WhoThrough: Doctor Who Season Three

The ongoing series goes on to Hartnell’s third season.

When my wife and I first married in 2014, we enthusiastically committed to watching a Doctor Who story a week, in order, until we were done. Five and a half years later, we finished. (With The Timeless Children. Which at least has the decency to bookend An Unearthly Child nicely as a title.)

And with that done…we decided to start all over again.

Posted here are a combination of my notes from the first and second WhoThroughs. Scattered sentences and thoughts. Likely some of it won’t make sense unless you’re familiar with the episodes.

But if you love the show like we do, hopefully you’ll find some interesting observations ahead.

GALAXY 4

Gets into the assumption that the women are wrong and overreact long before even meeting the other aliens. Yet it’s Steven and the Doctor who seem awfully prone to bickering. A thin story to start a series with — even though the warring factions and ‘judging by appearances’ were less familiar TV SF tropes then. Why is Steven wearing Ian’s cardigan?! Amazing bit of sound work as Vicki’s language becomes the Rill’s, and their whole aesthetic is lovely: blocky guns and an octagonal ship with thick materials for the Drahvins — versus the Rill’s domed robots and triangular ship shapes among silver and transparent surfaces.

Amazing flashback — POV, violent. Glad the lost episode three was found. Strangely love the Doctor using his cane as a weapon. Letting the Dhravin die is pretty fucking dark.

This feels like the first story explicitly assembled-from-past Doctor Who — a cute robot, a monstrous species, warring factions; they don’t much go together, except that they’re all things the show does. It’s basically impossible to sell Chumblies as a threat when the early interaction is so kindly — the heat ray blast is meant to work as a threat but it’s so obviously a gentle demonstration.

Vicki pointing out that her rock-throwing plan is entirely a reasoned scientific method is the character’s rejection of the Doctor’s sexism now getting onto the page — what an influence she’s been! (And again, that much speaks to the Drahvins’ mostly-unseen society.) I rather love the simplicity of “how pervious the metal is” as a test for spaceship sophistication.

Actually, the clone women are basically Maaga’s Chumblies! That’s neat. There’s better rhyming going on here than it seems. Example: episode three has the Doctor about to wreck the Rill’s air, then Steven trapped and suffocating in the Drahvin’s air lock.

There’s a real commitment to the timeframe, the ticking clock, across all four episodes. It’s a single day, all pretty continuous, a race against time.

MISSION TO THE UNKNOWN

Tediously masculine. Bizarre that nobody could imagine a future beyond reel to reel tape. Nice tension to the fate of the message. Alien gathering plays like the ‘round a table’ scene in Star Wars Episode II — fabulously designed but basically banal. And they all stand around agreeing. Cory killing Lowry seems premature, when we know it’s only the human aspects that die and the killer plant then takes over. Daleks don’t recognise tape recorders.

This is the most dangerous planet in the universe…but the only dangerous thing we’ve seen, the vargas, are from Skaro. It’s hard to make “he saw a Dalek spaceship” the shocking reveal it’s meant to be after discussing Daleks two minutes prior. “Licence to kill” can only be deliberate reference — this came out only two months before the first full-on meta Bond film: Thunderball.

We watched the Levine animation, to preserve the original audio at least. But the university production is worth a look, and I do wonder if it’s more sluuggish pace is closer to how this felt at the time.

THE MYTH MAKERS

Strain showing on historicals — having to impersonate someone, misunderstanding, fast incarceration, etc. The capture-escape format as ever, but hampered by not showing you anything truly new and alien. Neat Doctor arrival, though. The music for the opening fight is a ghastly choice. The old assumption that everyone knows what the history is based on cos ‘we did it school’. “Old beggar” gets a good laugh.

Wonder if the Time Bandits writers saw this and vaguely remembered it. Paris is hilarious, written with no portentousness, all posh chat, no pomp. He’s a buffoon…and a joy for it. “This whole business has been carried a bit too far.” Troilus is awfully wet. “I don’t like killing at all, but I like adventure.”

The Doctor spends most of the show away from his companions. If this weren’t a historical it’s restoration would be more important — as it should be given Vicki’s departure. This is too soon to lose Vicki, the true defining companion. Love that she hugged the TARDIS; she loved the show.

The left-behind offering is a smart way to convey ‘the TARDIS has gone missing’ visually. (One assumes.) But since historicals have a tendency to see the ship picked up and moved — Marco Polo, The Romans — we kinda already know where this is going. Do they know it says ‘police’ on the box?

