"Do you not realize that all progress is based on exploitation?"
"That, sir, is protracted murder!"
Episode 26: The Savages. Companions: The 1st Doctor, Steven Taylor and Dodo. Air Date: Four episodes. 28th May to 18th June 1966.
The TARDIS has arrived on a far-distant and seemingly idyllic world. Yet the Doctor, Steven and Dodo learn it hides a terrible secret: the apparently civilised Elders maintain their advanced society by draining and transferring to themselves the life-force of the defenceless Savages.
The Savages is another story that thus far I have been unable to watch. It is also largely missing though a version exists with photo stills and the audio recording I believe. I have read the story synopsis and it is difficult to say whether this story would have been any good or not. I hope so as by this point the stories do seem to be getting better as the show carries on.
The important thing about this story for me is that it sees the departure of Steven as he stays behind to teach the people of the planet how to be good and decent people. I really can't stand the character at all. He just seems argumentative and opposing all the time. None of which are good characteristics for a decent companion in my opinion.
"He gave me a gun, he extracted my tooth. What more do you want?"
Episode 25: The Gunfighters.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Steven Taylor and Dodo.
Air Date: Four episodes. 30th April to 21st May 1966.
Arriving in the town of Tombstone, the First Doctor finds himself involved with gunmen out to kill Doc Holliday.
If ever there was a time zone that would, or should, work perfectly for a time travel adventure series, the Wild West is it. The Gunfighters almost pulls it off. It is a good fun story that doesn't take itself too seriously but I find myself wondering if had it been made several years later would it have worked even better. But I can't argue as William Hartnell swaggers around Tombstone as though he belongs there and it is great.
The only downer to this story is the "Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon" which gets played over and over again, with some occasional variaton, throughout all four parts of this story. It gets a bit much to be honest.
Which brings me to the last point, and that is that the story is historically inaccurate. According to the Dr Who wiki:
The storyline of the serial makes several notable departures from the historical fact. In reality, Bat Masterson, Johnny Ringo, Warren Earp and Phineas Clanton were not present in Tombstone in October 1881. Consequently, neither Ringo nor Phineas Clanton participated in the Gunfight at the O. K. Corral and were therefore not casualties of it as portrayed here. Warren Earp did not die until July 1900, almost nineteen years after the events of this story take place. Phineas' brother Ike Clanton survived the gunfight whereas their father Pa Clanton had died the previous August. Conversely, no reference is made to four of the gunfight's actual participants: Warren, Wyatt and Virgil Earp's brother Morgan Earp and the Clanton brothers' fellow outlaw cowboys Billy Claiborne and Tom and Frank McLaury. Furthermore, Doc Holliday was only 30 years old in 1881 in real life whereas Anthony Jacobs was 48 in 1966.
"Make your last move, Doctor. Make your *last* move."
Episode 24: The Celestial Toymaker.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Steven Taylor and Dodo.
Air Date: Four episodes. 2nd to 23rd April 1966.
The travellers arrive in a strange domain presided over by the Celestial Toymaker – an enigmatic, immortal entity who forces them to play a series of games, failure at which will render them his playthings for all eternity.
This story is missing apart from the final part and a few bits here and there. I have seen it however made from production stills with the audio overlaid. I am sorry to sayit but I was very very dissapointed with this story. Throughout my childhood this seemed to be one of those stories that was often talked about and the villainous Toymaker was made out to be an excellent opponent. Sadly neither was true and the whole thing was a bit of a let down for me.
The Toymaker himself, played by the late Michael Gough, seems a very two dimensional entity. There is no real reason why he snatches the TARDIS and the Doctor away except to just play games with them. I do hope that at some point we see the Celestial Toymaker make an appearence in the current run of the show and that the the writers can do something with him.
It is a shame about this story but it just goes to show that you can't always accept the hype around anything. You have to make your own mind up.
The end of the story runs into the following one, with the Doctor developing toothache and needing to find a dentist.
"A long time ago, your ancestors accepted responsibility for the welfare of these
Monoids. They were treated like slaves. So no wonder when they got the chance,
they repaid you in kind."
Episode 23: The Ark.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Steven Taylor and Dodo.
Air Date: Four episodes. 5th to 26th March 1966.
The Doctor and his companions Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet arrive some ten million years into the future, on board a generation starship which is carrying the last of humanity away from an Earth that is about to fall into the Sun. However, the cold that Dodo has could prove devastating to these future humans and their servants, the Monoids.
The Ark is one of the best stories I have watched for some time. Well written and taking a couple archetypal science fiction troupes and running with them. We see the destruction of the Earth (prior to it being rebuild by the National Trust), a generation ship taking humanity to a new home and the effects of a 20th century (and no extinct) illness on a future generation. Together it works very well.
The story starts off with the companions arriving on a generation ship. Dodo's cold is passed to the humans and their Monoid servants. The Doctor has to find a cure for the cold to save everyone. Once done, they make their goodbyes but the TARDIS takes them to the same spot seven hundred years into the future. In this future the Monoids have evolved to conqour the humans.
