Galaxy 4 and Mission to the Unknown

STEVEN: I can't operate it. I couldn't if I tried. Only the Doctor could do that. It's his ship. Why don't you try making an offer to him? Or is it that you think he might be just a little bit too clever for you? I'm the gullible one, is that it? I'm not much help, am I?

DOCTOR: Are you trying to get us killed?

VICKI: Didn't you see? They only pick up sounds in front of them. If we keep immediately behind them, they won't know we're there.
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, yes, you may appear to be right, but it's dangerous, and it's very risky!
VICKI: That was no risk. I noted, observed, collated, concluded, and then I threw the rock.

DOCTOR: What's this? What's this fellow doing?
RILL: Going to repair the damage you have done.
DOCTOR: Ah, yes. Quite so.

RILL: Though we are beings of separate planets, you from the solar system and we from another space, our ways of thought, at times, do not seem all that different.

("We from another space"? What?)

• The most exciting thing about Galaxy 4 is that one of the people playing the Chumblies is called Pepi Poup. And another is called Angelo Muscat. The second most exciting thing is Vicki cutting Steven's hair. 
• I'm not sure why it's called Galaxy 4. That's where the Drahvins are from, but not where it's set. The episode titles are a bit poor, too. "Air Lock" is possibly the worst in Doctor Who's history. 
  
• I actually quite like the Rills, but they don't actually do anything. I like slower paced stories, but this really is absurd. Nothing happens. Long scenes of people saying things but not really doing anything. 
• I would say Maaga's long close-up monologue about having the imagination to think of the Rills dying when the planet explodes is quite interestering and well done, but it probably just seems that way in comparison to the rest of the story.

Verdict

If it wasn't for the three regulars and Stephanie Bidmead, this would truly be awful. Yes, the Chumblies are quite cute, and the sound effects are good, but that's hardly enough to get you through 100 minutes. I usually argue that longer running times are necessarily, but this has pretty much the thinnest plot of any Doctor Who story. Everyone is so listless. Maaga keeps talking about

capturing the Rill ship, but at no point in the entire story does she even try. The final episode involves the Doctor plugging the TARDIS into the Rill ship to give them power while the Drahvins shrug and say, "ah well, what can you do?" That final episode is the worst individual episode so far by a long way, and perfectly rounds up by far the worst story so far. Being able to see Air Lock is about the only way I managed to get through the torture. Horrible season opener.

CORY: There's something very big going on here, and if the Daleks are involved you can bet your life our whole galaxy is in danger.

DALEK: Some beings have landed from the planet Earth, hostile beings from the centre of the solar system. But do not worry.

MALPHA: This is indeed an historic moment in the history of the universe. We six from the outer galaxies, joining with the power from the solar system, the Daleks! The seven of us represent the greatest war force ever assembled. Conquest is assured! Mars! Venus! Jupiter! The moon colonies!
DALEK: They will all fall before our might. But the first of them will be Earth!

(Riiiiiiiight)

• Mission to the Unknown is notable for a number of reasons, but most importantly for being Verity Lambert's final credited story as producer. She was fantastic. 
• Kembel sounds excellent. All the background noises make it sound completely alive and evil. Helped by the Varga plants, which are a very scary and effective idea that sadly aren't ever seen again. 
• It's good to see even Special Space Security agents far in the future will still be using fairly basic tape recorders to record distress messages. 
• Why do the Daleks broadcast their secret meetings to the whole of Kembel when they know there are Earth agents on the planet? How dim can you be? 

Verdict
 
Mission to the Unknown is a bit of an oddity, but it's a strong and tense 25 minutes which perfectly sets up the Daleks' Master Plan. Already you know it's going to be very different to the Chase from the grim and gritty way the three human characters are mercilessly butchered by the Daleks. No letting silly Alabamans laugh at them here!

The Time Meddler

STEVEN: I remember registering that, well, it didn't look like a ship. It was very small. I must have been delirious.
VICKI: I don't suppose you were. It is very small outside. It's just in here it's big.

