The Ark

They were treated like slaves. Is it no wonder that when they got the chance they repaid you in kind?

The Ark is a story that I don't know much about other than that the principle aliens are the Monoids and that it is divided into two halves with the cliffhanger of Episode Two being the statue with a Monoid head. I've never heard anyone speak highly of it so I'm expecting a story that rather mundane. Usually if a story is openly bad, it gets a little extra attention just for that. Forgettable stories just fade into the ether.

Plot Summary

The TARDIS lands in the midst of a jungle filled with Earth creatures. Dodo, who is suffering from a cold, assumes they've landed in a zoo and goes wandering off. Steven follows her, chastising her for being so cavalier. The Doctor also believes they are in a zoo of some kind but notes a metallic sky and mechanical vibration in the floor.

They have actually landed on a ship and in the crew area, a trial is being held regarding a crewman who endangered the lives of others both human and the alien Monoids, who escaped to Earth from their own dying world and are now travelling with these humans who are escaping the dying Earth. The defendant is found guilty and placed into a machine that shrinks him to a microscopic level where he is then frozen and placed into storage. One Monoid enters and informs the court that strangers have arrived and a group of Monoids go to investigate.

The Doctor and his party become aware of the search party and duck into a cave to avoid them. Once past, they walk out and into the inhabited part of the ship, with the Doctor realizing they are on a ship. The Monoid search party finds them and they are taken to the Commander.

The Commander welcomes them and explains their history and their goal of traveling to a world seven hundred years travel away. Most of the human colonists have been shrunk and frozen, leaving a small group to breed and man the ship along with the Monoids. The group is also shown a statue being built as a symbol of unity among the crew.

As they talk, the Commander begins to feel a bit ill. As his fever grows, a flatbed cart is driven in by a Monoid with another Monoid on it. Both the Monoid and the Commander have contracted Dodo's cold and their lack of immunity is making it worse than for Dodo. The Monoid dies and the Commander becomes incoherent. The deputy commander, Zentos, accuses the Doctor's party of being agents of the planet they intend to colonize and orders them arrested.

As the cold spreads, Zentos orders the Doctor, Dodo and Steven to be put on trial as saboteurs. Steven elects to be the representative at the court with a man named Rhos and the Commander's daughter Millium acting as defense. During the trial, word comes that a human has died from the illness and the crowd declares the defendants guilty and to be executed by being ejected into space. Also during the trial, Steven falls ill from the cold and is taken back to the cell.

Millium goes to her father and rouses him enough to order that the Doctor be given a chance to find a cure for the illness and that Steven is to be the test subject. If he fails, they will be executed. The Doctor readily accepts and has Dodo and the Monoids bring him ingredients from the TARDIS and the animals in the jungle. Working with both the human scientists and a Monoid technician, the Doctor synthesizes a cure and injects Steven with it. His fever spikes briefly and then breaks. Dodo heads out to inform the others and the cure is passed out to all the others.

Apologetic, Zentos releases them and wishes them well on their travels. The three leave in the TARDIS only to have it reappear in the same place. Confused, they walk out to look for the people they just met and find the space nearly empty. They do find the statue has been completed, only instead of being a man like the plans, it has the face of a Monoid.

The Doctor investigates the empty control room to find it fully automated. He also discovers that the Monoids have taken over and are now using the humans as slaves. The Doctor, Dodo and Steven are discovered by the Monoid second-in-command who takes them to the Monoid leader. The leader recognizes them as the same travelers from the past. He also relates that Dodo's cold mutated after they left, weakening the humans and Monoids in it's wake. The Monoids, encouraged by the humans to improve themselves, learned to make weapons and rose up in a violent revolution.

The three are sent to the security kitchen to assist in the preparation of food. The Doctor and Steven rally the humans to try and rise up against the Monoids but they are beaten back and one is killed by reinforcements. The Doctor and Dodo are taken out of the kitchen with Steven left as a promise of good behavior.

Approaching the planet Refusis II, the Monoids launch a landing craft with the Monoid second-in-command, his human slave, the Doctor and Dodo. They explore the planet but see no one. They do find a castle and enter it. The Monoid begins to destroy things to get the inhabitants attention but he is stopped by an invisible power. The Doctor calmly talks with the Refusian and learns they were altered into beings of energy by a solar flare impacting their planet. They welcome new inhabitants, so long as they are peaceful, and have taken steps to build shelters for them, including the castle.

Back on the ship, the Monoids plan to land on the planet and colonize it once they have a report. They also plan to blow up the Ark and all it's inhabitants with a bomb in the statue, ridding themselves of the remaining humans. One of the slaves overhears this and runs to the kitchen to warn the others.

This plan is also let slip by the second-in-command to his slave and Dodo. The slave tries to fight him but is shot down. The Monoid continues back to the landing craft, unaware that he is being followed by a Refusian. He signals the Ark but before he can relate the information about the Refusians, the Refusian blows up the landing craft, killing the second-in-command and leaving the Doctor and Dodo stranded on the planet.

Concerned over the failure of communications with Two, the lead Monoid orders that all Monoids, including the preserved ones, head down to the planet. However, Monoid Four believes that they should stay on the Ark and begins to foment dissent among some of the Monoids.

Knowing that they need to find the bomb, Steven and the others watch the Monoids prepare to depart. One man, Maharis, sneaks out after finishing loading the pods with the Monoid colonist trays and releases the others from the kitchen. After the Monoids depart the ship, they begin to scour the ship for the bomb.

On the planet, the Doctor and Dodo hide while the Monoids look for Two and the inhabitants of the planet. The Doctor and Dodo sneak aboard one landing craft and signal the Ark. The Doctor and Steven devise a plan where they will keep looking for the bomb while the Doctor tries to get it's location from the Monoids. As an added distraction, the Doctor has the Refusian he has been in contact with, take the landing craft back to the Ark.

The Doctor and Dodo surrender to the Monoids and the Monoids are equally dumbfounded by the landing craft departing when they cannot see anyone flying it. Interrogated by Monoid One, the Doctor insists that he and Dodo have not seen anyone. Unnerved, Monoid Four openly defies the leader and leads some of the Monoids back to the pods with the intention of taking the Ark elsewhere. Monoid One gloats that as the bomb is in the statue, he will find it difficult to move, allowing the Doctor to learn of it's location. Monoid One then gathers his followers to deal with Monoid Four's insubordination.

On the Ark, Maharis decides to take the landing craft back to Refusis to help the Doctor. Another collaborator, Dassuk, insists on going along and they head down. They land to see the Monoids in a firefight with each other. Dassuk tries to give himself to them but he is shot down. Maharis and those that accompanied him run to the castle where they tell the lone Monoid guard that Monoid One has sent for him to help in the fight.

Unguarded, the humans and the Doctor make their way back to the landing craft where the Doctor signals Steven that the bomb is in the statue. On board, the Refusian uses he powers to levitate the statue to the landing bay and Steven and another human named Venussa launch it into space where it explodes harmlessly.

The humans come down to the planet where they disarm the few surviving Monoids, Monoids One and Four having been killed in the fight. The Refusians allow them to colonize the planet so long as the two species live in peace. The Doctor chastises the humans noting that their ancestors enslaved the Monoids, embittering them towards the humans. If they treat each other as equals, they will live well together.

The Doctor, Steven and Dodo depart in the TARDIS. While in flight, the Doctor has a slight cough and as he does so, he begins to become invisible. Steven asks if this is similar to the Refusians but the Doctor informs him that he believes they are under attack from a more powerful source.

Analysis

I think The Ark can best be described as something that is there as it is not overly engaging. I do think that the second half of the story is better than the first, but neither is particularly engaging.

I think unquestionably the best thing about this story is the Doctor. The Doctor is calm, collected and inquisitive. He aims to help and doesn't get flustered, even when things go against him. He is also quite proactive, which is somewhat unusual for the First Doctor. Steven still takes the lead on much of the action but the Doctor goes out of his way to do things on his own. He actively petitions to help cure the plague in the first half, he instigates the feelings of rebellion in the second and actively works to thwart the Monoids and lend as much aid as possible to Steven in finding the bomb. He does all this with a chipper sense of adventure that is sometimes lacking with the First Doctor and it is enjoyable.

I'm not much for linguistics and it's been a while since I watched The Massacre so Dodo's switch from a more working class accent to the posh version was entirely lost on me. She was okay in this story though a bit dim. I got the feeling that she was intended to be more of a comic relief type of character, especially when dealing with the cold in the first half. In the second, she took a more subservient role to the Doctor and behaved more or less as the average 60's female companion: look nice and don't get in the Doctor's way. I didn't have a problem with it but there was nothing particularly catching about it either.

Steven was typical Steven. He took on a slightly exasperated parent tone when dealing with Dodo in Episode One, which did amuse me as Vicki had a similar tone when dealing with Steven in The Time Meddler. But once things got real, he settled down into his usual role. Episode Two didn't give him much other than the trial at the beginning but in the second half of the story, he went into typical action-man mode, going so far as to metaphorically slapping around the human slaves. He did well, but again, there wasn't much outside of what I would have expected. It was Steven being Steven and he did it well but nothing outside of that.

If there was a point where this story really fell down it was in the acting of the guest cast. This is more so in the first half. I actually didn't have a problem with the Monoids as I thought they were reasonably well designed and did about as well as you would expect a man in a suit to do. As such, when they were the focus in the second half, shortfalls in the acting did not register as much.

The real problems came with the human crew. The worst offender I thought was the Commander who falls ill at the end of Episode One. He has one good moment where a criminal is put into storage. After that, his delivery is terrible and he doesn't seem to know which direction he should take himself. Mellium is okay but she is every bland 60's female guest actor. She has her moments of stilted delivery and just standing about looking pretty which makes her quite uninteresting. Similarly Zentos is every zealous over-reactionary we've seen before. He chews the scenery while proclaiming the Doctor and his companions to be evil with no proof. He stands in a position of self-righteousness only to be humbled later as we have seen so many times before. If the acting doesn't get you, the genericness of the characters will.

