The Tomb of the Cybermen

The Cybermen are back, and this time in a completely original, never-before-seen story idea. The Doctor, along with Victoria and Jamie, lands on the planet Telos, where an archeological expedition from Earth is in full swing to find the remains of the Cybermen and their civilization. This story succeeds, I feel, because it's absolutely nothing like each of the previous cybermen tales. In both "The Tenth Planet" and "The Moonbase", the base in under siege, and the plot progression is pretty similar. Here, they uncover the tombs, and it is revealed that two of the expedition members: Klieg and Kaftan are looking to ally with the cybermen.

It's an interesting setting for a serial, tombs, in a dead city, but it's extremely well put together, with great sets, an amazing cast, and a superb plot. Every cast member has a story to tell, and in the four episodes, there is a perfect balance between action and exposition. I only wish we could have seen more of the cybermen city, instead of being limited to an entrance hall, the tomb, and one or two other unimportant rooms.

The cybermen themselves have once again been redesigned: with futuristic voice effects and now being led by a cyber controller.

Eventually, Klieg and Kaftan get what they deserve, although too many lives are lost in the process. The Doctor reseals the tomb, and locks the doors to the city, but not before a mouse-like cybermat escapes to the open.

The Evil of the Daleks

Patrick Troughton's final adventure in his first season is, in my opinion, the wildest and most extravagant yet. Not only is it set in three completely different areas, it's also filled with some massive sets, location shooting, and lots of explosions.

Basically, when the Doctor and Jamie return to the TARDIS in the airport, they find that someone's stolen it, and a trail has been left for the Doctor to an antique shop, where the owner:  Mr. Waterfield, has been traveling in time back to the victorian era. Taking the Doctor and Jamie back with him, he and his friend Maxtible explain that they were forced to by the Daleks. The Daleks want the Doctor to figure out what makes the humans defeat the daleks all the time, and to do so, he must use Jamie in an experiment. The Doctor willingly proceeds but is deceived as the Daleks take his calculations and formula and reverse them. They then follow the Daleks back to Skaro in order to stop them from using 'the Dalek factor' on all of humankind.

It's complicated, yes, and it is quite a large expansive plot, but it is executed perfectly. Fast paced and filled with suspense, danger, and character, there is pretty much nothing to fault at all. From the start, you can see the story looks great and is acted brilliantly. The modern day guest stars are brilliant, and the victorian actors are as well. Waterfield expertly conveys a man under pressure, and Maxtible's got the mad scientist look and voice perfectly. Victoria Waterfield is great too, and there's a lovely subplot involving Kemel, a jamaican slave, having feelings for her. It's believable, as is the bond between Jamie and Kemel.

The Doctor however, shows a different kind of acting towards his companion. Here, he plays the audience into questioning his allegiances and friends, all while having great fun doing so. It's a testimonial to Troughton's skill that he can go from being delighted and enthralled by a tune on his recorder to being dark, serious, and scarily morbid about a situation or subject.

I could go on for hours, days even, on "The Evil of the Daleks"; there's simply so much to write about and discuss, and there are so many interesting themes, from slavery and the class system, to friendship, obedience, and despair. It doesn't get much better than this.

As an afterthought, I'd like to add that the human Daleks are hilarious and a delight to watch.

The Faceless Ones

And now on to one of my favourite Troughton adventures: "The Faceless Ones". The TARDIS materializes in the middle of Gatwick airport where Polly witnesses a murder. It transpires that Chameleon Tours, a seemingly normal company, is kidnapping their passengers and transferring their body shapes to their own bodies.

The Doctor and Jamie are the real stars here, and they bond over this story, solving the mystery and convincing the airport staff that they are telling the truth. The serial turns out to be fast paced, quite dark, with some great plot twists, and the story moving on at the perfect speed. Never a boring moment, and with some great location work. The shots of Gatwick really give this story scope and a sense of importance.

