SS1 - The Wheel in Space 1

Episode One is a bold experiment in minimalism, hearkening back to the early years of the show when The Doctor and his companions would wander around, exploring their new surroundings, while completely alone. Only at the end of the first episode would another character, shadow, trap, or sink plunger be revealed. What's risky in The Wheel in Space is that instead of the larger entourages of William Hartnell's era, there's just The Doctor and Jamie, and one Servo Robot who sounds like a relative of a Chumblie but looks more like he's giving the viewer a preview of the mind-blowing awesomeness that are the Quarks.

The fact that The Doctor knocks his head and slowly descends into unconsciousness during the last half of the episode makes the narrative even more challenging to portray. But the toughest part of The Wheel in Space for me? Not the writing, not the acting, not the robot. This is easily the worst quality reconstruction that I have for any story (ironic, as it is one of the last missing stories that I have to contend with during this marathon). My copy is probably a seventh-generation Betacam copy of the original recon, which may or may not be from Loose Cannon, but clearly predates the advent of onscreen subtitles to describe scenes with little dialogue. Scenes with little dialogue? Did I mention the Servo Robot doesn't speak, yet is in about half the scenes? Tough work, but all for you, dear reader. All for you.

Also, is it a prerequisite of 1960s Cybermen stories to not feature Cybermen? I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one...

RR6 - Fury From the Deep 6

One can tell that things sort of run out of steam in this story by about the midway point of Episode Five. Much time is spent in showing Robson taking Victoria to the control rig, The Doctor and Jamie rescue her, then the three of them returning to the base safely, with the only thing really changing, storywise, is Robson moving to the control rig (where he ceases to provide any function, while possessed, for the rest of the story). Things really hit a snag thanks to a long and needless sequence involving The Doctor trying to fly a helicopter in the first five minutes of Episode Six.

The weed creature is vanquished with about 12 minutes to spare in the episode, and here's the funny thing - everybody lives! Mrs. Harris, Robson, even (an unseen) Van Lutyens, who was sucked into the foam and down the pipeline to the control rig, is apparently all fine and dandy. The Ninth Doctor will have to change his line. "Just this one...or twice...."

The last third of the story is handed over to the burgeoning story of Victoria's departure. It's fantastically well played, particularly in the last scene between Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling. The last line of the scene is particularly poignant, when Victoria asks Jamie, "You won't leave without saying goodbye, will you?", which is a legitimate question, given the usual quick escape preferred by The Doctor once the situation has wrapped up. However, like in The Chase if The Myth Makers, we never see that goodbye scene, as the next shot is of The Doctor and Jamie walking away from Victoria on the beach. The Doctor has actually been mostly absent from Victoria's deliberation about staying, wanting Victoria to make her own decisions. His last line of the episode, "I was fond of her, too, Jamie." speaks volumes, though.

Victoria's departure is unique in that it de-romanticizes the notion of adventuring with The Doctor. Previous companions have left The Doctor because they've had a chance to return home, fall in love, or pursue some other noble cause away from the TARDIS. But Victoria hasn't found any of those things - she just doesn't want to be associated with the TARDIS anymore and the dangers and tribulations that come with it. She'd rather be left behind than continue on. If I was The Doctor, I couldn't help but feel slightly offended...

RR5 - Fury From the Deep 5

There's a remarkably creepy ending to this episode where Robson, standing amidst a sea of foam and seaweed tentacles, tells The Doctor that "we've been waiting for you". Spine chillingly good stuff.

The Doctor and Jamie have followed the possessed Robson to the control rig not only to confront the source of the weed creature, but to try and rescue Victoria. Poor Victoria has become increasingly useless as this story has gone along as she spends most of her time either wallowing in self pity or getting kidnapped/incarcerated/rendered unconscious. I'm thinking that this is in keeping with her character arc that has been developing over the course of this story, but with 1960s Doctor Who, you just never know...