The new companion, Dodo, seems a little too eager and that makes her a tad annoying throughout this story. At least she doesn't feel like a replacement for Susan this time.
The Ark is another excellent story for those who want to watch the better tales from the classic days of the show.
"My dear Steven, history sometimes gives us a terrible shock, and that is because we don't quite fully understand. Why should we? After all, we're too small to realise its final pattern. Therefore don't try and judge it from where you stand."
Episode 22: The Massacre of St Barthlomew's Eve.
Companions: The 1st Doctor and Steven Taylor.
Air Date: Four episodes. 5th to 26th February 1966.
The TARDIS materialises in Paris in the year 1572 and The Doctor decides to visit the famous apothecary Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, is befriended by a group of Huguenots from the household of the Protestant Admiral de Coligny. Having rescued a young serving girl, Anne Chaplet, from some pursuing guards, the Huguenots gain their first inkling of a heinous plan being hatched at the command of the Catholic Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici.
This is another story that has been lost to us so this may be a very short review. It is also another purely historical story that once again, by the story synopsis, appears to fail in being interesting. it isn't even a well known period in history. Prior to learning about this story in the early 1990's I had never even heard of the events surrounding this. Certainly nothing that was ever covered in my history lessons at school.
Other than that there isn't much to say about this story sadly.
However at the end of the story the Doctor and Steven do land briefly in modern day London, accidentily picking up a new companion...
"I am a citizen of the universe, and a gentleman to boot!"
Episode 21: The Daleks' Master Plan.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Katarina, and Steven Taylor..
Air Date: Twelve episodes. 13th November 1965 to 29th January 1966.
In the year 4000, the Daleks conspire to conquer the Solar System. Their scheme involves treachery at the highest levels and a weapon capable of destroying the very fabric of time. Only the Doctor and his friends can prevent catastrophe — and there is no guarantee they will escape with their lives.
A massive twelve part story! Unfortunately only three parts of this remain in the hands of the BBC. The Daleks' Master Plan is a sequel, sort of, to the one off story entitled Mission to the Unknown. In this tale we find that the Daleks are working with a handful of aliens to destroy Earth's solar system using a device called the Time Destructor. Seems unusual for the Daleks to be working with non-Daleks but I guess the Dalek hatred for everything else wasn't quite in the show canon as yet.
The story follows a similar pattern as was used in The Chase with the characters pursued across space and time by the Daleks and their agents. Quite why this was done I can't say but the story synopses reads as a rather chaotic jumble that doesn't make a lot of sense anyway. We also have the brief return of the Meddling Monk, who has escaped Earth's past but his presence in the story doesn't add anything and he isn't actually part of the overall plot.
During this story we lose Katarina. The first companion to die while travelling with the Doctor. Apparently it was decided that her character didn't quite work so they killed her off very very quickly.
This story also features a rather odd and random element. One episode fell on Christmas Day 1965. At the time it was customary to make an episode that did into a comedy, and in this case the entire episode has nothing to do with the story at all. The Doctor even breaks the "fourth wall" to wish everyone at home a Merry Christmas!
All in all reading this story it just seems terrible. Only one interesting element to the canonical universe comes from it. The Doctor ends up being drained of life energy by the Time Destructor, and it has become part of the reason why his body is so worn out at the end of his run and a possible cause for his regeneration.
Episode 20: Mission to the Unknown.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Katarina, Vicki, and Steven Taylor..
Air Date: Four episodes. 16th October to 6th November 1965.
When the TARDIS arrives on the plains of Asia Minor not far from the besieged city of Troy, the Doctor is hailed by Achilles as the mighty god Zeus and taken to the Greek camp. He meets Agamemnon and Odysseus. Forced to admit he is a mere mortal - albeit a traveller in space and time - he is given two days to devise a scheme to capture Troy.Steven and Vicki, meanwhile, have been taken prisoner by the Trojans. Vicki, believed to possess supernatural powers, is given two days to banish the Greeks to prove she is not a spy.
The Myth Makers is another story that doesn't exist. It was a pure historical story explaining the battle of Troy and the legend of the wooden horse. In this case the idea is that of the Doctor's even though later on in his fourth incarnation he will deny the idea being his.
This story sees the departure of Vicki. Her character was beginning to grow on me a little bit even though she feels like a poor replacement for Susan. We do get the arrival of the companion Katarina though she isn't in the series for very long.
Unfortunately The Myth Makers does read in synopsis as another extremely dull historical tale.
"Oh, we have a small number of men - as many as we need. The rest we kill. They consume valuable food and fulfil no particular function. And these are not what you would call human! They are cultivated in test tubes. We have very good scientists. I am a living being. They are products - and inferior products! Grown for a purpose and capable of nothing more."
Episode 18: Galaxy 4.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Vicki, and Steven Taylor.
Air Date: Four episodes. 11th September to 2nd October 1965.
