Episode One
This story sees the debut of the new title sequence. It's quite bizarre from a modern perspective to see a new title sequence towards the end of a season. I'll miss the old one, but it's nice that Troughton gets to have his own. I do wonder why if Medok is on the run and desperate not to be caught, he takes a detour to attack Ben and Jamie. It doesn't seem too smart. Ola is nicely summed up quite quickly as he tells his guards to tie Medok up very tightly. The Doctor already gets some good lines, telling the guards to loosen Medok's bonds, because it's bad for circulation, and telling Jamie they're in the future on a planet like earth before admitting that he's just guessing when Jamie asks him how he knows. Of course, he trumps both of those by declaring, "well, this is gay," as he arrives at the colony. He's right. It's a lovely colony. If I ever wanted to be brainwashed and made to work for giant crabs, I'd choose this colony in which to do it. They regulate their days by music, and such fabulously jaunty music it is. I love the TARDIS crew's differing reactions, too, to getting pampered. It's interesting that the two who enjoy it are the two leaving in the very next story, whilst the Doctor and Jamie are both very wary. Barney spoils it all by calling Polly beautiful, then admitting he said it because he has to. I love the way Polly tells the Doctor he looks gorgeous before he goes off to ruffle himself up.
It's very creepy that the Controller is a static picture that talks to the people, who nobody ever sees. It is quite at odds with the happy clappy state of the colony generally. The Doctor goes off to talk to Medok, and finds out about "creatures infesting this camp at night". Ola tells him that they don't talk to prisoners, but the Doctor unlocks Medok's cell and chats anyway. Medok runs off. Ola seems to think they'll catch him easily enough, leading to the Doctor's cheeky remark, "he can run you know, he has got legs. He doesn't have to crawl all over the ground". Ola's furious, but the Pilot, in charge, doesn't particularly care. He's all charm, the Pilot. He's a fascinating character.
The Doctor gets out his recorder yet again! He goes off to search for Medok again in some fairly tense scenes. There's a curfew, and anybody out after it may be killed, which is quite mad. I love the way the Doctor says, "and the same to you," when the Controller wishes everybody a happy sleep time. As the Doctor and Medok wander about in the dark and everything gets tense, Dudley Simpson crashes in with some insane incidentals which I love. In fact, on soundtrack alone this is my favourite story so far in my marathon. The story itself is wonderful so far. 10/10
There’s a surprisingly long reprisal at the start of this episode, followed by Medok suddenly being very trusting, and thinking just because he’s seen the Macra, people will believe him. So Ola arrests him. Again. This episode does start a little slowly, not just due to the reprisal, but it absolutely sizzles throughout the second half.
The Doctor’s interest as he looks around the Pilot’s office is great to see. Troughton is playing the role with such enthusiasm. The bit where Medok protects the Doctor by claiming that the Doctor was actually trying to get him to hand himself in is very well played, and very touching. The Doctor asks the Pilot why he wants everybody to be the same. The Pilot is ever so charming as he says that sometimes you have to use force to ensure happiness, which is rather chilling. It’s an interesting conversation they share, at the end of which, the Controller tells the Pilot to have the strangers brainwashed, as no criticism is allowed. Then, bizarrely, the Controller has a nice little rant, seemingly to himself, “no-one in the colony believes in Macra. There is no such thing as Macra. Macra do not exist. There are no Macra!" As much fun as that is, it is a little bit of an odd thing to say.
The voice that tries to brainwash Ben and Jamie is very soothing, yet very evil. Jamie actually says so himself. It tells them they’ll be happy to obey and will question nothing. Again, it’s quite nice that they’re at least being allowed to be happy. Jamie wakes up early, but almost believes what it says. Ben is completely brainwashed. Poor guy. Obviously it doesn’t work on the Doctor, who disables the one brainwashing Polly, but completely forgets about Ben and Jamie! She knew what she was doing cosying up to the Doctor in the Moonbase. He tells her never to be obedient. In the next scene, Ben angrily tells the Doctor he’s breaking the law trying to stop the brainwashing. “He thinks he knows best all the time. This time he’s wrong,” he declares in a fury. Jamie says that he takes orders from only the Doctor, which does jar a little with the Doctor telling Polly she must never be obedient. It’s quite amusing, really, to see Ben turning the Doctor and Jamie in. Polly is furious and runs off, telling him he may as well report her, but instead he runs off, leading to a great sequence, which has a few existing clips. It says a lot about the effectiveness of the brainwashing that even when he sees the Macra, Ben says, “there is nothing evil or harmful in this colony”. It’s sweet though, that he tries to save Polly, and tells her to run while he tries to hold them off. I should say again how much I love Dudley’s incidental music for this story, and it really helps give these scenes atmosphere.
