Galaxy 4 (1966)

Galaxy 4 is the first story of Series Three which is the weakest series so far. The opening story has a clear message of never judge by appearances. It’s not the most original message ever and sometimes it can be done a bit too much. Sadly this story doesn’t exist in audio and I can remember the first time listening to this story I wasn’t overly impressed with it. This is William Emms’ only contribution to Doctor Who and it’s a shame because the story does have potential but it gets lost.

The planet that the Doctor, Steven and Vicki land on is not know but is in Galaxy 4. They first meet the Drahvins who are a group of cloned females from Drahva who are lead by Maaga (Stephanie Bidmead). The story centres on the battle between the Drahvins and the reptilian Rills who are in charge of the stupidly named Chumblies. They don’t look particularly good but somehow end up saving the day in the end. The planet has a limited lifespans, due to be destroyed in 14 planetrary cycles and the Drahvins want to use the Rills spaceship to return home. To make matters worse (and fill the four episodes), Steven is captured and the Doctor and Vicki are placed in charge to try and capture the ship. There is a lot made of the fact that they Drahvins are the more important but as soon as the revelation from the Rills come that all changes and it’s quite an important in the telling of the story. It’s at this stage that the never judge a book by its cover because the Drahvins are portrayed as the goodies with the Rills played as the baddies but when it revealed that the Rills have offered to take the Drahvins with them but Maaga refused. This leads to a battle where the Drahvins are going to kill the Rills and take their ship though this being Doctor Who this is where the Doctor gets involved and defeats the Drahvins.

There is a nice tie-in to the next story ‘Mission to the Unknown’ where none of the regulars appear. Vicki is looking at the scanner which is focused on a planet and it then moves to a man shouting “must kill!”. Great ending but all in all, Galaxy 4 is not a story that I am a massive fan of though there are things to like about it. I think this particular period in Doctor Who history isn’t one of the finest and apart from The Daleks Master Plan, it wasn’t going to get any better. Galaxy 4 I think suffers slightly in the fact it only exists on CD/MP3 which isnt the fault of anyone involved in the story. As it stands, the a good opener.

The Myth Makers

This story is often compared to ‘The Romans’ for its comedic slant. However it is best remembered for being the final story for Vicki who had joined the show at the beginning of the year. It also comes after the regulars had a week off after ‘Mission to the Unknown’ aired the week before. This story is a historical adventure in Homeric Troy. To be honest I’m was never a fan of this particular time in history despite this, I kept an open mind. With historical events you know how things are and it’s quite exciting to think that certain events are caused by the Doctor and/or his companions.

The story opens with the Doctor exiting the TARDIS and Achilles beliving that he is Zeus disguised as a beggar. Only in Doctor Who would this happen. Soon they are all separated and Vicki leaves the TARDIS with again the King and Paris think she has been sent by the Gods and rename her Cressida though this instantly causes a friction with Cassandra. As this is Vicki’s last story it might worth mention how good a character she was and how good an actress Maureen O’Brien was/is. It’s a shame that she didn’t stay for longer because I always thought that she is the character that Susan should have been. She got the exit story that she deserved, she didn’t get a Leela exit and by that I mean a totally unbelievable exit. It’s a little Leela like in that falls in love with Prince Troilus but goes a step further by getting married. O’Brien puts in a great performance throughout this story. Peter Purves takes a little bit of a back seat but makes up for it at the end when he gets injured and is taken into the TARDIS by Katarina. The story seemed to shoehorn Katarina into the TARDIS at the last moment. It seems obvious to say that character had a very short shelf life as she was killed off four weeks into the next story. Adrienne Hill is good as a supporting character but I think to last as a long term companion her character should have been a bit more like Leela, primitive yet not weak. Yet again the Doctor seems to be having a lot of fun during an adventure. He tries to get out of trying to help the Greeks that he proposes that they use a wooden horse which is of course the thing that everyone knows about the Ancient Greeks was the use of the horse. It was probably the first thing that Donald Cotton (the writer) was thinking was how to work the Trojan horse into the story.

The Myth Makers is an enjoyable adventure that would have been better when watched at the time. However despite it not being particularly outstanding in terms of originality, it does have something that makes it worth listening to. For a historical story it’s one of the better ones even with the comedic moments.

The Savages (1966)

The Savages as I learned when watching a documentary on the DVD release of the Mutants was that this story was first called The White Savages. This story is the final adventure of Steven Taylor who left to pursue a career making stuff out of toilet rolls on Blue Peter. It’s also the first time that each episode doesn’t have an individual title. I think that’s a great shame as it always seemed to give something different. This is another story that sadly only exists on audio which is a shame because this story probably would have come across better had we seen it on VHS or DVD. This story has a very clear ‘Never Judge a Book by its cover’ moral message. It’s unfortunate that this story continues the decline in quality after The Daleks Master Plan, it’s not that the performances are bad but its just that the quality isn’t there. It’s partly down to the dynamic of the TARDIS crew. It’s clear that Hartnell didn’t warm to Peter Purves or Jackie Lane in the same way that he did with Carole Ann Ford or William Russell. Jackie Lane was a poor piece of casting because the character of Dodo was flawed from the very beginning and the fact she isn’t given a proper send off in the next story tells you how badly the character was thought of at the time.

The story starts of bizarrely with the Elders being prepared for the Doctor’s arrival. They call him ‘The Traveller from Beyond Time’. The Elders seem to good to be true as they shower the Doctor, Dodo and Steven with gifts and compliments. Though its clear that they are not what they seem. There is an interesting moment when the Doctor is subjected to the energy transfer process and all of the Doctor’s attributes are given to Jano, including his morals. The Elders portray the Savages badly and treat them badly which of course disgusts the Doctor. The Savages were once a highly intellegant race and have been reduced to living outside the city. The story is basically how the Savages fight back against the Elder. Due to the technology reduces the superiority of the Elders and puts them on a level playing field with the Savages.

The exit of Steven is well thought out. He stays behind to lead the reconciled Elders and Savages which seems like a mammoth task. I always found Steven Taylor to be a good character, a good replacement for Ian Chesterton. Apart from the Time Meddler he was always portrayed in a good way and only at times let down by the script. Of the guest actors, I found the performances of Frederick Jaeger as Jano, Ewen Solon as Chal and Peter Thomas as Captain Edel to be ok, not outstanding but ok.

As mentioned earlier there was an ongoing decline at the time of The Savages and it would have been clear to anyone watching the show at the time that change was needed. Ratings had been between 4.8 to 5.6 million whereas in Purves’ debut story they ranged from 7.7 to 8.9 million. Luckily that change would occur in a few stories time. I will say this for The Savages, it does seem to boast some very good sets.

The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966)

The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve (or The Massacre) has the dubious honour of introducing Dodo Chaplet. John Lucarotti has written this story and he seems to like doing historical stories having written ‘Marco Polo’ (1964) and ‘The Aztecs’ (1964). This is probably his weakest offering and sadly would be his last though he did contribute a script in 1975 that would go on to become ‘The Ark in Space’. This must have been quite a departure from the last story which was the epic ‘The Daleks Master Plan’.

The story sees William Hartnell not just play the Doctor but the Abbot of Amboise. I found the Abbot to be quite enjoyable and it must have been refreshing for Hartnell to be able to do this. The two characters never meet which is a shame but as far as the viewer/listener is concerned the Doctor disappears during the first episode and he doesn’t return until half way through episode four and its only Hartnell as the Abbot that we see. As a result its Steven that leads the story so in many ways it’s the first companion chronicle, 41 years before Frostfire. It at the end of the story that Dodo is introduced into the series and thus begins the era of irritation.

It’s not entirely Jackie Lane’s fault because there is nothing about the character that is likeable. She starts of as a cockney but by the time she leaves in ‘The War Machines’ her voice is poshier. The character was judged to be a failure by the producers but I think the mistake was not introducing the character earlier on in the story. Peter Purves does a fantastic job in this story which isnt the first time that I have written that about the character. I think his reaction to Dodo’s abrupt entrance was shared by the audience especially as it came after another fine speech from Hartnell. It concluded with his realisation that he should head back ‘home’ before dopey Dodo comes in.

