The Smugglers

BEN: Dematerialising? What does that mean?
DOCTOR: You and this young lady are experiencing it. You are now travelling through time and space.
BEN: Yeah, well, make sure that I get back by teatime, Doctor. I've got to get back to my ship by tonight.

DOCTOR: See that scanner? That is what I call a scanner up there.

DOCTOR: Yes, well I know it's really difficult for both you to understand, but I'm under moral obligation.

BEN: We wouldn't stand a chance against Pike's mob. They're a right bunch of yobbos.

• Ben thinks seeing a church is evidence that they haven't gone back in time. Erm. Really, Ben? When exactly do you think all the thousands of churches across the country were built? I find it funny that Ben and Polly accept they've gone from London to Cornwall in seconds, but dismiss the idea that they might have time travelled. The Doctor does quite a good job in the Vicki/Steven role of laughing at them for not believing it. 
• At least Polly decides to have some fun frolicking on the beach. Ben worrying about being late will be echoed (slightly) with Tegan in many many years. Whereas Polly being a "lad" has already been done with Vicki. 
• The sight of the Doctor playing cards is a frightening one when the Celestial Toymaker still wasn't so long ago. I know it's a different game and for a completely different purpose, but there's still that moment of worry. 
• William Hartnell does "triumphant re-appearance" really well. The bit where Ben, Polly and Blake are discussing him and Polly says that he was "jolly crafty" at getting himself out of trouble in London, the Doctor appears behind them and says, "and why not here, my dear?" It is good that Hartnell gets to have some fun here. It's appropriate that his penultimate story is a silly historical. 
• The Doctor, Ben and Polly have a chance to escape, but the Doctor refuses because he has a "moral obligation" to save the village. What a fascinating thing for him to be saying at the beginning of the fourth season. In the first season he wouldn't have even paused, he'd have been out of there like a shot. The show has grown and changed so much in its first three years.

Verdict

The Smugglers is a fun, historical romp. Which is essentially the best type of story Doctor Who can do. And yet there's something slightly missing here. There are some nice layers. The way the Squire is someone not very good at it trying to be a villain and yet doesn't realise he's consorting with pirates is good fun. Blake is an interesting enough "good guy", helped by John Ringham's dependable performance. William Hartnell is in fine fettle. It feels like a story that's less than the sum of its parts. I think it is a story that would benefit from being seen. It's exciting the few times it does spark into life and we see bits of it. I'm not convinced seeing episode four would help it much, though. Much of it sounds like just another dreary action sequence.