It’s telling that the Pilot is subjected to the mind control. He doesn’t seem to realise what he’s doing. Ola seems to be the only one actually aware that the colony is not all happy and lovely, and he likes exploiting it too much to care. Again, the effectiveness of the brainwashing is nicely highlighted by Ben forgetting all about the encounters with the Macra as soon as they get to the Pilot’s office. “There are no such things as Macra,” he declares, and the Controller tells them all poor Polly has been hallucinating. The way the Doctor and Jamie now go on the attack is quite exciting, even if it does seem pretty reckless. The Doctor asks who is really in control, and the Pilot highlights the Controller. Jamie points out that it’s just a picture, they want to see the Controller in person. It’s a very tense moment. I’m not entirely sure why the Macra’s claw attacks the Controller after he’s said he’ll do what they tell him to, but there you are. Polly’s scream of “they’re in control,” is loud and effective. The episode did start a little slowly, but it’s recovered brilliantly, and is thrillingly exciting throughout the last fifteen minutes or so. Terrific stuff. Let’s hope this can continue. 10/10
Episode Three
I do like the Controller's apparent fear of people finding out about the Macra. "We will not tolerate the evil of such strangers," it yells. I love the way the Doctor doesn't care at all, he's too busy making fun of the rhymes of the colony songs. "The man who wrote that ought to be sent to the danger gang, not us," he chuckles. I love the way the Doctor, Jamie and Polly are all trying to protect each other. Two of them will have to go down into the mines, while one stays on the surface. "You don't send a lassie and an old man down to dig," Jamie says. The Doctor's reaction to that is rather amusing. I love the way Troughton's companions make fun of him all the time. You couldn't imagine it with Hartnell. The Doctor wants Polly to have the safer job, but she refuses and insists he takes it, as he can be of more use sabotaging their equipment. It's a great moment that shows Polly's strength perfectly.
The bit where the Doctor writes his calculations all over a wall and then marks himself 10/10 is funny, particularly when he changes it to 11/10 when the Pilot tells him it's so exact he thinks the Doctor has cheated. I like the way Ben gradually breaks through his brainwashing. He watches the Doctor, confused. Michael Craze plays the doubts very well. He sees Jamie and Medok cause Officia to be overcome by the fumes and steal his keys. When Officia realises his keys have been taken, Ben says, "you must have dropped them". It's very effective, especially as he later then decides to report Jamie, but still doesn't know why he didn't report him in the first place, and will only report him to the Pilot, not to anybody else.
It's not exactly a mystery to the audience, but it's still nicely done that as Jamie escapes into the old shaft, the Controller says the guards must not follow him in. Again, we know really before the Doctor why gas is being poured in, that it isn't to kill Jamie but to wake the Macra he finds. It's really quite creepy as Jamie finds one and isn't sure whether it's awake or even alive as it just sits there, still. It's a classic moment as its eyes suddenly light up and the gas wakes it, and Dudley Simpson's terrific music starts kicking in. The way Jamie runs and finds himself trapped by another Macra is superb, and creates a classic cliffhanger, not even ruined by the Controller thinking he's in an episode of Stingray by chanting out, "stand by for action".
This episode isn't quite as good as the first two, though the quality is still very high, and the scenes at the end with Jamie in the old shaft with the dormant Macra are terrific and tense. This is a high quality story, and though everybody has been good, Michael Craze is the stand out here. We're unlikely to get a stronger portrayal of brainwashing than this. 9/10
Episode Four
The Doctor's line, "confusion is best left to the experts," is a classic one, and it's great the way he pushes the fresh air through to save Jamie. Jamie manages to escape the Macra and finds a bunch of cheerleaders, which is very strange. They're learning how to sing and dance happily to encourage the workers, and assume Jamie has come to join in. He's told, "we want something gay and cheerful". It's a shame we don't get to see the Highland fling, as it sounds very entertaining, particularly the ending. It's a great scene, though a bit strange that the guards looking for Jamie have no idea what he looks like, and have to rely on Ben giving him up.
The scene where Ola shouts at the Pilot and they argue, only for the Doctor to walk up to them and make them apologise to each other, "we can't have anger and differences of opinion in this happy colony," is hilarious. Control goes even crazier as the Doctor and Polly try and convince the Pilot that the Macra exist, wanting to show him proof. The way it screams at the Pilot to go back to work, and then puts Ola in command to arrest him is quite funny, really. "This is a happy colony, all must obey!" it shrieks out. Interestingly, Ben goes off after them, still desperate for proof, one way or another. The Doctor's, "bad laws were made to be broken," to the Pilot who is worrying about what they're doing is a very classic Troughton moment. They finally show the Pilot (and Ben) proof that the Macra exist, and have been the Controller all along. They're apparently parasites, living off the gas. It's really quite nasty that the Macra get Ola to arrest them and shove them in a room to be gassed to death. It's fitting that it's Ben who saves the day. After the brainwashing and trying to overcome all of his doubts, he finally manages to get free of it and do what the Doctor tells him to. It's a very good and satisfying ending once more.
The ending is quite funny, as it almost echoes the opening scene, with the happy, jolly colony. How they're going to stay happy and jolly without all the drugs and brainwashing is quite another matter. For once the Doctor and friends are hailed as heroes, to the point where they want the Doctor to be the next Pilot! That they run away using the Highland fling is terrific, a wonderful way to conclude a wonderful episode that concludes a high class story. 9/10
Conclusion
I adore the Macra Terror. It's Ian Stuart Black's best script, Dudley Simpson's best score so far, and all the cast are superb. Not only that, all four regulars get plenty to do, which is very nice. It's the only time this team have really all been used well. It's both happy and jolly and creepy and tense. It's near faultless. I love the little jingles. I love everything about this story. It's fast, exciting, thoughtful and very silly. After the perfect opening, Troughton's early era had been flagging a little bit, but this is one terrific shot in the arm. We all know control is right and we must obey! Ra ra ra!
Average rating: 9.5
Old rating: 9
New rating: 9.5
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