There is a bit of an improvement in the second half as all the human characters seem to be portrayed by better actors, but there is so little time devoted to them, that it is impossible to care about them. I actually lost track of who was who at one point because all the men just seemed to look like each other. I guess that should be expected when you start with a relatively small genetic pool and then look forward seven hundred years, but it made the story just that much more difficult to follow. The standout was Venussa, not only because she was a woman but also because she seemed to be a slightly better actress and seemed to be the most enthusiastic about the revolution.

It's actually a bit of a shame that more time could not have been devoted to them because there was an interesting angle could have been explored about the collaborators and their relationship with the Monoids and then back to the humans. It's glossed over in a bit of a hasty way in this story with only the one die-hard collaborator who is gunned down by his masters when he surprises them.

Another thing that bugged me about this story is the nature of the plague that developed. Dodo has a generic cold, a bout of the sniffles essentially when they land. I can understand it felling the inhabitants of the Ark and being nastier there as they are lacking the level of immunity that Dodo and Steven have. However, even without that immunity, death from a cold seems like an extreme reaction. What's more, Steven catches the disease but instead of having symptoms like Dodo, the virus has apparently mutated in the span of a few hours to fell him during the trial. This makes no sense as the base level germ should have been the same to what he was exposed to in the TARDIS. At one point when hiding, Steven had his hand over Dodo's mouth to keep her quiet so he has been more than exposed to the germ. Yet, rather than having an immunity to it, he is felled just as bad as the others. Even if he had not yet fully gotten Dodo's cold, he should have displayed symptoms similar to hers, given his own build up of immunities over the years. A slight fever maybe but it should have essentially been a runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing.

I would argue that the disease is not Dodo's cold but in fact some other germ that they've been exposed to and brought with them. The Doctor is immune because of his different physiology and Dodo does not get it because her cold has her immune system working harder and it repels the bulk of the infection without any significant effects. The passengers are felled first because of their lack of prior immunities but then Steven goes down with similar symptoms, demonstrating that it is a different bug. At least, that's how I like to think of it.

Jumping back to the Monoids, I rather liked the design even if the Beatles haircuts are a bit much. I would also note that despite what the Doctor says in Episode Four, there isn't a lot of evidence showing the Monoids as slaves in the first two episodes. Monoid One even goes so far as to mock the humans for encouraging their learning which allowed them to rise up. I thought it rather a weak sauce to make the idea of peace a little easier at the end by implying the humans were just as guilty as the Monoids, despite there being no evidence in the story of that guilt. It is actually a Monoid death that prompts Zentos to have the Doctor and his companions arrested, which doesn't seem like the actions of a slave master. I think it would have worked a bit better if the Monoids felt like they were being oppressed and the Doctor telling both sides they needed to talk to each other rather than just have the Doctor pronounce guilt on the humans, mitigating the Monoid's actions.

One positive point was the model work. Both the model statue and the ships were quite well done and I thought that was good work for the time. All the sets really were well done, although the idea of a "security kitchen" is a little dumb. I'm also not sure a real elephant was necessary to convey the feeling of the Ark, but it did add a nice little bit of extra flair.

I'm a bit indifferent about the Refusians. They were a literal Deus Ex Machina with the added benefit of being invisible so you save money on design. The story worked well enough with them, though the addition of god-like beings did make the Monoids seem like much more adept villains that normal. Or the humans as just that much more pathetic. Take you choice there.

If you can get past the faults of the first two episodes, this story isn't terrible. I wouldn't recommend it as a first run on the First Doctor era as there are much better stories out there. But it has some good points and at least a bit of fun adventure in the second half. The concept is definitely sound and one that should be played with more often (such as is implied in The Face of Evil) but this is more of a first draft effort.

Overall personal score: 2 out of 5

Galaxy 4

Oh look it's got a sort of... chumbly movement.

Galaxy 4 is up there with Enlightenment in my having difficulty getting a copy of. I was able to watch an animated recon of the first episode (Four Hundred Dawns) but it was close to terrible in terms of quality. I scavenged around some more and finally was able to locate some of the Loose Cannon versions which made watching the story so much easier. It also helped that Episode Three (Airlock) has been found as getting a moving episode break in a recon story helps so much more.

Plot Summary

The Doctor, Steven and Vicki land on an unknown planet that despite being conducive to life, does not appear to have any. They prepare to go out but stop when hearing a strange beeping sound. A machine is bumping it's way around the TARDIS, investigating. Vicki seems amused by the machine and dubs it a Chumbly. The Chumbly sends a signal and then rolls off.

The three exit the TARDIS to explore. They find a Chumbly with a gun pointed at them. Though blind, the machine is sensitive to their movements. It demonstrates the power of it's gun and then herds the three across the landscape. As they walk, two women emerge and cast a metal net over the Chumbly, causing it to shut down.

The women identify themselves as Drahvins. They desire to take the Doctor and his companions to their leader, Maaga. They also warn the three against the masters of the Chumblies, the Rills. Vicki hesitates but when more Chumblies arrive, the group dashes off, forced to leave the metal net behind. The other Chumblies pull the net off the trapped Chumbly, freeing it.

The party arrives at the Drahvin's ship and Maaga enters. She is pleased at the capture of the Doctor and his party but angry at the loss of the metal net. She dismisses the guards and speaks of the Drahvin's war with the Rills. She also notes that the planet they are on will explode in fourteen dawns. She plans to take over the Rill ship as her ship was damaged in a firefight with the Rill ship while on a scout mission, looking for additional territory.

A Chumbly approaches her ship and Maaga fires the ship's lasers at it. The Chumbly is undamaged but flees the ship. The Doctor offers to head back to the TARDIS to see if the information the Rills have given the Drahvins about the expected death of the planet is true. Maaga accepts but demands a hostage to ensure the Doctor's return. Vicki volunteers and the Doctor and Steven leave. After they leave, Vicki overhears Maaga berating her soldiers for the loss of the metal net.

As they approach the TARDIS, they see a Chumbly circling around it, trying to gain access. Eventually it leaves and the Doctor and Steven enter the TARDIS. The Doctor checks his instruments and verifies what the Rills have said. He also notes that their timing is off and that the planet will actually explode tomorrow after only two dawns.

They attempt to leave the TARDIS but are forced to wait by the return of the Chumbly. The Chumbly again tries to enter the TARDIS, this time by detonating explosives around it. The Doctor and Steven are rocked but unharmed. The Chumbly retreats in failure and Steven and the Doctor return to the Drahvin ship. Before entering, the Doctor notes that the Drahvin ship is poorly made and not really fit for space travel. He suspects the Drahvins are not particularly technologically advanced.

Meeting again with Maaga, the Doctor lies and tells her what she originally told him: that the planet would explode after fourteen dawns rather than the two he discovered. Maaga demands that they help her take the Rill ship by force. The Doctor refuses but Maaga threatens to kill them if they don't. Steven tries to disarm her but a patrol returns and he is subdued. The Doctor agrees and he and Vicki leave to investigate the Rill ship with Steven being left behind as a hostage.

Steven attempts to incite an uprising among the Drahvin soldiers by pointing out the inequality between them and Maaga. He then tries to trick a soldier into giving him her gun and her taking Maaga's more powerful gun while on patrol. Maaga however enters and reprimands the soldier for nearly being tricked. Steven retreats to side and pretends to go to sleep so as to listen on other conversations.

The Doctor and Vicki find the Rill ship being patrolled by Chumblies. Vicki does a quick experiment and discovers that the Chumblies do not sense what is behind them. She and the Doctor follow a Chumbly until they can duck into the ship. The Doctor immediately notices that the Rill ship is a much higher technology level than the Drahvin ship. Vicki also notes a strong smell of ammonia in the air.

As Vicki and the Doctor continue to explore, Vicki is startled when she sees a Rill looking at them from the other side of a door. They flee the room but run into a Chumbly, forcing them back into the ship. They hide and evade the Chumbly and run to the edge of the ship. The Doctor gets through the gate but Vicki is trapped. The Chumblies arrive and take Vicki while the Doctor works on modifying the outside exchanger which converts the air into ammonia for the Rills to breathe.

Maaga is confronted by her drone soldiers about going on patrol. She rues their lack of intelligence and overrides their patrol order to ensure Steven is kept prisoner. Maaga plots to take the Rill ship, leaving the Doctor's company and the Rills to die in the planetary explosion. Steven overhears this but continues to pretend to sleep.

Vicki in brought back into the ship where she is confronted by a Rill through the compartment. Vicki tells the Rill that she and the Doctor were sent by the Drahvins to take the ship due to their companion being held prisoner. The Rill denies killing a Drahvin but is not surprised at the Drahvin's use of them. The Rill tells Vicki that Drahvins attacked them in space but they shot down the Drahvin ship as well. The Rill tells Vicki that they encountered a wounded Drahvin after crashing and tried to help her but Maaga shot at them and they retreated. They then saw Maaga kill the wounded Drahvin.

Steven notices his guard has fallen asleep and overpowers her, stealing her gun. He runs out of the ship, holding Maaga and another soldier at bay with the captured gun. However a Chumbly arrives outside the ship and he is forced back into the airlock. Maaga orders Steven to drop his weapon and enter. When he refuses, she orders a soldier to empty the oxygen from the airlock.

Realizing that the Rills are friendly, Vicki runs out to stop the Doctor from finishing his sabotage of the air filtration machine outside. She stops the Doctor and leads him inside. The Doctor informs the Rills that their calculations are off and that the planet will explode in one more dawn. The Rill admits that is not enough time to get power from drilled gas. The Doctor offers to help the rill build their power supplies. They also receive word from one of the Chumblies about Steven's escape attempt and his cries of distress.