Thanks to a few short censor clips that have been reinserted back into this episode by the good folks at Loose Cannon, I can finally view some pictures that move. Both this and The Web of Fear have been quite good, but staring at still photos and straining to hear the audio can be wearing on the nerves. Because this whole Chronic Hysteresis journey, and the large amount of non-existent episodes I've had to endure in such a short time, never before have I looked forward to The Dominators so much...

RR4 - Fury From the Deep 4

In a season and era full of stereotypes, be it racial (Toberman in The Tomb of the Cybermen), cultural (Evans in The Web of Fear), or sexist (take your pick), it comes as a great relief to see that the head of the gas company in charge of the refinery is a woman, Megan Jones. She's strong, seemingly in charge....ah, but then quickly sides with The Doctor to try and defeat the Seaweed of Death. Oh, well. Baby steps, I guess.

Jones arrives on the scene shortly after the previous, non-insane authority figure, Van Lutyens meets his (apparent) comeuppance at the hands of the BBC foam machine. Van Lutyens is played by John Abineri. I've long enjoyed Abineri's performances in Doctor Who (and, particularly, in his role of Herne the Hunter in Robin of Sherwood). When I first saw Toby Hadoke's wonderful Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf, which included several references to the illustrious Mr. Abineri, I beamed - finally, a fellow admirer, even if I've never seen any Ferrero Rocher ads. Gosh, for John Abineri's sake, I hope Van Lutyens is ok...

There's some more hand wringing from Victoria in this episode as she grows weary of the dangerous life of traveling in the TARDIS. This aspect of the story is developing quite nicely.

RR3 - Fury From the Deep 3

This story falls into, like many other Patrick Troughton stories to date, the standard "base under siege" format that has been used to great effect thus far without feeling repetitive. What Fury From The Deep has in common with another similarly formatted story, The Ice Warriors, is a fantastic performance by the actor portraying the leader of the base. Whereas in The Ice Warriors, Peter Barkworth's Clent was an overwrought and emotional leader on the side of the goodies, Victor Maddern's Robson looks as if he's vying for the title of head humanoid villain. Robson has been seen to be very forthright, driven, and, often, indignant thus far, but he really loses it in this episode. Maddern is rippling with rage during his scenes in this episode without ever going over the top.

Robson's growing insanity is actually troubling as he hasn't been affected by the seaweed yet. Only after he retires to his room does he come into contact with it. That wasn't a possessed Robson ranting and raving in the control room - that was genuine Robson.

Victoria, already having been locked in a room and threatened by seaweed coming in through the vents, drops the first hint in this episode that she's growing weary of being scared all the time. It's awfully refreshing to finally hear a companion say that! Coupled with the earlier comments about the TARDIS always landing in England, this is turning into the most open, honest Doctor Who story ever (until, at least, the Peter Davison stories were novelized).

The episode (which, at barely over 20 minutes long, is the shortest in length to date) ends with a truly disturbing sequence involving Maggie Harris instructing a now possessed Robson on his duties before walking out, sans breathing apparatus, into the sea and under the waves. At first, just a rather insipid wife of the equally rather insipid second-in-command of the base, is Maggie now the mastermind of everything? Can she breathe underwater? Is she walking to her death? Gripping stuff, this.

RR2 - Fury From the Deep 2

The above picture is from one of the most unsettling scenes in Doctor Who history, which occurs during this episode. Thankfully, the Australian Censor Board thought the scene was too frightening to include for broadcast, too, and so excised it, left the trim in a box somewhere for 30 years so it could be found and enjoyed once more by everyone. Pity they didn't just trim the entire episode, then we could have watched that, too.

Mr. Oak and Mr. Quill (the latter of whom is pictured) are two genuinely creepy Doctor Who characters. They're not villains and they're not creatures. They're just two seemingly harmless maintenance workers on the base, but from the first time we see them, it's clear that they're not...right. Mr. Oak speaks in a voice that's just on the threatening side of gentle. Mr. Quill doesn't speak at all. When they coerce their way into Mrs. Harris's room and knock her out with some sort of gas, it looks and sounds (with the constant heartbeat sound effect of this story used to its full effect) scarier than anything any legion of Daleks, Cybermen, or Yeti could ever muster.