Episode two is basically episode one again, only happening to Vicki. Lovely casting with big, funny performances. Frances White’s willingness to go enormous and hysterical is a real loss without the footage. Vicki going out like Susan — married off in someone else’s time and place — with the added humiliation of removing her identity is pretty lousy. The failure to engage with the human side of war, making a wooden horse to get back to the TARDIS, doesn’t sit well no matter how good a wheeze. They don’t even bother to characterise Katarina before shoving her onto the TARDIS.

THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN

Amazing first Dalek reveal — expecting the injured agent to be attacked by and aforementioned varga, it appears suddenly, low-angle. Gorgeous. And then they go after the Bret Vyon…and instead the TARDIS appears, at his lowest point of despair!

Katarina is a lousy fit for the way this story gets going. Bret’s doing all the new curiosity stuff so she has to be vaguely confused while also being a standard companion who can’t work the TARDIS. Meanwhile the Doctor’s talking to himself to articulate the plot.

Very nice planting of expectations. The Doctor has invented a chair for detaining prisoners?! Doc, Steven and Bret arguing over the best tactic is badly written, but a great idea: each met the Daleks but fought them differently. Hooded Delegate a great design, but less scary for knowing he has a proper job. The council is wonderfully strange and uncanny, only Chen is an straight Earth allegory. Indeed, good direction makes this story a sad loss.

After having a whole episode to set it up, the Mark Cory’s tape only tells the Doctor stuff he already knows! How did the convicts play like convicts on-screen when they’re so caveman-like? Bret’s attitude to the Doctor in episode three (“grandpa”) is so almost the Brigadier. The prison jungle seems a lot more menacing than the supposed deadly one of Kemble.

Did Hartnell refuse to bounce on the trampoline for the teleport effects? Nation’s forever anti-drama — instead of Chen struggling to explain a cock-up to the Daleks, he and his pal calmly discuss how they might explain, find an idea, and the next scene is “they believed us”. (Hilarious non-cliffhanger too where his second-in-command says to himself “And one day I will be powerful…second only to my boss” like that changes a thing.)

Three planets in a row where we just see bits of jungle. Not a huge variety, is it? What is Mavic Chen’s lifespan? Early on they mention this plan’s been in motion for decades, and later it’s that it needs another 50 years. Brutal: Bret, Katarina, Sara all killed with the Doctor right there. The SECOND Sara turns to the Doctor’s side, is made a companion, she starts screaming at stuff in the jungle.

Is it bad that I like the cheeky commentary of undoing a ‘toxic atmosphere’ cliffhanger with a gag about earth’s pollution? There is something full-circley about returning to bobbies outside the police box. Doing an Christmas episode where the Doctor can’t get back to the TARDIS and gets caught in bureaucracy is kinda cool, as is showing up in a film…shame the ep is so crucifyingly unfunny. (“Put some more clothes on” is funny, though. Weirdly, the cricket sketch the following week is far better.)

If the Daleks just need a spare part, it feels like a time machine could be more useful for achieving that than they’ve made it — changing this one rather than going just back and making another in plenty of time. Or pop back to before they lost it and replace it with a fake! Nice to see the Monk again, and almost a shame to waste him and Egypt on something so fleeting. (The locals in Egypt are utterly characterless and evoke nothing of a period — the educational remit has gone.) Still, it has a nice ‘crossover event’ quality. With him and Chen here we’re very nearly at a ‘Master and Daleks/Cybermen team up against the Doctor’ story.

Chen feels like a real Master prototype (and for Salamander, come to that), which is interesting when you also throw the Monk into the mix. They spend ages on testing the time destructor despite the audience already knowing it won’t work. Heart sank on episode eight when it looked like we were getting The Chase II. Steven and Sara are notably flirty. Arrival of space politics and colonies a huge jump, and one that influences the entire show from now on.

One forgets the TARDIS is lacking the ability to go where it’s meant to, so when the directional unit is stolen you wonder why it’s needed for a moment! Chen taking over an evil council with a gun is patently ridiculous. Locking them up is sillier, freeing them is barmy. Doing a Doctor-lite episode 11 almost kills the story, but then so does switching the time destructor to a MacGuffin irrelevant to the Daleks’ plans…

Funny how much smaller this feels than Dalek Invasion of Earth. The lack of location footage, Daleks in the wild, makes it smaller than your prefer — a sequel to the style of The Chase rather than Invasion.

