The Rescue

The Powerful Enemy

Dennis Spooner doesn't get a credit as story editor of this story, but it is now his (brief) era, and what an exciting time it shall be. This is David Whitaker's second contribution as a writer, and also his second fifty minute story. First things first though as this is, really, just here to introduce Vicki and calm everybody down after the Daleks. Any story which introduces Vicki must be good, in my book, as she is an absolute breath of fresh air after Susan. She's a bit up and down emotionally in this story, but that's hardly surprising. Maureen O'Brien is brilliant right from the start, and would make Vicki a fun companion who you want to spend time with. And her outfit in this story is...quite nice, too.

Even with Susan gone, there's such a warm and cosy feel to the TARDIS team here. They're all so happy and friendly I was surprised they didn't have a big group hug before going outside to look around. The Doctor sleeps through materialisation, which apparently is dangerous, though we have no idea why it might be. Then, rather than bothering to explore, he goes off for a nap, which is rather amusing. It's also very sweet that he hears Ian and Barbara's concerned whispers and, rather than give them a ticking off, just chuckles about it. Oh, and just for anybody interested in the terminology, the Doctor tells us the materialised is a better word than landed. I agree with him. I like the moment later in the episode where Ian and the Doctor hear a roar and Ian points the torch in the Doctors face, asking what it was. The Doctor's response of "well it's not me, is it?" is very funny (when played by Hartnell, rather than written down here, anyway).

My biggest curiosity about this episode is that Ian and Barbara seem to be looking down at the spaceship from a rock face of reasonable height. But Koquillion appears to throw Barbara off quite a high cliff, yet she only has a couple of insignificant bruises from that fall? Bennett wouldn't have been so stupid to throw her from a height of a few feet and expected her to die, surely? Yet if it was higher, how did she only sustain the most minor of minor injuries?

This is a nice warm episode, as highlighted by the bit where Barbara tells the Doctor that the trembling (of the TARDIS) has stopped and he says, "oh my dear, I'm so glad you're feeling better". The cliffhanger is terrible. Ian would barely even have to go on tiptoes to avoid those spikes. It's a really tricky episode to rate. It's lovely, and thoroughly enjoyable, but there's not really much to it, as it's a vehicle to introduce Vicki, since you can't tell a full story in fifty minutes. 7.5/10. 

The new look TARDIS team. And Vicki's legs

Desperate Measures

The titles are a bit melodramatic for such a gentle little story aren't they? Even if you could somehow justify Koquillion as a powerful enemy (Ian tries valiantly, saying he'd rather face the Daleks!), it's hard to see what the desperate measures are in this episode. For a moment I thought we'd slipped into Murder, She Wrote as the Doctor does his best Jessica Fletcher impression. Oh look, I know who the murderer is, so I'll confront him by myself in a room where nobody will be near enough to hear (or help) me. That is quite amusing, although it's not really much of a shock that Koquillion turns out to be the only person he possibly could be.

Is Ian meant to be drunk here? He talks about "old Cockylickin'", and seems extremely jolly. Maybe he feels left out, since Vicki only really interacts with the Doctor and Barbara. The Doctor and Vicki's little chats are very sweet, particularly the first one. In the second, Hartnell does stumble a little bit in his reasons for Vicki to like Barbara, but the connection between them already is lovely to see. As is the scene where Vicki tells Ian and Barbara they're 550. Interestingly, the ship Vicki was on was bound for the planet Astra. That's a nice, small connection between two of the best companions. Vicki left Earth in 2493. Ian and Barbara wondered earlier what Susan was up to (milking cows was their conclusion!). If we say the Dalek Invasion of Earth was 2164, like that piece of paper which wasn't a calender said, it would be interesting. David would be long dead, Susan's children and grandchildren would too. Would she have regenerated or found a way off the planet by 2493?

There is an overhearing theme to this story. Once again the Doctor overhears people talking about him. Here it's Vicki saying how much she likes him, but questioning his choice of clothes and hairstyle! I love Hartnell's little chuckle and the way he says, "silly child, silly child".

The most pivotal, desperate measure of this episode, though...Ian unlocks the TARDIS door! That's the first time anyone other than the Doctor or Susan has done so. It's been made explicitly clear how easy it is to melt the lock, with twenty-one holes and twenty that are wrong. That was a bit reckless of Ian, wasn't it? Considering he and Barbara at the start of this story still don't even know how to open the doors from the inside, it's quite a leap for him to that!

Again, it's difficult to rate. I can't watch this without having a big smile on my face, but there isn't a great deal to it. Vicki's reaction to the TARDIS interior is nicely played, as is her joining them with a little, "I'd like to, if you'll have me". It's a warm, happy story, and for that deserves a high score. 8/10

Conclusion

I praised the way Susan got ten whole minutes for her departure in the last story. Well, this is fifty whole minutes simply to introduce Vicki. Poor old Dodo just was there suddenly and then was gone even more suddenly. Back in the first two seasons, the companions were properly taken care of. This is a fun little story. It is only fifty minutes, which isn't really time to tell a proper story, but it is time to perfectly fulfil what this story sets out to do. It's lovely.

Average Rating: 7.75

Old Rating: 7

New Rating: 8

The Dalek Invasion of Earth

World's End

Once again there is no materialisation noise as the TARDIS materialises. So, here is the first ever Doctor Who story with a returning monster. Will it live up to the okay-ness of the original story? Unusually, we also have a good episode title from Terry Nation, too. Usually though, he begins with a traditional mysterious first episode, so I'm happy. You have to work extremely hard for me to not enjoy one of those.

The look on Ian and Barbara's faces as they realise they're on Earth is really sweet, even if they were on Earth in both of the previous two stories anyway. Ian's assertion that it doesn't matter to him or Barbara if they're a year or two out from when they left is all very well, but surely it is rather important? Particularly if they've arrived before they left?

