The Tenth Planet

So, it's time for William Hartnell's last story, and it really is very good. The TARDIS crew land in Antartica in a space rocket facility. Soon after their arrival, a planet appears in the sky and natives of the planet, called the cybermen, descend upon Earth, planning to 'refuel' their planet Mondas with all life and energy on Earth.

The cybermen here make fantastic villains, despite their atrocious costumes. The voices are chilling and it's unfortunate you don't see more of them in this serial. Also, the characters of Barclay and Cutler are good, with Cutler making for a good anti-hero. He means well, but you feel quite happy when he's shot dead.

Obviously, the most important part of this story is what happens at the end, and the regeneration is foreshadowed in episode three when the Doctor falls ill. Knowing about regeneration before watching this takes all of the surprise out of the moment, but I imagine that not knowing what's wrong with the Doctor would be quite worrying and the actual regeneration would leave people confused as to what's happening.

In order to explain this miraculous event, we have to move on to the next story, but not before clearing up one or two pieces of spin off media that take place during Hartnell's tenure as the Doctor.

The Smugglers

Well, it's been a long time since I last watched a serial in this marathon of mine. However, today I finally read through "The Smugglers" and I must say, I'm somewhat disappointed.

The most important thing that happens in this story is the introduction of Ben and Polly as companions. While I thought Ben and Polly would be good companions to the Doctor at the end of the last serial, here I found Ben irritating and Polly a little underused. From the start, Ben was shown to be cocky, arrogant, and a rather unlikeable fellow.

Plotwise, I found this serial difficult to follow, with too many smuggling rings, smugglers, plot threads, and double-crossing to be effective. It's alright at the beginning, but by the time I got to the final battle in the graveyard, I just couldn't be bothered with this serial any longer and just wished it would end quickly.

The War Machines

"The War Machines" was a serial I particularly enjoyed. It's good after such a long time away, to finally spend an entire story on contemporary Earth, and it's brilliant. The characters of Polly and Ben make great additions to the cast, and really add a modern, forward-thinking feel to the programme.

The concept is a little dated now though, the computer is a little silly now, and the war machine itself is massive and clunky. Impressive, yes. Well-built, yes. But easy to make look threatening? Definitely not; especially as it bumps into something every time it attempts to move.

That said, I think this story is pretty good, with the characters of Sir Charles, the tramp, and the sergeant proving most interesting to watch and enjoy. But, on the other hand, Professor Brett and Wotan make terrible villains and I'm glad we don't see more of them than we do. Also, I'm glad that Dodo has finally 'gone' and I don't mind that she didn't get a great goodbye scene as Polly and Ben make up for that.

One more thing: even if William Hartnell was becoming unwell round about now, I didn't notice it on-screen. His character still commanded authority and I thought that in this serial in particular, I thought he was great.

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 Gunfighters

It's time for another historical and this time, the Doctor, Dodo, and Steven visit the wild west. Soon after they arrive, they are caught up between a gang of cowboys and the local law-enforcers. As the plot unfolds, you begin to care for the good characters and mourn for the deaths of large amounts of them.

For the first episode or two, I thought that this was just another normal serial, with nothing special to it's name, but as the story drew close (no pun intended) to it's climax, I realised how much I enjoyed the characterizations of Wyatt, Kate, and Johnny Ringo in particular. Charlie the barman was the highlight of the serial for me, his humour and sad death shows the viewers how dangerous life really was back then.

Another interesting thing about this story to note is how Guns are forced upon the Doctor many times in the four episodes, and it's quite funny to notice the Doctor's reaction. Overall, this has been one of my favourite serials so far in my marathon, once you get into it. The opening episodes are a bit dull and clichéd but after they're over, it's a brilliant tale.

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 Massacre

So I finally got round to watching (or reading in this case) the next adventure for the Doctor and Steven. Once again, the TARDIS lands in historical France, and Steven gets involved in an intricate murder plot and religious war between the Catholics and the Protestants. Unfortunately, while I assume this serial is quite accurate historically, religion nor any of it's aspects interest me in the slightest, and so I did not find this story very engaging.

The Doctor himself is missed throughout most of the story, and the only thing I found interesting is the introduction of Dodo, a new TARDIS crew member. The girl the Doctor told to stay indoors survived the massacre and now her great granddaughter has joined the TARDIS crew. We are left feeling quite happy after an intense moment of Steven wanting to leave the TARDIS for good.

With two companions in the TARDIS once again, we move onwards to the next great adventure...

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.

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.

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...

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.