The Web Planet

So far, we've had Voords, Sensorites, and Koquillion among others, but still, the only aliens to capture the attention of the public are the Daleks. So, the producers of Doctor Who decided to have another go at creating a hit monster, and they came up with the Zarbi.

The Zarbi are the villains in this serial: "The Web Planet", and it is the complete opposite of the previous story. The TARDIS lands on the planet Vortis, where the Menoptra are trying to claim back their planet from the Zarbi, unintelligent giant ant-like creatures. This serial as quite an other-worldly feel to it, which suits the nature of the story. The plot is mysterious and dark, and as I don't really like insects, quite scary. The TARDIS crew are the only human characters seen throughout the six episodes, which adds to the otherworldliness of the serial as a whole.

The insect characters are superbly done. The ones that are able to speak all speak with odd accents and diction, which is really interesting to listen to, and the races which don't speak move just like insects should. Costumes are also great, but as the weeks passed during filming, the costumes would begin to deteriorate and you do notice it to an extent on camera. As opposed to the great and imaginative costumes, the sets are basic and uninspiring, a real pity. I suppose the serial's budget ran out creating and maintaining the costumes and teaching the actors how to play insects.

However, it all pulls through to be a solid, unnerving and sinister story, devoid of humour or joy. I think it is a little too long though, and interest begins to wain a couple of episodes in.

The Romans

"The Romans" was Doctor Who's first 'comedy' serial. Instead of striving for realism, 'The Romans' features a comedic portrayal of the Emperor Nero, a strange subplot involving Nero's murder, and the first incident of the Doctor causing important historical events to take place, in this case the burning of Rome.

As usual, the TARDIS crew all blend in perfectly with the surroundings and newcomer Vicki is instantly likable. Before long, everybody is split up and no one knows where anyone else is. Before long, the Doctor gets involved in something 'over his head', and after just missing Barbara by the skin-of-his teeth on numerous occasions, we are introduced to something that has remained an important part of Doctor Who ever since this serial, dramatically altering history.

Ian and Barbara experience the opposite end of the Roman way of life as they become slaves. The people they meet are all interesting and the script has given them a lot of depth and background, adding to realism. 

As all the character's paths entwine, the story draws to a close, and the Doctor and Vicki return to the TARDIS completely unaware that Ian and Barbara have been in the same locations as them all along, except without them ever meeting.

"The Romans" shows that the programme can take on any format or genre it likes, and for that reason, this serial is a true classic.

The Rescue

Following on from the Dalek Invasion of Earth is this short two-parter, which serves only as a means to replace Susan with the much less annoying character of Vicki. This serial accomplishes this well, and Vicki bonds with the Doctor straight away. Her relationship with Barbara does develop lots in the two episodes and some of the dialogue shared between them is excellent.

As for the plot, it isn't the most important aspect of the story. There's a small cast, and a tiny sense of unease about the planet of Dido. A plot twist added near the end of the second episode is welcome, but the plot isn't wrapped up properly. You don't really notice all the errors though with all the great acting and dialogue. It's a little obvious that this serial offers breathing space after the intense and epic adventure of the Dalek Invasion of Earth. 

The Rescue is worth watching purely for the dialogue and character interactions, which are all superb. Even if you don't pay much attention to the story progressing, it's still an enjoyable fifty minutes.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth

So, the Daleks are back, and they're better than ever. Expansive sets, lots of location work, and our four regulars all make this, quite possibly' the best Doctor Who serial yet.

The Doctor, Ian, Susan, and Barbara land in London in the the 22nd century to find it deserted. Soon, they discover that the Daleks have invaded the whole planet, and the few humans left are either held prisoner or are part of small resistance groups. Obviously, the characters all join a London resistance group, but not before Ian and the Doctor are captured. The story is strong, and there is never a dull moment.

The characters of Jenny, Dortman, and David all bring life to the dead city, and in the presence of these actors, you almost forget that Earth is supposed to be in danger. As the plot moves forward, we are constantly aware of the terror the Daleks bring, and this makes the story seem more 'believable' than any other.

The serial itself was obviously expensive to produce, as the level of detail in every set is great and you completely forget that the invasion never happened. This is helped by Doctor Who's first major use of locations. The London streets deserted is quite a memorable image.

In spite of the dark undertones and fast pace, the cast still inject humour into the script, and have time for some witty banter and dialogue. One thing I found particularly funny was Barbara driving a 1950's lorry through some Daleks during her escape from London.