The Doctor gets some odd lines here. He says, "I'm not a halfwit!" to Ian just for saying that they should be careful. He also has the bizarre line, "a dead human body in the river, I should say that's near murder isn't it, hmm?" And of course, he tells Susan she needs a jolly good smacked bottom. She does get a good line though, after David has looked at Barbara and told her she can cook, he turns to Susan and asks her what she does and she replies, "I eat".

It's a pretty good first episode. The warehouse set here is very impressive considering it's never seen again. It's Terry Nation, so the dialogue isn't brilliant, but we don't know the plot at this point, so we can enjoy it for what it is, and it builds the tension admirably. The way Ian and the Doctor are surrounded by the Robomen at the cliffhanger is very creepy. 8/10

The Daleks

That's more like Nation. The Daleks. What an inspiring title that is. The first thing that hit me about this episode is that the Dalek voices are absolutely dreadful here. People complain about Day of the Daleks, but that was fun, this is just horrible. What were they thinking? They sound ridiculous. It doesn't exactly help when they go around babbling about being the masters of Earth. Yes, we know you are, thanks. To be fair though, that is paid off with a very good joke in the final part when Barbara's trying to fool them and they say, "we are the masters of India". At least, I think that is a joke?

I like that the Daleks have turned the whole of Bedfordshire into a gigantic mining area. It's the obvious target... not that these Daleks are exactly very smart. They leave things in their cells which allow the prisoners to unlock the door? What the hell? And people criticise the Chase? I love the Doctor's explanation that "suppose you were a Dalek and got yourself trapped in this room, what would you do?" It just gets stupider. The Daleks leave something in their cells which allows prisoners to escape because they're worried about Daleks getting trapped in their own cells? Who on earth wrote this rubbish? No wonder they get defeated so easily. No wonder the Doctor is confident enough to stride up to them and say, "just who are you to condemn us to death?"

It's not all stupid, though. The description of how the Robomen can go mad and bash their heads against walls to kill themselves is pretty gruesome, and I do quite like the post-invasion stuff, and the Dalek propaganda. They do the whole apocalypse thing pretty well, I will give them that. It does have a good feel.

This episode shows nicely why episode four suffers hugely from Hartnell's absence. He is the one who brings this to life brilliantly. Russell and Hill are superb too, but Hartnell is magical in his performance, even when he's given total rubbish to spout. This episode shows the world the Daleks' invasion has created, and separates the regulars quite well to set them up for their journeys to Bedforshire. It's a pretty enjoyable episode, though functional rather than spectacular. 7/10

Day of Reckoning

The focus of this episode for me is that three minute scene of Barbara, Jenny and Dortmun running around London with the Daleks. Essentially it's an excuse to get the Daleks in front of a few London landmarks, and should really be utterly tedious, but it's actually the only part of this episode when I wasn't dying of boredom. The music is great, although the Daleks look terrible as well, I noticed here. They sound awful, look awful here, yet it's Day and Destiny which get the criticism. But it is a fun little scene.

There's some really subtle foreshadowing as Susan talks about how, "there's never been any time or place I've belonged to". It's almost as if she's leaving in this story. Rather bizarrely, she tries to convince David to come with them in the TARDIS. Aside from anything else, a married couple on the TARDIS? That'll never happen, mark my words.

Bugger all happens in this episode. It's dire. The Doctor, David and Susan wander around for a bit, Ian barely even appears, and all he's doing is using the Dalek ship as a glorified bus service, and Barbara runs around London for a bit. There is one terrific bit with Hartnell (for a change) where David plays to the Doctor's ego as he asks him for a suggestion, and repeatedly calls him Sir. Carole Ann Ford is terrific in that scene too, getting to play a funny side of Susan for, what, the first time ever?

Yes, well, not too much can be said about this. The regulars were nicely manoeuvred into position in the last episode, and spend this one doing precisely nothing. It gets points for the couple of good parts I mentioned, but this has fallen apart scarily fast. 4/10.

The End of Tomorrow

Here's the Hartnell-free episode, as the Doctor mysteriously passes out. More nothing happens in this episode. Ian and his friend Larry meet Ashton the black marketeer, here not played by Philip Madoc. Then they meet the Slyther. David and Susan keep on wandering through some sewers, and Barbara and Jenny have a nice little drive through the country. This is abysmal too, even if it is fun to see Jenny's girl crush on Barbara growing slowly. This episode sorely misses Hartnell. 

 

It says a lot that the highlight of this episode for me is Ashton asking Ian, "are you one of those brotherhood of man kind of people?" It's probably rather sad of me that I was hoping Ian would tell him, "as long as you don't save your kisses for me, thanks".

Jenny and Barbara's little drive through the country is quite enjoyable, but really there isn't much in this episode at all. Susan screams, which is rather unusual for her, I'm not sure we've seen that before, and she definitely won't do it next week. What's that? Oh bloody hell! 2.5/10

The Waking Ally

The Waking Ally? Does that refer to the Doctor waking after his little sleep in the last episode? Anyway, this is exciting, things actually happen! I thought old Terry had given up writing this after episode two, but no, like the Doctor, he's woken up! The Doctor really bashes that Roboman with his walking stick. It's yet more violence from the Doctor, after smacking the Overseer in the Reign of Terror. In spite of that, he does claim, "I never take lives, not unless my own is severely threatened".

Ah, we're four decades before RTD, yet here is the first bit of schmaltzy rubbish in Doctor Who, and it's from Terry Nation of all people as Susan dreamily calls the Doctor, "a pretty fantastic sort of man". To be fair, that is counterbalanced by the fact that she has just screamed at a fish and then jumped on David. They even share a kiss, which I hadn't remembered.

Babs and Jenny give food to a couple of mad (and quite scary) women who quickly sell them out to the Daleks for, er, food. Oh well, they'd have been captured anyway. They oversell the "Jenny may act tough but that's just a cover to avoid being hurt" thing, as she breaks down for the second consecutive episode when things get mildly tough.