The Rills tell the Doctor and Vicki to take two Chumblies and save Steven. They are stopped a soldier on patrol who doesn't trust them. They trick the soldier into believing they have captured the Chumblies and then disarm her. They continue towards the Drahvin ship.

Steven decides to take his chances with the Chumbly but finds the pressure has decreased too much for the outer door to open. He starts to collapse due to oxygen depravation. As he does, a Chumbly fires a projectile, smashing the ship window and flooding the Drahvin ship with gas. The Chumbly breaks open the airlock and Steven revives with the atmosphere rushing back in. The Doctor takes hold of him pulls him away from the Drahvin ship, helping him to get his breath back.

Maaga clears the air and orders her soldiers to arm and advance on the Doctor and the Chumblies. The Rills, speaking through the Chumblies, order Maaga and her soldiers back. The group withdraws to the Rill ship with two Chumblies providing cover. The Drahvins withdraw back to their ship and plan a night attack on the Rill ship.

Back at the Rill ship, the Doctor continues to work on transferring power from the TARDIS to the Rill ship. Vicki and the Doctor head out to the TARDIS to complete the transfer. Steven stays behind in the Rill ship to recover and look around. Steven is skeptical of the Rills motives but the Rills tell Steven that if the Doctor is wrong about the time required, they will send the Doctor, Steven and Vicki away in their ship. Chagrined, Steven apologizes and tells the Rills of Maaga's plan to take the Rill ship and leave them to die on the planet. Steven and a Chumbly then begin work on the cables in the Rill ship.

One of the Drahvin soldiers exits the ship from the rear entrance and sneaks up behind the guarding Chumbly. She manages to destroy it with a piece of pipe. Maaga then takes the other two soldiers out and they march towards the Rill ship.

The Doctor and Vicki arrive back at the TARDIS and set up the cable between it and the Rill ship. They return, followed closely by the Drahvins. One of the soldiers enters the ship just as the Doctor and Steven activate the power transfer. A Chumbly paralyzes the Drahvin soldier and the Doctor and his companions are pulled inside the inner sanctum for their safety where they see the Rills unobscured.

The Rills dispatch more Chumblies to keep the Drahvins at bay. Maaga fires at them but they are forced to stay under cover. When the power transfer is complete, the Doctor, Steven and Vicki say goodbye to the Rills with a Chumbly to escort them. As they leave, the Rill ship takes off.

Terrified, the Drahvins try to head towards the TARDIS but the Chumbly escort beats them back. The Doctor and his companions enter the TARDIS and the Chumbly powers itself down. The TARDIS disappears as the planet begins to erupt. On the scanner, they observe the planet explode into dust.

As they travel, the Doctor remarks how he could do with a rest. They turn on the scanner and Vicki makes an idle comment about a planet they are passing. The scene then shifts to the planet Kimbel where a member of the Space Patrol wakes in a thick jungle.

Analysis

Galaxy 4 may hold an interesting distinction as the only story I've seen where it actually went down in my estimation when I could see it move. Most of the time, movement will draw you further into the story, but in this case, direction choices by Derek Martinus actually pulled me further out of the story rather than further in.

One of the few things I think I can that I liked about this story is the Doctor. The Doctor is a lot more perceptive than he is shown to be on the surface. It is tempered with his mischievous, almost doddering nature, but he is still thinking well ahead of the Drahvins and not taken in by them at all. Of course he also still has a few foolish moments that keep him in that silly vein, but overall, I enjoyed the Doctor here.

Steven and Vicki weren't bad here but neither gave a particularly good performance. It is fairly well known that when this story was originally written, it was written with Ian and Barbara in mind so Steven ended up playing more of Barbara's role and Vicki absorbed some of Ian's more action oriented scenes (such as disarming the guard when going to rescue Steven). Vicki's Ian moments are actually pretty good as she sounds like a rational, thinking person. It's the overly silly and cutesy lines (such as creating the Chumbly name) where she is actually just annoying.

Steven is far more passive than he should be, although it does demonstrate that Barbara was not a wilting violet in Steven's escape attempt. His performance on the whole wasn't bad overall, even in this more passive state, with the strong exception of his being left alone with the Rills early in Episode Four. Whomever it was written for, Steven's scene where the Rills convince him of their decent nature is pretty painful for him. Cynicism is one thing, but that scene plays into a near racist trope. Even if you wanted to think of Steven (or Barbara) as having racist tendencies, to be that openly hostile about it and to have the Rills put such a strong emotional slapdown on it is just painful to watch.

The Rills aren't bad but they are a bit too noble for my taste. It's something of a cliché to talk about ugly on the outside but good on the inside and vice versa and this story is all about that. I would have liked a touch more nuance with the Rills, even if it was a developed coldness towards the Drahvins as being deserving of death for murdering their own kind. It would have been just a touch of grey that would have done well I think.

The Drahvins are boring. There is some light potential there with the three soldiers being tube manufactured drones with no intelligence and Maaga being the only one with the ability to think. That could have been explored both in the maintaining of military order but also in the shortfalls of having only one thinker in the form of the commander. However, it is only implied at best given the Drahvin's limited technology and very black hat attitude.

That actually was one of the worst scenes in the recovered episode: Maaga's soliloquy of evil to the camera. There started to be some nuance in her performance but it quickly devolved into how she will kill the others in their escape and how great she is because she can envision it in her mind. I suspect they were going for an Iago style moment where the darkness of the mind would be made manifest. It even had the background turn dark and her silhouetted as though alone in her mind. But the decision for her to look directly in camera and just stare at it while fantasying just didn't work for me at all. She was stepping out as though trying to scare the audience rather than muse on her thoughts and I found it to be a huge distraction with her performance.

There is a bit of a reputation for the last story in a season of Doctor Who to look a bit bad because the budget has run out and that does seem to apply to Galaxy 4 as well. Galaxy 4 actually led off Season 3 but it was filmed at the end of Season 2 so it was subject to the money issues. But the story just looks cheap. The Chumblies do not look very robust, especially with all the interaction they have to go through. The backdrop was clearly visible and the sets for both ships seemed flimsy. It just looked very much like a story on a studio set and a small one at that.

The overall story was very simple and it got a bit boring at times. There were sections in every episode where someone would go on a long talk that usually was only a bit of superfluous backstory. Many of these scenes were with Maaga and the other Drahvins but there were moments where the Doctor and Vicki would be shown in a little scene and it had nothing to do except pad the story's run time. When the story is that simple and you drag it out even longer, it becomes tedious and not having any interesting visuals to go with it only makes it worse.

Overall, I can't recommend this one. If it is was found, I might try to watch it again as maybe Episode Three was an aberration in the direction, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Aside from the acting of the Doctor and a few little nuances here and there, there's not a lot to enjoy with this one. I think even if there was an improvement in the directing in the other three episodes, there still wouldn't be a whole lot to pull the story up. So, I wouldn't worry about this one if you have trouble finding it. It's not worth the effort.

Overall personal score: 1 out of 5

The Savages

They are men. Human beings like you and me; although it appears at the moment you are behaving in a rather subhuman fashion.

The Savages is a story you don't hear about much which is rather surprising given that it is Steven's departure story. Some of that stems from it being all recon and probably also that with much of Steven's performances lost, he is viewed as a lesser companion among some groups of fans. I happen to enjoy Steven and was rather curious about this somewhat overlooked story.

Plot Summary

The Doctor lands on a planet set in the far future. He heads out to take some scientific readings while Steven and Dodo wait outside the TARDIS. The Doctor is observed by men dressed in skins and armed with spears and clubs. They make to attack him but retreat when soldiers with laser guns appear. The soldiers welcome the Doctor, informing him that his movements have been tracked by the city elders and they wish to welcome him. The Doctor agrees to go with him and one of the soldiers named Exorse is sent to collect Steven and Dodo.

Steven, growing worried, scouts for the Doctor but is called back by Dodo screaming that she saw a savage man. The men reappear and hurl spears at them but Steven and Dodo take cover behind the TARDIS. The savages retreat when Exorse appears and takes the pair to the city.

At the city, the elders proclaim the Doctor an honorary elder and wish to discuss science with him. They are surprised at the arrival of Steven and Dodo as they had not expected companions, but they are given gifts and taken to another part of the city to enjoy refreshment. The Doctor sits with the elders and inquires about their source of energy, to which the elders both boast but are also vague about.

Meanwhile, city soldiers head out on patrols. The savages, observing from hidden locations, send messengers to warn their people to hide. One of the messengers is a woman named Nanina. She is captured by Exorse and taken back to the city where she is given over to a group of scientists. The scientists release a different savage whom they have just finished with and take Nanina down to the lab. The released savage, exhausted and dazed, walks slowly to the exit.

Steven and Dodo are escorted around the city but Dodo becomes suspicious as their two guides, Avon and Flower, take pains to ensure Dodo cannot see anything they do not want her to see. She sneaks a peek out a window and observes Exorse leading Nanina in to the city. Seeing him emerge from a room later, she manages to sneak away from the group and explore on her own. While walking down a passage, she runs into the savage just released from the lab. He ignores her and shuffles out through a door that leads outside the city. Outside, he is collected by the savage leaders.

The scientists place Nanina in a machine and begin to extract energy from her. Dodo, hearing Nanina's screams, makes her way into the lab to observe. She is grabbed and dragged into an adjoining chamber by the assistants who mistake her for another savage to be processed. Dodo however, fights back, threatening to destroy the equipment.

Steven, Avon and Flower finally notice that Dodo has gone missing and go to look for her. They interrupt the Doctor and elders to tell them but the Doctor dismisses their concerns as he trusts Dodo to take care of herself. The elders order guards to assist with the search. The guard believes that she may have gone down a restricted corridor. He prepares to go after her and threatens Steven that he is not go down the corridor either.

Dodo's actions arouse the awareness of the chief scientist Senta. He learns that she is not a savage and one of the Doctor's companions. He pulls her aside as the guard enters. The guard takes her back to Steven while Senta ends the extraction of Nanina. Nanina is then taken by the guards and released outside the city.