The Massacre is an ok story in an otherwise poor season. As there are no telesnaps or clips that still exist, we only have the audio to base any opinion on. I think that audio has advantages but not in this case. I think that in this case it would have been better to see it when it aired in 1966.

The Daleks Master Plan (1965/66)

The Daleks Master Plan is an epic story. We have the first death of a companion and the introduction of another one before she bites the dust (literally). This is an ambitious project and to try and sustain a story for three months is a difficult task. There are technically thirteen episodes because viewers in 1965 will have seen Mission to the Unknown which aired before The Myth Makers. There is a nice link to that story in Episode three so the viewer is reminded the relevance of that story. But lets start from Episode 1. Sadly only three episodes exist on video and the most recent of them was Day of Armageddon which was found in 2003 to quite a lot of excitement. The story is in twelve parts which makes it the second longest serial behind the 1986 Trial of a Timelord story but this is infinitely better. The Daleks are working on a bomb called the Time Destroyer and the final piece is the Taranium which is very difficult to get hold off as it has taken 50 years to collect the amount they had. The story spends a lot of time with the Daleks chasing the Doctor to try and get it back.

The first thing that strikes me when I started to listen to the audio was how there was a pre-title sequence where the Doctor, Steven and Katarina are in the TARDIS. It’s never done in 1960’s Doctor Who. There are a lot of things going on in the first episode, we are introduced to Bret Vyon, Mavic Chen and the Daleks as well as the immediate trouble with Steven. By the time we move to the second episode that is where it starts to get going. The fragile relationship between Chen and the Daleks is evident from the beginning and it only gets worse. It’s the now familiar character trait of someone like Chen who thinks he has the upper hand over the Daleks but in reality it’s the other way round.

We first encounter The Brigadier, sorry Bret Vyon as played by Nicholas Courtney. It’s definitely a world away from the Brigadier. The character is instantly unlikeable and it’s a great performance. It’s just a surprise that that his time was cut so quickly but it was quite a shocking exit having come at the hands of his sister. We also get to meet Mavic Chen played by superb Kevin Stoney. Chen is the Guardian of the Solar System and his first speech shows he is powerful and also the idea there is something about him. The third major character was Sara Kingdom who believes without question everything that she is told by Mavic Chen because she sees him as an authourative figure that could do no wrong.

There is one episode in particular which doesn’t really fit into the entire story and that is Episode Seven – The Feast of Steven which aired on Christmas Day. It’s the Doctor Who equivalent of movies that have an interlude. To be honest it’s an interlude that I could have done without. This is more of a comedic episode and isn’t really meant to be taken seriously quite like the new series stories that air on Christmas Day. The highlight of the episode is at the very end when the Doctor, Steven and Sara turn to the camera and wish everybody at home a very Merry Christmas. I would love to have seen that episode go out as it would have been totally great to witness.

This story sees the return of Peter Butterworth as the Meddling Monk which is always a good thing. After his great performance in ‘The Time Meddler’ his involvement in this is the necersary pick up that the story needed after weeks of just the Doctor, Steven, Sara, Mavic Chen and the Daleks. A funny moment was when Steven and Sara come across a mummy which turns out to be the Monk. The only slight disappointment is that his exit is too similar to his exit in The Time Meddler.

The first death of a companion is not the dramatic piece that it should have been. The character of Katarina is not a very good character and that’s why she only last five episodes. To be fair to Adrianne Hill, the character didn’t really have much of a shelf life and her exit whilst must have come as a shock to viewers in 1965, it would have had more impact had it happened to Steven. The death of Sara Kingdom is definitely more emotional. Having started out as a hard nosed Space Agent and becomes over the course of the twelve episodes to a member of the TARDIS, her death which now only exists as a couple of telesnaps is quite dark and its amazing that they did this considering it was still considered a kids show in 1965. At the end of the story it was clear that it had taken a lot of out of everyone involved.

The last couple of episodes of the darkest with the death of Sara and off all the Daleks. It’s Steven’s reaction to the death of Sara that is what makes it seem even more sad. If there is a problem with the story is that there is a lot of ‘The Chase’ in this story. The Doctor having the Taranium and the Daleks trying to get it off him. I think that was someone on the show not being totally confident that the story would stretch out over twelve episodes so having a chase theme would pad it out a bit. The fact that The Daleks Master Plan doesn’t exist in its entirety is one of the biggest annoyances about Doctor Who. It’s a story that has pretty much everything with drama, sadness and comedy. The three episodes that exist can be found on the Lost in Time DVD and the entirety can be bought of iTunes. It’s well worth a listen because it’s a great story and the narration by Peter Purves is great. The Daleks Master Plan is a story that every Doctor Who fan especially new ones should be told about and attempt to listen to.

The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (2011)

Thomas Brewster is somewhat a controversial figure in Doctor Who. Some like him and some don’t. Personally I’m not really swung either way because I think that despite the character having a very short shelf life there does seem something about him. Last time that we heard from Mr. Brewster was in Time Reef way back in 2008 (also a Companion Chronicle special that spilled into 2009). It also features the return of Evelyn Smythe as a proper companion after her small (ish) contribution in A Death in the Family last year. There is also a return for DI Patricia Menzies who was last seen in The Raincloud in 2008. The story is written by Jonathan Morris who’s most recent contribution was the Jago and Litefoot adventure ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ and its nice to have him return to the main range because his record on the main range is very good.

The story sees the Doctor and Evelyn return to modern day earth where they encounter DI Menzies. Clearly this is not the first story for Menzies but for the Doctor, he has never met the detective. Though the Doctor does acknowledge that he may have amnesia which confuses my understanding of whether the Evelyn stories happen before the Charley stories or whether it’s the other way round. The story seemed to be more about the return of Thomas Brewster more than anything else. It does take quite a while for this to happen as at the beginning Brewster pretends to be the Doctor. The main enemy of this story are the Terravores who are scavengers that have gone rogue. Brewster’s motives might seem ill conceived but when his explanation towards the end gives a more understanding feel to the role.

It’s great to have Anna Hope back as DI Menzies. I think the character is brilliantly played and I wondered whether the time away would have effected my enjoyment but I have to say that I thought she was just as good as in the other stories. John Pickard is impressive in this story. As the story bears his name he takes the lead in this story and runs with it. The two different sides to the character were well played by Pickard. Maggie Stables is simply superb as she always is in every story that she is ever in. It’s shocking that it had been so long since she last appeared for Big Finish. I know she did A Death in the Family and A Town Called Fortune but this is her proper return and thankfully we have two more this year to enjoy. Colin Baker is on usual good form as the Doctor. After the disappointing Jamie series last year it’s a great return to form for the Doctor. I didn’t realise until the end that David Troughton was in this as Raymon Gallagher (no I didn’t look at the cover or the Big Finish website). That character was very interesting and well acted by Troughton.

If there was something that really did get to me were the modern references that kept being dropped in throughout the story. There were references to Lady Gaga, iPhone and Midsummer Murders and I just felt that it took me out of the story. Plus I think that in 10 or 15 years time these references may mean nothing and will become meaningless. The Crimes of Thomas Brewster is an enjoyable adventure with just about everything that you could possibly want from a Doctor Who story. Jonathan Morris has written another strong story with characters that were entertaining and a story that supported those characters. It’s good to have Evelyn back in a proper adventure and despite it being nearly three years since her last appearance in the main range the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn hasn’t altered one bit. The cliffhanger to episode four was a nice lead into the next story and roll on February.

