A Desperate Venture

"All they had left was a game they played."

A feeling of suspense akin to the first episode is created in the early cave scenes as the Doctor and Ian gingerly explore.  There's some more great music from Norman Kay, but ultimately our foes are revealed as the terribly well spoken giant pencil people! Hey ho.

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....

The Cave of Skulls

The second episode. It seemed so much longer than 25 mins. Already I'm gripped by the cavemen society; the hierarchy, the politics, the need for food and warmth, the children playing as children must always have done.

And into that world are thrown our four travellers. The Doctor, so confident at first in front of Ian and Barbara as the TARDIS lands, is soon as lost as the others, suggesting that although Susan and he have undoubtedly travelled, albeit it seems only through different periods of Earth's history, at this stage he is far from the confident adventurer we know and love; here looking far more out of his depth. Much is made of the Doctor and Susan's genuine confusion as to why the TARDIS has not changed as it clearly has been doing, again suggesting that they are very new to this way of life.

The scenes in the TARDIS at the beginning are compelling. The device of building part of the planet set and the TARDIS interior next to each other so that it may be glimpsed through the open doors is genius, as is the cut back to show the Police Box doors closing at the same time as the inner ones. After this first season this was almost abandoned until the new 2005 series.

There are some marvellous pieces of dialogue as Za asks Hur to "throw some more of the dead fire on" and Kal unwittingly describes the Doctor as "full of fire".

And then there's lovely Eileen Way, sitting on her rock offering commentary like a stone-age Nanna Royle. Untouchable. I met her once, years ago, at a Dr Who Convention in Birmingham. Tables were limited at breakfast and so Marc Platt, who I was with, and I asked if we might share her table. She was immaculate and stern and utterly charming I recall, dressed all in black with her hair tied tightly back. She was reserved at first, but as she warmed to us and realised that we held her in genuine affection she revealed that her primary reason for coming was to get Patrick Troughton's autograph for her grandson. And there she was, a very special guest at the convention, loved by all, who had only finally accepted the invitation because of her family. Unstoppable things, grandmothers. She asked us whether we thought he would mind her asking and we reassured her that we thought he probably wouldn't. Anyway, she asked him and he was delighted; two fine old actors who truly respected each other. And both gone now, sadly.

Next episode: The Forest of Fear