Dodo is taken back to Steven and the two of them are taken back to the Doctor. A guard then comes and arrests Avon and Flower for their negligence. The Doctor finishes his conversation with the elders and offers to show them some of his charts on time travel. He takes Steven and Dodo with him and heads back to the TARDIS. The chief elder, Jano, worried about what Dodo saw and suspects, orders the guard captain Edal to follow them.

The group heads back towards the TARDIS where the Doctor confirms to Dodo that he suspects something foul afoot as well. They find the man Dodo ran into earlier lying on the ground. The Doctor sends Steven and Dodo back to the TARDIS for medicine while he attends to him. Edal comes across them and tries to drive the man away. The Doctor resists and decries the practices used by the citizen of the city. Edal, worried about the Doctor's attitude, takes him back to the city under force.

Steven and Dodo return and give the man two capsules that help reenergize him. However, they are soon surrounded by other savages who mean to kill them. The man they helped protests, proclaiming them friends. He also tells them of how the Doctor was taken away when he stood for him. Steven and Dodo try to convince the savages to help them rescue the Doctor, but they protest, fearing how they are overmatched.

In the city, Jano tries to convince the Doctor of the good of their method but the Doctor still decries it and vows to fight them. Jano orders the Doctor taken to the lab where he is forcibly placed into the extraction machine. Senta begins to transfer energy from the Doctor into their vats. The operation successful, the Doctor is pulled out and sent to a cell to recover. Jano then states that he will take all the Doctor's vitality, not wanting to risk anyone else. He also orders Edal to find and bring back the Doctor's companions for similar treatment.

The savage leader Chal takes Steven and Dodo into a cave which is their refuge to escape the guards, whom they have learned are pursuing them. The guard Exorse learns of their location and follows them into the cave. Chal takes Steven and Dodo down a passage, hoping to discourage Exorse in his pursuit. Exorse cows the remaining savages in the cave and one reveals which passage the companions went down and he follows them.

The passage ends in a dead end and Chal gives themselves up as lost. Steven however, learns from Chal that the light guns may be vulnerable to reflection. He takes the jeweled mirror that Dodo was given and orders the other two to lie down. As Exorse approaches, he activates the light gun. As he does so, Steven lifts the mirror and the light shines back, freezing Exorse. Steven picks the gun up and pushes Exorse back to the main chamber, suspended in his own beam. The savages look with wonder on Steven turning the tables on the guard.

With the gun in his possession, Steven asks for help to get into the city. Chal agrees to lead them to the door the savages are expelled from after extraction. Steven also orders that no harm come to Exorse unless he tries to escape. A savage named Tor, drunk on the victory, ignores this and attacks Exorse. He wounds him but his blow is defected by Nanina who insists they listen to Steven. She then tends to Exorse's wound and he is softened by her kindness and humanity.

After dismissing the assistants Senta places Jano in the receiving chamber. He switches it on and transfers the Doctor's vitality into Jano. Jano emerges after the procedure, talking and acting like the Doctor for several moments before attempting to reassert his own mind. He tells Senta that the procedure was hard on him and needs rest. Senta agrees and leaves Jano alone in the lab with orders not to be disturbed.

Steven surprises a the guard at the city door and knocks him out when the light gun hits him in the eyes. Chal agrees to wait outside while Steven and Dodo enter the city to find the Doctor. Their entrance is monitored by Edal who orders the Doctor be placed at the end of the passage for them to find. Their transmissions are also monitored by Jano. Upon finding the Doctor, they attempt to lead him out of the city, but the Doctor merely shuffles about like a zombie. Edal orders the doors closed and the passageway flooded with gas. The gas renders the light guns inert and the group begins to choke on the gas.

Edal orders them to drop their guns and Dodo complies. Steven refuses and Jano, under the influence of the Doctor's mind, opens the door behind them. Dodo takes the Doctor out while the sudden rush of air, clears the passage of the gas, allowing Steven to fire his gun at Edal and his men. Steven retreats out through the door and Jano closes the door.

Edal prepares to go after the group and Jano declares that he will lead the patrol. He orders one set of guards to head to the TARDIS while the others head towards the caves. Steven and Dodo meet up with Chal and Chal and Dodo take the Doctor back to the caves. Steven stays behind to delay the patrol. He fires at the patrol from the undergrowth, scattering the guards and retreating steadily. Once Jano has a shot on Steven but declines to take it, his mind still struggling against the Doctor's.

Chal, Dodo and the Doctor arrive at the caves just as Tor is preparing to fight Nanina over the life of Exorse. Steven arrives with the guards directly behind him. They see Jano leading the patrol and Steven makes an effort to take him down. Suddenly the Doctor speaks, ordering Steven not to harm Jano. Steven complies and the group retreats in to the cave. Jano's patrol then breaks off the attack, but Jano stays behind.

The Doctor slowly begins to come around. He states that they cannot leave and leave the savages in their current state. He proposes to destroy the transference machine with help from inside the city. As darkness approaches, Jano enters the cave, just as the Doctor had told them he would. Jano, in taking the Doctor's vitality all to himself, has absorbed thoughts and grown a conscious. He agrees that they must change their ways and offers to help destroy the transference machine.

While Jano is talking, Exorse manages to free himself and flees into the jungle. Nanina follows and begs him not to betray them. She also points out that he owes her his life. Exorse acknowledges this but continues to the city.

Edal returns to the city and informs Senta of what happened. Senta believes Jano may have absorbed some of the Doctor's ideas and tells him and the other elders of the transference. Edal declares martial law and takes command. Exorse enters and informs them that he was captured but escaped. He also tells them that Jano was around but does not reveal Jano's plan. Edal is suspicious and orders Exorse taken away to be interrogated later.

Jano returns to the city with the Doctor and his companions as well as some of the savages posing as his prisoners. He denounces Edal and his attempt at seizing power and orders his arrest. Senta and the elders side with Jano and Edal is taken away. Once out of the room, Jano attempts to convince Senta to dismantle the transference machine. Senta is taken back by this and refuses. Jano then releases his "prisoners" and the group falls upon the machine and destroys it.

The guards burst in with Edal back in command and enraged at Jano's treason he prepares to shoot him. Steven however anticipates this and shoots Edal down instead. As the smoke clears from the destruction of the machine, Jano and Chal agree that they must have a neutral mediator to help both sides accept the other. They ask the Doctor to stay but he refuses. Chal then declares that Steven is the man they will accept. Jano, already in Steven's debt agrees. Steven protests but the Doctor insists that he is prepared to accept the challenges offered.

Steven agrees and after saying goodbye to the Doctor and a tearful Dodo, heads up to the main chamber to meet with both sides. Dodo asks if they will see him again and the Doctor offers a hope given the nature of their travels. He and Dodo then depart in the TARDIS.

Analysis

I must say that I was quite surprised by how much I liked this story. Generally when a story is generally overlooked by fans, you expect it to be more of the middling variety; something that doesn't sway people much one way or the other. Instead, I found this to be a very engaging and well acted story. There was tension as well as good action that actually translated fairly well to an audio only format and I'm sure looked pretty good on screen.

I must first praise the acting, especially of the Doctor. In the first episode and a half, he is very subtle. It would be easy to think him impressed and awed by the fawning attention he is getting. But there is a note in his voice indicating that he is well aware that something rotten is going on. He is certainly much more aware than Steven who is easily taken in by the wonders of the city. But the Doctor's best moments are his stands first again Edal and then Jano in defiance of their practices. It is an excellent denouncement of what they are doing. and very engaging. The Doctor has less to do in the following two episodes but what he does do is both well acted and entertaining. He is the Doctor who is in full command of the situation and he lets you know it.

Steven and Dodo do well here as well. Steven is a little off character in the first episode as he is normally not that trusting but he comes around as the proper man of action. Dodo is also engaging as she finally gets some proper spunk in her investigating as well as proper action sequences both with Steven and in helping the Doctor. She also has a nice emotional reaction in Steven's departure as someone clearly losing a good friend.

Most of the guest cast was pretty good. I especially enjoyed Jano both in his noble, yet barbaric mind but even more so when channeling the Doctor at the end of Episode Three. I found his impression to be quite impressive and I can imagine the bit of joking there was on set in his performance. The others were pretty good too, although I didn't really care for Tor. He seemed a bit too stereotypical young hothead and I didn't really buy his performance. There was no subtlety to it and his scenes mostly went nowhere except to create false tension that wasn't really needed.

Something else that is somewhat interesting is the carryover in production from the original title. It is fairly well known that the working title of this story was The White Savages, giving the impression that if that moniker is left off, the natural inclination toward savages is to imagine someone of non-Caucasian stock. More intelligent minds prevailed and the story was retitled. However it is interesting to note that all of the important players among the city dwellers are blacked up. Jano is the darkest but other characters are definitely wearing darker foundation than their natural skin tone. About the only ones who aren't are Avon, Flower, and Exorse. I am not sure if this was some sort of social commentary or if it was an expression of natural racism. In the end, it didn't bother me and if I hadn't been aware of the working title, I might not have paid much attention to it. Of course, the lack of moving pictures also helps to overlook it. If it were more visible, it might have stuck out more and perhaps affected my enjoyment of the story but I cannot say at this time.

One of the things that I found myself imagining with this story while watching it is that while the Doctor recovers from his vitality extraction, he loses a measure of his life to the machine. The First Doctor only lasts for an additional three stories before regenerating at the end of The Tenth Planet. I've not seen The Smugglers yet but in both The War Machines and The Tenth Planet, the First Doctor is clearly beginning to ail. Behinds the scenes, it is well known that the producer Innes Lloyd was actively working to both sideline and potentially replace William Hartnell. He gets a bit of a reprieve in both The Gunfighters and here, but throwing in a plot element about having part of your life sapped away to be playing in Lloyd's mind as another potential way of getting rid of Hartnell.

