Episode #67 : Frontier in Space

"In a reminiscent mood are you, Doctor? Poor Miss Grant, you have my deepest sympathies."

Episode 67:   Frontier in Space.
Companions: 3rd Doctor and Jo Grant.
Air Date:       Six episodes. 24th February to 31st March 1973.

The Doctor and Jo are caught in the escalating tension between planets Earth and Draconia, and discover that the Master is secretly working to provoke the two into all-out war.

Frontier in Space is a rather long winded and drawn out story that starts off as a tale of two empires on the verge of war, then moves to a prison tale before introducing the Master and the Daleks! It feels like there is just too much going on and it the pacing is far too slow because of it.

The story is basically about the Master trying to drive a wedge between humanity and the Draconian Empire, so that they go to war and then his "allies", the Daleks, can move in and mop up whatever or whoever remains. Other than an odd sense that he hates Earth because the Doctor likes the planet (and us) there seems to be no real reason for the Master to actually be doing any of this.

The end of the story seems alsmost as pointless. Having defeated the Master's plans by allying Earth and Draconia, he sends a telepathic transmission to the Time Lords and then passes out. Frontier in Space continues on, although unconnected really in the following story, Planet of the Daleks. I guess it must have been a time of slow ideas for the show.

Unfortunately this story is also the last time we see Roger Delgardo as the Master. In June of 1973 he was tragically killed in a motor accident while filming a movie in Turkey. Although Anthony Ainley would continue the role in later years and very well, it is Roger Delgardo who I think carried the character best.

Sadly Frontier in Space is really not a very well written story and other than it continues immediately into the next story it would be one I would suggest viewers avoid. In this instance I really feel that I have to give a thumbs down.

Episode #60 : Day of the Daleks

"There are many sorts of ghosts, Jo. Ghosts from the past, and ghosts from the future."

Episode 60:    Day of the Daleks.
Companions: The 3rd Doctor and Jo Grant.
Air Date:        Four episodes. 1st to 22nd January 1972.

Freedom fighters from the future attempt to thwart a Dalek invasion by coming back in time to assassinate a delegate at the second World Peace Conference.

After a lengthy absence, the Daleks have returned to the show. It's a shame that it isn't a great story. The concept is fine and it starts off well but bleeds out the further in you go. The story deals with a temporal paradox where the death of numerous world leaders in a single moment sparks the third world war, and leads to the Daleks being able to take over the weakened peoples of Earth. A group of freedom fighters accidentally cause the paradox by being the ones who come back to the kill one of the delegates before he can cause the war. Hence a paradox of their own making.

As for the Dalek element of the story, it isn't made too clear but it would appear that these events in the alternate future time line replace the Dalek invasion that the 1st Doctor stopped. Already it seems that time can be rewritten.

The story also introduces the Ogrons, a servant race who only make a couple further appearances. How and why they are working for the Daleks is not really explained. After all, we know that the Daleks want to eradicate any life that isn't Dalek so why have they enslaved (or hired) them as soldiers? Doesn't make much sense to me.

This story also features one of the very few times that we see the Doctor actively using a firearm to kill an adversary, as he shoots Ogrons when they try to stop him.

Sadly, this is one story that could easily be overlooked. Bringing the Daleks back is a good move, but the story works out weak and just not very good.