The sets and costumes are good too. Captain Blade and the other Chameleon crew are all dressed immaculately, and the commandant's costume helps show his character. Samantha also is interesting, with her 'regional' accent and modern dress sense. The sets themselves look the part, from the airport hangars to the immigration desks. Even the Chameleon Tours aeroplane interior looks authentic for the small amount of screen-time it receives. 

After a gripping adventure and an exciting end, the commandant gives the Doctor back his TARDIS, before Ben and Polly decide to leave the Doctor and get on with their lives. Sadly, Jamie accompanies the Doctor over to the TARDIS, where upon close inspection, it isn't the TARDIS at all, but just a plain old Police Box. The TARDIS has been stolen!

The Macra Terror

The Macra Terror sees the Doctor, Ben, Polly, and Jamie arrive on an unnamed planet where an insane man claims to have seen the Macra, crab-like creatures everyone else says don't exist. The Doctor believes the man, and soon sees a Macra for himself. It becomes apparent that the Controller of the planet has hypnotised everyone else in the Colony to obey commands and believe that the Macra don't exist. Ben succombs to the hypnotism and lands his companions in trouble for their meddling. Sent to work in the mines, mining for poisonous gas, they discover that the Macra are in control of the leaders of the Colony and need the gas to survive. The unearth the Macra, free the population, and leave before they can be congratulated.

The officials: Ola, and the Pilot, are great characters with some great lines, and with them, the plot moves quickly along, with never a boring moment. It's important that it does this, or you might notice that the Macra don't have that much to do with the serial at all, the plot instead revolving around overthrowing the hypnotism and freeing everything.

Therefore, it isn't as you'd expect, and could have been a lot scarier and interesting.

The Moonbase

The Moonbase is one of my favourite early Doctor Who serials. In my opinion, it's the best 1960's Cybermen story, and it's a great pity two of the four episodes are missing.

The TARDIS crew land on the moon, where a team of scientists operate the Gravitron, a giant machine that can control the Earth's weather. But, soon, people start falling ill and it's revealed that the cybermen are to blame. They want to use the Gravitron to wipe out humanity and things are looking bleak.

This is certainly an action-oriented serial: perhaps the first of it's kind, and it's brilliant. The sets are limited but the cast is great, and it's got the right amount of plot, action, and scary moments to make a great story.

The characters of Hobson and Polly shine in this story, and it's just a pity that Jamie spends the first three episodes lying in bed moaning about an old Scottish legend. Once he gets involved in the story though, he does it with gusto and The Moonbase is better for it.

Finally, the cybermen are the scary monsters they're supposed to be, with a much improved look and better voices. Luckily, this style of cyberman continues to be used for quite a while to come.

The Power of the Daleks

So Patrick Troughton is the Doctor's new body, and he's lovable and insane. His recorder playing in the first episode is hilarious and serves as a lightweight introduction to his character before the main plot gets going.

The Doctor gets involved in a struggle of power between the citizens of Vulcan and rebels. However, one of the government's scientists has found a capsule in a swamp, which contains old, deactivated Daleks. After reviving them, they plot to overthrow both the Rebels and the Guards, and the serial ends in a climactic duel.

I must say, this has been one of my favourite serials so far. The Doctor is on top-form, the Daleks are great, and the characters of Bragen, Lesterson, and Henshall are all great to watch. Complementing them is a fast-paced plot which is more action orientated than previous stories have been, and this is a breath of fresh air.

Did I mention the Daleks are back? They're scary, and it's even more scary to see Daleks pretending to be under human control but actually plotting themselves. It's gripping stuff.

Overall, a great serial for the introduction of Patrick Troughton, and the story is insightful as to the direction Doctor Who is taking.

The Savages

I must say, I really enjoyed this serial. It was something quite a bit different in comparison with the Celestial Toymaker and the Gunfighters. The Doctor and companions land on an unnamed planet in the future, where sophisticated humans living in the glorious city are using lesser humans from outside in the wild to fuel their existence. The Doctor vows to put a stop to this, and while Steven and Dodo make friends with the Savages, he is drained of his life energy which is given to the leader of the city: Jano. Jano inherits the Doctor's consciousness and smashes up the equipment used for suffering, and Steven departs the TARDIS to oversee the reconstruction of the civilization. 

