Escape or Die was the original name given for this episode
and you have to give Terry Nation some credit for trying to create some excitement
with just a title. When the episode restarts, the Doctor, Rebec, Taron and
Codal are flying up and the Daleks take an awful long time to realise that
there is only one way that they could have escaped. One of the things that I
like about this episode is the slowest chase in TV history with a Dalek rising
up to chase the Doctor and his new friends. It’s a great shot of seeing the
Dalek coming towards them as I think that it adds to the drama and tries to instil
some exciting in the slowest chase on TV. The purpose of the Daleks being on
Spiridon is made clear here and its creating a rather nasty virus.
Jo starts the episode trying to find the bombs but only
manages to get herself knocked out. It’s the typical course of action for a
companion. What’s quite interesting that given the size of the rock, it’s lucky
that she survived. Not only did she survive but she woke up relatively quickly.
The moment when Jo and the Doctor are reunited is a lovely moment and shows how
this dynamic is perhaps as strong as the Second Doctor and Jamie’s
relationship. Jo gets a romantic interest in this episode with Latep and it
seems (with the benefit of hindsight) that this is the beginning of setting up
Jo’s departure from the show. In the scene between the Doctor and Jo there is a
minor reference to the previous story, considering that this is one (unofficial)
long story, it would have been nice to have a mention of the Master as well as
the Ogrons.
When the action moves to the stones that they use to try and
stay save and perhaps warm is a nice moment in the story. It’s well set up and
the performances and directing help make this scene atmospheric. There’s more
of this in the next episode but what we got here was quite good and one of
those rare moments in Doctor Who that isn’t over lit by being in a studio. The
action is directed well by the legendary David Maloney who is doing his best in
this story. If anyone can make action seem interesting in largely jungle sets
then it would be Maloney. Terry Nation has been accused in this story of just
reheating his ideas from previous stories but to be honest that dosent really
bother me because if it was just a colourised version of such stories as ‘The
Keys of Marinus’ and ‘The Daleks’ then that would be a problem but the fact
that its mixed in with new stuff means that it can be enjoyed.
I found the cliffhanger to be a little better this time but
nothing special. Unlike the previous episode I got the feeling that it was
actually moving and things were happening. Despite their being more than a few
comparisons to previous Terry Nation stories (a greatest hits if you like), I
still like this story and think that it’s an enjoyable and interesting
adventure. 
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