The Aztecs

AUTLOC: It is our law that all who attain their fifty second year shall pleasurably pass the remainder of their lives free from responsibility and care.
DOCTOR: Poor old souls, they must be bored to tears doing nothing.

CAMECA: You know our custom?
DOCTOR: Yes, my dear, of course.
CAMECA: The drinking of cocoa has its own special meaning.
DOCTOR: Yes, I agree. A rare delight. We should take a cup together.
CAMECA: Are you certain?
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, quite. Now, give me some beans and I'll prepare them.
CAMECA: You insist upon this?
DOCTOR: I do. I insist absolutely. As a token of my esteem.
CAMECA: The gods are smiling favour through your eyes. May it always be so. My dear Doctor, I accept with all my heart.

IAN: Autloc's the extraordinary man here. He's the reasonable one, the civilised one, the one that's prepared to listen to advice. But he's one man, Barbara. One man.

TLOTOXL: Yetaxa would have lived. The gods are immortal.
BARBARA: But I would have died!

IAN: Where did you get hold of this?
DOCTOR: My fiancée.
IAN: I see. Your what?

IAN: Good commanders don't jump to conclusions, Ixta. (Thwack)

DOCTOR: My dear Susan. I'll tell you how glad I am to see you later on.

(Huh?)

Issues

• I can sympathise with Barbara. How can you be put in the position she's in and not try to change things and save lives? I don't think I'd be able to sit back and watch a sacrifice knowing I had the power to stop it. That being said, I think she's incredibly naive to think that if she can "start the destruction of everything that's evil here, then everything that's good will survive when Cortes lands". Does she really believe that? It's an incredibly positive spin on Cortes and what he was doing. 
• Andre Boulay as the Perfect Victim is awful. It's a bizarre performance. It's not even bad acting, more non-existent acting. Dyoni, all is forgiven! The rest of the guest cast is brilliant (yes, even Keith Pyott and John Ringham) and faultless. Ringham is great fun, but Margot Van der Burgh and Ian Cullen really stand out for me, bringing real life to their characters. 
• There's a cheat for the cliffhanger of episode two. We see Barbara walking hesitantly towards Ian and Ixta... then when we come back next week she doesn't! Very poor form. Speaking of cliffhangers, the one at the end of the story is a bit odd, too. Have they really never landed inside a spaceship before? 
• The story is full of brilliant scenes. Not just the "you can't change history" scene. There's also the lovely scene where the Doctor lambasts Barbara but then instantly realises he's gone too far when she breaks down and consoles her. There's the argument between Ian and Barbara where Ian tries to point out that Autloc is the odd man out, not Tlotoxl. There's the fantastic scene where Barbara admits to Tlotoxl that she's not Yetaxa, and then the one where Tlotoxl tries to poison her. And through it all Hill and Hartnell in particular are outstanding. 
  
• I don't want to make complaining about Susan a thing, but the fact she manages to be annoying even when she's absent half the story is impressive. "I'm not going to be told who to marry!" Fair enough, Susan, but as the Doctor isn't actually planning on settling down and spending the rest of their lives there, why not just agree (or even just not say anything!) and not antagonise them simply for the sake of it? Bloody idiot. 
• Ian's "don't tell me you're my friend now" to Tlotoxl when he walks in with a big smile after Ixta's told Ian they can be friends now is hilarious. The way Russell and Ringham play it never fails to make me laugh.  

Verdict

It's not quite as perfect as Marco Polo, but it's still a work of class. John Lucarotti's characters are pretty much all shades of grey, which is so refreshing coming after Terry Nation's simple good/bad divide. The story does lag in places. The fight scenes are a little dull, and the start of episode four just seems to involve William Russell wandering about doing very little. Overall, though, it's a cracking script, worth it for all those wonderful strong scenes involving the brilliant Hill, Hartnell and Ringham. Those three carry the story beautifully. Autloc's faith in Barbara seems to be shaken ridiculously easily, but that's a very minor quibble. I like that Tlotoxl actually ends up more powerful thanks to Barbara's interference. All-in-all, top stuff. One of the classics.