ELDRED: I do not trust them!

STEVEN: Well, I'm not mad about you either!

MONK: More visitors. It's getting it's getting so you can't call a monastery your own!

DOCTOR: Well, as it happens, I happen to be a very curious fellow.

VICKI: We haven't got a time machine any more.
DOCTOR: Haven't we now? Oh, I say. Well, I wonder what that's supposed to mean?
VICKI: Well, you know, you know we left it on the beach.
DOCTOR: Yes, I remember very well. It so happens that I was there at the time.

STEVEN: You know, I'm beginning to like the idea of being a crew member on a time machine.
VICKI: A crew member? You'll be lucky. He's the crew. We're just the passengers.

• I like the Monk it's fun to have a villain who isn't actually bad, just mischievous. His argument is that it'll speed up progress, although I think he's a little optimistic if he thinks preventing William I winning the Battle of Hastings means there'll be jet engines by the 13th century and Shakespeare will be able to put Hamlet on TV, even if he does provide a few hints and tips along the way! Still, his idea is that it'll allow for greater progress for the human race. And is also fun. Not exactly evil, eh? 
• It's always nice to see Alethea Charlton popping up to play a woman from the past. She's come quite a way since being Hur, though. Edith is more enjoyable than Hur, and Charlton brings a great liveliness to the role. I don't get why the Vikings left her alive, though. They were strictly told to keep their presence a secret, so leaving her there to tell the other villagers she was attacked by Vikings is rather stupid of them. That said, these are Vikings who get overpowered by the combined force of Peter Butterworth and William Hartnell. Maybe they're like the Daleks from the Chase... expendable idiots the higher ups just want to get rid of. 
  
• The Doctor talks very loudly to himself about the Battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings even though he must surely know Edith is right behind him! And yet he has the gall to criticise the Monk for being a time meddler! And then to strand the Monk in history to meddle even more... 
• It's also nice to have a sceptical companion again. Steven has a few flashes of early Ian in this story with his refusal to believe that the TARDIS can travel in time. It's an appropriate story for it too, coming across anachronistic technology to make him disbelieve that they're in the past. 
• The BBC episode guide claims it's a goof that Steven asks how they could be in the 10th century when he finds a watch, because supposedly the Doctor has told him they're in the 11th. If whoever wrote that had actually been watching the story, they'd know the Doctor guessed either the 10th or 11th century, so calling it a goof is nonsense. The Doctor by that point has found out that it's the 11th, but since Steven wasn't with the Doctor then I don't get how he's supposed to have found out. 
• I like how Vicki overestimates the Monk's intelligence. When he gives himself away by knowing something he couldn't have known, she tells Steven that he may have given himself away on purpose to set a trap. But no, he really was just that stupid! 
• William Hartnell takes his second holiday in three stories here. He just had one in the Space Museum!

Verdict

I love the Time Meddler. It is the first step away from pure historicals, which is a massive shame, but the story itself is great fun. Dennis Spooner is one of the best at telling a fun and involving story. The pace is good, there are lots of

funny lines and interesting characters, and Steven blends in seamlessly with the Doctor and Vicki. It's a lovely way to finish off an enjoyable season.

Season Two

The second season of Doctor Who is one of my favourites, in spite of some of its issues. Part of the reason for that is that the team of Hartnell, Hill, Russell and O'Brien are so much fun to watch I almost don't care whether a story is any good or not. For all its faults, the Web Planet has them guiding it along its ambitious way, and the four of them are perfectly suited to sillier stories that abound under Spooner's watch. It is fascinating watching the show grow as it becomes more and more confident about what it can do and try to do from the first season, and the cosiness of the regulars is a joy to watch. William Hartnell is never less than excellent, but the cuddly, giggly Doctor he plays in this season is him at his most enjoyable. The Romans is my favourite story so far, and one I never tire of watching. The highlight of a mostly fun year.