And all we've seen in the way of "monsters" thus far is a couple shots of some limp seaweed. As Van Luytens suspects at the end of the episode, whatever is threatening everyone in the refinery is "Down there...in the darkness...in the pipeline...waiting." This is frightening Doctor Who at its very best.

RR1 - Fury From the Deep 1

Two massively important (massively) things happen in the first few moments of Fury From The Deep that are noteworthy in the history of Doctor Who, particularly pertaining to the New Series. The first occurs when the TARDIS crew start exploring the beach on which they have just landed. Just as The Doctor remarked in the previous story, The Web of Fear, Jamie wonders aloud as to why the TARDIS always seems to land on Earth. Victoria adds that they also always seem to wind up in England. This is so metatextual that it is no doubt meant as a joke, but it is a question that is never, ever asked again in the history of the show (so far as I remember). It is particularly interesting to note that the whole Earth/England thing is never even mentioned in the New Series, which has taken delight in quick history lessons of the show's past and retroactive continuity (i.e. the chameleon circuit, the TARDIS's telepathic circuits, etc) that this little, convenient, geographical oversight has never even been the subject of a good joke.

Speaking of convenience in the New Series, the sonic screwdriver makes its debut in this episode; surprisingly, given its New Series status as psuedo-companion, the device does here exactly what it says on the tin - unscrewing screws. Do you think writer Victor Pemberton knew what kind of monster he was creating out of such a harmless little device in this episode?

All this, and I haven't even mentioned the fact that the TARDIS is seen to physically land like a helicopter for the first time in the series' history!

Oh, and there's a bunch of seaweed, foam, heartbeats in pipes, spookiness, and John Abineri in this episode, but I imagine we'll see much more of all this stuff in the episodes to come.

QQ6 - The Web of Fear 6

One of my favourite TV programmes of all time is The Tripods, a televised adaption of The Tripods trilogy of books by John Christopher. Of course, it had the good fortune to be made by the BBC during the mid-1980s and the regime of one Michael Grade, who canceled the programme after its' second series. The third series was never made, leaving fans to wonder how the third and final chapter would wrap things up.

The end of The Web of Fear almost has that feeling of unfinished business, too. The Doctor has a plan to absorb the Great Intelligence into himself, thus destroying it forever, but his friends and companions think otherwise. One can almost see the thoughts of Yeti sequels and merchandising opportunities dance through the eyes of writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, via the actions of Travers, Jamie, Victoria, et al., when the characters pull The Doctor out of harm's way, thus allowing the Great Intelligence to go free. (The Yeti are, at least, defeated).

And the intention was to have a third Yeti adventure during Season Six before the troubled production of the Haisman/Lincoln penned The Dominators changed plans considerably (about which, more later). Any future Yeti story would have had a tough task in topping the two previous stories featuring the marauding furballs. Whereas The Abominable Snowmen was notable for its calm, pensive, yet threatening, atmosphere, The Web of Fear was ramped it up considerably, thanks to the updated Yeti costumes. Also, instead of the vast expanse of the Himalayas, here the setting was the claustrophobic confines of the London Underground. It worked perfectly, as I can imagine ridership on the Underground system decreased during the original broadcast run of this story.

However, the action and atmosphere did come in fits and starts for me. Episodes One and Four stand up as tent pegs for the rest of the episodes, which had a hard time matching the sheer brilliance of One and Four. One of the all-time best Troughton stories, though, and certainly one the most frightening.

QQ5 - The Web of Fear 5

I wrote earlier about how The Web of Fear is, in essence, a pilot episode for the UNIT years of the 1970s. Well, thanks to almost every soldier in this story being wiped out by the Yeti by the end of Episode Four, the military side of the operation ends, but the new template of the Doctor-assistant role is expanded upon in the last two episodes.