The Crusade (1965)

The Crusade is a story that I’m not a massive fan of. Historical stories are given a bit of a bad wrap in Doctor Who fandom and in some cases quite rightly. Stuff like The Gunfighters and The Romans aren’t particularly great for different reasons. However stuff like The Aztecs and The Reign of Terror prove that it can be done. The Crusade isn’t helped by the fact that half of it doesn’t exist but to be honest that’s not the reason for my lukewarm reaction to it. Written by David Whittaker the story sees the TARDIS land in 12th century Palestine during the time of the Third Crusade in the middle of the Saracen ambush and its at this moment that Barbara is separated from the rest and thus the story begins.

Like a lot of historical stories in the Hartnell era, the main story is for the regulars to stumble into the centre of the events that are occurring and desperately trying to get back to the TARDIS. This is brilliantly done in The Aztecs but whereas there is just a wall separating the crew from the TARDIS, in this story there’s hundreds if not thousands of miles away. The main issue about this story is that I just cant get interested in the events that the story is set in. In order for me to engage with the story I have to have a certain level of interest and in the Aztecs and Romans there was. I liked both eras when learning about them at school but in this there was nothing.

The supporting cast is really quite strong in this adventure. The star of the show is Julian Glover who’s performance in this is a joy to watch and is only beaten by his outing in City of Death. As King Rickard the Lionheart, Glover gives the role a caring and not rashly judgemental at the strangers. Equally good is Jean Marsh who makes a rare appearance as a good person as Joanna. Marsh would return a year later as the hardened Sara Kingdom. Walter Randall is also very good as El Akir. His villany is truly brilliant. The regulars do quite a good job though its Jacqueline Hill that gets a bit of a bad time and its quite hard to watch at times.

The Crusade is one of those stories from the early years of Doctor Who that doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s a shame as I think that David Whittaker is a good writer as some of his other Doctor Who contributions shows he can write a good story. However this isn’t his finest piece of work. For me it’s not the acting that lets it down, neither is it the production values which are very impressive especially for a 1960’s Doctor Who. No, it’s the fact that the time setting for the story that just didn’t grab me in a way that it should but then again there must be people out there that love that time period. Right?

The Theatre of Dreams (2011)

2011 TOMS TARDIS AWARD WINNER

• Best Jago and Litefoot Story

Having now ruined the running order of this series. I ploughed on with The Theatre of Dreams. This is another story in the series that is written by a reliable writer in the form of Jonathan Morris who previous credits include Bloodtide, Hothouse, The Haunting of Thomas Brewster and The Eternal Summer. The story has a little bit more in it that the other stories but not too much to make it confusing and off-putting.

The story centres on an act employed by Jago that claims to make dreams come true. What the story does rather well is manage to create a credible enemy in such a short time. When the villain is trying to take over something or trying to kill someone then that’s one thing but its another when it’s something that comes from your mind and Morris does a good job in drawing you into the danger. There follows some very well acted scenes where Jago and Litefoot believe that things are going well however it was all an illusion as it was the Theatre De Fantasie that was making this appear. The only problem was that after a few times it did start to get a bit tired and I was wishing that they would stop it and get on with the story. Also I do think that the explanation of the villains could have been better, it just didn’t quite sit right with me. They would be my only issues with this story as the whole thing did have the same qualities as the previous stories in this series. The final scene would have been more impressive had I listened to this story in the right order, the return of Sanders sets up the final story and also creates a good vs. evil finale. I did like how there was a little suggestion that they were still in the theatre despite their thoughts that they were in the Red Tavern.

I know I keep banging on about it, but Trevor Baxter and Christopher Benjamin are simply fantastic. Having watched The Talons of Weng-Chiang recently on DVD, I am truly surprised at how similar the characters are from the 1977 versions to the 2011 versions. Jennie Stoller and Alex Mallinson put in strong performances as Madam Deutreronomy and Fosco respectively. In particular Stoller, whose character was quite enjoyable. Off course the regular supporting cast all put in their usually great performances with Duncan Wiseby being one of my favourites as Sacker. The character is superbly written for and Wiseby gives a down to earth feel to the role. Of course its great to have David Collings back as Sanders even though its brief and at the very end of the story.

Due to the quality of the other stories, I would have to say that despite my praise for the story its not quite as good as Litefoot and Sanders and is just pipped by The Necropolis Express. That said it’s still an extremely good story with some great performances and characters.

The Ruthven Inheritance (2011)

The final instalment of this brilliant series has a lot to live up to. Unfortunatley I missed the announcement on the Big Finish Website which said that episodes three and four mixed up. So I listened to the final story before I should have done. This story was written by Jonathan Morris who is one of the best Big Finish/Doctor Who writers and wrote what was voted for in the Tomstardis Awards for the Best Jago and Litefoot story.

The story sees Jago and Litefoot hit rock bottom. Jago sells his theatre but is still left with the debt and Litefoot stripped of his position at the hospital and his reputation in tatters. Things that these two see as their character above all else are taken away from them. With both of them down on their luck it seems there is no hope for either character, then Litefoot is given a job to investigate the remains of his relatives but not all is what it seems. Now that Sanders seems to be involved in the story arc of the series it was inevitable to hear his named mentioned. It arrived at the time that something needed to happen to make the story seem worth it. Ellie was given more to do in this story since the first story (unless Theatre of Dreams proves me wrong). Ellie is a likeable character and helps give a different slant to the feel of the series.

The best of the supporting cast was Simon Williams as Lord Cornelius Ruthven who was instantly recognisable (for me anyway) after his stint on Remembrance of the Daleks. The character is instantly sinister and it’s clear that there is something not quite right and its soon revealed that he is working for Sanders, his ancestors have been working for Sanders for thousands of years and it’s a that point that I really got a feeling that Sanders was a far more important character than I had previously thought. The rest of the supporting cast was great with Sacker being an enjoyable character who’s running time was harshly cut short.

With Sanders beaten yet again, everything is returning to normal and most importantly Ellie is back to her self and it seems like that is how the series would end but the story ends on a wonderful note. The truly shocking return of Leela who last met Jago and Litefoot in The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Jonathan Morris has written another fine story and it had everything I would want from the series. The series end on a wonderful note and I cant wait for the third series. I’m not saying that the first series was bad but series two was fantastic. The stories for each series were fun and enjoyable and the whole momentum of the series has been building steadily to a thrilling climax. Thankfully we wont have to wait too long for the third series with it being released in August.

The Time Meddler (1965)

The Time Meddler is the first story for Peter Purves as Steven Taylor who played two roles in the previous story ‘The Chase. We are introduced to The Meddling Monk who is another Timelord (though not called that) and he likes Meddling with the events of history. The opening scenes are in the TARDIS and are quite sad because it acknowledges the departure of Ian and Barbara which was the last eminence of the first line up of the show back in 1963.

The story spends a large part of the first episode with Steven not believing that the TARDIS is a space and time machine. In fact this refusal to believe what’s in front of him starts to get a bit annoying. Despite waking up in a completely different environment to that of which he left, he still finds it hard to believe that he is in 1066. Thankfully, all that nonsense disappears and we are left with the main plot which is trying to make sure that history happens as it should instead of what the Monk wants to see happen. I actually found it quite funny when Steven and Vicki get into the Monk’s TARDIS and discover all of the Monk’s stuff and how he’s got to different times and made himself wealthier. The thing about the Monk is that he isn’t evil, just greedy. I think that’s more to do with Peter Butterworth who is truly marvellous and is even better when returns in ‘The Daleks Master Plan’. The on-screen chemistry between Hartnell and Butterworth is one of the best things about this story. His absence from Episode 2 allows Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien to take centre stage and this is where I think the story does rather well because it turns Steven from being a disbeliever to a believer.

There are two things about the end of this story that I like. The first being how the Monk thinks that he has got away but the cheeky note that the Doctor has left for him dispels that. The camera pulling away from the Monk and he sits down on the step and puts his head in his hands is just a perfect way to leave the character. The second thing is how just seconds before it ends there are the faces of the three regulars. It’s the series’ attempt to say that this is a new era in the show and that it’s going to be better than ever.