Unfortunately I can't speak to the production values too much for this story given that we can't see it. But the costuming and set design that we can see looks fairly decent. The helmets and light guns are a bit odd but that's pretty well par for the course in any 1960's Sci-Fi story. At the very least, nothing looked so odd or out of place that it distracted from the overall story.

One thing I do remember being brought up in a discussion of this story that I listened to was why the city dwellers didn't domesticate the savages and create less work for themselves. I think the answer is two-fold to that question. First, as anyone who works with animals will tell you, a wild animal will have more vitality and vigor than a domesticated one. This is even more true with animals that are not naturally domesticated and attempting to keep a group of humans locked away would probably diminish their overall vitality beyond what was needed. The Doctor and his companions would have been exceptions to this (and they were planning to keep them prisoner) but only because they got such a high yield of vitality from the Doctor and presumably would have from Steven and Dodo.

The second reason is actually alluded to in the story. While the people of the city had an idea of what was going on, they were clearly discouraged from discussing it and kept in the dark about the full nature of the procedures. This is demonstrated in Avon and Flower's evasiveness in answering Dodo's questions as well as trying to shield her from evidence of the truth. How much harder would it be to keep the people fully in the dark if a large farm of caged humans were kept nearby. What's more, continuous exposure to the savages would have risked exposing that they were not that different from the city dwellers and a genuine risk of savage rights activists might have appeared. Keeping the savages at a distance and letting them loom over as a threat to those who would go outside the city allowed the elders to maintain the fiction of their intellectual and cultural superiority over the masses as well as continue to encourage the idea that an armed state was necessary for defense.

On the whole, I enjoyed this one. I think it fair to say that I enjoyed it enough that I think I could sit through it again as a reconstruction and enjoy it. Obviously I'd prefer to see it fully realized and if it does manage to come back, I'd be happy to sit through it a second time. There are a couple of niggles outside of the limitations of it being a recon that knocked it down a touch but on the whole, this was a good one and unfortunately overlooked.

Overall personal score: 4 out of 5

The Chase

No, what is that other awful noise?

There is a small bit of irony in The Chase. Doctor Who is probably one of the best known shows to have episodes wiped from BBC archives. However, this story escaped wiping and contains a clip of the Beatles from their appearance on Top of the Pops. The irony is that the remainder of that episode of Top of the Pops was wiped and this little bit from The Chase is the only surviving footage.

That amusement aside, The Chase is fairly derided among fans as being a boring and rambling mess. At the very least, it was a bit of a jumble behind the scenes as Peter Purvis, who appears as Morton Dill in Episode Three, was subsequently recast as the new companion Steven in less than three weeks. That gives light to some of the other little problems that cropped up along the way.

Plot Summary
While relaxing on the TARDIS, the Doctor develops a time-space visualizer, allowing the crew to witness any event that has happened in the past. Ian observes the Gettysburg Address, Barbara observes Queen Elizabeth talking with Shakespeare and Vicki observes a performance by The Beatles.

They then land on the desert planet of Aridius. Barbara and the Doctor relax around the TARDIS while Ian and Vicki go exploring. Vicki and Ian discover a trail of what appears to be blood and follow it, unaware that something is starting to follow them.

Barbara overhears the visualizer and when she goes to turn it off, she observes a group of Daleks entering a time machine in pursuit of the Doctor. Realizing the danger, the Doctor and Barbara head out after Ian and Vicki so they can all leave before the Daleks arrive. However, night falls and they are forced to hunker down amid some rocks due to a sandstorm.

As night is falling, Ian and Vicki decide to turn around, but Ian finds a ring protruding out of the sand. He pulls it and opens a hatch in the sand. He and Vicki head down the hatch but turn to find that it has been closed behind them by a tentacled creature that had been pursing them.

As day breaks, Barbara and the Doctor emerge from the sand, unsure of where to go. They are forced to hunker down again as a Dalek also emerges from the sand. They overhear the Dalek plans to search for the TARDIS and it's occupants and begin to creep away. In doing so, they run into a small group of Aridians, a fish people with underground cities. The Aridians offer to take the Doctor and Barbra to their city to look for Ian and Vicki.

Vicki and Ian flee through the tunnels away from the various tentacled creatures, called Mire Beasts by the Aridians. They are nearly caught however above ground a Aridian sets off an explosion designed to trap the Mire Beasts in the abandoned parts of the city and the resulting rock fall, knocks Ian out and kills the attacking creature. Vicki continues through the tunnels to find help for Ian.

The Daleks discover the TARDIS buried in the sand. They capture a group of Aridians and force them to dig it out. Once finished, they kill the Aridians and attempt to destroy the TARDIS. However, it is immune to their weapons. They instead set guards over it. Vicki emerges from one tunnel near the TARDIS to see the Daleks guarding it and heads back for Ian.

Back in the main part of the city, the Doctor and Barbara are informed that the Aridians have been contacted by the Daleks and ordered to give the Doctor and his party over by sunset. The elders are forced to agree as they cannot fight the Daleks. Vicki is captured by an Aridian and brought into the chamber with the Doctor and Barbara to be handed over. She tells them that she found the TARDIS and that Ian had apparently woken up and was wandering in the tunnels.

As the Aridians prepare to hand the Doctor over, a Mire Beast breaks through one of the walled off sections and attacks the Aridians. In the confusion, the Doctor and his friends run though the tunnels to the exit Vicki told them about. There they find Ian, setting a trap for the Dalek guard. Using the Doctor's coat and Barbara's sweater, he creates a tiger trap and lures the Dalek guard over. The Dalek falls into the tunnel pit and the group runs to the TARDIS and take off. The Daleks, seeing their escape, move to pursue in their own timeship.

Temporarily elated at their escape, the crew soon realizes that the Daleks are pursuing. They rematerialize on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in 1966, hoping to replot and lose the Daleks. There, they meet a man from Alabama named Morton Dill who assumes they are Hollywood performers. They quickly leave and Dill then sees the arrival of the Daleks. Still amused, he tells the Daleks that the other performers have already left and the Daleks depart once more.

Trying again to replot, the TARDIS lands on the deck of an American cargo schooner. Barbara walks about and is mistaken for a stowaway by the mate. Before he can take her below, Vicki hits him on the back of the head with a club, knocking him out. She mistakenly does the same to Ian when he comes up to tell them they are ready to depart. The two women then assist a groggy Ian back to the TARDIS, which then departs.

The Daleks materialize on the ship just after the mate has woken up and set the alarm among the crew about a stowaway. Upon seeing the Daleks, the crew panics, screaming about the "white terror." The entire crew, including the captain's wife and child, jump overboard to escape the Daleks. In the pursuit, one Dalek also accidentally falls overboard. The Daleks realize the TARDIS has left again and depart, leaving the abandoned ship (shown to be the Mary Celeste).

Checking the instruments, the Doctor sees that the Daleks are still pursuing and are actually gaining on them each time they replot their course. He sets down with the intension of finding a place to fight the Daleks and the group finds themselves in a derelict mansion. The Doctor and Ian head upstairs to see about defenses while Barbara and Vicki remain downstairs with the TARDIS.

Ian and the Doctor discover a lab with a Frankenstein type monster, which begins to rise to pursue them. This causes them to double back and head back downstairs. Meanwhile Vicki and Barbara see someone claiming to be Count Dracula and get separated in different areas of the house. Ian and the Doctor come back downstairs but discover the Daleks have landed, causing them to run back upstairs. They once again enter the lab and arouse the Monster, who advances on the pursuing Dalek, unaffected by it's gun.

Doubling back downstairs, the Doctor and Ian are reunited with Vicki and Barbara who were merely lost. The remaining Daleks advance on them but they are distracted when Count Dracula appears again, immune to their guns. The Doctor, Ian and Barbara dart into the TARDIS and the Doctor takes off. Vicki however is overcome with fear and doesn't move. The Daleks move to kill her but are distracted once again as the Frankenstein Monster emerges and attacks another Dalek. Vicki finally runs and hides in the Dalek time machine. As the Daleks withdraw to pursue the Doctor, a sign shows that the place was an elaborate haunted fun house on Earth.

On the TARDIS, the crew suddenly realize that Vicki was left behind. Unable to direct the TARDIS back there, they decide to make a stand wherever they land, defeat the Daleks and use their time machine to go back and rescue Vicki. They land in a swamp on a planet identified as Mechanus.

In the Dalek ship, Vicki tries to signal the TARDIS but gets no response. The Daleks, frustrated with their failure, create a robot duplicate of the Doctor to act as an infiltrator and assassin. As they land, they send the robot out while they patrol the jungle looking for the Doctor and his team. Vicki also slips out in search of the TARDIS.

The Doctor and his team are accosted by giant mushrooms but the fungi retreat when a series of lights are activated. The lights form a path and the crew follows it to a cave in the cleft of the cliff face. They hunker down and prepare to fight the Daleks. Barbara also finds the control rod for the lights and she deactivates it. The extinguishing of the lights causes the mushrooms to move in and attack Vicki. They hear her scream and the Doctor and Ian go looking for her.

While they are gone, the robot Doctor enters the cave and convinces Barbara to follow him out to look for Ian, claiming they were separated. The real Doctor, Ian and Vicki come back and after a moment's disbelief, informs them of the robot Doctor. Ian heads out again and finds the robot Doctor as it is attacking Barbara. The robot flees and Ian takes Barbara back to the cave. The real Doctor had also slipped out to look for Barbara and as they approach the cave, both Doctors arrive, each accusing the other. Ian begins to attack the real Doctor but they soon realize that it is the wrong Doctor. The two Doctors engage each other but the real Doctor gets the upper hand and disables the robot. Exhausted, the group returns to the cave and falls asleep.

In the morning, the Doctor and Ian spy a city built high above the forest. However, the Daleks attack before they can move and the retreat in to the cave. The Doctor attempts to fool the Daleks by posing as the robot but the Daleks realize it is him and attack, forcing him to duck back in to the cave. As they prepare to make a last stand, an elevator door opens and a robot bids them enter. They quickly do so and are taken up into the city.