With Jamie serving as the only subordinate in Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart's (gosh, I want to keep calling him The Brigadier) command, and Victoria being taken captive by the Yeti, Anne Travers steps in to fulfill the companion role to The Doctor during these last two episodes. However, she becomes more of an assistant in the mold of a Liz Shaw, assisting The Doctor as he builds a control device for the Yeti.

After the mass death and destruction of Episode Four, it becomes clear that the handful of humans left alive are going to carry the rest of the story home. But it still has yet to be determined who the mole is....

Of note during this story is the overbearing presence of the web (which is quite fearful). Every time someone opens a door, it's there. The Yeti shoot it out of their guns. Most effectively, it's even there under the closing credits, making sure that the last thing that anyone watching each episode is a pulsating web! No wonder so many people who remember watching this story rate it so highly in its ability to scare the pants off them.

QQ4 - The Web of Fear 4

What a shame that this episode doesn't exist anymore, mostly because of the full-on action battle sequence (still a rarity in those days) between the army and the Yeti. Directed by Douglas Camfield, I'm sure it looked spectacular, although I wish he'd chosen different stock music to punctuate the scenes instead of the music that had already been made famous as the theme for the Cybermen in all three Cyberstories to date.

The outcome of the battle, as well as the fact that not only is anybody wandering around the Underground outside of the army base in extreme danger, but now that the Yeti are crashing into the base and wiping out soldiers, not even inside the base is safe from the Yeti. Lethbridge-Stewart has the dubious distinction of losing both his first platoon in the Underground before we even meet the character, and then, later, in the battle with the Yeti, he loses all the soldiers under his command there, too. (And he gets promoted later?). The Yeti appear to be the most invincible enemy that The Doctor has ever come up against, even more so than the Daleks.

Further more, there's suspicion that someone in the base is working for the Yeti (or, more directly, the Great Intelligence), but we still don't know who it is. And when Travers finally shows up at the end of the episode, apparently possessed himself, almost all hope is lost as the credits crash in. Episode Four has been one of the most wonderfully dark and bleak episodes of Doctor Who ever made. And also one it the best.

QQ3 - The Web of Fear 3

It's fun and amusing, knowing what we classic Who fans know, to go back and watch The Web of Fear, Part Three, and hear the warm, dulcet tones of Nicholas Courtney as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. So much more to come from him in the years (and decades) to follow. He actually enters this story rather mysteriously, his own platoon having been killed off by the Yeti, more or less taking The Doctor prisoner before taking command of the makeshift army base in the Underground.

Yes, The Doctor! Remember him? After a superb opening episode to this story, things rather grind to a halt in Episode Two as everyone is trying to find The Doctor, who is apparently either lost in the Underground somewhere, or bits of him are scattered around the place after being blown up in an explosion. I've spoken before about how taking The Doctor out of the action for a week to necessitate the lead actor's vacation. William Hartnell was older and, thus, never entered into the action as much as his later incarnations, so his absence could be more easily explained as his male companions would usually pick up the slack. While Patrick Troughton's Doctor can be devious and mischievous and manipulate things behind the scenes, he also has more scenes and stories where he is front and centre in the action than his predecessor.

So it's good to have him back in this episode, but it almost feels like Episode One all over again, as now The Doctor is finally involved directly in the London Underground operation, and the army finally has a proper leader in Lethbridge-Stewart. A new character, Evans, a cowardly Welshman who only aspires to maintain his career as a driver, and to maintain his own existence at the expense of those around him, makes his debut. Funny how Doctor Who's opinion of the Welsh would change as the years go by...

QQ2 - The Web of Fear 2

Professor Travers unleashes the first missile of the UNIT Dating Controversy in this, the first unofficial UNIT story in Doctor Who history. When meeting Jamie and Victoria several years (to him) after The Abominable Snowmen, he staggers at the fact that neither of them appear to have aged a day. Taking a seat, he stammers, "Well, that was....over.....40 years ago!". Earlier in this episode, Travers's daughter, Anne, states that the first Yeti tale took place in 1935. If you were to take Professor Travers's statement at face value, that would place The Web of Fear in 1976, at the earliest, and, as we find out later, The Invasion four years later in 1980.

