Marco Polo (1964)

EPISODE 1 – THE ROOF OF THE WORLD
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 22 February 1964

This is the first story that doesn’t exist on video. Instead we have to be satisfied with William Russell narrating. As a fan of the Big Finish releases featuring Russell, I always enjoy anything that he’s in.  After the cliffhanger where they discover a huge footprint it falls to Ian to break the news that it’s a normal footprint that has melted in the snow. After the very dramatic previous episodes. The mood is very different as they all seem to be happy in each other’s company. I like that even in middle of mass snow Ian and Barbara entertain the thought of being back on Earth. Even though there’s no actual indication that they are on earth but it’s a theme that runs through their time on the show.

There’s more problems with the TARDIS, however it’s not to the extent that it was in the previous two episodes. The Doctor hopes that by going to a ‘lower altitude’ they might be able to get the parts needed. The fact that they can’t just leave is the only way that they would be staying for the next seven weeks.

Nice moment where Ian is explaining the science of heat to Marco Polo. It’s probably the most amusing part for the regulars. As its effectively a introduction episode, the regulars don’t really stand out very much as they all put in the same sort of performances. The performances aren’t bad but it feels like they are still recovering from the previous two episodes.  Marco Polo shows an interest in the Doctor’s TARDIS in the beginning of his encounter with the TARDIS crew. He wont let the Doctor or any one else enter the TARDIS as the locals are suspicious of the TARDIS crew and in a rare sign of compassion, the Doctor agrees not to force the issue.

We learn of Marco’s intention and its that he wants to offer Khan the TARDIS so that he can go home. It’s hard to dislike Marco Polo as he is played brilliantly by Mark Eden. He doesn’t raise his voice or act intimidatingly but still poses power and isn’t someone that you can say no to..

The Doctor’s reaction is quite strange as he starts laughing, had this happened eight episodes ago then there would have been a different response. Unusual bit of narration by Marco Polo. I like it as it gives a different feel to the story and feels like the series has found its feet and is comfortable in trying something new. It also shows what Marco Polo is thinking because we wouldn’t find out otherwise.

The cliffhanger doesn’t have the dramatic tension that I would have come to expect from a Dalek episode or even one of two of the An Unearthly Child episodes.  Tegana and a Mongol soldier are hatching a plan to kill Marco Polo and the others by poisoning the water and take the ‘caravan’ and bring Kublai Khan to his knees. It sets up the rest of the story rather well . As the story is seven episodes long, the story has the chance to take its time with the plot. The problem with this story existing on audio is that its difficult to really enjoy it. Whereas with a Big Finish audio it doesn’t have to worry about that. As it is, the opening episode is perfectly fine but it’s a pure historical adventure and that’s ok but historicals aren’t particularly well liked in Doctor Who circles. I think their ok as long as we can see them.

 

EPISODE 2 – THE SIGNING SANDS
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 29 February 1964

The title is very appropriate as when the sandstorm hits, it does sound like singing. Bad singing, the sort you would get on X-Factor but it’s a good title. The story is where Tegana’s plan will come to fruition and after the reprise, the narration starts again and I like this one as it shows how grumpy the Doctor is. Susan is letting the situation get to her. There’s a hint of the old Susan in this first scene and Barbara is doing the mother thing by trying to reassure Susan. Ping-Cho’s purpose seems to be to interact with Susan as they both appear to be the same age. They act in this episode like two friends trying to sneak out of their parents home. It’s due to this that they see Tegana leaving and leads to the first proper dramatic moment in the story. Susan uses 1960’s terms like crazy to describe the moon.

The Doctor hardly ‘appears’ in this story, instead all we get is a brief moment at the end where we discover that the heat is getting to him. As his involvement is kept to a minimum it’s really Ian, Barbara and Susan that are left to push the story along. Susan and Ping-Cho are following Tegana but get caught in the sandstorm whilst Ian is playing chess with Marco Polo. Jacqueline Hill is sort of floating around in the background and doesn’t really get a good deal in this episode.