I really like The Time Meddler and think that its quite a fun story. It’s a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously and has a bloody good time doing it.

The Space Museum (1965)

The Space Museum is a story that I just cant get excited about no matter how many times I see it. This story features some truly awful sets and some poor performances. Written by Glyn Jones, this story was his only contribution to Doctor Who and it’s a shame because it’s a story that starts off with a mysterious theme but then descends into a comedy that isn’t quite a comedy. It’s clear from the various things about this story that it’s a story no one in the production team of the show wanted.

The first episode is very good. When the TARDIS crew arrive they don’t seem to be visible to the residents of the museum and they don’t make any footprints on the sand. The mystery is then created as to what is happening and when they see themselves in display cases they question how they get there. However that is where the story starts to go downhill because what we are left with is getting involved in the squabbles between the Morok’s and the Xerons. Neither side are particularly interesting and as I watched it I found myself wanting the bad guys (Morok’s) to win which isn’t a good thing. It’s hard to take the Morok’s seriously because they seem like they’ve been dumped their and the idea that they are stern serious guys is hard to believe. Likewise the Xerons seem just to be there to be take part in a young vs. old guys battle. The Xerons have those stupid double eyebrows which do nothing other to make them look different which makes you wonder that if they wanted to make them look different then give two heads or three arms, not more eyebrows.

Of the regulars, none of them come out of it in glory. Vicki seems to descend into Susan territory by being slightly irritating. I like Vicki because I think that Maureen O’Brien is a very good actress, but due to the poor script she is given a bad time in this and is lumbered with the Xerons. Hartnell also has to put up with the Morok’s but does seem to have fun messing with the Morok’s mind capture screen. William Russell and Jacqueline Hill do their best and probably get the best treatment but that’s not saying much really.

The Space Museum isnt a terrible story by any means. It moves along at a reasonable pace and its not as bad as stories such as The Gunfighters. The Space Museum is a slight dip in an otherwise fine run of Doctor/Ian/Barbara/Vicki stories and what really get the juices going is the final minute where the Dalek glides onto the screen. Despite Robert Shearman defending this story but failing. This story should be watched purely to see it.

The Necropolis Express (2011)

The Necropolis Express is the follow up to the great first story. The story takes place just after Litefoot and Sanders and so the sadness of Ellie’s death is clear. In fact the story starts off with quite a grizzly idea. Jago and Litefoot are on the train so that they can put Ellie out of her misery and stop her becoming a vampire. The story is written by Mark Morris who is a writer I like and we always get a good story with him. His previous credits include Plague of the Daleks and Freakshow.

The story sees the train that Jago and Litefoot were travelling on arrive at a church which instantly sends out alarm bells (figuratively). It was clear it wasn’t going to be plain sailing when they set off on an unofficial train and bribing the station master to get on it. When they arrive at the church there is no-one there to great them. It does raise one question. Who was driving the train and why didn’t they get involved in the story? The only person there is a figure who turns out to be Doctor Sibelius Crow who use to be friends with Litefoot but got struck off for doing things that he shouldn’t be. The setting helps a lot with this story. As there is a lab underneath the church along with tunnels it helps add to the unknown and the creppy setting gets turned up to 11.

Crow had a secret and it was he was trying to fend off death but what he had created were monsters. What was surprising was that he wasn’t working on his own and in fact it was Gabriel Sanders that he was in cahoots with. The fact that Sanders was behind what was going on in the lab proves that he will feature more in the remainding stories. When Crow thought that Litefoot was making up Sanders’ death up, I thought that Sanders was going to turn up but alas he didn’t.

Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter are on superb form as usual but I think that the main star of the story was Vernon Dobtcheff (previously a scientist in The War Games) is very good and is a good baddie. The character was very similar to Litefoot in that he is quite posh and is clearly is a very smart man (even though his motives are stupid). The relatively small cast worked surprisingly well and meant that there was more time for longer scenes between the three main actors and some great speeches. The Necropolis Express is an enjoyable story which manages to maintain the quality from the first story. In the previous series, I thought that the second story wasn’t as good as the first but in this series I cant say that. I think that the idea of a story arc is a good one and will benefit this series. The Necropolis Express is a story that is just as good as a single story as it is fitting into the series. Oh and the title is great and has a lovely explanation from Benjamin.

The Web Planet (1965)

The Web Planet is a bonkers story. I have watched it several times over the last few years and every time I get to about the second episode mark before losing my understanding of what the heck is going on. I even have trouble listening to the Target audio of the story because the story is just plain weird. Written by Bill Strutton, this six part adventure is two episodes too long. Granted, the story does aim for the sky and with a limited budget and limited resources, it was going to happen that the ambitions of the production crew would fall short. They still deserve praise for trying because there is just as much chance that it could have worked.

The story is the first that doesn’t feature any non-humanoid looking characters beyond the regulars. This is a problem because in something like The Daleks, at least the Thals looked human, slightly odd humans but still human looking. In this the closest that we got were the bumble bee looking creatures. I think that with no humans other than the regulars its difficult to really bond with the characters. Onto the subject of the regulars, it’s a different Doctor that we are getting following the departure of Susan even though this is the third story since her exit. I think that the current line up is a cracking one and its possibly the best of the Hartnell era. In particular Jacqueline Hill and William Russell give wonderful performances (as they always do). Maureen O’Brien is also on good form in what is her first story on an alien world.

The sets that are used are ok and they do the job of transporting us to an alien world that doesn’t just look like a quarry in Dorset. The pool of acid was a nice little touch to remind us that not everything is good (just remember the acid water in The Keys of Marinus). However, all that goes for nought when you see the costumes of the Menoptra and the Zarbi. The Menoptra were ok though they did look at times almost cuddly and that’s never good unless their in Rainbow or Sooty. The Zarbi are truly terrible looking like someone in black tights and bent over inside a giant ant costume. It’s a funny moment when one of them bumps into the camera. It’s incredible just how unincredible this story is. I did start getting a bit bored at times throughout the middle to latter half of the story. At times the story is mercilessly slow and your learning for a Dalek to exterminate the lot of them or even Cybermen (though they hadn’t been invented yet!).

The Web Planet isnt one of my favourites yet its amazing how it managed to achieve the highest ratings for Doctor Who in the 1960’s with 13.5 million tuning in for the first episode and still keeping 11.5 by Episode 6. The Web Planet is a story that does suffer from its own ambitions.

The Ark (1966)

The Ark is a curious story. It’s essentially two stories in one, with the first two episodes forming one part and the second part. It was the first story to see the wonderful and charismatic character Dodo Chaplet. I will get this out of the way, I don’t particularly like Dodo as I find her irritating and dull. Most people just get into trouble on their first journey in the TARDIS but not Dodo, she nearly wipes out humanity.

The story sees the Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive on a ship that has been transporting a group of humans who have left the Earth and are travelling to Refusis II. The humans aren’t the only race on the ship, there are Monoids who on first glance look quite creepy. To make the aliens look different the actors eyes have been covered up and the single eyeball is in their mouth. It’s a cheap yet effective way that makes the Monoids believable. The first two episodes are spent getting Dodo to give the cold to the humans who have become immune to it. With the potential for humanity to be wiped out by this cold, it’s up to the Doctor to come up with a cure. Bizarrely this story is finished before the end of Episode 2, the humans are better and the Doctor, Dodo and Steven leave in the TARDIS. When they return they find that a statue the humans were working on has actually gone from being a human statue to a Monoid statue. That wasn’t what I was expecting and was a superb cliffhanger.

However despite the first two episodes being really good, it went downhill afterwards. Ok it was quite good how the Monoids had overthrown the humans but that’s about as good as it got. This story shows what happens when the Doctor gets involved in a situation. Due to his actions the Monoids were able to advance and take over the humans, turning them into a slave race. To be honest the humans that we meet in aren’t particularly likeable whereas the Monoids were very good as the dominant race. Despite this though the second half suffers from a lacklustre story and no real drama.