This is, of course, impossible.

Yet, taken at face value, this would mean that Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart (who is introduced in this story. Well, at least his boots are.) joins UNIT in 1980 (where Sarah-Jane Smith is from, incidentally), has several years of adventures with The Third Doctor...but then gets tired of it all and leaves UNIT to begin a teaching career in 1977 (see Mawdryn Undead).

This is, of course, impossible.

As part of the Chronic Hysteresis, I've decided I'm going to try and explain each UNIT dating discrepancy as they come along. However, the catch is that I'm going to do it badly. Here's my thought about this one. Professor Travers, obviously dotty and absent minded (as proven by his odd behaviour in Episode One), clearly meant to say "That was over....30 years ago!", or even, "That was over...(full stop, recalculates). Forty years ago! (rounding up)". So there. Would you trust the ramblings of an old man whose mind is as addled as Travers's was? No, you wouldn't.

Thus, The Web of Fear quite clearly takes place in 1968, coincidentally, the year in which it was also broadcast. First crisis averted. Can't wait to try and explain away The Invasion...

QQ1 - The Web of Fear 1

I love Doctor Who stories where The Doctor arrives long after the crisis has begun, and so has to almost work backwards to the beginning to find out what's going on and how it all started. The same thing happens in the opening episode of The Web of Fear, with the TARDIS landing in a deserted London Underground station. Meanwhile, juxtaposed with the scenes involving The Doctor and his friends, the other main storyline (that of the army's operation in the Underground) is already well under way, and we the viewers, much like The Doctor, are wondering why things are the way there, with only little snippets of information being unveiled as the episode moves along.

The Yeti, although not seen that much in this opening installment, look more frightening than their cuddly Mark I versions seen in The Abominable Snowmen. They also kill people more readily and easily. They even have a web gun! The glowing eyes and the strange roar, making them silent no longer, also serve to spook the hell out of the general population of British children in 1968.

Lastly (and this will be one of the last times I'll be able to comment on the visuals of this story, as Episode One is the only one in existence), the Underground sets are fantastic. The legend that tells of London Transport contacting the BBC to complain that they filmed in the actual London Underground has been told many a time, but it's worthy - the sets are just that good. And it's not often you can say that about Doctor Who sets. Part of it is down to set design, but the lighting is also superb. Well before the flood lit days of the 1980s (or even, as we shall soon see, the early 1970s), the fact that almost everything threatening in this story is concealed by shadows makes this one of the most atmospheric stories in the show's history. Things are starting off well...

PP6 - The Enemy of the World 6

We finally get the inevitable (yet almost technically impossible, for Doctor Who in 1968) meeting between Salamander and The Doctor, complete with the usual mistaken identity hijinks that usually accompany such moments. There should have been more to the confrontation, though, if only technical difficulties rendered most of the footage that director Barry Letts shot completely useless. (Moot point these days, anyway, given no footage from this episode exists at all).

There's also a nice twist at the end when it is revealed who the real villain of the piece is (well, secondary villain), which I honestly didn't expect. I'm hesitant to reveal who that is, because I'm becoming increasingly mindful of the fact that a good chunk of you dear readers who peruse this blog from time to time haven't actually seen the reconstructions for the missing episodes. After all, it's not as if you can find them on Amazon or at your nearest HMV. Tell you what - I'll bury the identity of the person in question somewhere in the next sentence, so, for those who haven't seen/heard The Enemy of the World, you can just skip along to the next paragraph. This is the sentence where I reveal that Kent is the other villain.

All in all, not too bad, apart from some minor production and story problems. Unlike anything done before or since in Doctor Who, to be sure.

PP5 - The Enemy of the World 5

I'm not sure if I'm entirely sold on Bruce's switch to the side of the good guys in this episode. It seems that everyone is, in one way or another, secretly or publicly against Salamander - Bruce, Kent, Astrid, even most of the members of the underground. Can our intrepid villain get out of this in one piece...?