Oh yes, it's this episode where we find out the Daleks' plan. They want to remove the Earth's core, replace it with an engine and fly the Earth around like a ridiculously (read: pointlessly) gigantic spaceship? Erm, right. Once again I'm compelled to ask why people think the Chase is so bad in comparison! To be fair, there are serious moments. Larry finding his brother Phil and dying with him is pretty horrific. That's the trouble, though. All the best moments in this story are quite brutal, which is no fun.

This is better simply because things actually happen, but they aren't actually particularly exciting things, sadly. This is one of the problems with a marathon. I used to give the Dalek Invasion of Earth 9 out of 10. Somehow I think it won't quite manage that this time. Anyway, it's an improvement, and everybody is now in their places for the final episode. 6.5/10

Flashpoint

This episode exists for one purpose: to provide Susan with a goodbye. The Daleks are defeated exceptionally swiftly and we get a whole ten minutes devoted to her departure! Which is a good thing, in my opinion, since I didn't care about the Dalek story anyway. As much as I can't stand Susan (we don't meet a companion I like less than her until Season 24), her exit is beautifully played. I always find it sad certain other companions were got rid of so hastily they vanished without trace in the middle of a story. This is how to do a companion's exit. It's not too much, like with the new series, and it's not ignored, like poor sweet Dodo, it's a Goldilocks departure. Just right. Carole Ann Ford does overact a little, but Hartnell more than makes up for that. As good as he is everywhere else, it's here that shows what a great actor he really was. He does the emotional scenes so well. So yes, it is quite a nice episode.

Barbara having fun with the Daleks at the beginning is enjoyable, but like in the Daleks, the Daleks are beaten so easily. I know I've already mentioned the plot reasons for that, but it still makes them look poor. What they could really use is a large-scale climatic battle with some big robots with funny voices. I wonder if that will happen... Oh, and the TARDIS makes a dematerialisation noise! I wonder if any eagle-eyed viewer of the time remembered five weeks ago when it didn't.

It's a pretty underwhelming conclusion, and yet I'm giving a high mark simply because of the brilliant exit for Susan. They better it, though, just six stories later. 7.5/10

Conclusion

I've long held this story up as a classic, but sadly it seems I'll have to change that view. It has good sections, but it's a bit slow, and with a ridiculous plot. But I should emphasise that 6/10 for Doctor Who beats 10/10 for pretty much any other show. The first episode is superb, and Susan gets a wonderful exit, but the pacing between those two things is terrible. 

 

I've always been a big fan of Hartnell, but this marathon is really helping me appreciate just how good he is. As capable as Hill and Russsell are, it really stands out when Hartnell is away. He is the life and soul of the show, and he is utterly terrific. He's also the my favourite Doctor so far in this marathon. I know that sounds daft, but I had to get that in, as he'll be the only Doctor I'll get to say that about other than Pat. 

 

Average Rating: 5.92

Old Rating: 9

New Rating: 6

Planet of Giants

Planet of Giants

This episode sees the first story by Louis Marks. I have an interesting relationship with his stories. Day of the Daleks is one of my all-time favourites, but his Hinchcliffe era scripts bore me to tears. This story I know least well, however, by a margin, so it will be interesting to see. Another man making his first Doctor Who appearance is a certain Dudley Simpson. Heavens, he got off to a bad start. The incidental music here is terrible. Thankfully he improved very very quickly.

Ooh, the fault locater returns! Very exciting stuff. This is also the second story in a row with no materialisation noise. The doors open and the Doctor gets very worried. Even though Barbara points out everything is okay, the Doctor shouts, "oh don't be childish, they opened!" It seems as if we're getting a grumpy and angry Doctor again, which is an interesting way to start the season. It's teased just a little bit, and then suddenly the Doctor goes back over to her and says, "oh my dear Barbara, was I rude to you just now? I'm so sorry, I always forget the niceties under pressure. Forgive me". It's a sweet moment, particularly when she smiles and tells him there isn't anything to forgive. Then the scanner shatters, which is quite a moment!

I thought it was Terry Nation's thing to put "space" before everything? But here the Doctor tells Ian that the doors opened because, "the space pressure was far too great while we were materialising". Susan backs him up by later saying "the space pressure forced us to reduce". I like this space pressure. It sounds so much better than ordinary pressure.

William Russell again gets to show off his inability to do "flailing acting" as he's transported inside the matchbox, and Carole Ann Ford has to, for a nice change, scream and cry as Ian is taken away. It's also interesting that the Doctor still always gets Ian's name right when it's important, and that they re-unite with Ian so quickly, as if him being taken away was just a way of getting our heroes to the house. Funny that.

Very promising start. It's an extremely enjoyable 25 minutes, and the regulars are all in form and so comfortable together now. The scene between Forester and Farrow is vaguely interesting, and sets up that there will be more to the story than "the regulars are made an inch tall and try to get past a cat back to the TARDIS. 7.5/10.

Dangerous Journey

Dangerous Journey? Dreadful title, that is. The story, on the other hand, continues to be surprisingly good. It's one of those which often gets ignored, but based on what I've seen so far, it deserves more recognition. Maybe the DVD release will help people remember it. I have to first mention what is by far the most impressive part of this episode, the fly. I have little interest in special effects, but that fly is brilliantly done. All the design on this story is great. The sink looks brilliant, the matchbox is good, even the telephone looks good, but the fly blows all of that away. It's terrific.

Forester's plan to make it seem like Farrow has drowned is all well and good, but generally when people drown they don't tend to suddenly get a bullet lodged in their heart. He clearly isn't thinking it through. I like how Smithers seems to have a conscience, and genuinely wants to cure the world of starvation. Even if that does make him seem moronically naive, at least it makes it somewhat believable he'd join Forester.

My favourite line of this episode is Ian's assertion that, "there's a ceiling up there. That means we're indoors". Well done, Ian. I love that the Doctor is so determined to save Ian and Barbara he'll climb up a sink pipe. We have come a long way.

This is far more enjoyable than it should be. Barbara getting insecticide on herself is a good problem, and the sets are superb, and the story is moving along at a good pace. The only problem is Dudley bloody Simpson, whose incidentals are getting worse! The cliffhanger is a good one, with Smithers washing his hands and about to drain the contents onto the Doctor and Susan. 8/10.