The acting throughout this wasn’t particularly great. The problem with this third series was that it had lost a great deal of momentum and enjoyable characters that it had had in the previous two years. It’s almost like the Daleks Master Plan had taken a lot out of everyone especially William Hartnell. Peter Purves does an ok job and I quite like the character of Steven Taylor (once you get past The Time Meddler) but the supporting cast don’t really seem the sort of people that you would want to save as they seem wet and unlikeable.

The Ark is a story that starts off well but dips towards the end. There are some impressive sets and the costumes look ok but it’s the story the seems to lose its way that ruins this adventure for me.

Litefoot and Sanders (2011)

Has Big Finish gone mad? Have they split up one of the finest double acts in Doctor Who history. Has Henry Gordon Jago being replaced with Gabriel Sanders? Of course not, thankfully this is Big Finish’s way of bringing Jago and Litefoot back for a second series after their wonderful debut last year. Written by Justin Richards who previously wrote The Bloodless Soldier which in my mind was one of the best from the first series has written another story that has drama yet doesn’t get bogged down in science and complexities of science. Litefoot and Sanders sees a mysterious guy called Gabriel Sanders join Professor Litefoot in solving a series of grizzly deaths.

The story moves along at a steady pace and never gets boring. This is largely due to Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter who show what fun they are having all the time. In particular Benjamin who I think is a wonderful character and a fine actor. Of the other cast, Chloe Howman puts in a lovely performance as Mags. To be honest I thought it was Lisa Bowerman doing another voice but either way it’s a performance which seems quite minor to begin with but turns out to be important in the final scene and also the moment where Jago kills Mags was quite moving. David Collings was very good as Sanders. I thought the character of Sanders was quite sinister and it’s almost a shame that he got killed because I think the character could have been quite a good villain.

I quite like the twist when Litefoot reveals he knew from the beginning that Sanders was a murderer. It did seem odd that Litefoot being the intelligent guy that he is would be so stupid. There were several instances where there were pretty big clues yet Litefoot didn’t seem to be putting two and two together. The revelation of Litefoot’s plan was well played and led to a fun scene at the end between Jago, Litefoot and Sanders. I was genuinely shocked at the end by the news that Ellie had been killed. I thought that it ruined a otherwise fine story but its clear that its part of a story arc so that particular judgement will have to be put on hold.

Litefoot and Sanders is a wonderful story that shows the first series wasn’t a fluke. The thing I like about this story is the same thing that I like about the first series and hopefully this series is how the stories are quite straight forward and more importantly the characters are well written and well acted. From Baxter and Benjamin to Lisa Bowerman and Conrad Asquith, all the casting decisions appear to be spot on. Everyone on the production should be praised for a superb story that set the series off nicely

Quinnis (2010)

Quinnis is a story that is quite an important one. Quinnis was first mentioned in ‘Inside the Spaceship’ back in 1964, it’s technically the prequel to Doctor Who (if like me you don’t consider books or comics as canon). It’s the first time that Big Finish has done anything set before the known history of Doctor Who. It also has a loose connection with the Relative Dimensions story that I listened to before this. Marc Platt is the writer of this story and I think he has had a bit of a mixed run of stories recently. It seems quite odd to have a First Doctor story with just Susan and not with Ian and Barbara but this story does manage to work without them. The story takes place on the planet Quinnis (duh) and the Doctor makes the claim that he can make it rain on a planet which has suffered a drought for two years. It’s similar to the situation that the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara will find themselves in when they have to make fire in ‘An Unearthly Child. Whilst the Doctor is trying to make it rain, Susan befriends Meedla who starts off as someone who we are supposed to like but its not long before her true colours are shown and she is someone who wants to use the TARDIS. The first part of the story sees the Doctor trying to make it rain and then the second half is the aftermath and the business with Meedla. This could easily have made a four part adventure. You have to give credit to Marc Platt for managing to make everything tie in to the classic series. They loose the TARDIS which ties in with the line that Susan gives in Inside the Spaceship when she says they lost the TARDIS “four or five journeys ago”. Also as the TARDIS stays as a Police Box after this story, the TARDIS isn’t a Police Box but a kiosk made of wood with awnings red and white.

What I do like is how well it ties into the TV series. It gives a sensible answer as to why the Doctor and Susan end up on Earth in an Unearthly Child. Carole Ann Ford puts in a better performance that her previous Companion Chronicle ‘Here There Be Monsters’ which I felt was a little lacklustre. In this she delivers the story in a more upbeat and lively way and as we have had quite a lot of Ford over the last month, its good to say that I don’t think she puts in a dud performance. Likewise to her co-star who is actually her real life daughter. Tara-Louise Kaye plays the Meedla character brilliantly and when she shows what she really is that is when I thought that Kaye was best.

Quinnis is the final Companion Chronicle story of 2010 and whilst its not the best its certainly a very good one. There is enough of a plot to keep the listener interested and it’s the right side of intellectual to not baffle people like myself who wont grace the stage on University Challenge. However, and more importantly for someone like me, it ties in well with the known history of the Doctor and neither Marc Platt or Big Finish take liberties with the show and just make some up that is ludicrous

The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964)

After the success of the Daleks in the last season, it was obvious that there was going to be a second story. However it had to serve a purpose and that was to write out the exit of Carole Ann Ford who had decided that the restrictive character was getting tiresome. It’s also interesting that ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ is production wise the last story of the first season. This story and Planet of Giants were kept over to launch the second season. This is also Terry Nation’s third offering to the show after the first Dalek story and ‘The Keys of Marinus’. This time the adventure takes place on Earth in 2164. Though it’s not the London that Barbara and Ian know. We get this idea due to the fact that they don’t encounter anyone for a long time, they don’t hear any traffic and Battersea Power Station has lost its chimneys.

 

First shot is of someone in ragged clothes walking into the river and killing himself. Quite a bold thing to do in a family drama. It pretty much sets the tone for this story. It’s not a cheery story with a faint hint of terror but the terror is the overwhelming factor and the Daleks haven’t even appeared. This episode has the most substantial location filming that we have had. It’s not just someone pretending to be the Doctor but actually outside filming at its quite good because it gives a great scale of where the story is set and makes it feel like London and not just a studio. The smiles on Barbara and Ian’s face as they realise that they are in London is a joy to see. It’s a very different reaction compared to in ‘The Reign of Terror’.

 

Despite this being Susan’s last story it’s a shame that she starts off by spraining her ankle. Then the Doctor tells her that she need a “jolly good smacked bottom”. It does muddy the waters of what her age is. Cant believe Gallifreyans would put up with that type of talk even from someone like their grandfather. The exit (or the Doctor and Susan) is somewhat stopped by the fact that a girder that has fallen on the TARDIS blocking the door. Like ‘The Keys of Marinus’ and ‘The Sensorites’ and ‘The Aztecs’ there is a contrivance that is put in place to prevent them from just leaving.

 

Nice bit of dramatic music to go over the scene where Susan, Barbara and Tyler are running. It’s helped by the where they were filming and the fact it’s a nice sunny day. We are introduced to David who’s first question to Barbara is if she can cook. Clearly womens rights took a battering in the year 2164. The first interaction between these future love interest doesn’t get off to the best start. Dortmund is the leader but has been put in a wheelchair. He’s not letting his disability get in the way and feels he can contribute just as much as everyone else.

 

There is a slight downside and its that the flying saucer is a bit poor. Apart from that it was a good and solidly produced episode. Richard Martin directs this six part story and its clear because its very good and there are some shots which are really well done.

 

When this episode went out no one would have known that the Daleks were going to return. So when the cliffhanger comes it must have been tremendously exciting for viewers. After being surrounded by guards. The sight of the Dalek coming out of the water is one of the most impressive sights since the show started. The mere idea of a Dalek underwater is something could have come out of the comic strips that were out at the time. It was a great opening episode as it was atmospheric and seemed that it was going to be very gloomy.