You really feel sorry for the Savage humans in this story, they lead terrible lives of fear and repression, and this serial highlights the wonders the Doctor does for those who deserve them. Meanwhile, the city itself is rather impressive, and the first episode shows that the majority of it's people are simple; the two guides that show Steven and Dodo around appear to be very nice and pleasant people, whose only faults are that of their leaders who allow the cruelty to continue.

I think the plot is rather ingenious and well-thought-out in terms of how it is paced. Each character is given decent screen time and the departure of Steven is dealt with in such a way as to leave a huge smile on my face as the TARDIS dematerializes at the end of the serial. With this great story straight after another, and, in my opinion, William Hartnell doing so well as the Doctor, it's strange to think he only has a few more serials to go before his time is up.

The Celestial Toymaker

The Celestial Toymaker is one of those extremely random serials which makes little sense. I have no idea who the Toymaker is supposed to be, how he accomplishes his evil deeds, what his motives are, or how he knows the Doctor. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this story immensely, despite it not making much sense. Basically, the Doctor is separated from Steven and Dodo, is made invisible and mute, and has to complete the Trilogic game (a board game) in exactly 1023 moves at a sufficient pace. Meanwhile, Steven and Dodo have to fight their way through a set of continuous games including Blind Man's Bluff, and Hunt the Thimble in order to win back the TARDIS.

These games don't sound so bad, but they're all scaled up to life-or-death experiences which makes it all the more interesting. The characters which Steven and Dodo play against are all pretty insane and interesting, especially Cyril the annoying and arrogant Schoolboy who makes up the rules as he goes along. You really share our heroes' annoyance for the character, and you want to push him on to the electrocuted floor (which he does himself in the end anyway, so it's not all bad).

The set design is unique, but suffers due to the show's budget. It could have been spectacular but turned out adequate only. The Doctor is again missed, but Steven and Dodo make up for that. The Toymaker is an interesting character although not much is revealed about him, and overall, this is one of my favourite Season Three serials so far.

The Ark

So after the historical adventures of "The Massacre" and the introduction of new companion Dodo, the TARDIS lands on a spaceship taking the last survivors of Earth to a new planet, along with the Monoids, a race of cyclops who are much more intelligent than they look.

The story is split into two sections which is pretty interesting: the first is about Dodo giving a cold to all the people onboard the Ark, which the Doctor then cures, and the second deals with the Ark at the end of it's voyage and the Monoids' enslavement of the remaining humans.

In the first half of the story, you feel sorry for the Monoids and the humans are the villains, and this concept is reversed for the second part of this serial, which shows the good and bad sides of all races. The climactic battle is interesting, and the final scene of the Doctor disappearing links in with the next serial: "The Celestial Toymaker".

The Daleks' Master Plan (Episodes 7-12)

The second half of this serial is a lot better than the first, in my opinion. However, the Feast of Steven is a bit of a wasted episode, as nothing important happens in that episode, it just serves the purpose of wishing all the viewers a merry christmas.

I can't really think of much else to say about this story except that it really is epic, and features some great moments, such as the confrontations between the monk and the doctor in Egypt and the thrilling conclusion.

Roll on the Massacre!

The Daleks' Master Plan (Episodes 1-6)

It's been a while since I last watched a story in my Doctor Who marathon. However, I've decided to get going again and continue from where I left off. I'd stopped after episode five of this story in October, so some aspects of it are a little foggy in my mind.

I enjoyed this immensely, which the characters of Mavic Chen and Bret Vyon being some of the best single-story characters yet. The death of Katarina is a powerful moment as it shows the Doctors do not always win confrontations.

I felt that the story was just about to kick off at this point, so I'll save the rest for the second part of this story review.

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 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 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 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 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 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.

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.