A lousy weather day in the city greets me as I enter Series 3 of “Doctor Who”. I’m moving into the tougher section of the marathon now, as more stories are reconstructions than actually exist anymore, so there will be lots of listening and looking at pictures. I will be using reconstructions for everything though. So here we go.
In my copy of Rob Shearman and Toby Hadoke’s marvellous book, “Running Through Corridors” (available from Mad Norwgian Press), Rob was very mean about this story when he signed it for me. That book is partially to blame for giving me the idea to do this, and I recommend it highly. They are far funnier gentleman than I, and have some wonderful insights into this show that we love. But if Rob didn’t like “Galaxy Four”, what am I in for! Too late now, so here we go.
Episode 1 – Four Hundred Dawns
I have always loved this episode title. I find it to be very evocative, and mysterious. It turns out to be nothing of the kind, but I still like it a lot. Everyone is very relaxed to start this story. Steven is even letting Vicki cut his hair. This makes me think that some time has passed since “The Time Meddler”, but later events will challenge that thought.
I like the Doctor's moment, questioning and being surprised that a planet that seems so capable of supporting life does not have any. It’s not something that usually gets considered in this type of thing. I wonder why that should be. not having any.
This robot is so cute. The group behind this reconstruction have done a good job animating them. And there goes Vicki giving names again, just like she did with “Yombo” the Zarbi. Chumbly is much more appropriate, however. While Vicki is entranced by the Chumbly, Steven perks up when the Drahvins arrive. I’m not so sure. They seem rather confident and extremely regimented. Almost too much so.
The sudden small bits of moving picture that we get to see in the reconstruction are very welcome. I had forgotten such a big chunk existed from this story. It’s nice to be able to see a little bit of the Drahvins in action. They seem somewhat robotic in demeanor when they are in front of their leader.
It wasn’t a mystery for long. Now we find out why the planet is not inhabited. It is about to die. Both the Drahvins and Rills are trapped here. These Rills are made out to be dangerous and not a race you would want to run into in daytime, let along a dark night. The background of the Drahvins explains a lot. It’s an interesting civilization, but I wonder how practical it really could be. It seems very organized and structured. It explains the robotic nature of the soldiers in the earlier scene They also have a definite ruthless streak; coming across as very nice on the surface, but with a very sinister undercurrent.
Episode 2 – Trap of Steel
Vicki is getting concerned. She seems to have the Drahvins figured out and is very suspicious of their motives. They are certainly a healthy eating race – just subsisting on leaves apparently.
Oh look, the Doctor has a normal screwdriver only right now. I wonder when he got bored enough to make it sonic! As the conversation goes on, the Doctor becomes more suspicious and starts to question the Drahvins and their motives. They have pushed him too far and he very clearly
The Doctor starts to question the morality of the Drahvins, as they start to push him much further than he is willing to go. He does not kill, and states that most openly. It puts me in mind of the 10th Doctor’s blanket statement in “The Doctor’s Daughter”. Another reminder that all the way through this show I will be watching the same man, even if he changes his face from time to time.
As he communicates that the time that they thought they had is much less than expected, Maaga begins to accelerate her plans. It is plain that the Drahvins are shocked at the shortened timeline, and will stop at nothing to help them get away. I am slightly surprised that the Doctor hasn’t yet offered the TARDIS to take everyone away. Later Doctors would do this. But perhaps he is concerned about the Drahvins taking the ship, and I’m sure he also wants to find out about the Rills.
Once left on his own, Steven is even less impressed with the leaves than Vicki was. As a result he starts to try and stir up unrest. Of course, it is unsuccessful. These Drahvins are too well controlled.
At last we reach the Rill ship, and can start to find out about the race we have heard a lot of bad things about. What will we find? They seem more together and organized than the Drahvins.
Episode 3 – Air Lock
Ending with our first shot of the Rill is a classic episode ending. Their appearance seems shocking, but the Doctor needs to play for time, and so Vicki bravely follows them. You can hear the bluster in Hartnell’s performance, as he tries to work out what to do.
It seems that when she presented with the prospect of her own mortality, Maaga is starting to have doubts. There is almost a change of heart. But perhaps what the Doctor has said and the actions that she has observed are starting to rub off on her. This is most unexpected, and a very intriguing scene, as we hear, rather poetically a description of what the last moments of the planet will be like. But as we hear it, the hardness of the Drahvins returns. The Doctor has not rubbed off on them as much as it seemed.
We finally hear from the Rills. And it turns out that the supposedly evil creature we have heard so much about in the first couple of episodes, is a nice helpful alien, in direct contrast to the selfish and destructive beautiful people, who cannot handle differences between themselves and those that they encounter. The Rill seem to have been put in an impossible situation.
Episode 4 – The Exploding Planet
Another great episode title! The tension is rising, and time is running out.
The Rill definitely have power. But to go with this power, they also seem to follow the same moral code as the Doctor. This may not work out well for them, on this desperate last day of the planet. But once he finds a kindred spirit, the Doctor will do what the Doctor does best. Work out a way to get people off the planet before it is no more.
This may be the first example of the TARDIS being used as a method of solving the problem. Components were used in “The Web Planet”, but this time it is the power of the ship.
Steven has been much changed by his experiences with the Drahvins. He is a cynic at heart it seems, and expects the worst in everyone. This was hinted at in the previous stories that Steven has appeared in, but is very much to the fore here. I expect this to change over time, but his manner here suggests that he still has not known the Doctor all that long, despite appearances in the opening of this story.
Oooh. Halfway through the last episode of the story we get our bit of education, with the Doctor explaining what the planet will turn into when it explodes. It’s nice that the story finally seems to acknowledge that the planet is unstable, but quite surprising that the first tremors would not be felt until just a few hours before the end.
The moral of the story is made very clear as we finally get a full view of the Rill; Outside beauty does not always mean good, just as being good does not always mean you are beautiful on the outside. And the Doctor makes it very clear that his philosophy looks at people’s actions, far more than what they look like. It’s another example of the Doctor and his companions doing the right thing, and in so doing, they inspire other beings to want to help them.
So was Rob Shearman right about Galaxy 4 being a 4 letter word? Well, it’s not the most complex story in the world, but there are some interesting scenes, and ideas here, and I found things to enjoy. It’s not going to make a top ten list, but it’s not bad. And there’s a great shot at the end of the planet finally exploding.
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