In the city, the robot places them in a large room with Steven Taylor, an astronaut who crashed on the planet two years ago. He tells them the robots are called Mechanoids and were sent to the planet to prepare it for colonization. However, the colonization never happened and without the trigger code, the Mechanoids treat all life as potentially hostile. If no defined threat is observed, they enclose it for study as Steven and the TARDIS crew now are. Showing them around, they get on to the roof and find a spool of power cable. With Ian to help, the group decides to try and escape.

The Daleks invade the cave but find it empty. They determine that their prey escaped up to the city and they pursue, summoning all Daleks from the time ship. The Daleks attack the Mechanoids and the Mechanoids fight back. The Doctor also contributes to the fight by leaving his bomb which destroys the lead Dalek. The fight escalates and the city begins to burn as both Mechanoids and Daleks are destroyed in the fighting.

The group begins to lower each one down to the ground but Steven runs back into the holding cell to rescue his stuffed panda Hi-Fi. Not knowing his fate, the group flees back to the TARDIS. Steven actually does escape but is behind the group and out of sight. The TARDIS crew find the Dalek time ship and discover that it is empty with all the Daleks killed in the battle. As they examine it, Ian and Barbara realize they can use the ship to get back home.

Their suggestion angers the Doctor and he initially refuses to help them but Vicki calms him down and reluctantly agrees, warning them of the risks. They accept that and disappear in the machine. They arrive back in London in 1965, nearly two years after they left. The Doctor observes them on the time-space visualizer, whispering how he will miss them. He and Vicki then take off, unaware that Steven has snuck aboard.

Analysis

There are two caveats required to enjoy The Chase. First, because each episode is so radically different from the last in both story and tone, it must be watched in episodic fashion. The mind needs time to process each episode and then compartmentalize it before moving on to the next part of the story. Second, do not apply any primary sense of logic. Much like Silver Nemesis, many parts of this story are built to be a fun thrill ride and will fall completely to pieces if you try to put any sense of either cohesion or intellectual thought into it. Many of the character's moods and behaviors will change from episode to episode as the situation warrants it. They aren't bad from an overall perspective, but it is another reason to put some space between each episode.

Looking back over the whole thing, I imagine that Terry Nation had a four-part story in mind with Episodes One and Two, then followed by Episodes Five and Six. These four seem to have a bit more flow together and use each location on a longer term. Whether it was his idea or the production team, the story was expanded to six episodes and it then gets very weird. I believe that Terry Nation was still looking to get a science fiction series of his own off the ground in the United States (either with or without the Daleks) and the radical change in tone and style shown in each of the episodes feels a bit like an audition of the various types of episodes he felt he could write.

Episode One is a happy jaunt showing the crew in a holiday like setting. Episode Two becomes bleak with Aridians murdered at will by the Daleks and only a bit of chance sparing the crew from being turned over by the helpless Aridians. Episode Three becomes light again with the cornpone Morton Dill and the silly reactions of the crew of the Mary Celeste. Episode Four is horror with a genuinely creepy haunted house, straight out of Scooby Doo. Episodes Five and Six veer back into the adventure tone with Five having a spy flavor and Six being an all out war, punctuated by Ian and Barbara's departure.

You would think, given the way I railed against the tone shifts of The Romans that these radical shifts would really bother me. However, in The Chase, the tone is consistent through the episode, unlike The Romans, which oscillated within the episode. I found that this made the changes much easier to digest, especially, as I mentioned earlier, if you watch and episode and then give a little time to digest it before jumping in to the next one. It is still jarring and doesn't make for a great overall story, but it at least doesn't produce whiplash while watching an episode.

The production values in this story were not great. Normally I don't have a problem with them in 1960's stories but were so many in this one that they just stood out to me. The Dalek emerging from the sand in Episode One is obviously evoking The Dalek Invasion of Earth Dalek emerging from the water. However, that doesn't do it any favors as in that story, it was a full Dalek that was submerged and this is obviously a little model placed in a sand box. In Episode Two, you can see the flap of the skull cap worn to give the Aridian's their top fin peeling up. There is little done to hide the obvious backdrops, giving the story a penned in feel. It doesn't help that in Episode Five there is a strong focus downward in several shots, clearly showing the crew walking on a stage floor rather than earth. There is also something that appears in the cave when Barbara finds the rod controlling the lights that looks suspiciously like a microphone of some kind. Perhaps it was supposed to be something of the Mechanoids, but it looked more like a busted shot to me.

However, I think the worst aspect of production error was in how Edmund Warwick was shot. Warwick played the robot version of the Doctor and while he did a serviceable job as a stand-in, it is painfully obvious that he is not William Hartnell. So why isn't Hartnell used for the face shots and Warwick kept for the rear and double shots? Hartnell's voice is used throughout, although it is very obviously prerecorded. But even in distance shots, like the closing of Episode Four, it is so obvious that that is not William Hartnell. It actually gets worse in the final confrontation when Ian fights the Doctor. He is clearly fighting William Hartnell while Edmund Warwick is shown in medium shot next to Vicki and Barbara. These are cut shots and there is no reason you couldn't have had William Hartnell in both places. If that was too difficult due to time constraints, then the robot plot needed to have been dropped or at the very least, reworked so that only William Hartnell's face was shown at any one time.

There was one subtlety in Episode Three that caught my eye and I'm not sure what to make of it. Near the beginning of the story, a New York stereotype is giving a tour and a large man in a white hat comes over to listen. As he walks into shot, he give an African-American woman standing nearby a hard elbow in the back to get her out of the way. I would love to know whether this was a motion suggested by the director or if it was something done by the actors independently. Morton Dill is such an "aw shucks" kind of Southerner that it is interesting that to contrast this, a shot of hard racism is thrown in as well. What's more that it is done with subtlety and not splashed as a hard point is also quite a contrast with the rest of the episode.

Earlier I mentioned needing to turn off the logical center of the brain to enjoy this story. I think that is at it's greatest point in Episode Four. The explanation offered for the haunted house just doesn't make any sense. Dracula was played as you would expect a fun house robot to be. Likewise the ghost that crossed Ian's path. However, neither the ghoulish woman nor Frankenstein's monster act as fun house robots. Both move independently and change direction based on stimuli. The monster goes one step beyond and actively attacks the Daleks, both in their entry in to the lab and then afterward in the main hall. No fun house robot is going to have that level of independent thought and action. Yet the sign outside make it clear that they are only robots. I would also like to know why these robots are immune to the Dalek lasers but the Mechanoid robots are not. Also, if there is a great entrance to the fun house just beyond the hall, why didn't Barbara or Vicki see it when they were in the hall by the TARDIS. Heck, why didn't Ian and the Doctor see it when they were coming back down the stairs. I would have much preferred it if Ian's suggestion that they had come to a region of space where thoughts were manifested were the real one. That that idea ended up being the basis for The Mind Robber demonstrated that it would have been a perfectly valid one.

Finally, there is the Ian and Barbara goodbye. It is pretty good and spends a good amount of time with them as deserved. I think the most interesting thing about it is the Doctor's actual reaction. With Susan, there was this sense of inevitability and letting go as a parent (or grandparent) would. Here, the Doctor is angry and his anger turns him back into a petulant child. That it takes Barbara getting angry in turn with him shows the emotional level the First Doctor still is at despite his seasoning through the show.

I think it is also reflective of the fact that with someone you are rearing, there is an expectation that they will grow up and leave eventually. You don't have that with someone you see as a friend. You expect friends to stay as long as possible. What's worse for the Doctor is that Ian and Barbara are leaving voluntarily. In a way, you can imagine the Doctor questioning whether they ever considered him a friend if their only hope was to get back to mid-60's London as soon as they were whisked away back in An Unearthly Child. That would make the wound the Doctor feels by their leaving so much worse. But it is fairly well done: staying with them for a bit but not overly sentimental. It is possibly the best part of the story.

So where to come down on this one. I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't watch this one again without good cause. It is too disjointed episode to episode to form a cohesive story. That being said, in each individual episode the story zips along fairly well and you never get a sense of boredom that you do in some stories. That's not enough to save it but if you do sit down with it, the story will keep you engaged. Given that's the same saving grace I gave to Silver Nemesis, I'd say it deserves the same score.

Overall personal score: 1.5 out 5

The Time Meddler

I count myself very fortunate person indeed, to be here in the time to prevent this disgusting exhibition.

The Time Meddler is the beginning of a major turning point in Doctor Who. With the departure of Ian and Barbara at the end of The Chase, all of the original companions have gone leaving only the Doctor. In addition, The Time Meddler was the last story of Season Two and the beginning of the final production block where Verity Lambert would oversee the show as producer. The production block extended into the first five episodes of Season Three, but with The Mythmakers, John Wiles fully took over. It is somewhat understandable that the first ten minutes or so of Episode One feel a bit like a pilot episode with a lot of information being passed to Steven (and the audience) as the Doctor and Vicki explain the premise of the show and how things work.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Vicki reminisce about Ian and Barbara leaving when they hear a noise in the living quarters of the TARDIS. They prepare to defend themselves thinking that it might be a Dalek when Steven stumbles out and collapses. They carry him to a chair to recover. To ease things, the Doctor dematerializes the TARDIS on a beach, where it is observed by a man in a monk's cowl.

Steven is impressed with the ship but does not believe the Doctor or Vicki when told it is a time machine. Piqued, the Doctor tells Vicki to help Steven get cleaned up and then they will go out to show him that it is a time machine. Outside, they find a rusted Viking helmet, leading the Doctor to suspect they are in the 9th or 10th century. Unbeknownst to them, the monk has crept forward and is eavesdropping on their conversation. The Doctor, opting to investigate, walks along the beach while Steven and Vicki elect the climb the cliff face. The monk creeps forward and investigates the exterior of the TARDIS before noticing that he is missing something from his wrist.