Crisis

Well, I thought the title Dangerous Journey was bad, anyway. It's a corker in comparison to Crisis, which rivals Nation's efforts for dullest episode title yet. Dudley's not getting any better, either. Sadly, the story also runs to a halt here. It's a rather scary thought that this episode was two episodes melded together, because it is much slower than the first two. Everyone seems to have become stupid. After taking pains to tell us more than once that they can't communicate with people, because their voices would be too high pitched, they try and use the phone. I wouldn't mind that so much if so much time wasn't spent with our heroes mucking around with it. At least Hilda is a lot of fun, the nosey woman. She's the real hero of this, not our actual heroes. If she hadn't got suspicious, the Doctor's plan would have come to nothing. We know Smithers wouldn't have had the guts to actually stop Forester, even with the gun.

This episode features one of the most shocking things the Doctor has ever said or done. He doesn't just suggest starting a fire, he talks about how much fun the idea would be. "There's nothing like a good fire, is there?" he laughs. Interesting angle for a family show to take. I'm guessing they'd dropped the educational bent by this point?

It's quite a good idea of the Doctor's to use the seed to check if they're back to normal size. He suddenly becomes the cuddly grandfather figure at the end here, telling everybody to go and have a good scrub before their next adventure.

Sadly this episode fails to finish of Planet of Giants in a satisfactory manner. It's less eventful than the first two episodes, but it isn't bad enough to take away from what is a good story, and a good debut for Marks. Dudley Simpson would have to wait for his first good performance, but not for long. 5/10.

Conclusion

Planet of Giants is an intriguing way to start the second season. It's quite a low-key story, but it is fun, and the regulars pick up right where they left off. This is a story I've previously neglected, and it seems unfairly so. It may not be a classic, but it's a strong story, well worth a viewing, and I hope it gets a nice DVD release to allow people to re-assess it. So, only one more story left with Susan! There may be Daleks involved in that one, and I don't just mean Richard Martin.

Average Rating: 6.8

Old Rating: 5

New Rating: 7

The Reign of Terror (and thoughts on Season One)

A Land of Fear

Here we are back in home territory. After the Doctor's outburst at the end of last week, he's calmed down enormously. Presumably he knows we're in an historical. Here also is the debut of one of my favourite Doctor Who writers and script editors, Dennis Spooner. First with this story I should mention the highly distinctive score by Stanley Myers. I know it has been criticised in certain places, but I absolutely love it. For me it sets the whole tone perfectly. It stands with Marco Polo as my two favourite scores from the first season, and actually possibly the first two seasons. I'll be finding that out shortly.

There's no materialisation noise when the TARDIS lands, which is sad. It's very sweet the way Susan hugs Ian and Barbara and runs off when she thinks they're leaving. As much as I don't like Susan, that is a lovely moment. I know audiences of the day weren't given as much information as we have access to now, so I wonder if people did think this may be Ian and Barbara going back home? Anyway, they're terrific here flattering the Doctor. They've really got playing to his ego down perfectly. Ian says it would be much better to part in amicable circumstances. In spite of all this, it's terrific that Ian and Barbara are actually happy when they realise that they aren't home after all. As much as they do want to go home, they don't want this adventure to end just yet!

The quietness of the area and of the house are quite good for first episode tension building. Barbara's a bit slow here. Ian mentions Robespierre has signed what he's holding, yet he's the one who has to tell her what period they're in. I have to admit, I've never really taken in how in the first season the historicals get closer and closer to the modern day. If An Unearthly Child is on Earth, it's apparently "100,000 BC" or some such date, Marco Polo is 1289, the Aztecs is 15th century and the Reign of Terror is 1794. Season two ruins that, of course, by visiting the Romans and then going forward and back. Anyway, Ian and Barbara are getting closer to their own time with each historical!

The Reign of Terror is the Doctor's favourite period of human history! Sheesh, Doctor, that's rather brutal of you! As seen by the pretty brutal murder of Rouvray and D'Argenson here. That really sets the tone very well of how unsafe the situation is for our heroes, a situation where they find a bunch of clothes and just put them on.

The fire at the end does burn quite a while, and though this is good, it is a little slow, though that is forgivable for a first episode. It is a great start for what promises to be a good story. Spooner, history, fun music. I'm much much happier here than on the Sense-sphere. 8/10.

Guests of Madame Guillotine

I should say that I love the episode titles throughout the Reign of Terror. They're not especially different to any we've already had, but they do all sound good. Give me Prisoners of the Conciergerie over the Escape any day of the week. This episode, like with the second episode of the Sensorites, is a little slow. It just feels as if everything is being set up for later. The difference between this story and the previous one, though, is that the Reign of Terror is simply so much fun. For example, though it leads absolutely nowhere, it's great how Barbara calmly assesses the situation, and works on trying to escape. It's also great how she repeatedly tells Susan everything will be okay, trying to keep her calm, too. Strangely I think Susan is still quite good here with her pessimism. It's all very well Barbara saying they'll be okay, but she clearly doesn't believe it. "We've been lucky, we can't go on being lucky," she states. Maybe I just like this because it's so unusual for Susan to be speaking rationally rather than screaming, whinging or crying?

The Jailer is an interesting character. He is purely a figure of fun, and yet he's also very dangerous at the same time. The way he talks to Barbara, and suggests he'd let her escape "if we were to be friends" is quite creepy, particularly the way when she rejects him he takes pleasure in telling her she'll die soon as a result.

The scene with the Doctor and the boy is quite sweet, the way the boy wants to travel to Paris and help. I'm not too convinced by Brian Proudfoot. His walk is a bit upright and jumpy to be an accurate Hartnell. The Doctor gets the (deservedly) oft quoted line where the Overseer says he must think he's very clever and the Doctor replies, "without any undue modesty, yes". Those scenes are quite funny, and the way Hartnell smacks the Overseer is really quite violent! I'm not too keen on the comedy snoring, though.

