The Myth Makers

"The Myth Makers" is, like "The Romans", a comedy set in a famous period of Earth history. This time, the Doctor and companions land in the middle of the Plains of Troy during the Greeks' siege on a great city. The Doctor and Steven gain the trust of the Greeks while Vicki is mistaken to be a Trojan prophetess. The Doctor comes up with the idea to build a great horse to end the war, and history takes it's course.

One of the big surprises for me in this story was the departure of Vicki. I'm glad that this time, they built up her romance with the Trojan prince, unlike in the Dalek Invasion of Earth when Susan falls in love all-too-suddenly. In order to keep the numbers up, the Doctor takes on Katarina, a slave to Trojan royalty.

The Myth Makes features massive amounts of comedy, making it extremely enjoyable. Much of thte humour comes from the exaggerated personalities of all the ancient heros, such as Odysseus and Achilles. They are great characters, and with the majority of this serial being historically accurate, they teach us all about the great war and it's causes. However, even if the serial tries to be serious at some points, it's still extraordinarily funny. One of the great Who stories from the early years, in my opinion. It's a pity it's currently missing from the archives.

Mission to the Unknown

"Mission to the Unknown" is unique among Doctor Who episodes in that it is the only one not to feature the Doctor or any of his companions. Instead, this episode serves as a prequel to the massive serial yet to come: "The Daleks' Masterplan".

In this prequel, we meet the crew of a spaceship who have been investigating the Daleks but have become stuck on the planet Kembel. After failing to send a distress signal, all of the crew members are killed. We also see the Daleks forming an alliance with aliens from 'the outer galaxies' before discussing their plan to destroy the solar system.

Contrary to what I thought before watching this, I didn't miss the Doctor nor his companions at all. Instead, the doomed crew hold together the episode well, with ample amounts of drama and suspense to keep the viewers on the edges of their seats. The characters all have backstory and strained relationships so it's interesting to watch them.

"Mission to the Unknown" is one of the darkest serials yet, in my opinion. None of the good guys reach the end credits, and as they roll, you're left with a sense of dread as to what the Daleks will do next.

Galaxy 4

"Galaxy 4". A simple tale which has moral undertones about beauty being only skin deep. In this four parter, the TARDIS lands on a planet where two races at war only have 2 dawns before the planet they're on explodes, killing them all.

We're first introduced to the menacing but rather silly 'chumblies' which are machines appearing to belong to the villains, and then soon after the warlike Drahvians. The Drahvians provoke much thought as they are a civilization where females are the dominant. They are instantly unlikeable and extremely manipulative; forcing the Doctor to cooperate with their plans to capture their enemy's spaceship to escape the dying planet.

When the Doctor and Vicki are (stupidly) sent to seize the Rill's spaceship, they discover that the Rills - horribly ugly creatures - are in fact kind hearted souls. You really feel for these people, who receive grief due to their appearance. The story concludes when the regulars assist the Rills in their escape from the planet and leave the evil Drahvians to their doom.

Overall, it's quite an enjoyable story, with some good dialogue and intriguing concepts. However, the chumblies really spoil the story, as they have a terrible design, and don't do very much. They reminded me a little of the Scutters in another BBC series: "Red Dwarf". Also in Red Dwarf is an episode where females are dominant.

A feel-good ending completes a well-rounded serial, and as the TARDIS dematerializes, you are left with the knowledge that the TARDIS crew intervening really saved honest people's lives.

The Time Meddler

The last serial in Season Two of "Doctor Who" is "The Time Meddler", and for the first time, the historical stories mix with the science-fiction stories as the TARDIS crew uncover a Monk's twisted plot to alter the course of history.

The TARDIS lands in 1066 in England where interesting and out-of-time objects are found: a wristwatch, a cannon, and a gramophone. Soon, the Doctor finds out about the Monk, who is an alien who has great pleasure in altering history. Great classic Doctor Who mayhem ensures, as all the characters go off in different directions, and the supporting characters offer great support to the regulars.