The Chase

BARBARA: Doctor, what is this machine?
DOCTOR: I've already told you, my dear. It's a Time and Space Visualiser.
BARBARA: Yes, but apart from making that dreadful noise, what does it do?

BARBARA: What's that awful noise?
DOCTOR: I beg your pardon? Awful noise? That's no way to talk about my singing!
BARBARA: No, Doctor, not that awful noise, the other one.

VICKI: It's a trail.
IAN: Probably blood.
VICKI: Oh yes, it's bound to be.

DALEK: TARDIS!

DALEK: TARDIS!

DALEK: TARDIS!

DALEK: TARDIS!

DALEK: TARDIS!

BARBARA: Doctor, he said the TARDIS!

(Yes, well spotted, Barbara)

BARBARA: You're from Earth?
MORTON: No, no, Ma'am. No, I'm from Alabama.

DOCTOR: I shall miss them. Yes, I shall miss them, silly old fusspots.

• Daleks can fly. Just look at the picture of them on the Marie Celeste. It's literally impossibly for that Dalek to have got up there without flying. So much for Remembrance of the Daleks, eh? Still, we now know from Ian that the best place to fight Daleks is somewhere with "good, stout walls". Very handy, walls. I'm still not certain about the plan to fight the Daleks. What with? Just the four of them? How? 
  
• The Time-Space Visualiser has planets written on it, for some reason. It's also absurdly huge. I know it's an amazing device that we sadly never see again, but why does it need to be that huge? 
• That Dudley Simpson chap is back yet again to do the score! And is a bit bizarre again. 
• The Aridians are a bloody boring bunch. 
• I know Terry Nation was never exactly great at titles, but two here are "the Death of...", and one of them is "the Death of Time", which is both daft and doesn't have anything whatsoever to do with the story. 
• I said in the Space Museum I thought Ian was starting to crack up. Well, here he calls a Dalek "Fred". And that can't even be excused by the Doctor having just bafflingly called one "Auntie"! Also, he asks for Barbara's cardigan (rather than ripping it off her this time!) and Barbara says, "not again!" I wonder if that just refers to the Space Museum or if he has a general cardigan fetish? Also, Ian is known for questioning the Doctor, so it's bizarre that the one time the Doctor says something ridiculous, "we're inside a human mind", Ian just nods and accepts it! 
• The cliffhanger to episode three of this story, which is the halfway point, is identical to the cliffhanger to the end of the Space Museum. I know in a story about a chase that we're going to get a lot of "the Daleks are still chasing us", but it doesn't have to be a cliffhanger!

Verdict

Lots and lots of great moments, but none of them really hold together all that well and the bits in between are really very dull. That's how I feel about the Chase. For starters, why exactly are the Daleks after them? It just seems to be a random breakaway group of a few (rather dim) Daleks rather than the species as a whole. Why do those few have such a grudge against the Doctor? The fact that they don't bother exterminating Morton Dill or anybody on the Marie Celeste highlights how incompetent they are. The final scene is very sad.

William Hartnell's anger at the thought of Ian and Barbara leaving is really sweet. It is played so well. This is the second Dalek story in a row cut short to have a touching leaving scene. The past two stories have seen the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki make such a together and fun team, it'll be such a shame to see no more of them. I do worry about them, though. How on earth are they going to explain having been away for two years without getting locked up?

The Space Museum

IAN: Doctor, we’ve got our clothes on!
DOCTOR: Well, I should hope so, dear boy. I should hope so.

SITA: But why are you so interested in this, Vicki? Why do you want this revolution so much?
VICKI: I’ve as many reasons as you, perhaps more

(Er, no Vicki. Just no)

VICKI: I’m still going. Look, Tor, I’ve got to find them and tell them what’s going on. There’s no knowing what they’ll do otherwise. If I am captured, I’ll just have to hope that you’re successful and you find me in time.

(Brave Vicki!)

DOCTOR: My brain was working with the speed of a mechanical computer.

BARBARA: Well, you can’t blame Ian for letting off steam, Doctor. Oh, I wish I’d had thought of it. I’d have smashed the whole thing too

(Yeah, you go Barbara!)