I think that towards the last two episodes, the plot begins to weaken and the flaws in the script shine through the production values, but at the last moment, before the next adventure begins, something happens that makes us forget anything we ever thought was bad about this epic journey. Susan, who throughout the programme had almost no character development whatsoever, leaves the TARDIS crew to stay on Earth with David. William Hartnell plays this scene fantastically, and you might even shed a tear as the TARDIS dematerializes on Susan.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth is the most expansive serial yet, with high production values and a generally strong script. Great supporting cast members portray a sense of believability about this whole adventure, and we end on a sad note as the TARDIS crew leaves Earth with one less member than 6 episodes ago.

Planet of Giants

The first serial of season two is 'Planet of the Giants'. For this story, I only read the scripts and from what I read, it was an interesting story. The TARDIS crew have pretty much nothing to do with the main plot or villains for a change, and they never meet each other. Basically, the Doctor, Ian, Susan and Barbara have all shrunk and have landed in a garden, which belongs to the developer of a new kind of insecticide. Our heroes want nothing more than returning to safety, but when Ian and Barbara are lifted up in a briefcase accidentally, it's up to the Doctor and Susan to find and rescue them.

Compared to earlier season one serials, this serial is rather light-hearted. The TARDIS crew never really being threatened by the villains means that the story is more humourous and contains a lot of interesting little moments, like when they meet an oversized cat, and get stuck under a sink plug. Also, Planet of Giants has an important theme which doesn't fit the nature of the story. All throughout, I felt nothing but pity for all the insects that have done no wrong but have been killed needlessly, and this dampened my joy from this story.

The villains myself aren't that threatening. The most important baddie doesn't have much screentime, and his (and most of everyone else's) dialogue is shoddy. Overall, it's got a mixture of great and terrible moments, but it's certainly a unique serial, and was probably more interesting before 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' was released.

The Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror completes Doctor Who's very first season. Lots of historical stories, the Daleks, and the characters of the Doctor, Ian, Susan, and Barbara all were what kept the viewing figures high. The Reign of Terror is set during the French revolution and was obviously written to teach children all about the period. However, it doesn't feel like it's an educational programme. Instead, you feel like you're watching (or in my case, listening to) a great character piece with humour, an enjoyable story with many unexpected twists and turns.

The opening episodes introduce main concept and far too many french people to remember, but instead of being confusing, the plot is still strong. The script has been injected with lots of humour, such as when the Doctor barters with the shopkeeper over clothes. It's these clothes and the authority gained with them that drive the plot forwards during dialogue-heavy episodes.

The character of the unlucky jailer also lightens the serial's tone, for without him, we wouldn't have a bit of a comical, clumsy character and the story would be extremely dark and mysterious. Dialogue and confrontations between characters are what keeps The Reign of Terror interesting, and the jailer's dialogue is 'just right' for the character.

Of course, listening to the soundtrack and reading transcripts of this serial will never be as good as watching the real thing, but I definitely think that this story is one of the ones that stands out as being well written and well-acted by all the cast members, particularly the jailer and the Doctor himself.

With the first season of this iconic show over, I can hardly wait to see what the next season has to offer!

The Sensorites

The Sensorites was the final science fiction adventure in season one. The TARDIS crew have landed on a spaceship which is being held prisoner by the Sensorites, a species which communicate through the power of thought. They negotiate with the Sensorites and are allowed down to the surface where they help the species fight a poisoned water source. To provide obstacles, one parliamentary Sensorite doesn't trust the newcomers and wants to seize power.

It's quite a strong story and the tension builds up nicely in the first half, with a battle of wits between the humans onboard and the Sensorite captors. I think that in the second half, the story starts to go downhill a little, but by the end, it perks back up into quite a neat little adventure.

The Aztecs

The Aztecs is, in my opinion, one of the finest historical Doctor Who adventures the TARDIS crew have ever had. It really is a character piece, with the character of Barbara really coming into her own. If you're looking for fast paced action with minimal dialogue, then this is definitely not for you. Some of the dialogue is outstanding, and the costumes and production values are some of the highest in Doctor Who history. Even the smallest of sets look expansive and the painted backgrounds are indistinguishable from what I'd imagine real backgrounds would look like.

The characters of Autloc and Tlotoxl are great characters themselves, and really bring the Aztec world to life. This story is probably the best out of all the season one serials.

The Keys of Marinus

The Keys of Marinus is one of the strangest serials. Basically, the Doctor and his companions undertake a quest to find keys situated in different areas on the planet of Marinus. Because of the nature of the story, it is split up into what I think of as 'mini-stories' where one or two episodes are set in a specific place before the characters move to somewhere completely unrelated. There are some clever ideas such as when Ian is convicted of murder and the legal system is based around the concept of 'guilty-until-proven-innocent'. This is very entertaining whodunnit and would be great to watch on it's own, let alone as part of this serial.