There’s a moment where Marco questions how he can thank Tegana for saving Ping-Cho’s life which is amusing as the viewer knows the truth about what’s going on. Tegana is a cracking villain. He is as my mom would call a nasty bag of washing. Not only has he caused the situation that everyone finds themselves in but when he get to the oasis he gets some water and goads Marco Polo to “come for it”.  He really deserves that ending and Tegan is brilliantly played by Derren Nesbitt though Mark Eden continues to impress as Marco Polo and I am even starting to like Zienia Merton as Ping-Cho. This episode was definelty more about the supporting cast that the regulars. Which isn’t a bad thing as with the episode length being what it is means that we can learn a bit more about them.

By the latter stages of the episode Tegana’s plan has had its desired effect and they have little water to travel the desert and they are travelling less and less. It’s a shame that this episode doesn’t exit at all on videotape as I think that it would be one of the most visually stunning. Even from the telesnaps that I am looking at whilst listening to this on CD, it looks like a top production and its good that the acting matches it.

The cliffhanger is very enjoyable and makes up the previous episode’s lack of tension. It does really make you question who they are going to survive with Tegana being less than helpful and the lack of water being a real issue. I am for the first time really excited about this story and feel that the rest of the episode can make me forget this is a pure historical and excite me with a cracking story.

EPISODE 3 – FIVE HUNDRED EYES
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 7 March 1964

After the enjoyable previous episode we get an episode that doesn’t quite match it. There is another narration from Marco Polo. There seems to be a bit more of the narration in this episode but it’s still a welcome part of the story as we get to know what’s going on inside Marco polo’s mind without him showing his true feelings to the others. After resting in the TARDIS to get away from the heat. The Doctor discovers that condensation has formed inside the TARDIS and due to this everyone can drink water. His excitement at this is extinguished by Marco Polo. Marco Polo’s lack of trust of the Doctor and his ‘caravan’ is starting to get a bit stale.

Zienia Merton gets a nice bit of dialogue where she gets to tell as story. She does it very well and I continue to be impressed with her performances despite the character not being specially interesting. Mark Eden doesn’t have a particularly strong episode here but I think that after two episodes it was only a matter of time before he comes back to the forefront of the story. Derren Nesbitt isn’t quite as menacing as he was in the previous episodes but like Eden, I think that he will come back in future episodes.

After his lack of presence in the previous episodes, William Hartnell makes up for it here. I thought that he was quite fun to listen to as he tries to pull the wool over Marco Polo’s eyes as he has another TARDIS key made after he gave the original to Polo. Barbara is suspicious of Tegana and whilst Ian, the Doctor and Susan listening to Ping-Cho, Barbara follows him. She’s very active in this episode as she is the to one that gets put into danger. Judging by the telesnaps, the scene in the caves would have looked very good. William Russell doesn’t have a whole lot to do. His most interesting contribution comes when he talks about the English translation of Assassin. Carole Ann Ford’s involvement is fairly good and at least she doesn’t act child like which has been a recurring theme in her performances in recent episodes. She shrieks at the end but its kind of justified.

It’s another episode where there’s an awful lot of not much happening but then once the action moves into the caves that it is where it became entertaining drama. The cliffhanger was ok. It had a certain amount of drama to it but not very much and it doesn’t work as well on audio. It ends with Susan screaming and noticing the eyes in the paintings are moving but to be honest it was Barbara’s predicament that I found more interesting. So far the story is continuing to maintain my interest, it didn’t have the same sort of excitement that the previous episode had but once it got going then I started to enjoy the episode more.

EPISODE 4 – THE WALL OF LIES
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 14 March 1964

No telesnaps exist of this episode which is a shame.  I have enjoyed going through the episodes being able to look at the telesnaps. This is because Waris Hussein isn’t directing it and so didn’t order any telesnaps to be taken. After Susan shrieks about the eyes in the painting its quickly rubbished by the Doctor. It’s the only time really that Susan gets treated like a child and it’s a theme of the episode where the elder and more responsible people don’t trust those closest to them. There is also the resolvement of the more important part of the cliffhanger and that was the peril facing Barbara and despite a few moments of stalling Ian picks the moment where the Mongol Malik is about to kill Barbara. I believe that’s what they call a close shave. The next part of the story is about trying to prove that Tegana had gone to the cave of five hundred eyes. That’s basically what the whole episode is about. After all the excitement from the previous episode, it’s somewhat a shame that things slow down. There isn’t much moving around in this episode though we do get some narration from Marco Polo which is always good.