• Apart from Lobos, the Moroks don't have names. Why is that? Why are they not allowed names? It's bizarre. It's bad enough that the Commander (under Lobos) is called Commander, but why is Delos from the Romans called "Morok Technician"? Nowhere in the script is there the slightest mention of him being a technician. There's also "Morok Messenger" and five people lucky enough to be called "Morok Guard". Names aren't hard! 
• And the Moroks are a bit crap, yes, but that's fully explained in the script by them being bored and rather uninterested in Xeros. They all seem to talk in exposition, too, which is quite funny. 
• I don't get why the Doctor and co. are so eager to hide from everyone in episode one in the first place? They've never shied away from saying hello to people when they land? How do they know the Moroks are hostile before they've even had any contact with them? 
• Ian loses his button, and that's interesting according to the Doctor because the (seemingly) least important things often turn out to lead to the greatest discoveries. Not in this case, though, where it's never mentioned again. This is one of the exceptions, clearly! 
  
• I don't see how people think this is dull. Even just in episode two, the Doctor by himself is captured, then escapes ingeniously and knocks out a Xeron, hides in a Dalek and does a silly voice, gets captured again by the Moroks this time and has a wonderful interrogation scene with Lobos. It's great. Especially as that episode also features Ian stripping Barbara and waving a gun around like a Dad trying to be an action hero. He also says it might be fun to kill Lobos. I think he's cracking up! 
• The stock music is actually quite good, especially for the cliffhanger to episode one.

Verdict

A little piece of the TARDIS gets stuck. How often is that the cause of all their problems? It's a shame the TARDIS is so reliable these days. Anyway, I love the Space Museum. It's fun and funny and the day is saved almost entirely by Vicki, who starts a planet-wide revolution on her own. Take that, Susan! If she hadn'

t opened the armoury through some means never really explained, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki would have died. Granted, it's a bit silly in places, but it's never less than enjoyable. Which is more than I can say for what's coming next.

The Crusade

DOCTOR: Having been stolen once, they can be stolen again, or perhaps borrowed, shall we say, hmm? 
 

CHAMBERLAIN: You stole some clothing.

DOCTOR: Really?
CHAMBERLAIN: You see this riding habit? It was taken from this very room. Now it is back here again.
DOCTOR: And a pretty poor garment, too.
CHAMBERLAIN: This and this, stolen from me.
DAHEER: And stolen from me.
DOCTOR: Yes, now there really is a point there, isn't there? If I stole from you, my lord Chamberlain, how could I steal from him?
DAHEER: You did. You did steal from me.
DOCTOR: Then how could I steal from him, eh, you blockhead?

SALADIN: Let him have all liberty except liberty itself.

DAHEER: When the sun rises I shall be here to transform the boy into a veritable strutting peacock.

IAN: I am Sir Ian, my lord, Knight of Jaffa.

• When you mix Bernard Kay's compelling performance with David Whitaker's intelligent writing and Douglas Camfield's smart directing you get something quite special. It's only a shame Saladin isn't on screen more. Top notch from all three of them. 
• El Akir's main guard (I don't know his name as his character doesn't seem to have one) is an awful actor. He only gets a few lines, but he manages to convey an impressive amount of awfulness. To be fair, it must be difficult to get too much motivation to really act convincingly for lines like, "he was going to slay me" when it's such a small job with just a few lines. 
  
• Once against the Doctor and Vicki spend most of the story mucking about while Ian and Barbara go through relative degrees of hell. Not that it really matters. As I've mentioned often enough already, Hartnell and O'Brien are such an enjoyable team. The subplots about Vicki being a boy and with the stolen clothes are gold. It's such a shame that the clothes scene quoted above is from the lost episode two. It's exactly the sort of comic performance Hartnell excels at. 
• I don't quite get why Haroun has been left in peace? He has sworn in public that he's going to kill El-Akir. Why hasn't El-Akir simply sent soldiers round to his house and had him killed? He doesn't exactly seem like someone with a conscience. Still, it does allow for Barbara to be all heroic, sacrificing herself to save Safiya. 
• Ian saving the Doctor at the end is very funny, as are all the "knight" puns the TARDIS crew throw at Ian once they've escaped. 
• This score is a little bit more Dudley Simpson than previously. Especially when it gets loud and frantic in episode four.