 

After what must have been a surprising return, the Daleks are well and truly back and even the episode is called ‘The Daleks’. The Daleks are slightly different because they have a disc on their backs. They also sound different and in their first encounter with the Doctor, he has a wonderful moment of defiance and the Daleks proclaim themselves as the Masters of Earth. It’s at this point that they are sent to the saucer. We are introduced to Jenny who comes across as quite a cold and abrupt character. Its quite hard to believe that there was talk about making her a companion. It’s possible as she could mellow over the rest of the story and want to travel with the Doctor.

 

The set to the landing ramp is quite good but is slightly ruined by the return of the dreaded cut-out daleks. I don’t know why they persist with them. It would be better to have just the five Daleks on set and believe that its just them. It isn’t helped when the spot light seem to hover on and around the cut-outs which just seems to add insult to injury. The Robomen are given a bit of backstory and some of the language used by David is quite strong. They are human but in the end they are just the lackeys of the Daleks. The performances are that good because they are slow in talking and look half asleep. I know that this is how they are suppose to look but its not a great way of portraying a group of people The battle out on the loading bay is short but it was well done. They use all five Daleks and even though its in a quite tight space its still quite well achieved.

I like the resistance of Dortmun, Jenny and co. Even though they are visitors it is Barbara comes with a plan to help the attack become a success. This is a good group of people and they work in such a way that makes them weary and just as determined to fight back and its done well and it makes you want them to succeed and I particularly like Tyler as he seems quite smart and is strong. Dortmun is slightly annoying and David is quite sprite and perky. Almost a bit too perky and if I didn’t know better then I would say he’s working for the Daleks.

 

The Doctor and Ian are trapped on the saucer with a bloke named Craddock. The Doctor and Ian work together to try and get out and they come up with a plan to escape their cell despite the gloom from Craddock though the plan doesn’t go that well when they are captured almost immediately. The Doctor is manhandled onto a bench and the Doctor gets the cliffhanger as he is by the end unconscious. I think that the cliffhanger isn’t the greatest but the sight of the Doctor in danger with no obvious sign of rescue must be quite a good reason to tune in. As a result its good at getting the story going after the introduction episode. We learn about the Robomen and what the Daleks may want on Earth.

It’s a good episode and carries on at the same pace as the first one did and apart from the cut-outs the direction and production of the episode was good.

The battle continues with the Doctor being rescued. It seemed a bit lacklustre compared to the previous episode and the music doenst really help matters as it seems a bit cheery and cookey. After the long winded battle is over we got to the resistance’s base and it’s a very sombre affair with no-one looing particularly happy. Tyler walks in looking like a defeated man and seems quite miffed that the bombs didn’t work.

The Daleks sound like their on helium. Not like what we saw the first time. I cant make up my mind about whether it makes them sound less menacing than they did before. Was it the setting and the mood that made them seems so striking or was it the look and voice?

Theres a nice trio that forms with Dortmun, Jenny and Barbara. They go on a trip through the streets of London. The sequence where they are going through some of the landmarks and seeing Daleks travelling across Westminister Bridge is one of the best in the story. The sight of a Dalek pulling up infront of Big Ben is another great moment. The whole bit of location footage is brilliant even though not a single word is uttered and it’s a mixture of the performances from the trio and also the music is far more interesting than what we got in the battle at the beginning of the episode. It’s weird to see one of the most populated cities in the world look so empty.

The sets are very impressive in this episode, in particular the scene where Susan and David hide from a Dalek. It gets used more than once in this episode and there are other sets that are good to watch and it feels like some money has been chucked at this story.

Susan does get quite emotional and for the first time I don’t think it’s a sense of being told to act like child I get the feeling that she’s just tired   of the fighting. It’s a bit like Tegan would be in ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’.  Susan entertains the idea of her and David running on board and go somewhere that have never heard of Daleks and when David questions what to do if there is something bad, she just thinks about moving on and David doesn’t like this idea. I like how they casually drop in the idea of Susan’s exit. She seems to be more willing to listen to David than the Doctor and whilst a couple of stories ago this would have been a source of conflict, here it’s a minor irritation.

William Hartnell doesn’t really do a great deal as the Doctor is still recovering from being on the robotising machine. It’s not until the final five minutes that he gets on his feet and tries to pass of an idea as his own that he seems to show some life. It’s the last we see of Hartnell until Episode Five as he was unwell during the next episode and it’s another opportunity for the rest of the regulars to get a bit more of the action.

Dortmun’s death is quite a surprise as I think it was a wasted move. There was plenty more that the character could have done and his death came a couple of episodes too early.

The cliffhanger is another good one. The Doctor, David and Susan are waiting and just as they are doing this, two robomen plant a bomb. It’s a nice incentive to see what will happen to the trio in the next episode. As an episode it started off iffy but soon picked up and is memorable for the location footage. It’s the most extensive filming outside for the show up until this point and it seems to add a nice dimension to the story. At the halfway point of the Daleks’ second story, I think it’s a better story because the characters are better and there isn’t as much standing around talking.

The End of Tomorrow is another episode where William Hartnell doesn’t appear apart from the reprise. The fact that he doesn’t appear is filmed in quite a clever way so that all we see are the backs of David, Susan and the Doctor. We finally get to Bedfordshire and see a proper sense of the scale of destruction that the Daleks have caused. The location footage is something that I have commented on before but it’s surprising to me how much energy it seems to have put into the story. It’s one thing to have studio sets that convey the destruction but location filming makes it seem more real. Filming outside is still relatively new to the show by its using effectively.

Susan and David go travelling through the sewers. The first scene of them in it is ended with a brilliant shot of someone holding a gun at David and Susan. It turns out to be Tyler. Quite why they didn’t notice it was him or vice versa sooner is a bit of a mystery but it doesn’t ruin the effectiveness of the scene. We get a scene between Susan and David which is another indication about Susan’s impending departure as she loves the idea of building a new city. It’s been at least two episodes since Susan was used as a source to introduce some drama. This time she is hanging from a broken ladder and it falls to David and Tyler to rescue her from being eaten by an alligator.

The scene of Barbara driving the truck through the Daleks is perhaps less dramatic than the film version but it’s a great scene. I think that the partnership of Barbara and Jenny is a good one. They are very much like chalk and cheese and that’s why I enjoy it when they are on screen together. The scene with Ian isn’t quite as exciting as Susan or Barbara’s stuff. It’s just Ian trying to negotiate with a smuggler. The Smuggler is called Aston and I thought that Philip Madoc was better in the movie. This is probably the weakest part of the episode and its not a regular think to attach the word weak with William Russell or Ian Chesterton. The only time that he has something good happen to him is at the end and that lasts about ten seconds. The absence (if unscripted) of William Hartnell means that the regulars get more to do and its certainly the case that they benefit from this.

Richard Martin has directed a wonderful episode and there are several shots that are very good (though there are one or two that are a bit iffy). Terry Nation should be praised for writing a story that doesn’t feel like it’s a holding pattern for something bigger that’s happening in a later episode. The story is moving forward and its helped by stronger and weary characters. On the whole the episode was another good one. The characters are all ones that you can care about and despite Jenny being slightly annoying, its all shaping up to be a good story.

The penultimate episode in the story and this is where it’s the beginning of the end for Susan and its also the point where all four regulars reach their lowest ebb. The opening moments see Ian and Larry trying to fight off the slither. I mentioned that I found Ian’s story to be particularly dull which might seem unfair (and I don’t like writing it) but its true and in this episode its different. It starts the same with the pair of them being lowered into the mine shaft. It picks up once they have got to the bottom and Larry meets a very grim end after being reunited with his brother who has been turned into a Roboman. It’s the first time that I have really found the part of the story to be interesting.

William Hartnell returns after his unexpected abscene in the previous episode. The Doctor seems to have recovered from the effects of the robo-conversion unit. The Doctor and David are having a serious discussion and then Susan ruins it by telling him that the foods getting cold. It’s good to have William Hartnell back as unlike when he was away during ‘The Keys of Marinus’, this time his absence was noticeable.