It's a fairly uneventful (but fun) episode, though it does set up an interesting mystery. Lemaitre interrogates Ian, and then finds out from the Jailer that Ian lied about not having spoken to Webster. He then crosses Ian off the "to be killed" list. Why? It also has the Doctor nearing Paris, and as the episode concludes, Barbara and Susan are being led off to their execution. Everything is nicely ready for the next episode. 8/10.

A Change of Identity

The Doctor finally arrives in Paris, and blends in rather well. The way he tricks the shopkeeper is very amusing. Surely the shopkeeper should be in rather a lot of trouble for selling the clothes of a Regional Officer of the Provinces? So are his scenes with the jailer, actually. I love how the Doctor has come all this way, and disguised himself in such an absurd outfit, and finds that his companions have all escaped already! So rather than see his friends, he's forced into a meeting with Robespierre. That's rather unfortunate. Lemaitre later claims that he arranged for the jailer to leave the key in the lock which allows Ian to escape. How he knows the jailer will leave the keys there is beyond me.

Susan is all moans and complaints again now, although at least it has a function within the story, rather than just being there to test Carole Ann Ford's patience. I quite like Jules and Jean, they rescue Susan and Barbara and start offering them drinks. Then Leon arrives, played by Edward Brayshaw, and Barbara gets all excited by him. Come on Barbara, this is Edward Brayshaw, he's clearly a baddie! All that smoothness can mean nothing else, especially compared to Jules earnestly telling of how not all Frenchmen can allow the innocent to die.

This is a rather uneventful episode again, all told, and yet it's still a lot of fun. Not a great deal happens, but it's enjoyable nothingness, and any episode that has William Hartnell in that hat deserves at least 7/10.

The Tyrant of France

I think it's a bit unfair to criticise the Doctor's meeting with Robespierre here. I think he goes further than most would dare if they met him. First Robespierre criticises the Doctor for his province's inefficiency at catching traitors, and the Doctor merely replies by saying his province has fewer traitors than Paris. He then says, "what can this reign of terror possibly gain? For every enemy you execute, two more pop up", and when Robespierre complains about his supposed allies plotting against him, the Doctor asks if it's just that they wish to keep their heads. Maybe it would have been nice to see a slightly more forceful tirade against him, but I think the Doctor goes as far as you would dare. He also complains later to Lemaitre that Robespierre twisted everything he said.

The shopkeeper really is a fool, isn't he? He became suspicious when the Doctor decided to take a costume of an Officer of the Provinces? Well, duh! The bit at the end where the Doctor and Barbara meet up is really sweet. They haven't seen each other since the end of episode one, so it has been a really long separation. Sadly we can't see it, of course, but it certainly sounds like a lovely, warm embrace.

Funny how Jules is so insistent earlier on first names only (in spite of talking about Rouvray and D'Argenson), and yet cheerily answers to "Jules Renan" when Ian asks him if that's his name. And they don't stop drinking! They have a drink when Ian arrives, and then another when he's finished telling his story, and probably a few in between. That's not a good idea if you're going to walk into a trap, Ian. What exactly is the point of Leon's trap, though? Ian is pretty insignificant, I'd have thought, but oh well, it makes for a cliffhanger.

It's another enjoyable episode. The Tyrant of France of the title only appears in one short scene right at the beginning, but I can forgive it that. There's nothing that especially stands out in this episode, aside from what I've mentioned, but it's a lot of fun and a good story unfolding. 8/10.

A Bargain of Necessity

I love the way the Doctor tells Barbara, "you should know by now young lady that you can't get rid of the old Doctor just like that". Hartnell and Hill are a great combination, and the warmth between them and their characters is lovely to watch. Once again the Doctor fools the jailer and lets Barbara out, and once again he is caught by Lemaitre, who forces the Doctor to take him to the hideout, even though the Doctor has never been there.

Ian echoes what I said, calling himself "very small fry". But Leon doesn't want to hear it. He also presumably doesn't want to hear Ian saying things like, "I flew here with three friends in a small box. When I left England it was 1963". Anyway, Jules comes to the rescue and sets Ian free, allowing him to have an argument with Barbara. Unfortunately, this argument between them isn't as good as the one they had in the Aztecs. Barbara gets all fired up and says, "he was a traitor to you, to his side he was a patriot," and so on. I think the main reason why this isn't as good as their previous argument is that Leon was going to kill Ian. Barbara doesn't seem particularly bothered about that when defending Leon.

This is yet another slightly uneventful episode, although maybe I was simply enjoying it too much to think about it? Either way, the best moments are with the Doctor and Barbara and the Doctor and Lemaitre. 7/10.

Prisoners of the Conciergerie

The start of this episode sees something that we haven't seen for a while as the actors all stand perfectly still whilst the names of the episode and writer are flashed on the screen. I should be watching out for those. There weren't any in the Sensorites. They're already being phased out, which is sad. I'd love for a new series episode to do that. Day of the Moon is a perfect opportunity!

I love how the Doctor is still in his costume and hat. I know the plot does actually require it, but it's still funny, particularly as he never takes the hat off, and takes it with him when they go back to the TARDIS! That's another thing the new series could do. If they are going to have a running joke of Matt Smith liking various types of hat, surely that one is perfect!

Anyway, this is a very strange episode, which essentially revolves around the shock revelation that Napoleon will become Emperor of France. Ian and Barbara watch him discussing plans in the back of a pub, which is quite amusing really. Ian's acting is atrocious! And I mean Ian rather than William Russell, who does bad acting very well. Not just atrocious, but completely pointless, too! Still, it beats Barbara's horrendous attempt at a French accent, which is made all the more peculiar by the fact that she's the first person in the entire story to put on a French accent. The scene with Barbara and the Doctor is quite touching where she admits that influencing history is beyond them. Clearly they enjoyed the Aztecs as much as I did. It's been referenced in both stories since.

