Galaxy 4 and Mission to the Unknown

Four Hundred Dawns

There is no twist in this story about how the Drahvins are actually baddies. It's made perfectly clear right from when we meet them that they are. Though many seem to think the story is about the shock of attractive people turning out to be evil whilst the ugly are good, the story is actually just about people trying to get off a dying planet. Not that we could exactly mock anyway even if the story was about that, considering how vain and looks-obsessed society is at the moment. A story like that would be more worthwhile now than in the 60s.

Anyway, Steven had a shave in the last story, and is now having a haircut here. All very good to see (or not see). The stock incidental music used here is effective, and the Chumbley noise is very good, so the story does sound good, if nothing else. The existing clip is nice to see.

Vicki realises very quickly that the Drahvins want them dead, doesn't she? And the Drahvins are from Galaxy 4. Bit of an odd name for the story, then. It's like naming the Dalek Invasion of Earth Skaro, or any story with a Time Lord Kasterborous. And they arrived four hundred dawns ago, which is also a slightly odd name for this episode, then.

The plot of this story is pretty thin. I can forgive opening episodes, and this one is okay, and potentially sets up a good story of a fight for survival. For that, 5/10.

Trap of Steel

Okay, the Drahvins admit to being evil. But that's about it. The Drahvins have a chat with Steven, he philosophises a bit and the Doctor and Vicki go for a walk. Somehow that takes up twenty-five minutes. It's the small moments that save this from being completely awful. Vicki's "I noted, observed, collated, concluded, and then I threw a rock," is a great moment. Steven trying to make the Drahvin drone realise that Maaga getting "special" things is unfair is, if not a great moment, is a fun moment. What is good is where Steven forces the Drahvins to take him as a hostage rather than Vicki.

I'm struggling a bit now. The scenes go on forever without much happening. And Vicki screams, which is sad. I'm going to give this a slightly generous score for its moments of charm. 4/10.

Air Lock

Yes. The title says it all really. Air Lock. When you're calling an episode Air Lock, you know you're in trouble. Vicki chats to the Rills, then to the Doctor, then the Doctor and Vicki chat to the Rills. The sound is great, the story less so. Maaga's speech about being the only one who can think is quite nice. But, gosh, it was her who killed the Drahvin, not the Rills. The Doctor almost kills the Rills. The Rills are quite nice, and quite interesting, but still very little is actually happening. You almost get the impression Maaga wants to fail. 2/10

The Exploding Planet

And now it grinds to a standstill, and we watch the Doctor plugging the TARDIS in to the Rill ship and waiting for it to fill up with energy. Fun. And the Drahvins, who will die if they don't manage to take the TARDIS or the Rill ship (or even just, you know, say sorry), just stand about watching and doing absolutely nothing. I like the way the Rill says, "you from the solar system, we from another space". William Emms is so bored by now he can't even be bothered to let the Rills know where they're from. This is the worst individual episode of Doctor Who since way back in the Screaming Jungle in the Keys of Marinus. Oh, and Vicki hurt her ankle somehow. Uneventful and painfully dull. 1/10

Conclusion

It's difficult to believe I liked this story first time around, and I even think I may have been generous with my score here. It does have good elements. Hartnell, O'Brien and Purves, for example. The Chumblies are fun, and the sounds and stock music are effective. I wanted to like this. I always feel for stories unpopular with fandom, because a large number are very unfairly unpopular. But nothing actually happens in this story. I prefer longer stories, and I think 42 minutes is far too short for a Doctor Who story, but this could be told easily in one episode. It's a sad way to start the third season, and it is by far my least favourite story so far. The best thing about the story? The cliffhanger at the end is brilliant. Now Season Three can really begin...

Average rating: 3

Old Rating: 7

New Rating: 3

Mission to the Unknown

Goodbye Verity. This is the last story with Verity Lambert's name in the credits. She was an absolute wonder. One of the very best producers in the show's history, and in many ways the most important. So I'd like to take this moment to say thank you, Verity, for everything. You are sorely missed.

I've debated whether or not to count this on its own, and I have decided to anyway, even though it is a prelude to the Daleks' Master Plan (or prequel, as the new series would bafflingly call it). It's arguably more a part of the story than the Feast of Steven, but the break caused by the Myth Makers kind of makes it its own story.

Right from the start the quality is so much higher than the previous story. George Prince did the sound on Galaxy 4, and was the best thing about the story, but he's truly excelled himself here. The jungle on Kembel sounds brilliant. The stock music is effective, too. The atmosphere alone is just so far superior to the nothingness of Galaxy 4.

The Varga plants are quite a nasty idea. As is Marc Cory, 007 of the galaxy. He very calmly kills Garvey at the start of this story. Lowery's reaction is quite good, too. It is a bit cold of him to say "I don't see why that should concern us" when Cory tells him of all the worlds the Daleks are conquering, because they're far away. It doesn't make him an especially endearing character. But Cory knows they're up to something, and knows that Kembel would be an ideal place for them to amass. Lucky the Daleks are predictable, then. I love how they use a tape recorder to send their distress message. They even say it's "like a tape recorder".

So, all they have to do is stay alive until help comes? Whoops, the Daleks have destroyed your ship! Whoops, Lowery has been Varga'd. So much for that plan, then. So, the Daleks have a secret meeting with their allies to discuss their plans. Fine. So they play it over a loudspeaker system to allow anybody who might be on the planet to hear it! Huh? Why? For starters, they know there are humans there! They've already had to reassure Malpha and co. about them. Is there any particular reason why Earth is first on their list of places to conquer? Some might say the Daleks have an unhealthy obsession with Earth.

Cory manages to kill Varga-Lowery, but then gets bumped off by the Daleks rather easily. The Daleks win this story. That must be an unusual feeling for them.

This is a great little story. It's a perfect appetiser for the Daleks' Master Plan, and a good story in its own right. It's atmospheric and interesting and very unusual. This is more like it. 8/10.