"All they had left was a game they played."
I rather like these men who behave like a cross between 'Zulu' and 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'. The Captain is rather good and we return to the early theme of paranoia. He's completely crackers, poor man.
It's interesting that with John's dreams of huge mineral resources on the Sense-Sphere and the Captain's pleasure in being able to afford another ship that these missions into space appear to be privately funded. They behave more like mercenaries.
One of the best things about this episode is that Barbara is back. Yay!
She's swapped with Carol who leaves John this utterly charming note...
"John, Have gone up to spaceship, Carol."
Just imagine, "Jean, have gone up to moon, Buzz."
Everything is rather easily resolved. But... what's that you say, Skip? We need some tension for a cliff hanger to make people watch next week? Crikey, we'd better have the Doctor get in a paddy with Ian for no reason at all and threaten to throw him off the Ship at the next stop. There, that'll do it. Fancy a pint, Skip?
I have to say that, after an extraordinarily promising first two episodes, this story slipped between the production team's fingers quicker than a planet full of Molybdenum! Ah well, they're allowed the odd clunker. After all, they are quite new. In contrast, I can't wait to start a story that I don't know very well at all, perhaps because of its missing episodes and what were very ropey existing VHS copies for many years.
Keep your head and join me soon for....
Next episode: A Land of Fear
Look, there's a prescient letter this week in the Radio Times....
