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