The Doctor, Vicki and Steven arrive on an arid planet where they meet the beautiful Drahvins and the hideous Rills. Each has crash-landed after a confrontation in space. The Rills are friendly, compassionate explorers. The Drahvins are dull-witted, cloned soldiers, terrorised by the intelligent, warlike matriarch Maaga.
Galaxy 4 is another story that I have been unable to watch, though I believe that some elements of it have survived. Once again I am doing this review from reading episode synopses.
From the episode guides I have read I get the feeling that this isn't a very enjoyable story partly because it seems to take on a very feminist approach which leaves me cold. The attractive female Drahvins are evil fascist types who have eliminated the need for men on their world. Meanwhile the Rills are a hideous but friendly race of aliens, throwing a spin on the usual ugly equals evil approach. In other words it is a very cliched story. Throw all that together on a planet about to explode at any moment and you have your conflict.
Although this is a bit of a throw away filler story, the Drahvins do get a mention in The Pandorica Opens as one of the races whose ships appear in that episode.
"That is the dematerializing control, and that, over yonder, is the horizontal hold. Up there is the scanner; those are the doors; that is a chair with a panda on it. Sheer poetry, dear boy! Now please stop bothering me."
Episode 17: The Time Meddler.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Vicki, and Steven Taylor.
Air Date: Four episodes. 3rd to 24th July 1965.
The Doctor, Vicki, and new companion Steven Taylor arrive in Saxon Northumbria on the eve of the Viking and Norman invasions. It is 1066, a pivotal moment in British history. The hand of a mysterious Monk is at work in the nearby monastery, intending that history takes a different course.
The Time Meddler is the sort of story that fits the show perfectly. A fellow time traveller seeking to alter the course of history in a significant way. In this case we are introduced to a new individual villain, a fellow Time Lord refered to as the meddling monk (though the term Time Lord isn't used for a few years yet). I am surprised that this sort of thing didn't crop up more often.
The Monk is somewhat different adversary for the Doctor in that really he isn't that much of a villain. He's a meddler trying to alter history to make things better and more interesting under his guiding hand. You can certainly see him as a precurser to the villianous Master later on in the show. The Monk was played by Peter Butterworth who would go on to become famous in the Carry On movies.
Despite all the references to non interference in the time line there is one small issue in the story that never gets resolved on screen and is thus open to interpretation. At one point Vicki and Steven find a futuristic atomic cannon set up overlooking the coast, but never tell the Doctor so there is every chance that it was left there.
All in all a very enjoyable tale. The mix of science fiction and historical combined works very well and is far better in my opinion than the pure historical stories.
"We're trying to defeat the Daleks, not start a jumble sale!"
Episode 16: The Chase.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Vicki, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.
Air Date: Six episodes. 22nd May to 26th June 1965.
The travellers learn from the Time-Space Visualiser taken from the Moroks' museum that Daleks equipped with their own time machine are on their trail with orders to exterminate them. They flee in the TARDIS.
The Chase starts off immediately after the events of the prior episode with the characters learning that the Daleks are chasing them down for extermination. Fleeing through time and space they land in one location after another and so on. This seems a little facical but it actually works in an odd kind of way.
No explanation is giving as to why the Daleks are doing this as chronologically all the companions have done thus far is thwart a handful of Daleks on Skaro and stop their conquest of Earth. Even for Daleks it seems a little extreme at this point in the Doctor's experiences with them.
The first landing point for the companions is the desert planet of Aridius. Once an ocean world the presence of two suns has evaporated the planet into a sandy desert. The natives having moved underground. This sequence plays out nicely expecially the interaction between the natives and the Daleks.
The second stop off point is atop the Empire State Building in New York 1966. This is a very silly segment that plays more for fun than anything else. The Daleks just end up wandering around asking the tourists where the time travellers are. Peter Purves who would join the TARDIS crew at the end of this story in the role of Steven Taylor plays a rather clueless American tourist character in this scene.
Thirdly, the time travellers land on the deck of the Mary Celeste and shows us that it was the sudden presence of Daleks on board that caused everyone to leap over the side. One historical mystery solved by Doctor Who. This is another scene that just plays out as a tad silly.
Then both groups land in a bizarre haunted house, home to Frankenstein's Monster, a ghost, and Count Dracula. Neither side realise that they have arrived in a fun fair haunted house in 1996. Once again, a very odd section of the story.
Finally they land on the jungle world of Mechanus and are rescued by the strange Mechanoids who go on to fight the Daleks. The companions defeat the Daleks. Ian and Barbara convince the Doctor to let them use the Dalek time machine to return home and after some argument, he agrees but they end up home two years after they first left. Meanwhile, Steven has snuck on board the TARDIS.
It is a real shame that we lose Ian and Barbara here as I have found them both to be excellent companions who grew on me quickly. With the departure of Susan a while back we now only have the Doctor as an original character.
This story is entertaining despite the silliness throughout, but could have been so much better.