There's actually a great scene, though, when The Doctor convinces Bruce of Salamander's character when he fools Jamie and Victoria with his own impersonation of Salamander. It almost brings out a violent reaction from Jamie, and he has to quickly think of a way to prove his own identity to his two friends, but it's interesting to see how far he'll go in order to prove to Bruce what kind of proof of Salamander's crimes exist.

One man who isn't against Salamander is the dictator's number two man, Benik. My word, what an over-the-top, camp character Benik is. He was painful in the earlier episodes, but when he's threatening to torture Jamie and Victoria in Episode Five, he's downright embarrassing. It feels like I've just walked in on a bondage/role playing party. Jamie even says to Benik at one point, "I'll bet you were a naughty little boy..."! Milton Johns will go on to be much better in both The Android Invasion and, especially, The Invasion of Time, but this is not one of his finest hours, to be sure.

PP4 - The Enemy of the World 4

The story takes an unexpected turn about midway through this episode when (and beware the big spoiler here) Salamander descends in an elevator down to where a large group of humans are living under the impression that, on the planet's surface, a devastating nuclear war is raging, and Salamander is the only person who can save them by bringing them food. The whole thing as a bit of a shock, and it adds a layer to what was already, in my mind, an interesting political (and monster free) story.

Sadly, Fariah is shot and killed in this episode. Not that I'm turning the Chronic Hysteresis into a rundown of "The Hottest Babes in Doctor Who", but...well, let's just say that Carmen Munroe is enchanting as Fariah. Quite lovely, and her character would have made a great revolutionary against her boss, Salamander. Doctor Who has often killed off as many of the good guys/girls during stories as it has the bad ones, which, for dramatic purposes, is necessary, but it doesn't make it any less sad!

Once again, as in The Ice Warriors, Jamie and Victoria are put on the back burner for this episode (necessary, of course, because both Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling were on holiday that week). The practice of having to write out the regulars for a week or two has always had its pitfalls. Not only is one of the main character(s) taken out of the action for an entire episode, but the preceding and following episodes have to be spent putting them in a situation that leads up to them being out of the picture for a while, and then somehow brought back into the story in the episode after their absence. As it's difficult to have these characters in the main storyline and then, abruptly, not, that means that these characters are often relegated to background or to a sub-plot during the episode before their absence, at least, taking them even further out of the story. Both Jamie and Victoria hang around the kitchen for most of Episode Three - not exactly the centre of the action. It'll be interesting to see how they're integrated back into the action in Episode 5.

PP3 - The Enemy of the World 3

With Episode 3 being the only installment of The Enemy of the World in existence, we finally get to see Patrick Troughton's dual performance in all its full, 625-line, HD (for 1968) quality. It's actually quite a good performance, but that's what we've all come to expect from an actor as skillful as Troughton. His Mexican accent, though, is a bit dodgy, to be fair, or it just seems that way given that we're all so used to hearing Troughton in his normal voice.

Unlike previous and future "The Doctor's double" stories, this one works the best because while Salamander looks similar to The Doctor, the dictator has slightly darker skin and his hair is parted differently. This adds to the believability or the premise of this story. It also lets Troughton stretch his legs a bit in both roles. While William Hartnell was great in his dual role in The Massacre, his Abbot of Amboise featured so briefly onscreen, and was the exact double of The Doctor, that the impact of the performance was muted somewhat.

The other thing that stands out about this episode is how horribly it's edited. Scenes overlap and bleed into the next with reckless abandon. Video editing was still, apparently, uncommon back in those days, but out-of-order shooting had been done before this, and without the lacklustre results seen here. I could blame the editor, I could blame the unfamiliarity with the new 625-line broadcast system, but instead, I'll just blame director Barry Letts (don't worry. I'll let him off the hook in a few weeks.)

