The Monstrous Menagerie (2014)

Escape or Die was the original name given for this episode and you have to give Terry Nation some credit for trying to create some excitement with just a title. When the episode restarts, the Doctor, Rebec, Taron and Codal are flying up and the Daleks take an awful long time to realise that there is only one way that they could have escaped. One of the things that I like about this episode is the slowest chase in TV history with a Dalek rising up to chase the Doctor and his new friends. It’s a great shot of seeing the Dalek coming towards them as I think that it adds to the drama and tries to instil some exciting in the slowest chase on TV. The purpose of the Daleks being on Spiridon is made clear here and its creating a rather nasty virus.

Jo starts the episode trying to find the bombs but only manages to get herself knocked out. It’s the typical course of action for a companion. What’s quite interesting that given the size of the rock, it’s lucky that she survived. Not only did she survive but she woke up relatively quickly. The moment when Jo and the Doctor are reunited is a lovely moment and shows how this dynamic is perhaps as strong as the Second Doctor and Jamie’s relationship. Jo gets a romantic interest in this episode with Latep and it seems (with the benefit of hindsight) that this is the beginning of setting up Jo’s departure from the show. In the scene between the Doctor and Jo there is a minor reference to the previous story, considering that this is one (unofficial) long story, it would have been nice to have a mention of the Master as well as the Ogrons.

When the action moves to the stones that they use to try and stay save and perhaps warm is a nice moment in the story. It’s well set up and the performances and directing help make this scene atmospheric. There’s more of this in the next episode but what we got here was quite good and one of those rare moments in Doctor Who that isn’t over lit by being in a studio. The action is directed well by the legendary David Maloney who is doing his best in this story. If anyone can make action seem interesting in largely jungle sets then it would be Maloney. Terry Nation has been accused in this story of just reheating his ideas from previous stories but to be honest that dosent really bother me because if it was just a colourised version of such stories as ‘The Keys of Marinus’ and ‘The Daleks’ then that would be a problem but the fact that its mixed in with new stuff means that it can be enjoyed.

I found the cliffhanger to be a little better this time but nothing special. Unlike the previous episode I got the feeling that it was actually moving and things were happening. Despite their being more than a few comparisons to previous Terry Nation stories (a greatest hits if you like), I still like this story and think that it’s an enjoyable and interesting adventure.