"You can't rewrite history. Not one line!"
That legendary quote is this story in a nutshell. As with 'The Daleks' I am blissfully over-familiar with John Lucarotti's second historical script for this first season and its high production values.
The aspect that has stood out most for me, watching it for the umpteenth time again this afternoon, is the direction. The whole episode, from the opening shot (pictured above) onwards, is beautifully and ambitiously directed by John Crockett. It makes me wonder if the fourth, and only, episode of Marco Polo which he directed might actually have differed in style quite considerably from Waris Hussein's.
The camera is hardly ever still; no mean feat with the heavy, clunky machinery of Lime Grove's Studio D. What is truly remarkable, however, is the choreography. Guards and processions and characters moving in and out of shot are all superbly handled in this real tour de force of 1960s drama. Consequently, it is a real pleasure to watch. I'm very interested to see if it gets noticeably easier to accommodate this fluid style in the ultra modern, for the time, Television Centre Studio 3 in the next instalment.
So much for the technicalities, the story itself belongs to Barbara, and to Jacqueline Hill:
If you've followed this blog from the beginning, you'll know how much I adore this companion and this actress. The depth she brings to the character of Barbara is just phenomenal. You can actually see on Barbara's face the moment when she makes her mind up to challenge the status quo and reform the Aztecs, much to the Doctor's horror. I honestly don't think that we meet another companion who will stand up to the Doctor quite as strongly until Tegan, and it is of course upon the original line-up that John Nathan-Turner would base his companions.
Amongst all this, the Doctor charms and is in return charmed by Cameca, Ian finds he is to challenge the established warrior champion, and John Ringham gives a remarkable and malevolent turn as Tlotoxl who proclaims at the end of the episode, "She is a false goddess, and I will destroy her!"
Gripping stuff. Stand by for:
Next episode: The Warriors of Death
Article: Nicholas Courtney