Two other men observed the TARDIS on the beach and have come forward to investigate. They leave behind a woman, Edith, to manage the fire and house. The Doctor meets her and from her learns that it is the summer of 1066 and they are near York, just prior to the Viking invasion that will be beaten back by King Harold II just before losing the battle of Hastings. While sitting near the fire, the Doctor hears monks chanting in the abbey nearby, but the sound suddenly warbles as it would on a recording. He learns from Edith that the abbey had been abandoned until a few weeks ago but only one monk had been seen moving around the countryside. The Doctor thanks her and heads up to the abbey.

Vicki and Steven have gotten lost in the dark and stop to rest. While resting, they observe a local man, Eldred, bringing back a rabbit he has killed. He stops to pick something lying on the ground. Curious, and still not believing in time travel, Steven calls out to Eldred. He attacks Steven and then runs off. Steven however has grabbed the object he picked up. It is a modern wristwatch, further cementing Steven's belief that this is not the 11th century.

At the abbey, the Doctor sneaks in and finds a recording playing the Gregorian chants. He stops it but bars drop down and the monk peeks in and laughs at him. He moves the Doctor to a cell in the abbey and offers him breakfast, cooked using modern equipment but the Doctor refuses it. The monk leaves the abbey and watches the horizon. There he spies an approaching Viking ship.

Steven and Vicki awake in the forest but are captured by the villagers. They bring them back to the village where Edith recognizes their clothing style. The headman of the village, Edith's husband Wulnoth, decides to let them go while Edith tells them that the Doctor was headed to the abbey. They leave but Eldred, remembering their attack on him earlier, is fearful that they are spies for a Viking attack.

The Viking scout ship lands on the coast. Most of the warriors stay on the coast and the captain sends out two parties to scout the land and look for food and water. They are given orders not to engage unless necessary for they are a scout force preparing for the larger invasion by King Harald Hardrada later that year.

Steven and Vicki arrive at the abbey but when speaking to the monk, he denies ever seeing the Doctor. Steven sets a trap when asking and the monk gives evidence that he had seen the Doctor. Vicki is suspicious that it could be a trap for them but Steven decides that they will sneak in at nightfall to find the Doctor.

One of the Viking scout parties find the village with Edith being the only one around. They steal supplies and rape her. After they leave, the village men return from the fields to find what happened. Wulnoth leads a group after the Vikings, who have left a trail being drunk. They find them and attack. One of the Vikings is killed along with a couple of the villagers in the melee but the remaining two Vikings escape into the forest. Eldred is wounded and Wulnoth takes him to the abbey to get medical help.

At dark, Steven and Vicki sneak in to the abbey. The monk is aware of them entering but he is distracted when he hears knocking at the door. It is Wulnoth and Eldred, whom he escorts inside. Steven and Vicki find the record player of the chanting and then find the cell where the Doctor is being held. They break in but under the Doctor's cloak they find only straw. They guess that the Doctor found a secret passage to escape. Searching the cell, they also find it and follow it.

The monk treats Eldred's wounds and tries to get Wulnoth to take him back but they realize he is too weak to travel. Leaving Eldred to rest in the abbey, Wulnoth heads back to the village. The monk checks on the Doctor to find him gone. He also asks Eldred when they might expect the main Viking force and Eldred guesses a couple of days. The monk seems pleased and leaves him to sleep.

The Doctor returns to the village and talks to Edith, learning of what has happened. He reassures her that the Vikings will not bother them again as the main force will land further to the South and that it will be defeated by King Harold. He then returns to the abbey to deal with the monk. At the same time, Steven and Vicki emerge from the secret passage and continue to search for the Doctor in the woods.

The two surviving Viking raiders try to figure what to do. They elect to head to the abbey to seek sanctuary. Once inside, they will hold the monks as hostages until the main fleet arrives and they can return safely.

At the abbey, the Doctor surprises the monk and prepares to get his story out of him. Before he can, the door knocks again. To not cause any trouble, the Doctor dons a monk's cowl and opens the door. The Vikings enter and lock the Doctor back in his former cell with one standing guard. The monk, having hidden behind the door when the two Vikings entered, sneaks around and knocks out one searching the abbey. He ties up the Viking and then leaves the abbey.

Steven and Vicki return to the cliff overlooking the TARDIS but find the tide has come in and the TARDIS is inaccessible. They also find a futuristic cannon hidden in the bushes nearby. Hoping the Doctor headed around to stop the monk, they crawl back through the secret passage into the Abbey.

In the cell, the Doctor opens the secret passage entrance. The Viking, checking and seeing the open passage, enters to investigate. The Doctor, hiding behind the door, knocks him out. He heads out looking for the monk. Steven and Vicki arrive shortly after to find the unconscious Viking. They walk through the abbey and find an electrical cable leading to a sarcophagus. Doors are hidden in the bottom and inside they find a TARDIS. Searching through, they find many relics and weapons. They also find a log book demonstrating how the monk has given modern ideas and technology to primitive peoples to influence history.

The monk travels down to the village and asks Wulnoth to have the villagers prepare signal fires to be lit in a couple of days. He informs them that he is expecting materials to rebuild the monastery to be coming by ship and wants to guide them in. Wulnoth reluctantly agrees. Edith cautions him, telling him of what the Doctor said about a Viking fleet approaching.

The Doctor gets the drop on the monk upon returning to the abbey. The monk confesses his plan to change history. He will lure the Viking fleet further North than originally. Then he will use nuclear weaponry to destroy the fleet. With no northern invasion to sap his strength, Harold II will face the Norman invasion with a fresh, full strength army, allowing him to win the Battle of Hastings. The monk then plans on introducing other things into this alternate timeline, introducing the modern era over 400 years before it actually happened. The Doctor is appalled and forces the monk into his TARDIS. There they meet Steven and Vicki.

The Viking the Doctor knocked out comes to and finds his companion tied up. He releases him and the two search for the monks. As they search, they are spied by Eldred who hurries back to the village. The Vikings spy the monk and the Doctor's party emerging from the sarcophagus. The monk flees to them, professing loyalty to King Hardrada and the Vikings tie up the Doctor, Steven and Vicki. The monk gives the Vikings some warheads, telling them that they are charms that will aid their fleet.

In the village, Wulnoth is telling the rest of the village that the monk may be a Viking spy as they believe that the signal fires will actually lure the rest of the Vikings there. Eldred arrives in the middle and informs them that he saw Vikings in the abbey. Convinced, the villagers head to the abbey armed. They see the two Vikings emerging with the warheads with the monk. Upon seeing the mob, the three drop the warheads and flee into the forest. The monk misdirects the Vikings to a hiding spot and then flees in the opposite direction. The Vikings are cornered by the villagers and killed.

Edith frees the Doctor and his companions, inviting them back to the village to celebrate their victory. The Doctor accepts but says he must take care of something in the abbey first. Heading back into the monk's TARDIS, he sabotages it and then heads back to his own TARDIS with Steven and Vicki.

The monk circles back to the abbey to find everyone gone. He decides to leave but finds a letter written to him by the Doctor. He is amused at the Doctor's threat but is then horrified to find that the Doctor has stolen the dimensional transformer from his TARDIS. The control room is now shrunk down proportional to the sarcophagus exterior, rendering it impossible for him to enter and leave. He realizes he is marooned as the Doctor's TARDIS dematerializes.

Analysis

This was an excellent episode. I had unfortunately already been spoiled to the ending of Episode Four so I knew what was coming, but even with that, the story was very engaging. As each episode ended, and a couple of points where I had to stop in the middle, I was disappointed because I was genuinely interesting in seeing what happened next.

One of the best things about the episode is the production value. Nearly everything, except for a couple of quick bits of stock footage, is filmed in studio. Yet this fact is very well disguised. The forest sets look realistic as do the buildings, both exterior and interior. In fact, the only time where it is a bit obvious that they are in studio is when they are on the cliff face overlooking the TARDIS. There is nothing wrong with the set but the whole focusing on the characters while they point to and talk about something below or off the in distance is a fairly well known trick and did bring it back in.

One of the best tricks is the use of sound. It is subtle but whenever there is a forest scene, there is a chirping of birds in the background. Likewise, there are seagulls when on the beach or overlooking the cliff above the TARIDS. But the best is when they are in the abbey. The sounds is undamped so that there is an actual echo going on as if they are in a large cavernous space. It is not something that you would expect people to really notice but its addition just adds a whole level of realism that your brain picks up on. It is quite impressive.

The acting is very good in it as well. I think the two Vikings get a little over the top at one point, but they are still decent. The monk himself is a rather cool customer with a joking sense of humor. Even the Doctor seems greatly amused, even when he is obviously put out by the monk's actions. There is a good bit of humor even though the story goes to some very dark places. The aftermath of the Viking raid, including the rape of Edith, is striking for how dark it is. When Wulnoth finds Edith, I thought she was actually dead at first, but instead is catatonic. That is both impressive acting and a very dark place to go to in 1965 for a children's show. I certainly appreciated it.

I personally wish Doctor Who would actually do more stories along this line of this one. This is an alternate history lover's dream. I'm sure a number of stories and papers have been written about how King Harold could have won the battle of Hastings, with the removal of the Viking invasion being a good starting point. From there you go down the rabbit hole of what would have happened. It is interesting to see the show teach history by showing the possibility of it being changed. It also marks an interesting contrast to the Doctor's statement in The Aztecs about how history cannot be changed, even if you try. Of course, the monk did try and he was thwarted so one could argue that time did preventative maintenance by bringing the Doctor there.

If I had any quibble with the story, it is with the monk's motivations. He speaks about changing history to keep Harold on the throne and turning Britain into more of an insular place; not getting involved with all the wars in France. He estimates that with uninterrupted prosperity, they might have flight in less than 400 years and have Shakespeare produce his stories for broadcast on television. But the question is why? What does the monk gain out of this? If the monk were human, you might argue that it would be for the betterment of his race and power. After all, a Britain with powered flight and other modern technology could easily take over any location that they might desire.