Barbara and Jenny’s story is again the most interesting as they have quite the torrid time in just 25 minutes. They stumble across two rough looking women. They make clothes for the Daleks and the Robomen but there is something instantly odd about them. One of them goes off and it’s obviously to everyone watching that Jenny and Barbara are doomed. The moment when Barbara and Jenny realise that they have been betrayed and Jenny goes for the women is one of my favourite moments in the episode. They are not sorry for what they have done and that’s why despite their brief involvement in the story. Barbara and Jenny are taken to work in the mines but it doesn’t last long before Barbara comes up with a plan and is taken to the Black Dalek.

There is another moment between Susan and David having fun. The idea of Susan warming to someone is perhaps new but this is the most time that’s ever been given to her being interested in someone. It’s a shame that Susan ruins the Doctor and David’s scene by telling them about the food getting cold because up until that point I thought that Susan was doing well and was being quite normal but that one moment ruins it.

The final few minutes of the episode are a bit odd. Ian somehow stumbles into the bomb which has just enough for him to fit it and he gets into it without anyone noticing. The cliffhanger ends with the bomb about to be deployed. It’s a good ending but its just the contrived way that it comes about that causes me to feel a bit cold towards it. As an episode it’s a good one and its clear building up to the end and it’s a strong penultimate episode.

It’s another well directed episode by Richard Martin. The scenes in the Dalek control room are rather well done. The final scenes in that room are the best as Martin has decided to film it at an angle like you would get in the baddies lair in the Batman TV series. Martin has been one of the best directors in the show so far with some consistently good episodes under his belt.

Flashpoint is the final episode for Susan and also the final story of what I think has been a stronger story for the Daleks than their debut. In this episode their plan comes to suppose to come to fruition. Ian is still in the bomb and its about to be deployed but the way that he gets out of it is quite clever and doesn’t seem like a cop out. Barbara and Jenny have got out of the mines and are in the Daleks control room where she is implementing her plan. I like how it nearly works. It’s a wonderful scene where she tries to blind the Daleks with bits of historical information but disguising it as current. Sadly it doenst work and the Dalek tie her and Jenny up instead of killing them. It’s the classic gag in Austin Powers where Dr Evil tells Jenny and Baraba their plans and instead of killing them they just lock them away.

William Hartnell is really good in this episode. It’s the most active that I remember seeing him for a long time. His best moment comes when the Dalek is coming towards him and he’s acting defiant. It’s a good performance from Hartnell helped in part by Richard Martin’s direction. His speech about going forth in all your beliefs is one of his best and its so well played. Considering its her last episode, very little is given to Carole Ann Ford to do. Apart from her final scene we barely get anything from her. It’s the same as the final episode of ‘The Reign of Terror’. It’s reasons like this that make you understand why she chose to leave. That final scene is very good and its down to Ford and Hartnell that make it even more emotional. The Grandfather/Granddaughter relationship was more than just a on-screen thing and it was sad that it was broken up.

The models are good in this episode. In particular the model that is used for the bomb going down the shaft.  What makes that bit better is that the camera shakes about to give the illusion that its being moved about. Another good bit is when he manages to escape and falls down the tube.

It’s good how all the characters have got collectively more dishevelled. Their clothes are looking more ruined and the dirt on their faces is more evident. It’s good that they done keep on looking clean cut as it would ruin the illusion.

After 51 episodes, Carole Ann Ford bows out of the series. I must say that whilst I would be sad to see Carole Ann Ford go, I wont necessarily be sad to see Susan go. At times she has been annoying and at times she has been really strong. After the first episode of An Unearthly Child, she went from being mysterious to just a youngster. Almost toddler like at times. If only she had been better written for then I think the character would have been more popular. Oh well it’s a historic moment in Doctor Who and as the series rolls into 1965, we get more arrivals, more departures and more Daleks.

As an episode it was the best final one in several stories as it didn’t feel like a weak ending or feel like it was rushing itself. It felt like it was the natural conclusion for the story and the Daleks were thwarted and there was enough time to have the emotional send off. Its something that Russell T Davies could learn after his prolonged emotional send offs. As a six part story it was much better in my mind than the first Dalek story as it didn’t seem like people were spending a long time sitting down, there was always something going on and that’s what I like about this story.

The Destroyers (2010)

The Destroyers is a Dalek pilot made when Terry Nation was trying to launch the Daleks in America. The story forms part of the Second Doctor Boxset which seems odd because we got two first Doctor stories in the First Doctor Boxset and yet we only get one second Doctor story and one Dalek story in this release. This pilot never got made because Terry Nation, this was due to the fact that the BBC (who was going to pay half of the costs for the pilot) pulled out and this left Nation without anyone willing to finance the show. So this is how this becomes a Lost Story. It stars Sara Kingdom who is on a meteor that is being overrun by Daleks. The problem with this story is that it’s not exciting. It lacks any of the drama and tension that you get with a normal Dalek story or with the Dalek Empire series. In both of those instances the Daleks had a character or group that could provide the drama and be threatened by the Daleks. In this there is Sara who seems a less aggressive character than what we knew in the Daleks Masterplan. Also in this story there are two characters who join her called Mark 7 and Jason who quite frankly might as well have not being there. It’s nothing to do with Alan Cox (Mark 7) or Chris Porter (Jason) but more with the actual story. I just felt that the characters weren’t heroic enough. I did like the character of David Kingdom as played by Alex Mallinson. I didn’t know (or cant remember) that Sara had another brother, I thought that by introducing this element that it added some drama and a purpose to the story even though it wasn’t really enough to last the whole play. I’m normally a big fan of Jean Marsh and her performances are always top rate (especially in Home Truths) but to be honest I found her performance in this to be slightly below par. I know its suppose to be a younger Sara and there’s none of the aggression and cyniscm that we get to witness in The Daleks Master Plan but it seems almost too toned down.

The end of the release was the only time that I really got excited. It’s a shame that this was the only thing written because it sees David being taken by the Daleks and it made me wonder what the series would have been like. The Destroyers is a weird story because it’s clearly meant to the first in a series of stories however we only get it as a single story and so it’s a little bit disjointed. Worth a listen though if not for the theme tune which is the finest that I have heard for quite sometime, credit to either David Darlington and/or Jamie Robertson for coming up with that.

Prison in Space (2010)

Prison in Space is a ‘lost’ Second Doctor story that featured saw the Doctor travelling with Zoe and Jamie. After getting use to the style of the First Doctor stories I was more prepared for how this story was going to work. Written by the wonderfully named Dick Sharples, this story is set on Earth in a time when Women rule and men are seen as inferior beings. The Doctor and Jamie are sent to a prison…in space and its not long before the Doctor and Jamie work on a way of bringing down President Babs. The producers of Doctor Who at the time were unhappy with the story and asked Sharples to rewrite it which he refused and apparently got replaced with The Krotons. It’s been adapted for audio by Simon Guerrier who has a good track record with Big Finish stories.

Quite like the First Doctor stories, this story reeks of the Second Doctor era. I could easily believe that this story would have suited the style of the Doctor. It’s also very much a 1960’s story with feminism being the theme. However instead of it saying that women are superior and men inferior it soon turns out to be just one individual who has gone mad with power and treated brainwashed the other women into treating men in the way that they do. With the character of Babs we have someone who like Salamander in The End of the World who leads with an iron fist except the difference between the two is that Salamander didn’t fancy the Doctor. I thought that was quite funny that Babs at one point gets dolled up whilst looking at a photo of the Doctor.

Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury do a good job in this. The story seemed to flow better than in Farewell Great Macedon. I still love the impersonation of Patrick Troughton by Frazer Hines. It’s always great to hear and never gets boring. Susan Brown has almost become a regular having appeared in half a dozen Big Finish adventures in the last couple of years. I think that her performance as Babs was the highlight of this adventure. I think that she has a wonderful voice and it was put to great use in this.