 

Verdict

I've never quite enjoyed the Crusade as much as the very best of the historicals. It doesn't feel quite as polished, and the way characters come and go seems a bit at random (Ibrahim has a couple of funny lines, but that whole section with him and Ian really just gets in the way when things need to be

wrapped up). The way the Doctor and Vicki simply wave goodbye to Richard and wander off just seems a bit odd. There are a lot of good things about the story, and plenty of top scenes, but I just don't feel it hangs together all that well as one story. Episode four is really quite messy structurally. That said, it is David Whitaker's first go at a four episode story, amazingly! It's nice that both sides of the Crusades are portrayed fairly and that the villain of the story isn't attached to either.

The Web Planet

BARBARA: Oh, you’ll find the answer, Doctor. You always do.

(Yet MORE sucking up!)

BARBARA: Honestly, one of these days I’m going to have a jolly good spring clean around here.

VICKI: You know, Doctor, I’m getting quite fond of Zombo.
DOCTOR: What?
VICKI: Zombo, it’s his name. I gave it to him.
DOCTOR: Oh, yes, I see, I see.
VICKI: He’s quite cute, isn’t he, when he’s like this.

(She likes giving things names, doesn't she?)

HROSTAR: Zarbi!!!
HILIO: Zarbi!!!
HROSTAR: Zarbi!!!
HLYNIA: Zarbi!!!

• The bit where Vicki gets the mental attack in the TARDIS at the beginning of the story is notable because Maureen O'Brien spends the entire time trying incredibly hard not to laugh and failing pretty badly. There's some more Vicki greatness in this story. When the Doctor and Ian enter the TARDIS to get equipment for the Animus, the Zarbi keep Vicki hostage. Rather than scream or cry like, er, certain companions, she bravely nods and says, "I'll be all right". 
  
• It amuses me that when the Doctor tells Ian they're on Vortis, Ian replies with, "Vortis? What galaxy is that in?" as if the answer would mean anything to him anyway! 
• I think Ian has forgotten Marinus already. Surely once you've had one near-death experience on an alien planet with water that turns out to be acid you'd be a bit more careful in future? I do like the way he gets so upset about the Doctor using his tie to demonstrate. He even complains about it five weeks later right at the end of the story! 
• The cliffhanger for the first episode is great. Barbara's about to jump in some acid, Ian's being eaten by some unconvincing prop, Vicki's being carted off and the Doctor finds that the TARDIS has vanished. I think that's the first ever four-way cliffhanger? It certainly beats the cliffhanger for episode four, where it cuts from the action after Barbara has already started running away. Speaking of the end of episode four, the mass fight scene there between the Menoptera and the Zarbi is absolutely hilarious. Doctor Who has had very few more enjoyable fight scenes in its history. 
  
• The quality of this story is, admittedly, a bit up and down, but episode five is great if you're still awake to witness it. The Doctor and Barbara making plans, Vicki having fun with the tame Zarbi and Ian trying to talk some sense into those silly Optera. It's great. 
• Without the Animus, the Larvae Guns suddenly become cute and cuddly little creatures. But presumably still with guns, so, you know, rather dangerous? 
• Isoptope. Ha. And the Zarbi hitting the camera. Haha.