However, it had been established in The Sensorites that the Doctor and Susan were from another planet and by implication, the monk was as well. So why is he interested in altering the course of Earth history? About the only thing I can think of is that he is interesting in staying on Earth for the long haul. Steven reads a passage in the monk's log that he placed a sum of money in a bank and jumped forward 200 years to collect a fortune based on the compound interest. The Doctor never worries about money but the monk does. From this, we can guess that he has a vested interest in improving his life on Earth and has little to no interest in going anywhere else. Either that or he is just someone who gets his jollies from causing trouble; like a prankster. It's a minor point but it does leave you scratching your head.

Overall, I think I would have to say that I think this is the best First Doctor story I've seen so far. It was on an interesting subject, it was well acted, it had moments of dark seriousness but was also tempered with a measure of levity. It was also well produced and well directed. I think I would happily watch this one again with no complaints.

Overall personal score: 5 out of 5

The Massacre

The Doctor is not the Abbot! He's only pretending!

I've said it before about some recons, but it is a real shame this one does not exist. I must admit that I cheated a little and read a historical summary of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day, but it did help a bit with my understanding of the story.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Steven land in Paris a few days before the massacre. The Doctor leaves Steven at a tavern as he wishes to go see a scientific mind of the time. He promises to meet Steven that evening. Steven then falls in with a group of Huguenot nobility who offer him a place to spend the night when the Doctor fails to return after curfew. Meanwhile, a young girl named Anne Chaplet runs into them and is rescued from a group of guards sent by the Abbot of Amboise. She tells them that she overheard a group of people talking about what sounded like a Catholic plot. Steven continues to be concerned for the Doctor but thinks he recognizes him when he sees the Abbot the next day. His recognition of the Abbot arouses suspicions of the Huguenots and Steven eventually flees when they refuse to take him to the Abbot's house. There he overhears a murder plot but doesn't know who the target is. He tries to warn the Huguenots but he is turned out without listening to him.

The target is the Admiral de Coligny who is a close friend of King Charles IX. Steven and Anne go back to the Abbot's house to learn more and figure out who the target is. They flee once again to the Huguenots and this time one listens to him. He runs to warn the Admiral, who is returning from a council meeting, but the Admiral is shot and wounded anyway. The Marshal, angry that the Abbot's plan failed, orders him killed. The locals think the Abbot was murdered by Huguenots and Steven is distraught as he believes the Doctor has been killed (convinced that the Doctor has been impersonating the Abbot). Steven flees back to the shop where the Doctor had originally gone and Anne is hiding. They search the place looking for the TARDIS key to allow Steven to escape when the Doctor reappears. He had been searching for Steven who never returned to the tavern after the first morning. The Doctor soon realizes what is about to happen and sends Anne away, ordering her to hide at a relative's house. He and Steven then run back to the TARDIS and take off as soldiers begin pounding on the Admiral's door. The Doctor relates to Steven what happens and notes that he cannot change the past. Steven becomes angry that the Doctor left Anne to her presumed death and demands to be let off when they stop again. He walks out and the Doctor contemplates what to do next. Dodo (a descendant of Anne's) walks in to the TARDIS thinking it was a real police box. Steven charges in shortly after her warning the Doctor to take off as the police are approaching the TARDIS. The Doctor takes off and welcomes Dodo to the team.

Analysis

This is a real cloak and dagger story. It does a pretty good job explaining the history of what happened but with it already being a recon, I think I was better off reading the historical summary first. It allowed me to concentrate on the story rather than have to juggle the historical facts in addition to the story (which is fairly complex).

This story is a showcase for Steven. The Doctor is only in episodes one and four and the Abbot is only given lines in episode three (suggesting that William Hartnell was on holiday during episode two). Steven meanwhile does all the heavy lifting except for the scenes involving the royal council. I'm not familiar with the British acting corp of the 1960's but these scenes are very well acted with folks who are probably experienced with period drama. I enjoyed Steven's scenes a great deal, but I could have easily watched a full episode of political machinations between the Admiral, the Marshal and Catherine de' Medici.

It is that depth of talent that does point out a few of the shortcomings. Steven does a good job but he seems to equate intense emotion with shouting and that can actually decrease his believability at times. There is another character, Gaston, who is also a bit shouty and there is a scene between the two (including a sword fight) where there is a lot of shouting back and forth at each other. I get they are trying to show intensity, but it felt a bit amateurish, especially when compared to the depth shown in other scenes.

My other small complaint is that this story could have used a little levity. It was dour throughout and that did provide a nice intensity, but a little joke here and there would have been nice. Granted that might have taken away from the gloom that was building throughout the episode, but a little pun or a touch of gallows humor scattered here and there would have kept things moving during the few slow spots.

I would definitely watch this one again if it was found in some capacity. I'd be very interested to see how William Hartnell played the Abbot versus the Doctor. They sound rather similar but I'd be curious to see how he made them look different. The ending is a bit weak and rushed as I would have liked a better introduction for Dodo, but it did have a nice quiet moment of the Doctor reflecting on the past and his future. Quality that should only improve with a return to motion.

Overall personal score: 3.5 out of 5

The Dalek's Master Plan (Episodes 8-12)

I, Mavic Chen, will decide when the alliance is at an end!

It is probably best when kicking off the later portion of this story to just pretend Episode Seven didn't happen. That leaves a better narrative flow. Of course, jumping over Episodes Eight and Nine wouldn't hurt either.

Plot Summary

Episode Eight continues the journey of the TARDIS crew. They note a pursuing time ship and, after a few hops, land on a volcano in a far galaxy. There they are confronted by the Meddling Monk, last seen trapped in 1066 at the end of The Time Meddler. He sabotages the TARDIS lock but the Doctor manages to get it open and take off. The Doctor then lands in ancient Egypt to make repairs to the lock. The Monk follows along with a Dalek time ship. The Daleks confront the Monk but Mavic Chen convinces them to allow the Monk to steal the weapon core in exchange for his life. The Monk confronts the Doctor but the Doctor gets the drop on him. He is found by Steven and Sarah and together they look for the Doctor but are captured by the Daleks. Mavic Chen trades the hostages for the weapon core. The Doctor and his companions flee, having stolen the directional unit from the Monk's TARDIS. This allows the Doctor to fly back to planet Kembel while the Monk can only wander aimlessly.

Back on Kembel, the Doctor rushes into the jungle. Steven and Sarah pursue him but lose track of him. They enter the city but find it deserted except for the delegates who have been betrayed and locked up. Sarah releases them and they return to their respective galaxies to order their armies to turn on the Daleks, except Mavic Chen who fakes his own death. He captures Steven and Sarah and takes them to see the Daleks, demanding that the Daleks obey his commands. The Daleks stun him, carry him away from the Time Destructor weapon and exterminate him. While they are away, the Doctor enters and activates the Time Destructor. The Daleks cannot fire on him as they risk destroying the weapon and themselves. The Doctor orders Sarah and Steven back to the TARDIS while he follows. Steven makes it back but Sarah leaves Steven and doubles back to the Doctor. The Doctor is slowly aging as is the planet around him. Sarah follows the Doctor but the effects of the Time Destructor cause them both to collapse outside the TARDIS. Steven sees them on the scope and heads out to help them. He manages to reverse the flow of the Time Destructor, sending time backwards and reverting the Doctor back his regular age. Sarah had already turned to dust and was not revived. Steven drags the Doctor into the TARDIS while the Time Destructor regresses the Daleks to the point of non-life. Eventually the Time Destructor burns itself out and Steven and the Doctor leave Kembel.

Analysis

This is probably the point where Dalekmania started to wain. The first six episodes were a fairly well paced story. Episode Seven is a comedy detour but it's lack of involvement in the overall story allows it to be bypassed. Picking things back up in Episode Eight, one would expect things to dive back in to the previous pace. Instead we get very obvious padding. Not only is it padding, but it is light, comedic padding as well since Episode Eight coincided with New Year's and the powers that be felt that it also should be easy on the audience. Unlike The Feast of Steven though, Episode Eight actually continues the plot and can't be overlooked readily. It marks a very strong contrast with the first six episodes which moved well. I found myself starting to doze at a few points, especially in Episode Nine which has long portions of minimal dialogue. That might work if the episode existed, but sound effects only in a recon does not make for attention grabbing storytelling.

Episode Ten brought us back in to the realm of moving pictures and it is a welcome improvement. It also helps that the Monk stopped being an antagonist and more of a treacherous ally (like the Master in a few notable stories). The return of the Daleks and Mavic Chen especially as the focus villains improved things a good deal.

Things wrap up well, although it's obvious that William Hartnell goes on holiday for Episode Eleven. But, Sarah and Steven make it so that the Doctor's absence is less noticeable, despite mentioning him in every other sentence. It is a real shame that Episode Twelve does not exist as I would have been very interested to see how they handled the rapid aging of Sarah and the Doctor and then the rapid de-aging of the Daleks. I imagine it would have also landed a greater emotional impact.

In the comparison between Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner, I'd say Terry Nation comes up better in this one. Spooner had the dramatic resolution in Episode Twelve, but Episodes Eight through Eleven have moments that drag and it just feels less tense than the first half. Story fatigue may also play a factor, although I think if the villain focus had not shifted in the middle, it would have done better.

Overall, it's a good story, but the drag factor is hard to ignore. I think if all episodes were recovered I'd enjoy watching this again, but with nine of twelve episodes being recons and one of those being the complete oddball that is The Feast of Steven, I can't see myself picking this one up again anytime soon. I was leaning towards a 3.5 for the first half and if they had then jumped to the resolution in Episode Twelve, it probably would have stayed there as a solid seven-part story. But it is hard to overlook how the other five episodes drag it down.

Overall personal score: 2.5 out of 5