Prison in Space is a good piece of drama but its not great. I do wonder what other second Doctor material that Big Finish could have used. If there was then I wonder what Big Finish saw in this that made it stand out. However at the end of the day Prison in Space is an enjoyable adventure. I think that the subject matter was different for Doctor Who but it wasn’t stupid and had just enough humour in it to be fun. Guerrier has done a good job turning a 1960’s TV script into a 2010/2011 audio release. Now onto the Dalek Pilot.

Planet of Giants (1964)

EPISODE 1 – PLANET OF GIANTS 

The second season of Doctor Who starts with a three part story. It was intended to be a four part but was reduced to three to make it more tighter. If you buy the DVD then you will the truly awful reconstructed episode. This opening episode doesn't have to do a reprise so there its not clear just how much time has passed since the last episode. At the start of the episode the doors opening during flight and was quites interesting is that presumably outside is the vortex and yet its basically a white cyclorama. There must have been a worry for the viewers at the time this was transmitted that it was going to be like Inside the Spaceship which of course it isn’t.  

 

There’s a lovely moment when the Doctor apologies to Barbara for being snappy with her. He admits that he loses his manners at stressful moments. This episode sees the return of the fault locator, its days are numbered but it was quite fun to see it. It’s clear that something has happened and when the regulars leave the TARDIS they notice that something isn’t quite right and the natural assumption for the viewer is the that the Giants refer to something else and the regulars are normal height.  

 

It takes just before the half way mark before they figure out that they have been reduced in size. They spot an ant and also the tail end of an earthworm. At this point the story moves to introducing the supporting cast. Well we just get two of them. Mr Forrester is instantly a horrible character. He is behind a new insectide and is more worried about the money he would lose than its affects. I think that Forrester is a wonderful character and Alan Tilvern plays it brilliantly. Forrester kills the government man because he doesn’t give him the result that he wanted. It was a brief but important scene.  

 

Ian is caught in a briefcase and he gets to do some fantastic acting in the briefcase. Not quite sure where you learn that sort of acting but it’s a unintentially funny moment. After Ian gets ‘caught’ Susan becomes a bit too hysterical and its seems like its back to square one. It’s another reason why you can understand what made Carole Ann Ford want to leave the show.  

 

It’s not something that you notice at first but it’s a very small cast. There are only 6 speaking parts including the regulars. It’s a very tight number of characters in this story and that’s always good because it means that people will get more action. 

 

This is an notable episode because it is the first to be worked on by Dudley Simpson who would go on to work on Doctor Who through out the 1960’s and 1970’s.  

 

The cliffhanger is an absolutely barmy one. After being reunited, Susan screams and they all look at an extreme close up of a cat. It’s the only time in the shows history (until Survival 25 years later) where a cat becomes menacing. It’s a good opening episode. It’s clear that the production team felt comfortable to try and do something different because they feel that the audience could suspend their believe and go with the flow. I have always liked this story and it’s a good opening episode. 

 

EPISODE 2 – DANGEROUS JOURNEY 

The episode starts with the regulars trying to not get killed by a cat. It’s actually quite good moment as they are waiting for the cat to get bored. Once it does then the story moves on and we are introduced to Smithers who seems to be working with Forester and is just as calm about the death of Farrow. He tries to be someone who wants the same as Forrester but is more interested in the scientific fame than the money. 

 

There is a fair amount of credit that should go to Raymond Cusick. He has managed to create the sets for the regulars to walk around and do it too the right scale. The sets look brilliant and even when they are looking at a giant photo of something its still impressive. Also the fly that Barbara sees is well realised. The four regulars wander from one place to the other and its back to the amusing briefcase for Ian and the first time for Barbara and one of them get a tap from a paperclip which just adds to the madness of this tale. 

 

There is an extra threat introduced in this story after Barbara picks up some wheat which at the time has this chemical on and its clear that its could kill her. Not quite sure why Barbara doesn’t persist in telling Ian that she has touched the insecticide.  Even when she gets the chance towards the episode and she lets the opportunity slide. This might be to prolong some sort of exciting in the final episode. 

 

There’s a shot where the Doctor is climbing up the pipe and he looks exhausted which is either acting or not (cant tell).  William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford get to do some good acting together and it’s the first time in a long time since its just been them two. It’s a nice opportunity to see what they were like before Barbara and Ian joined them. It’s a good performance from Ford and even though she’s talked down to by Ian its her interaction with her grandfather that is nice in this episode. 

 

The B-Plot of this story is the DN6 insecticide. Forester has killed Farrow and the thing about Smither is that he is just a slightly less horrible person that Forrester and he’s quite a slow person because he spends most of the episode trying to clean up Farrow’s blood. He also never really wants to get involved in what Forester is doing even though he will benefit from it. It is Forester that is the fun part of this bit of the story and it’s Alan Tilvern that make it fun to watch. Sadly though not much tends to happen in this bit and its good how it tends to have a play like feel with just the two of them. 

 

The cliffhanger is just as barmy as the previous one. The danger in this cliffhanger comes from a sink, as I write this it just seems to get stranger than I ever thought it was. As AN episode it seemed to move along at a good pace and the idea of a tiny Doctor and a tiny Barbara is quite an amusing one. It’s clear why they reduced it to three episodes because there isn’t much of a story in four episodes. 

 

EPISODE 3 – CRISIS  

The final part of this three part story resumes where the Doctor and Susan are about to drown after Smithers pulls the tap. There’s some good acting when Susan and the Doctor are in the overflow pipe watching the water go past them. 

 

We are introduced to the final two supporting cast members. Bert and Hilda who appear to be a couple and Hilda is the one answer the phone and is the one that starts to put things together. It all starts when Forrester decides to impersonate Farrow by putting a handkerchief over the bottom of the phone. It was never going to work and its all Forrester’s fault by thinking that this was going to work. 

 

The regulars have to do a nice selection of weird and wonderful things. They first try and prop up the phone to raise the alarm but being so small it’s a difficult task and also it doesn’t work because their voices are too low to understand. It does achieve something as it further puzzles Hilda. I love the cut away that they use when the phone is being propped up. It’s such a funny sight and its obvious how they are doing it. Not quite sure how they could have done it without looking daft so it may have been a bit harsh of me to make fun of it. When that doesn’t work they try something far more ambitious. The plan is to set a fire in the lab to try and alert the authorities to the lab. They try and use a match stick against the gas tap. There’s some clever editing done to try and make it look bigger than a studio. The explosion is well done and it’s at this point that the policeman walks in and as their story ends it seems that they are being apprehended. 

 

Barbara’s getting worse and by the halfway point she’s fainted. When she recovers we learn that once they get back to the TARDIS they will return to normal size and she will be better so it’s a matter of trying to get the police to the house whilst getting back to the TARDIS in time. They do and the Doctor manages to bring a massive nut that when it goes inside the TARDIS it shrinks to its normal size. It’s a good bit of special effect. 

The central performances are all good and no one really puts a foot wrong. Even Susan is given a good time in this story and its one of those rare stories where everyone is given a good crack of the whip. The supporting cast at times almost steals the show with Forrester being one of my favourite baddies so far in the show. Hilda and Bert were good late additions to the story and even though it was late in the story it was just right and they because quite important to the story. 

 

The cliffhanger is leading us into the second Dalek story and the final story for Carole Ann Ford. As it is we don’t see anything because the scanner is faulty. As a three part story this is better than the second one as its more action packed and fun than the middle episode. There is a nice bit of drama with Barbara and trying to stop Forrester and Smithers. I have always liked this story and watching it like this shows why it wouldn’t have worked as a four parter. When the DVD was released they wasted their time in trying to reconstruct in some feeble attempt to make us wonder and feel like we were robbed but to be honest there was a lot of padding in that reconstructed episode and it works much better like we have it.