The Mutants - Episode 6

It’s felt like a long six episodes. It seems that this is the episode where things start to make a strange sort of sense. I should say that if they had worked this hard at the beginning of the story then I would have reacted better. Perhaps this is another example where quantity isn’t better than quality. I think that whilst its good occasionally to have six parters (like in ‘The Sea Devils’), most stories are better as a four episode format. After spending what feels like an eternity talking about him we actually get to meet the earth investigator. Thankfully it happens quite early on and from the moment he appears, the action seems to flow thick and fast. I like how it seems to be going the Marshall’s way before Jo, Stubbs and Cotton gate-crash the investigation. What follows are some of the finest scenes in the entire serial.

Paul Whitsun-Jones has saved the best until last. The Marshall does seem to have come unhinged as he ends up locking up the investigator and when he meets his end I was quite glad that he got his comeuppance. Jon Pertwee also gives one of his best performances for quite sometime. He seems to really go for it when he’s talking to the investigator. Even Katy Manning seems to get some good stuff to do though she’s put in a position where she doesn’t outshine Pertwee which is fair enough I suppose.

The effect of turning Ky’s hand from a human hand to a mutant is brilliantly achieved. Also some of the effects of the Technicolor CSO Ky are well done by 1972’s standards. It does do a good job of making it look like some sort of metamorphosis has taken place. The Mutts are quite good even when they are on Sky Base. I was quite critical before about how some of the studio sets were quite dull and were undermining the story. This time they were actually quite good and this might be more to do with what was going on but I thought that they looked good.

Whilst I am glad to see the back of this story I should say that they saved the best episode till last. Everyone was performing brilliantly and helped me enjoy this story for the first time really. I still think that its one of the weakest third Doctor stories so far and I can breathe a sigh of relief because the next story sees the return of Roger Delgado and the return of UNIT. Yes its TOMTITT and ‘The Time Monster’.