The Keys of Marinus

ARBITAN: Perhaps you will bring me news of my daughter. I miss her. Yes, I miss her.

IAN: This is where we pay the bill.

BARBARA: Listen to me. I believe you're under some deep form of deep hypnosis.

TARRON: Who is he?
IAN: Who? He's a doctor. 

Points of Interest: 

• It's amazing how often in this story people suddenly see things that they must surely have been able to see already. They're standing talking, and suddenly one of them notices those massive submersibles about two feet away. They're calmly chatting away and then, "oh my gosh, there's a massive great building that dominates the skyline"! They must be incredibly unobservant people. 
• Barbara manages to do an awful lot in the few seconds where she travels on ahead of everyone else at the end of episode one. She has everything explained to her, she has a meal, she orders a dress and she settles down for a good rest. In a matter of seconds! Not only that, she somehow scratched herself badly enough to leave a load of blood on the floor. Ouch! 
• The brainwashing device is a bit useless. Apart from falling off if the person sleeping turns over, it leaves a sore spot on the forehead the next day! Interesting that under the influence, Ian tries to kill Barbara. I wonder why he gets away with it when the Sixth Doctor isn't allowed to? I've also never noticed before that the guy voicing the brains is called Heron Carvic. What a wonderful name. 
• Susan is particularly annoying in this story. Episode three is the worst, but she spends an incredible amount of time crying and screaming. Any time she's off-screen is a blessed relief. The sad thing is that Barbara catches it for a short time as well. Thank heavens for placid Sabetha. 
  
• The holiday William Hartnell has really works wonders. He doesn't seem quite right in the first two episodes and fluffs considerably. When he returns he's like a new man and brings a much-needed energy to a flagging story. Well, apart from the "I can't improve at this very moment" fluff. 
• If Arbitan can set up forcefields so easily, why doesn't he put one up around his building to stop the Voord getting in and killing him? Also, why can't Darrius just tell Ian and Barbara where the key is rather than just being cryptic simply for the sake of being cryptic and extending an already dull dull episode? 
• Of the guest characters, Altos and Sabetha are quite good fun, even if Altos desperately needs to sort out his wardrobe! I enjoy Katherine Schofield's somewhat relaxed (okay, rubbish) performance. She'd be a better companion than Susan. Also, Donald Pickering always brings a touch of class to proceedings. 
• The Monoid who stupidly gives himself away to Dodo in the Ark is always made fun of, but it seems to be something people from Millenius do out of habit. Aydan is unbelievably thick. Especially considering he knows the law of the land and that if he just shuts up Ian will be convicted anyway.  

 
Verdict

The Doctor and his companions on a quest to find keys to work a machine that removes free will! Interesting premise there, Mr Nation. The quest format is an interesting idea that might have worked with a more imaginative writer. Or one who had more time to work on the script, to be fair. The two Doctor-free episodes are interminably dull. Hartnell's return is greeted with a cheer from everyone. The last two episodes are the strongest, even if the whole "guilty until proven innocent" thing is daft. The story as a whole manages to be both silly and quite dull. For me it's the first proper blip in Doctor Who.