Carole Ann Ford has never been "my type", but in the scenes at the end when the Doctor rescues her from the prison and they watch Robespierre's arrival, she looks really attractive. I wish she looked like that all the time. Anyway, the long carriage scene is rather bizarre at the end here. That must be a unique scene in Doctor Who's history.

After meeting Marco Polo and Kublai Khan, Ian here sees Boney's plotting, then witnesses Robespierre's downfall. He really is ticking the boxes, isn't he? What next? Something ridiculous like meeting Richard the Lionheart and becoming a knight, no doubt. There is a little bit of finality in this episode as the first season draws to a close. Lemaitre and Jules watch our heroes leave and wonder where they're going. Lemaitre says, "I get the impression they don't know where they're heading for". Then the Doctor does the silly "destiny in the stars" speech to end things off. It's quite sweet really, and a nice way to finish off both this story and the first season of this promising young series. 8/10.

Conclusion

The Reign of Terror is a good introduction for Dennis Spooner. It won't be his strongest story, but it is one of the highlights of the first season, and closes it off with tremendous style. I should state again that I love the incidental music. My only wish is that there should have been more of it. The story is a bit slow at times, but even when it is, it's still enjoyable to watch. The guest cast are all good and all provide something useful, and the regulars are all on top form, particularly Hartnell, who is a joy to watch at this stage. The role is truly his now, and he is absolutely terrific.

Average rating: 7.7

Old Rating: 8

New Rating: 8


Season One

The first season of Doctor Who is a promising one. It isn't as strong as later seasons, and it is very inconsistent, but it is experimental, and explores what the show is capable of. There were two disasters, two classics and some strong stories in between. Most importantly though, it established the characters beautifully. The Doctor settled down quickly with Hartnell, who is a revelation. He is a commanding presence, and is terrific to watch. Russell and Hill make for superb companions, both developing their roles well to the point where they're clearly enjoying their adventures by the close of the season. It's a shame Carole Ann Ford never really got the chance to do much, but she's off soon anyway, thankfully, her character replaced by the far superior Vicki, who is one of my favourite companions. 

I think that even if people don't want to do a full marathon, it is definitely worth watching this season in order. It is where it all started, after all, and in many ways here as flexible as Doctor Who ever has been. Though it is still a daunting task, I'm glad I forced myself to start this marathon. I've been able to see and re-assess stories I generally avoid, such as An Unearthly Child, which is far better than I remember. One down, twenty-five to go.

Old Rating: 7
Average Rating: 6.58
New Rating: 6.63

The Sensorites

I want one!

Strangers in Space

Blimey, the Sensorites. One of the least popular early stories, and no surprise about that. A painfully slow-moving plot, and a simplistic one at that, and some rather poor directing. But I haven't seen it in a long time, and have few memories of it, so it will be interesting to see. The TARDIS scene at the start is bizarre. Barbara's over her ordeal in the Aztecs already, although for all we know this could be a couple of years later. The strangest bit is the four of them standing there reciting all of their previous stories. It's very clunky, and the sort of thing JNT would receive much criticism for, and yet it is also endearing. "It all started out as a mild curiosity in a junkyard, and now it's turned out to be quite a quite a great spirit of adventure," as the Doctor states. It's quite funny having Ian and Barbara and the Doctor and Susan telling each other how good their character development has been. Clearly Ian and Barbara haven't been paying too much attention to Susan's (lack of) development, or they somehow know she'll get a little in the upcoming story.

I quite like the Doctor being almost surprised at being on a spaceship. It's something we take for granted now, but this, the seventh adventure, is the first time our heroes have landed in a spaceship. It actually looks quite good, which is nice, as there's something to distract from the lack of anything happening. They find two people, Ian checks the pulse of the first and proclaims him dead. We get a couple of seconds of silence, and then a crashing DADAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Goodbye subtlety (again)! Actually I have to say I'm not very keen on Norman Kay's incidentals throughout this story. It's the first instance of incidental music in this marathon that I've found to be jarring. Hartnell fluffs again, talking of "non-winding time watches". Yes, those watches that tell the time are very handy, Doctor. In all seriousness, though, watches that are powered by movement of the wrist are quite a nice idea, even if the Doctor's mention of watches that need winding is a little odd. Surely Time Lords have moved beyond that?

The Doctor's spirit of adventure has deserted him a little here. They arrive, see the crew is dead, and the Doctor says, "there's nothing we can do, let's go". Then Maitland suddenly wakes up, tells them his story and the Doctor says, "there's nothing we can do, let's go". Is this the same man who sabotaged the TARDIS to see the Dalek city? I do like his attempts to say he doesn't meddle and has no curiosity. Ian's having none of that.

The Doctor calls Ian "Cheston", and Barbara and Susan wander about for a bit and then have a hug with John. We get an extremely long close-up of Ian, then see a Sensorite at a window and that's the cliffhanger? Sheesh.

It's a fairly intriguing first episode. It's a little bit bland, and doesn't feel quite natural at times, but it builds up the suspense relatively well, and John is an interesting character so far, being frightened, and yet wishing to protect Barbara and Susan. Is it just me or is Lorne Cossette as Maitland really stiff? It sounds like he calls Carol "Kell". He's the weakest aspect of this. 6.5/10

The Unwilling Warriors

The Unwilling Warriors? Interesting choice of a title. We get another big "dadaaaaa" as we see the Sensorite at the start here. This is so slow. I'm trying to like it, I really am, and there are a couple of fantastic moments here, provided by Hartnell (no surprises there). 

 

As a whole, though, this episode does have rather long periods of absolutely nothing happening. The worst example of this is Ian and Barbara walking slowly down a corridor, then Ian goes into a room and stands still for a while before gesturing to Barbara to come in and they both stand there looking around. What is so fascinating? Oh, nothing is, they move on to the corridor out the other side and walk very very slowly across it, whilst Norman Kay's music grinds away. Sheesh. That bit is made even worse by the fact that the Sensorites appear from behind a door, so then we have Ian walking very very slowly back the way he came for a while, with them slowly following him. I know it's an attempt to build up tension, but it really doesn't do it very well. Which is another point. Why does Ian back away, without making any attempt whatsoever to communicate with them? It's so ridiculous that Barbara scolds Ian for trying to "keep them off" by saying, "do you need to keep them off? Have they actually attacked you?" Just to show that he could make Ian even stupider, Newman has him saying, "they were as frightened of me as I was of them". So why not bloody say hello and see if they're friendly? 