I am still a massive fan of Tegana. He continues to be a great character and well played by Derren Nesbitt. Susan and Ping-Cho’s relationship  is something that has grown on me in recent episodes and its going to be really sad when they have to go their separate ways. Carole Ann Ford and Zienia Merton have a good on screen relationship and it’s the most consistent that Susan has been since the show started. William Russell and Jacqueline Hill are both on good form but neither has a spectacular episode though Russell does get to do a bit of life saving at the beginning when he saves Barbara’s life. William Hartnell was given a slightly better episode but not by much really. My enjoyment of the Marco Polo character is starting to slip a bit. Marco Polo is unwilling to believe that Tegana is lieing. What’s quite fun is knowing that Tegana is working against Polo and if he gets his own way then Polo wont see it coming. I think its fun because Polo deserves it really.

The cliffhanger is ok because as Ian is about to jump the guard he discovers that the guard is in fact dead. The question undeniably will killed him.  Sadly as we don’t have any telesnaps its difficult to see how this would have looked so going on what we hear its fair to say that whilst its not the greatest cliffhanger in the history of Doctor (so far), its better than some that we have had. It’s fair to say that The Wall of Lies is another episode of people talking and not a lot else happening. After the atmospheric episode going into the caves, it’s a shame that we get something that doesn’t have much in the way of energy. There is enough to keep your interest but I suspect that the directing would need to be spectacular to work visually and I think with Waris Hussein in the directors chair then its might have worked so we’ll never know what John Crockett would have done with it. Onto the next episode.

EPISODE 5 – RIDER FROM SHANG-TU
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 21 March 1964

The cliffhanger saw Ian about to attack a guard who it turns out had already been killed. The story very quickly moves on to the bandits that are meant to be attacking soon.  After they come and are quickly disbanded then the action sees Marco Polo and his band of merry (and not so merry) men and women travel to Cheng-Tu.  Judging by the telesnaps Cheng-Ting looks another nice place. The sets have on the whole been impressive and that is what makes the fact that this story only exits on audio so depressing because if this were to be on DVD or VHS then it would probably rank as one of the all time greats in Doctor Who. Barry Newberry has to be complemented on what he has achieved. Daphne Dare also deserves praise because even in the black and white pictures, her designs come off as the sort you would see on movies.

As we enter the latter half of the story, the action moves towards the meeting of Kublai Kahan in Cheng-Ting. The circuit that the Doctor has been spending an eternity working on is now fixed so the drama moves to trying to get back into the TARDIS as soon as possible. It seems that they’ve forgotten what Marco Polo has got planned.

This episode really gets going once they get to Cheng-Tu as we are introduced to some new characters which is what is needed after five episodes. Wang-Lo sounds like a comedy character and comes across as such. He’s played brilliantly by Gabor Baraker and what puts the icing on the cake is the way that the Doctor reacts to his news that he has had the TARDIS moved. William Hartnell had a nice comedy moment after encountering Wang-Lo, doing a rather funny impression. The relationship between Ping-Cho and Susan is put on show again when they are examining the fish in Cheng-Ting, trying to figure out which person looks like which fish. It’s made even more enjoyable to witness after Ping-Cho gives Susan the key that Marco Polo doesn’t want them to have.

Tegana continues to impress me and the way that he sees the TARDIS as his way of getting what he wants. I’ve gone on about how much I like Derren Nesbitt’s portrayl of the character so I wont carry on with him but I think that I find Mark Eden’s Marco Polo to be less grating that I have recently.

The cliffhanger was quite a good one. After wanting the regulars to get into the TARDIS they finally do but it was never going to be that straightforward because Susan gets left behind and cause by Tegana. The plot idea of having them so close to escaping and yet so far is something that is used in The Daleks when they are about to get away before they realise that the fluid link is in the Dalek city.