Verdict

I'm not going to deny that there are issues with the Web Planet, but I give the production team top marks for trying it. It's a shame more modern teams wouldn't have the guts to try something similar. It looks brilliant. The story might be lacking in life a little, but there's plenty to look at. It's such a bleak

and alien world, and all the various creatures look strange. The noise the Zarbi make is also fantastic. John Wood and Daphne Dare deserve a lot of credit, as does Roslyn de Winter for the "Insect Movement" that she apparently devised. I actually think that at four episodes this would be a very strong story. Even with the presence of poor old Richard Martin dragging things down. Six is just a little bit too long for the actual story. But Hartnell and O'Brien are such a strong and sweet pairing and their scenes are so watchable. The time flies by whenever they're on screen together. It's a bit unfair on Barbara that the Doctor is the one hailed as a hero. It was her plan of attack they used and the Doctor failed miserably. It was Barbara (with a bit of help from Ian) who killed the Animus! In conclusion: a good effort, at least.

The Romans

IAN: You never told us you were going away.
DOCTOR: Oh? Well, I don't know that I was under any obligation to report my movements to you, Chesterfield. 
BARBARA: Chesterton.

DOCTOR: Oh, Barbara's calling you.

VICKI: Oh, the poor man.
DOCTOR: Yes, he's dead, and it doesn't look a natural death to me.

(No duh, Doctor!)

DOCTOR: Yes, yes. Oh, the child, she travels with me. She keeps her eye on all the lyres.

(As if the line wasn't great enough, Vicki's reaction makes it truly fab)

IAN: I've got a friend who specialises in trouble. He dives in and usually finds a way.

DOCTOR: Caesar Nero, I've always wanted to put on a good show, to give a great performance.

• I find it slightly odd that they've been living there for a month and Vicki hasn't yet learnt that you're supposed to haggle. Surely Ian and Barbara haven't been doing all the shopping up to that point? Though surely Barbara also knows better than to go babbling about being from Britain everywhere she goes? 
• I love how much fun the Doctor is having with his impersonation and with all the events happening around him. He's constantly laughing and joking, and making Vicki laugh through it all as well. Hartnell is still seriously underrated as a comic actor. It's a real strength of his, and his Doctor is at his best in stories like this, I think. 
  
• It's poor old Ian and Barbara who have to face the more serious end of the story. Ian is a slave on a galley for five days while the Doctor and Vicki are living it up! At least Barbara gets the "privilege" of being a slave for Poppaea. 
• The poisoner Lucasta is known to everyone. So you'd think Poppaea would be a little more subtle than bringing her out into a fairly crowded room and pointing very obviously at Barbara! Rather dim from the Empress, that. Still, Kay Patrick is brilliant. She also gives Tavius one hell of a smack in the final episode. I wonder how much they rehearsed that? 
• I've never noticed before that one of the "Men in Market" is called John Caesar. What an appropriate name! 
• I like all the guest cast here. Derek Francis is an excellent Nero. Childish, petulant, arrogant and deadly on a whim. Sounds about right to me! I've already mentioned how good Kay Patrick is, but she deserves another mention. As does Michael Peake as Tavius. In spite of being "our hissing friend" to the Doctor, he actually puts in a fairly subtle turn. It takes a while before you can be certain he's trustworthy. Admittedly, I do think Peter Diamond is a bit earnest as Delos, but that's being a little picky. 
• I also love that the Doctor doesn't even realise he's supposed to be assassinating Nero until right at the end of the story.

 

Verdict

Right from the start this story is relaxed and full of jokes and silliness, while somehow enforcing what a dangerous and brutal time Nero's reign was. Nero's murders of Tigellinus and the unnamed soldier simply for the sake of it highlight that. Silly as it is, everyone is playing their roles seriously and the danger is all perfectly real. I like Doctor Who like this. Not saving entire planets, just interacting with people and trying to get out alive. I unashamedly love the Romans. It's cosy, funny, fast-paced and just perfect Doctor Who. Definitely an all-time top five for me.

The Rescue

VICKI: Who’s landed on the mountain?

(First "Doctor Who?" joke in a while)

BARBARA: Oh, but Doctor, the trembling’s stopped.
DOCTOR: Oh, my dear, I’m so glad you’re feeling better.

BARBARA: Doctor, why don’t you show me how to open the doors?
DOCTOR: Hmm? Yes, yes, yes, my dear. Of course, yes, yes, how silly of me.