Oooh, there's an "educational" bit here. Or at least, I think that's the reason the Doctor decided to tell us the melting point of iron. It's not exactly as practical as curing hypothermia, or as interesting as learning about Marco Polo and the Aztecs, but it's an effort of sorts! We also have Ian and Barbara really playing to the Doctor's ego here. First we have Barbara say that the Doctor leads and they follow, and then when the Doctor says that the Sensorites don't like noise or darkness, Barbara questions whether he's right and Ian says, "but he is, of course"! It's quite sweet, really.

Hmm, the Sensorites don't like a little bit or noise or darkness. There's no heavy metal on the Sense-sphere, I take it. It does make it seem a bit absurd that we've had an hour of being told how frightened everybody is of them, and we find they're ridiculously timid. Does nobody talk to each other in the 28th century? (Actually, some people will say we probably aren't going to, the way society is going).

Anyway, I mentioned a couple of brilliant moments. The first few were Ian and Barbara flattering the Doctor, and the Doctor thanking Ian for "his admiration". But my favourite bit of this episode, by a wide margin, is when the Doctor is asking the Sensorites for his TARDIS lock, and they say he's not in a position to threaten them. He replies, "I don't make threats, but I do keep promises, and I promise you I shall cause you more trouble than you bargained for if you don't return my property!" It's a great line, and Hartnell pulls it off beautifully.

It's an interesting one. I can see what they were trying to do, continuing to build up the suspense, but I'm afraid I don't find people walking really slowly around a few corridors all that suspenseful. It's a bit dull, and really we're just waiting now to go to the Sense-sphere, where the story can start properly. This is the only time I can think of when the writer uses two episodes rather than one to set the atmosphere. For a couple of great moments near the end, I'll give this a slightly generous 4/10.

Hidden Danger

It's Jacqueline Hill's turn for a holiday over the next two episodes, so it's quite sad she leaves halfway through this one. It will be interesting to see how the story copes without her. The best part of this episode comes right at the end, with Ian's coughs. I have to say, they're played brilliantly by everybody. He coughs whilst he's talking and carries on, then coughs again during a speech by the Doctor, who simply ignores him. It is almost deliberately played as William Russell having an attack of the coughs and trying to cover it up, rather than something being wrong with Ian. It's a nice little surprise, although it isn't as if the writing is good enough to keep us guessing. The Elders have mysteriously never suffered the disease. The Elders only drink from a spring. Ian just drank from the aqueduct that the other Sensorites use as their water source. It's all made fairly clear just from the speeches what caused it.

"His mind is open, he can tell the difference between good and evil people," says Susan about John. Yes, well that's not absurd and simplistic, is it? What about people with shades of grey? What about the Doctor?

I do quite like the line, "are their hearts in the right or left of their bodies, or in the centre, like ours?" It's rather poor writing, but quite enjoyable at the same time. Sometime around that, the City Administrator (or Third, as he's credited), says, "when they're seated, kill them!" and we get that loud sting of music again. So far the Sensorites on the Sense-sphere don't have very much personality, do they? The First Elder is the "good" one (as John helpfully pointed out to us), the Second Elder and the "weak-willed one", the City Administrator is "the evil one". The City Administrator in particular is fairly one-dimensional. He hates the humans and wants to kill them! Essentially, that is his character.

Again, Hartnell is brilliant. "I'm being dictated to by petty thieves and my own grandchild!" he exclaims angrily. Sadly, again, the good moments are few and far between. More does happen this week, and we don't get people walking around slowly, and we get introduced to a whole new bunch of Sensorites, so there is enough going on to prevent it being a disaster, but the writing is rather poor, frankly. And we've seen the last of Maitland, which is a blessed relief, as Cossette is a strong rival for Virginia Wetherall and Katherine Schofield in the "worst acting performance in season one" stakes. Not great, but not awful 4/10.

A Race Against Death

A lot of this is quite poor. Actually, the whole episode is pretty dreadful, and yet in a perverse sort of way I found it rather enjoyable. Peter R. Newman clearly didn't put very much effort into this script. Near the end of this episode, the Doctor says to the Scientist, "the Sensorites don't like darkness, do they?" Huh? He knows they don't. He's the one who was telling everybody that an hour ago! Just to make it worse, later on in the same scene he helpfully tells us that the Sensorites don't like noise or darkness, even though we've been told the noise thing about five times in this episode, and he just said they don't like the dark! It's not just Newman, surely David Whitaker should have been quietly removing lines like that?

Saying that, if he'd removed every bad line this would be a two-parter. The scene with John and the City Administrator is awful. It's bad enough having John helpfully telling us he's "evil", just in case we had forgotten that the one who keeps saying he wants the Doctor and his companions dead is the bad guy. But it's made far worse that the City Administrator then gloats and taunts John, and basically admits to being evil. He was introduced as a xenophobe, genuinely worried about the safety of his people, and that could have been explored quite well, but now he's just acting like a bog-standard baddie who wants our heroes dead because that's his role in the story. It's not just the bit where he admits to being evil, it's also where he's told that the Sensorite scientists have worked with the Doctor. He doesn't even bother coming up with an argument against that, he just says, "it's a trick". Oh, okay. 

 

The montage scene is quite a funny thing to have in such a slow-paced story, and the piece of paper the First Elder holds which just says "First District, Second District, etc." which he ticks off as each district is cleared of poison is horribly simple. "Top secret" from the Claws of Axos came to mind when I saw that. Oh, and we get another moment of excited music. The Doctor looks keenly into the camera and asks, "will they let me have my ship?" dadadadaaaaaaa!