It’s certainly a lot more enjoyable than the previous episode. It’s not a coincidence that its because Waris Hussein is back in the directors chair as he does have a way of moving the story along at a quicker pace than John Crockett did. The whole episode just had a better vibe to it than the previous episode. The final two episodes should get the story back on track.

EPISODE 6 – MIGHTY KUBLAI KHAN
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 28 March 1964

The penultimate episode of what has felt like an epic picks up when the regulars  go from all but Susan being in the TARDIS to them all being out of there. Most people would be frustrated with this scenario but to be honest it means that we get to spend more time in company of Marco Polo, Ping-Cho and also Ping-Cho. However the main problem with the episode is that it feels like its going through the motions. The early part of this episode does feel like a lot of just standing around and its only when Ian has to go and find the TARDIS that things feel like they are progressing. After weeks of talking about him, we finally get to meet the Mighty Kublai Khan and after weeks of talking about him we get to see him (via telesnaps) in the flesh and his outfit is what stands out in my mind. It’s clear that the budget mostly went on this costume alone but its highly impressive. It’s also a good performance from Martin Miller who as Khan is arguably the most eccentric member of the supporting cast.

The regulars have all been fairly consistent in recent episodes and the good run of form continues here. It’s difficult to say who is the best because they all have a good episode but I thought that Ian’s description of what the caravan can do and that their desire to get home isn’t just a question of geography but also time and for Ian the events of Marco Polo happened over seven hundred years in his past. Ian’s attempt to try and defend and shield Ping-Cho from Polo’s predictable rage is quite chivalrous but it’s all in vain.

 

The cliffhanger is another corker. It features Tegana who  just has to say “come” and he manages to make it sound menacing. That makes two in a row now for good cliffhangers and I think that it’s more to do with that I think that Derren Nesbitt is fantastic as Tegana and I keep going on about him so I wont carry on here. The writing from John Lucarotti has been fairly good here and it’s a below par episode from Waris Hussein which isn’t something that I say very often as his level of work is usually quite high.

‘Mighty Kublai Khan’ isn’t as strong as the previous episode but it’s still a good one. As the story starts to reach its finale, I must say that  overall the episode has impressed me more than it had done in recent years.

EPISODE 7 – ASSASSIN AT PEKING
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 4 April 1964

The final part of this epic sees the all the loose plot strands neatly tied up. The story has to tie things up but also keep things going for 25 minutes. The Doctor has to play chess to win the TARDIS. It seems really odd to see the Doctor willing to sit down and do this. It’s probably only now that the show could we get the Doctor being so calm and not so crotchety. William Hartnell really does seem to have settled down in the role. It’s not something that I’ve really noticed before but over the last 20 episodes, William Hartnell has gone from being the harsh and rude person in An Unearthly Child to being the calm (ish) figure we got over the course of these seven episodes.

As good as Mark Eden has been over the last seven episodes. It’s been a tad bit frustrating with him not really deciding whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy. One moment he’s refusing to let the Doctor and anyone else  inside the TARDIS and then helping them escape at the very end. It’s a very conflicted performance but at times I have quite liked Marco Polo. Martin Miller was very good in this episode just as he had been in the little that he was on screen in the previous episode. As the mighty Kublai Khan he was a character that at first seems like a very superior person and very serious but when we meet him he’s quite a humorous character. Derren Nesbitt goes out on a high as Tegana. You could say in this episode he got the point of his character (bad joke). However as I have mentioned in the previous episodes, I really liked the character and thought that he was a good villain. He’s been the most consistant character in the entire story. Zienia Merton is also worthy of a mention as she has done well with what hasn’t been the greatest role in the story. This was a good episode for her but it would have been nice to see the goodbye moment between Susan and Ping-Cho.

One thing that I have been impressed with over the course of the last seven episodes is the directing. Judging by the telesnaps this was another superbly directed episode and Waris Hussein has kept up his great track record. Some of the shots in this episode are very impressive and its hard to believe that this was achieved on a BBC budget. After seven weeks of what has at times been a pedestrian story, I’m glad that it has ended in a rather good manner. It was a solid ending to what was a really strong episode. It’s also going to be good to see something on DVD now after spending the last week having to listen to this story and look at the telesnaps which has helped but it can never replace the ability to enjoy a story by looking at it.