(Awww)

DOCTOR: Fancy landing back here again. I wonder if I were to tell Ian that it was deliberate, whether he’d believe me or not? Oh no, of course, I was asleep. Oh, pity, pity, pity.

VICKI: Its funny, but as soon as he walked in, I felt that you could trust him. But why does he wear those funny clothes? And that long white hair.

DOCTOR: Silly child, silly child.

IAN: Kockylickin.

• First things first. Ian would rather face the Daleks than Koquillion? A man in a silly outfit and who speaks with a silly voice and has a stick is scarier than a being that will shoot you as soon as look at you and has caused death and destruction on a mass scale? Ian, I'm not sure you have quite thought that one through! 
• Not only that, Ian unlocks the TARDIS at the end of the second episode! The last thing we heard about it was Susan's explanation of how you can melt the lock ridiculously easily if you don't know the exact way to unlock it. Unless Ian has been taught off screen, and that seems unlikely seeing as Barbara didn't even know how to open the bloody doors earlier in this episode, he's got incredibly lucky to open the door successfully! 
• I like that we've gone through something of a reversal since the previous season. Ian and Barbara are the ones who want to go exploring. The Doctor just wants a nap in the TARDIS. This is really the start of the cuddly Hartnell Doctor that we get with Dennis Spooner in charge. He hears Ian and Barbara wondering about him getting old, but simply laughs at them rather than loses his temper as he did in the previous year. 
• I'm not entirely sure what the Doctor thinks he's doing confronting Bennett like that at the end. "I'll confront a murderer completely on my own with absolutely no backup or anyone even knowing where I am". Smart move, Doctor! 
• Ian and Barbara think Susan is probably learning to milk cows. Um, okay then!

Verdict

This is a breather story after the exertions of last time, and a chance to

introduce a new companion. It's a fun story in its own right, though, if a little limited. The scenes with the Doctor, Barbara and Ian at the beginning of the story are very sweet. Really, though, this story is about introducing Vicki. I think this is probably her (and Maureen O'Brien's) weakest story, and yet she still comes as a breath of fresh air after Susan. She's fun and joyful, and this is my favourite of all the Hartnell teams. I can't wait!

Dalek Invasion of Earth

DAVID: And what do you do?

SUSAN: I eat.

(Possibly Susan's best line in her entire time on the show)

DORTMUN: Obey motorised dustbins? We'll see.

DOCTOR: (To Craddock) Hold that and shut up, will you.

IAN: You know, Doctor, sometimes you astound me.
DOCTOR: Only sometimes, dear boy?

ASHTON: Are you one of these brotherhood of man kind of people?

DAVID: Your grandfather stood up to the journey fantastically well.
SUSAN: He’s a pretty fantastic sort of man.

(Yuck)

BARBARA: Right. This revolt is timed to start almost immediately. As in the case of the Indian mutiny, which I am sure
DALEK: Indian mutiny? We are the masters of India!
BARBARA: I was talking about Red Indians in disguise! The plan will run parallel with the Boston Tea Party. Naturally, you already have information about this.
DALEK: Wait! Why have I not been informed of this?
DALEK: There has been no information.
BARBARA: Good! That means the first part of the plan is a success. Now, I warn you, General Lee and the four, the fifth cavalry are already forming up to attack from the north side of the crater. The second wave, Hannibal’s forces, will of course come in from the Southern Alps.

• Ian and Barbara seem quite excited to be "on earth again". Since the last two stories were both set on earth, that nicely highlights the gaps between the stories, plenty of room in there for Big Finish adventures and even relaxing holidays. 
• These Daleks are very odd. For starters, what exactly do they have against Bedfordshire? Of all the places on earth to turn into a gigantic mine, why there? But the really stupid thing the Daleks do is leave a key in their prison cells. The Doctor somehow justifies this by saying, "suppose you were a Dalek and got yourself trapped in this room, what would you do?" What utterly bizarre reasoning! They leave a way to escape just on the off-chance that some Dalek will be thick enough to lock itself in? 
  
