The Dominators

Quarks! Attack!

I'm not entirely sure why The Dominators is regarded with such low regard. There are flaws of course, but the overall story is not worth the slag it gets in my opinion.

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on the planet Dulkis where another group of aliens called the Dominators have arrived. The Dominators use robots called Quarks to destroy a watch base and a pleasure tour party, although some survive. The Dominators plan to destroy the planet and convert the minerals into fuel for their own fleet. There is some adventuring where the Doctor and Jamie are captured but manage to trick the Dominators to let them go. They also travel to the capital city but the government refuses to help due to their pacifist nature. The Doctor and Jamie return to the island and organize the survivors into a resistance such that they are able to steal the bomb the Dominators are planning to use. The Doctor plants the bomb on the Dominator's ship where it blows up and he and his companions leave in the TARDIS as the island is buried in a volcanic eruption.

This story does have it's slow moments. It is easily an episode too long and some of the capture and recapture scenes between the Dulkans are a bit too repetitive. I would also argue that nearly all the scenes with the ruling council are unnecessary and are more for a cynical poke at the pacifist culture.

That being said, the Doctor himself is quite good and the bickering between the two Dominators is somewhat (and probably unintentionally) funny. There is an air of two people who have been together for too long, especially since one is a hot head interested only in filling blood lust while the other is trying to actually fulfill his mission.

The Quarks are also a bit undervalued. This might be due to a backlash as the BBC was convinced they would be a new craze like the Daleks were and were pushed a bit too hard. But the Quarks are a reasonable enemy as tools of the Dominators. They worked well in the action scenes, which also were an enjoyable part of the story.

Is this a classic story? No. It's entertaining in a bit of a silly way that just seems to work for me. I would take a number of Second Doctor stories over this one, but I think it works well enough and would watch it over again if in the right mood.

Overall personal score: 2 out of 5