annoying.

The games that Dodo and Steven have to play would look great on TV but sadly on audio we are just left with just hearing this and it lacks an kind of fun for me. The costumes would also have been fun look at. Like the Toymaker, the supporting characters have the same level of creepiness and even though they don't get aggressive they work for the Toymaker so they can be just as dangerous. Theonly thing that I wish the would have changed and that is to involve the Toymaker more. Michael Gough gets two small scenes and he's great in both but his involvement in the story should have been greater.

As he is effectively the lead in this episode, Peter Purves gives a great performance and whilst Indont think he has the suave and sophistication that William Russell had as Ian, I think that Peter Purves has done well with the character and Steven is quite methodical and logical throughout the episode. The supporting characters are quite entertaining with Cyril being the highlight. The only time Dodo gets something good to do is when she sits on the wrong chair and starts to freeze and this would have looked good n TV but its a moment hat doesn't seem to last very long and it would have been a great cliffhanger. 

Like in the previous episode there is a moment where Dodo thinks that they have come across the TARDIS but it turns out to be the wrong one and we get another riddle from the Toymaker which leads them to the next game. This is then how the episode ends which I thought was a surprise. Not the way they chose to end it but just the fact that the whole episode had been moving along quite nicely it is making me re-evaluate the story. It's not a classic but it still a lot better than I remember. 

The Celestial Toymaker - The Celestial Toyroom

It's back to the CDs after enjoying the DVDs and its back to the Peter Purves narrated story. This is the firs story to be produced by Innes Lloyd after John Wiles departed from the show after just 24 episodes having taken over from Verity Lambert at the start of The Myth Makers. This story is memorable for the fact that it was intended  for William Hartnell to become invisible and return as someone else but this got nixed. 

The premise of the stor is quite simple. The Doctor has to win his game and Dodo and Steven have to win their games. However it is never that simple and that's what is going to determine whether the stor will work. If the regulars don't win then they become part of the Toymakers toy room. The Doctors game is more interesting because he has to play the trilogic game and do it in exactly the right number of moves. There is no way that I could play that game so it would be interesting to know if William Hartnell could follow it. The games that Steven and Dodo have to play seem more childish and it seems that the story is focusing more on Peter Purves and Jackie Lane than Wlliam Hartnell. Every so often the story goes back to the Doctor and the Toymaker to give the companions and breather.

The Toymaker is played by Michael Gough who would return in Arc of Infinity. From the moment that he appears he is instantly unsettling. It's a great performance from him. He never raises his voice and never becomes aggressive yet he is an effective villain and its easy to see why he has become so interesting to fans over the years. The central performances are quite good with Jackie Lane being given more to do which makes a change from the previous four episodes. Though whilst the stuff between Jackie and Peter is good I just wanted to see more of the Doctor and the Toymaker and its one of the things that is wrong with this story. More Doctor and less Dodo.

Like most episode that don't exist on video anymore, this story suffers from a lack of visual. Judging by the telesnaps this would have looked good on video (though episode four does exist on DVD) though the story is interesting enough to keep my interest and its a fairly good episode. Not sure how I'm going to find the next episodes but I think that as my opinion of The Ark has changed then this story might have a different effect on me.

The Ark - The Bomb

The final part of this story starts with the idea that the Doctor and Dodo might have to stay on refusis. This episode sees the Monoids about to land on refusis and its not long into the episode before we are reminded that the Monoid statue has a bomb in it. Its not as simple as that with there being the small matter of a coup in the Monoid camp and also the guardians trying to find the bomb. It's quite good how the viewer knows where the bomb is yet everyone in the story has no clue.

Its good how he Monoids turn on each other as it shows that they are just as another race is suseptical to this form of action. It's fun to watch and helps keep the action going for a few more minutes. Thereis a classic stor trait of someone who has betrayed their own kind gets killed b the people they worked for. It's not long before they are killed and the focus of the story shifts to getting back to the Ark and stopping the bomb.

When the story comes close to the end there's a moral message about how the guardians should be more respectful to the Monoids and vice versa. It's rare that the moral messages is so blatant like it is in this story. The story gets wrapped up quite well and it feels like its ended at just the right moment.

Despite being stuck with the guardians, Steven still tries to work out a way of getting free. He is helped by the fact that he doesn't have to put up with Dodo. William Hartnell has to work along side her and despite this he does put in a good performance. I'm perhaps being harsh to Jackie Lane because she's reduced to a background role in this episode. It's clear that the production seem to be regretting creating the character and that's why she does very little.

The model work doesn't look as good as it did in the previous episodes. the wires are clearly visible and it slightly ruins the effect. The effect of the statue being lifted by the refusion might look a bit cheap and primitive but its quite clever really and when it gets chucked out of the airlock it's done quite well. 

The cliffhanger is a cracker. The Doctor becomes invisible and declares it as a form of attack. It is a great way of leading us into the next story and ends what has been the best final episode of a story that I can remember. As a story it's quite good, its certainly better than I remember and I can't think why I thought any differently. Yes there is a rather cliched moral message and yes the guardians are silly and deserve what they get. However it doesn't detract from my newfound respect for this story.

The Ark - The Return

The second part of this story is potentially where the story takes the next step. They work out that around 700 years have passed since they left and it doesn't take long to see that the guardians are the servants and the Monoids are in charge which is a complete switch of what it was like before. There has been a major development with the Monoids as they can now talk even though the method is somewhat primitive. I think that the head part of the Monoids are well done though there is a moment when one of them has a drink even though there's no clear way as to how this could happen.

When they land on the planet we get to learn that the inhabitants are invisible though its only done in a subtle way and it takes several scenes before they get involved. It's rather disappointing when before the speak the Monoid throws some vases as a way of getting someone's attention. It's rather a childish thing to do and slightly devalues them. Then they foolishly announce their true plans when the guardians can overhear them.

I love the moment when its revealed that even though they found a cure for the cold, the after effects did more harm and that along with various other things helped the Monoids overthrow the guardians. To be honest the guardians were a useless lot so its not such a worrying thing. The Monoids are an effective baddie with 'one' being the best of the bunch. Even the eye looks creepy even though its being moved by the actors tongue.

There is a fun moment when the Doctor appears to be talking to thin air but obviously he's talking to one of the refusions. The refusions seem like a pleasant enough race and have even gone to the trouble of putting up buildings just to make the guardians feel at home. Unlike the guardians, I actually like the refusions because at least they done come across and weak and feeble. Though even though I call the guardians week and feeble, the new ones we meet in this episode are no where near as annoying as the previous lot though that's only because it turns out one of them has become has become a turncoat.

We get more of the model as the capsule lands on the planet. It's good that we get to see it up close instead of on a screen like in a previous episode. It's good that we get to go somewhere different instead of just staying on the ark. Even though its a studio at least its somewhere different and it breathes some new life into the stor and I am enjoying this far more than I was expecting and this was another solid episode that kept me entertained and the final episode should continue this good work.