• That scene of Barbara, Jenny and Dortmun running around London with Daleks after them is bizarre in every way. Considering it's simply an excuse to get the Daleks out in front of a few landmarks, it actually works rather well. Even the music somehow works even though it shouldn't. 
• I like that episode six finishes so quickly, which gives us time to focus on Susan's departure. Much as I don't like her, that bit is done really well. To be fair, it's mostly made by Hartnell being exceptional, but it's still very nicely done. It's actually so well done that by the end I almost feel sad that Susan is leaving, even though I've been eagerly awaiting her departure! Peter Fraser is a bit wet and useless as David, but really that makes him a good partner for Susan. Two nonentities rebuilding the planet. I still want to know what happens when she gets old and regenerates, though. 
• Somehow I've never noticed this was scored by the brilliantly-named Francis Chagrin. It's not the most noticeable score, I found, but effective in places. 
• The Slyther is terrible.

Verdict

The story starts off well and ends very well, but the middle sags quite badly. Particularly in the Hartnell-free episode. Once again, his presence lifts the

production. Even Russell and Hill struggle a little, although the Barbara/Jenny scenes are fun, and Barbara confusing the Daleks at the beginning of the final episode is great fun. I prefer this to the Daleks, but it's still fairly standard Nation. And that's without counting the daftness of the plan the Daleks have cooked up. Okay, they want to remove the Earth's core and replace it with an engine and use the planet as a spaceship. Um, why? I can't see any benefits. I can't imagine it would be especially practical? There are good sections, though, such as the Larry/Phil subplot, which is quite horrific.

Planet of Giants

DOCTOR: Oh, my dear Barbara, was I rude to you just now? If so I'm so sorry. I always forget the niceties under pressure. Please forgive me.

(Awww)

SUSAN: Strange. There are dozens of them over here. There's a whole pile of them.

("Over here" being right in front of them)

FORRESTER: If the police were to find an overturned boat and a body out at sea somewhere.

(Yeah, which would still have a bullet hole in it. Fairly sure they don't appear when you drown)

IAN: It's a ceiling up there. That means we're indoors

IAN: Yes. I'm not very well up in this, Doctor, but isn't that phosphoric acid?

(You're the ruddy science teacher!)

DOCTOR: There's nothing like a good fire, is there?

(What!!!???!!!???)

• It's lucky that Forrester and Smithers have to take a ridiculously long time to prepare to wash their hands, giving the Doctor and Susan time to escape to safety. 
• I like how Ian realises that a ceiling means they're indoors. Whatever would you do without a teacher on hand, eh?
  
• It's Dudley Simpson's debut! And I don't like it! I hate the twee "isn't this fun!" score to this. The Star Trek DS9 episode One Little Ship, where the runabout they're in gets shrunk to a tiny size, features a similar style of "haha, this is so silly!" score. Yeah yeah, we get it. No need to (badly) rub it in. 
• This is a unique story, I think? It's one that has a guest cast, but the regulars never interact with them at any point. It's not unusual at this point in Doctor Who for them to not save the day, so it is rather cheeky of the Doctor to pretend they had anything to do with it! Not only that, why do they try and use the phone even though the Doctor has already established that they can't communicate with anyone? 
• One thing I've noticed... in a crisis, the Doctor always gets Ian's name right. It's almost as if he only does it to annoy Ian. 
• I get the feeling Louis Marks wasn't too bothered about episode titles. "Planet of Giants" is fine, but "Crisis" and "Dangerous Journey" are abysmal. Nationesque.

Verdict

I can definitely see why it is a story that gets forgotten. It's not bad, but there's not really very much to it. The first two episodes are fairly decent, if a bit

average, but I find the third episode is really quite dull, highlighted in particular by the messing about with the phone. Clearly the right decision was made to make it a three parter! It's perhaps not the ideal season-opener, but it's okay. The model-work is pretty good. That fly gets a lot of credit, and deservedly so. It's fabulous.