The City Administrator complains about all the "absurd" names the humans have. Yes, much better to have First, Second, City Administrator, First Scientist and so on! What a ridiculous society the Sensorites have. And I'm not even going to mention the "they all look the same" thing, because that is one big can of worms. All I'll say is to repeat what I said earlier, that Newman really can't have worked too hard when writing this. Anyway, this is a dreadful episode, where the Doctor analyses some water and tries to get an antidote to Ian (who's basically a little way down a corridor). Yet somehow it was actually so awful it wasn't too bad. William Russell's weak acting is a little suspect, but I'll let him off. The cliffhanger is genuinely good. The scene in the aqueduct with the Doctor is really creepy. 3.5/10.

Kidnap

Yes, well, this is getting even worse. The episode is called Kidnap, even though that's the cliffhanger. It does sum up this episode quite well, though, since the cliffhanger is the first thing to actually happen. Essentially what happens is the Doctor returns from the aqueduct to the city, talks about going off to explore the aqueduct and then goes back off to explore the aqueduct. Along the way Ian repeatedly pesters the Doctor to ask the Sensorites to let Barbara come back from her holiday. It's shockingly uneventful, to the point where it rivals the Screaming Jungle from the Keys of Marinus. Yet it still isn't that bad. It's poor, but somehow manages to remain watchable. I think part of that is just through struggling to work out what they were thinking. It also features one of the worst fluffs I've heard, from one of the Sensorites, reporting back to the City Administrator. He says, "I saw the Doctor and the other two leave the aque-aqueduck. I heard them over over er talk-talking". I do genuinely think it's sad we don't get things like that these days. 

 

That aside, there are quite a lot writing fluffs in this episode. A Sensorite states that, "our society is based upon trust. Treason or secret plotting is impossible". That's taking being naive to fairly absurd levels. John just suddenly wakes up and is perfectly cured. Just like that. All the trauma and distress nicely vanished. The reason? People have a veil that covers fear, and his veil was stuck open, so he was permanently afraid. The Sensorites had to rehabilitate him, yet without closing the veil permanently or he'd never be afraid again. Um, okay then. Then we have Susan suddenly coming to the conclusion that the City Administrator is the baddie after all, since he was rude to her. Ian agrees. The City Administrator was rude to him too, therefore he must be the evil one. I did like that bit though, I have to admit, where the City Administrator tells Ian to call him Sir, and Ian just walks off.

Oh yes, and the "plot" to frame the Doctor for the murder of the Second Elder fails miserably, and the First Elder says, "your story is a tissue of lies" to the plotter. Okay, I am being extremely unfair here, but this story asks for it. Would Sensorites even have tissues, let alone know a phrase like that? The Scientist in this episode has to have the concept of a handshake explained to him, so would they know what tissues are?

That last paragraph indicates how far I needed to go to say anything about this episode. It is horribly uneventful, and reminding us over and over that Barbara isn't in it at the moment doesn't really help matters. The cliffhanger is abysmal, too. Oh, Carol is kidnapped. Oh well. 2.5/10

 

A Desperate Venture

Blimey. The previous episode was named for the kidnap of Carol which was there simply to serve as the cliffhanger and be resolved in a moment. She's freed again right at the start of this episode. That is pretty unsatisfying. Which sums up the whole story, as well as this episode. A Desperate Venture? Interesting definition of the word desperate. Nobody in this episode is more than mildly concerned. John is slightly upset for the five seconds that Carol is being held prisoner and that's the height of emotion. The humans poisoning the water supply, who are in many respects bigger villains than the City Administrator, don't appear until twelve minutes into episode six! Their leader doesn't then appear until sixteen minutes in. It's hardly surprising it's unsatisfying. The Doctor and companions trick the humans into believing the "war" is over and persuade them to leave the aqueduct. The Sensorites are waiting ready to catch them. If they'd been introduced earlier (even just earlier in this episode), they could have done a bit more with them. As it is, our heroes face the mildest of mild peril and resolve matters without breaking a sweat. 

 

Oh, not only does Carol escape immediately, the first time we see the Doctor and Ian in this episode, they've already worked out the guns are broken and the map is wrong. That's the trouble with this story, Newman has serious pacing issues. We have long periods of nothing happening, and then people suddenly leap to conclusions, and things happen far too quickly. 

The First Elder is a bit strange here, too. He's intrigued by the compassion us humans have for each other, and also says that he trusts all Sensorites because their way of life is based on trust (as the subordinate said earlier). To have had him say that earlier might have worked, but having him say this now when he knows at least one of the Sensorites has tried to frame the Doctor, and tried to prevent Ian from receiving the antidote to the poison just makes him sound like a total idiot.

It's a poor final episode, but somehow I'm still quite enjoying it. The resolution is ridiculously fast and simple, and it's probably the calmest and least threatening final episode that the Doctor and his companions will ever have. The scene at the end with the Doctor and Susan is sweet, talking about whether they'll ever go home, the Doctor saying, "this old ship of mine seems to be an aimless thing". His outburst at Ian seems a bit out of sorts from the cuddly hero he's already developed into, though, and just seems tacked on because they wanted a cliffhanger. I guess that is a rather fitting end for the Sensorites, frankly. 3.5/10

Conclusion

Though I've given it an identical score, I enjoyed this far more than the Keys of Marinus. The trouble is, I probably enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons. However, there are genuinely good things about it. Cusick's designs are superb throughout the story. I love the guns the Sensorites have. The Doctor has some terrific moments. However, the plot is so simplistic it's fairly amusing. It's fairly awful, childish stuff, really. There's no need to repeat what I've already said, just that this and the Keys of Marinus are for me the disappointments of the first season. Everything else is decent at worst. I'm just glad we've seen the back of Newman, and that Nation bloke. Sorry, what's that? They asked him back? Anyway, goodbye Sense-sphere, hello 18th century France and somebody called Dennis Spooner.

Average Rating: 4

Old Rating: 5

New Rating: 4