PP2 - The Enemy of the World 2

The main problem that I'm having with The Enemy of the World in these early stages is the fact that there are no establishing shots to show the many exotic locations that this story is supposed to take place in. One scene is apparently set in Australia. The next? In Hungary, we're told, in the Central European Zone. But there's nothing different between either place, other than the fact that George Pravda is in one of the Hungarian scenes. Taking this into account as our only indication that what we're watching is set in Hungary, can we also assume that Castelan Spandrell in The Deadly Assassin is also Hungarian?

Perhaps there isn't a local flavour to either Australia or Hungary in this because, apparently (again), the Australia-Hungary trip takes only two hours by rocket, so perhaps the people of the world can set up shop in other countries much earlier in the year....wait a second. What year is this? That's never clearly divulged, either, but it's a time if kinky rubber suited guards, quaint city parks, umm.....rockets.... It's such an odd mish-mash of timelines going on that it is remarkably difficult to pinpoint the time period that this story takes place in. Not that it's crucial to the telling of the story, but it would be nice to have a vague understanding of when this all happens, or, at least, the odd shot of one of these mythical international rocket ships taking off, landing, or travelling mid-flight.

Jamie, Victoria, and Astrid manage to sneak not only into Salamander's close proximity quite easily, but Jamie climbs a balcony to stand directly beside the Mexican dictator without having to dispatch a single guard. Salamander then rewards the young Scot's ingenuity by putting him and Victoria onto his payroll. You'd think Jamie had done the whole "government espionage" thing for a living before he joined up with The Doctor.

This is another relatively entertaining yet subdued entry, despite the best intentions of some over-the-top stock music and an even more OTT Milton Johns as Benik.

PP1 - The Enemy of the World 1

After The War Machines gave viewers and early look of just what was to come in Doctor Who once the 1970s arrived, we get to see a little more of the Pertwee era in The Enemy of the World. After some frolicking on the beach, The Doctor and friends are menaced by a pursuing hovercraft, then are rescued by Astrid in a helicopter. Fantastic action! Later, the helicopter explodes in a flurry of pyrotechnics and stock footage. Zam! Pow! What an action-packed adventure we have in store!

And then, after the budget is blown, everything settles down into the standard studio-bound stuff that we've become used to over the years, except for the fact that you can almost see the beads of sweat on Patrick Troughton's forehead (or would see, if the episode actually existed) from all the frantic costume changes he has to undergo for this story.

There's some political intrigue going on, though, that holds the attention, and it's nice to see that The Doctor doesn't trust Kent to begin with, but, when his hand is forced, he is thrust into the spotlight to play the doppelganger of Salamander. Cue end credit music.

OO6 - The Ice Warriors 6

It's about time that the Ice Warriors actually leave their ship, taking time out of their screen watching and hissing for a quick jaunt to the glacier base. There, they kill poor Walters (who looks suspiciously like Ian Levine), but are then chased back to their ship again, first by the heat being turned up (we'll surely never see that trick played again, will we?), and then a warning blast from their own sonic cannon, as operated by The Doctor.

The Doctor takes a big risk, as he himself admits, in aiming the cannon at the base, as all occupants at the time, both human and Ice Warrior, could possibly be killed. Naturally, he succeeds, just as, at episode's end, Penley's quick thinking and risk-taking manage to destroy the Ice Warrior ship. The final scenes between Penley and Clent are actually quite touching. Penley's possible return to the base full time is left ambiguous, and Clent has to file a report of everything that went on. Despite Clent's willing over reliance on computers, as he proudly says to Penley, he has "always written his own reports". Great closure to a great character in Clent.

Both of The Doctor's companions, Jamie and Victoria, really don't fare very well in this story. Apart from being chased by an Ice Warrior, Victoria stays by The Doctor's side for the rest of the story. Jamie, on the other hand, is shot twice in this story, spending a good amount of time unconscious afterwards while he recovers (often only to be shot and incapacitated again). Was Jamie even in the original script for this? This seems like The Moonbase all over again.

All in all, a reasonably entertaining story that should have been more of a showcase for its titular monsters, but was much more interesting on account of the human characters and the fractured relations between them.