Today was an interesting day. The catharsis of clearing out all this stuff that I haven’t looked at in years has been cleansing, and I am only half done, despite the many garbage bags that have been taken downstairs over the last few days. At the same time, I feel like I can do all of this; Find happiness; Have the life and the partnership that I want; Be fulfilled; And maybe things I don’t even know yet. Do I miss her? Absolutely. If she decides she wants to try this again would I listen? Definitely. But there have to be other possibilities out there. And I have to be open to them all. And if that changes the answers I gave above, so be it. Only time will tell what happens next.
Perhaps it’s the oncoming snow. Or the adrenalin of feeling fitter thanks to working out. And perhaps, just a little bit, my Doctor is helping.
Episode 1 – The Powerful Enemy
We enter a new era, with a nice model shot to start the episode and meet Vicki and this rather odd character Bennett. He seems rather uninterested in anything. She seems very feisty and independent. And it appears that very short skirts are in fashion by the 25th century.
Ian and Barbara seem to be very comfortable with keeping an eye on the TARDIS. Ian looks very dapper in a new suit, and Barbara also looks smart. They are standing together looking every inch the couple again (and Barbara takes charge as usual once they are outside). I know that I mention that a lot, but watching the stories in this way, I cannot help but notice it.
Whatever happened to the Doctor’s inquisitive nature? Ian even comments on this change in demeanor in talking with Barbara. I suspect he is missing Susan far more than he is ready to admit, which is only natural, after they have been together so long. It takes time.
The spiky creature investigating the TARDIS looks suitably suspicious, and alien. It starts to up the tension a little but, after the conversation we have previously heard between Vicki and Bennett. Other than Earth, this is the first time that we have accompanied the Doctor on a return visit to a planet of which he has prior knowledge. His delight in returning is lovely to see.
Note to self: When someone says “I am your friend; you can trust me” and then pushes you off a cliff, you probably can’t trust them!
After Ian is helped up by the Doctor, his first thought is for Barbara. They are such a couple. He and the Doctor have built up a great rapport, which is seen throughout this pair of episodes. They have come a long way from the junkyard on Totter’s Lane.
So now we find out that the spiky creature is Koquillion. And a nasty piece of work he is too, but it is a great costume. I’m not so sure about the creature menacing Ian and the Doctor though.
Episode 2 – Desperate Measures
Ian and the Doctor’s journey through the cave system puts me in mind of the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark. On a much lower budget and the traps do not seem to be all that effective. Those “razor sharp blades” are defeated by wrapping a jacket around them. I’m sure it didn’t do Ian’s nice new suit much good though, but it’s definitely better than being impaled.
The more we see of Bennett the less I like him. He comes across as a very disagreeable man, and Vicki is a saint for putting up with him for so long.
Barbara with a flare gun is deadly. But it was the wrong thing to do, and based on fear. That’s the danger of this lifestyle I suspect. You keep running into trouble, so you always expect the worst, which has exactly the wrong effect in this instance. But fortunately the Doctor is soon there, and makes things better. He turns on his grandfatherly charm, but he also listens to Vicki, which seems to have been something she was missing. It has the right effect.
I adore the look on Barbara’s face at the thought of being 550, after she tells Vicki what year they come from! And Ian loves it, barely able to control his laughter. They are so relaxed around each other. It’s a wonderful thing to so.
Hartnell is magnificent as he confronts Bennett in the ancient temple. Ray Barrett does his best mad eyes at the Doctor as he really shows how insane he is. As the Doctor says, “[He] destroyed a whole planet to save [his] own skin”, and that could never be defensible. This is the most physical we have seen the Doctor to date, although it is not enough. However, I get the impression he knew that the Didonians would show up at the last minute to save the day and take their vengeance on Bennett.
Vicki joins the crew, and the Doctor’s pain from losing Susan, while never going away, will be helped by having a new face in the ship. She takes some persuading, and it is telling that it’s not the prospect of traveling through time and space that clinches it for her, as it does for so many in the new series especially, but rather it’s the idea of having the Doctor as a friend. This enforces her earlier words about the Doctor that ring so true to me: “As soon as he walked in I knew I could trust him”. As she enters the TARDIS, Ian and Barbara are standing together by the console looking like proud parents. They are so cute!
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