There are also some incredibly cheesy and boring moments like the ending, which is nothing but anticlimactic and feels rushed compared to the entire epic. The alien Voords are nothing special and definitely not one of the great monsters you'll remember. Luckily though, most of the story doesn't involve them, and when they do appear, they do so sparingly which is a blessing.

'The Keys of Marinus' is one of my favourite early serials because it isn't afraid of being different and it certainly makes for a great piece of thought provoking entertainment.

Marco Polo

Marco Polo was the first story to be entirely missing, the only things remaining being the audio and screenshots. To review this serial, I watched the condensed version found on the 'Edge of Destruction' R2 DVD release. It's a fast paced and interesting story, but the fact that the original was seven episodes in length and the version I watched was only one might have had something to do with that.

Nevertheless, I was drawn into the world very quickly and found the character of Marco Polo great to watch. 'Marco Polo' feels very dated with all the BBC english and the low quality of the black and white images, but if you ignore these facts, you've got a classic expedition story complete with the search for water and bandits. I think that it could have gone on for longer but I'm content with the version we've got. Hopefully more reconstructions of this type will be on the way in the not-too-distant future.

The Edge of Destruction

This story is the only classic series serial to be set entirely in the TARDIS set featuring only the Doctor and his companions. It's an interesting story to watch, purely because of it's strange plot and the interactions between the Doctor and Ian and Barbara. In this two-episode serial, something's going wrong with the TARDIS and tempers fly as no one knows who or what is to blame. Because there are no other characters or sets, to survive, The Edge of Destruction has to draw viewers in with an intriguing plot and great dialogue, and it does just that.

Perhaps it isn't the best story to watch if you're a fan of extravagant epics and otherworldly creatures but if you're looking to see an important story in Doctor Who's history, then look no further. Many important things are revealed about the TARDIS, including how it's food machine works and where everybody sleeps, and the relationships between the Doctor and his companions mellows from being a distrusting relationship into a lighthearted trustworthy relationship.

The Daleks

The second serial in Doctor Who's history introduced one of Britain's most well-known cultural icons: the Daleks. This race of mutants was the first of thousands to face the Doctor and they have returned to the television series in more than 50 episodes.

'The Daleks' carries straight on from 'An Unearthly Child' and as the characters develop, the story unfolds into an epic adventure that just goes on for far too long. This serial is more than two hours long and by the end of it, you'll either be gripping the edge of your seat, or falling asleep on it. The first couple of episodes are incredible to watch, but as the episode count rises, so does the number of times you'll nod off to sleep. Yes, there are some hilarious moments like Barbara's over-exaggeration to the appearance of a plunger to the odd sets and amusing costumes, but these barely cover the dark underside to the story which conveys themes of nuclear devastation and Nazi leadership.

But, 'The Daleks' offers something for everyone, whether you like disaster movies, enjoy a good night in, or if you just want to cringe at the production values.

Dr. Who and the Daleks

It was the first time the Daleks had been seen in colour, and on the big screen as well. It's a great children's film, but only if you forget that it's supposed to be Doctor Who. Peter Cushing plays Dr. Who, an eccentric English inventor who has invented TARDIS. If you're a fan of the series, the film seems a little strange compared to the serial "The Daleks". It get a lot of things wrong and has dumbed down a lot of the things that make Doctor Who what it is.

However, the general storyline remains similar, and I think it was the first time the Dalek voices sounded at all decent. Perhaps it can be forgiven for changing too much and deviating from the TV series with it's simple charm and some oddly placed jokes. It's a high budget stroll through familiar ground and can be a great film to watch when you're with a group of fans. This could be great, but failed a bit.

An Unearthly Child

The first story in Doctor Who's history is not one of the best overall but the first episode is one of the best episodes ever, in my opinion of course. It introduces all the characters and has to explain the TARDIS to a nation of people who still don't know what Daleks are. It accomplishes this easily, and after an intriguing first twenty minutes, the unfortunate cast are whisked off to goodness knows where.

And so we get to meet the first adversaries in Doctor Who, who turn out to be a tribe of cavemen who all speak BBC English. It's their speech that is the constant reminder that this is just a small television series, and watching it now reminds us of the programme's humble beginnings. A clever but quite silly plot brings the story to it's climax and after a tiny preview of what's to come, we're left imagining what will happen next week.

Pilot Episode

So, the first Doctor Who episode produced. It's pretty similar to the first episode of An Unearthly Child, although Susan is made to seem even more alien-like, and the Doctor is a bit too unlikeable. However, this shows how the producers intended to make Doctor Who, so it's a pretty interesting watch, especially for hardcore fans.