The plot is one of this serial's many strong points. It's coherent, brilliant, and perfectly paced, ensuring that you are always on the edge of your seat, wondering what's going to happen next. The visuals are strong too, with the gloomy monastery, the Saxon village, and the striking images of the Viking fleet arriving on the coast. All of the characters have depth, and they all seem real. You hate the Vikings, are enthralled by the Saxons, and the meddling Monk you find intriguing.

The 'wow' moment in "The Time Meddler" is when you discover that the Monk is also in possession of a TARDIS and it's in the last episode that you find out that he's from the same planet as our beloved Doctor. This makes for some great character clashes and witty dialogue between the Monk and the Doctor, and this forms the basis of an exciting conclusion, as the Doctor imprisons the Monk in 1066 after a lighthearted letter of apology.

The final moments of the story give a sense of wonder as the TARDIS dematerialized and we are left at the end of Season Two with a shot of outer space. I think it makes you wonder what other adventures face our new TARDIS crew in the months until Season Three airs.

The Chase

"The Chase" is the third Dalek story, excluding "The Space Museum", which did not feature the Daleks as enemies. In this serial, the Daleks pursue the TARDIS crew through space and time, stopping off for an amusing scene at the Empire State Building and explaining the mystery of the Mary Celeste.

This story has a lighter feel in comparison with some of the earlier stories in this season, and it greatly benefits this story; you don't feel like anything is repetitive. The Daleks make their comeback, and as always, they're better than ever.

The first couple of episodes see the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki held captive on an alien planet while their captives reason with the Daleks. These episodes start off "The Chase" by giving it a dark tone, but that's lost as the travelers escape. Following up are great scenes about the Mary Celeste and on the Empire State Building. The latter is the high-point of this particular serial, as it's great to watch, and feature the great Peter Purves (who later appears in the same serial as Steven).

It's an upsetting moment at the end of the last episode as Ian and Barbara return to Earth, leaving the TARDIS at it's lowest passenger count yet. Now it's only the Doctor and Vicki left to tour the universe, but the mysterious disappearance of Steven suggests that the TARDIS might be picking up a new recruit sometime in the new future.

The Space Museum

"The Space Museum" is in essence a giant labyrinth story, where the characters all get lost and are being hunted for by the villains. However, what makes this serial unique is the fact that it throws in a subplot about changing the future except, this time, the TARDIS crew are trying to change the future, not prevent change.

I don't have much to say about this story as a whole, but I thought that the characters weren't that interesting, aside from our regulars, of course. The story begins to drag on a bit after the second episode, and it seems to me that the writer just ran out of steam.

Nevertheless, the first episode is one of the best yet, in my opinion, and I can't wait to see what the Daleks have in store for the TARDIS crew in the next serial...

The Crusade

"The Crusade" is yet another historical story with episode missing. Because I listened to the soundtracks for episodes 2&4 (which are on the Lost in Time DVD box-set), my understanding of these episodes is limited to sound and dialogue only.

This serial is, in my opinion, one of the finest stories so far. It teaches the viewer something about history, but does it in a way that doesn't bore. The characters of King Richard and Saladin are both great presences on-screen and are a joy to watch, and as usual, our regulars are incredible. Barbara is the character who shines the most in the earlier episodes and she really conveys a sense of loss and dread. However, her character begins to fade into the background in later episodes, as Ian comes to the foreground to be knighted. Some humour is injected here as the Doctor remarks that he would have been liked to be knighted as well.

The conclusion of this tale feels a bit dry to me (but that might have been because I couldn't see what was going on) and the end credits roll over an unusual problem with the TARDIS.

"The Crusade" is an interesting story which shows the TARDIS crew being wrapped up in major events, and from what I could see, some of the set pieces were fantastic. If only the remaining two episodes were found...