THE MASSACRE

Opening is very clear: they’re here as sightseers — see the famous bits, visit historical names. The modern show peering through, especially with only one companion. Steven not knowing his history makes it a lot easier to give the context exposition. The curfew is a neat device to keep Doctor and Steven separate. There’s huge tension in Steven being so out if his depth for an episode — a real argument that the Doctor is right to insist he knows what he’s doing. Lack of cliffhanger recaps makes everything feel more urgent…at least when watching today. The tension of whether the Abbott is the Doctor is well-played, cleverly shaped and makes neat use of Hartnell’s absence. Steven’s departure and the Doctor’s speech is the best bit of the writing on the show thus far. Ends on an RTD-style “What?!”

Regarding Steven returning: After storming out over the Doctor’s refusal to save a girl he liked from the massacre, perhaps Steven comes running back in specifically to prevent a change to history. He’s from the future, he knows humans didn’t capture an alien and acquire time travel in the 1960s. He realises the Doctor might be right! He must stop history changing! So back he runs, to stop policemen from entering the TARDIS. He comes back when he takes on board the seriousness of the Doctor’s dilemma as a time traveller. And is rewarded with hope in the form of Dodo, who ‘proves’ Anne survived.

(His actions also prevent the cops from getting distracted and not saving a boy’s life — again, history is safeguarded. but does the Doctor really not offer to help when a kid’s in an accident?)

It’s truly unfortunate producing to have a story with double the Hartnell where he’s on holiday for a week. You get the big reveal and then…hardly see the Abbot next week, and get no Doctor at all. There’s a different energy to a story with just the Doctor and a male companion and it’s a shame to have lost so much of it.

My sense of the episode is that it was written and rewritten to be about the Doctor taking on the Abbot’s role, but when Hartnell’s schedule interfered further rewrites were undertaken with one simple solution: Steven’s the lead, so let’s make this all about his uncertainty. He sees someone ‘recognise’ the Doctor, he follows that through and mistakes the Abbot for him, gives up the girl under that error, and ultimates ‘loses’ the Doctor, the dead Abbott. Strong stuff for the heroic lead.

And then the mercurial Doctor returns and Steven realises: The Doctor isn’t the Abbot — the Abbot died, and the Doctor had no idea the era he was in, or the Abbot’s role. But where the hell he was is never dealt with decently.

THE ARK

Hard this, because it’s the horribly racist story of how slaves become unreasonable dominators if offered a voice, whereas white humans are benevolent masters. But it’s also one of the most inventively structured and impressively directed stories of the era. Bizarre to watch in 2020 — there’s no faction that simply denies the virus is happening.

Everything looks huge — high angles, clever use of space and insert shots. Using Dodo’s sneezing as a device for tension helps hide it as set-up for the latter half. Starts as a playful romp…and then people are dropping like flies. Again, the Doctor is not the saviour. (Very New Who series eight, this.) Introducing Dodo as enthusiastic and playful — she picks a costume like she’s a Doctor — keeps her distinct from Susan. The monoids going simplistically evil really clashes with the Planet of the Apes-like complexity given lip-service to elsewhere. Steven very tough, happy to threaten or demand…but unlike Ian he rarely gets into fights. Translator devices very Ood-like.

Steven starts treating Dodo like his granddaughter which is a properly hilarious turnaround. The humans barely care about Monoid deaths, and thus the show positions killing humans as far worse than Monoids — not great, racism-wise. It’s ridiculous how unapologetic the TARDIS crew are about the disease. After this adventure the Doctor had the TARDIS do a viral screen of each passenger…probably.

Is this the first story where a live character is in-shot when the TARDIS dematerialises? “Security kitchen” feels like compression of two sets on the page. Ark fashions — underpants covered with streamers — apparently don’t change in 700 years.

Second half really thin on character compared to first. The usual negligible characterisation of guest characters, they’re all defined by what they are. The casual, constant use of effects is impressive — forced perspective backgrounds, camera trickery (reversed footage), editing (food making itself in a bowl, picture in picture) models, part-builds and full-size practicals (the capsules). Even the animals in the film inserts make things feel bigger and more alive. Shame about the Monoids. If you want to imply a vast Monoid population, why number them 1 to 5?

THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER

Terrible. Doctor’s absence expected, but he’s the only character interacting with the villain, so Gough is talking to himself for an hour. Games aren’t beaten cleverly, but arbitrarily — Cyril kills himself, Dodo gets out of a killer chair. Sentience of the dolls brought up but then the team celebrate when the world is destroyed regardless! Stakes feel pathetically low. Still, another proto-Master, that’s something. The N-word is pronounced louder than most of the rhyme that includes it.

Dodo’s “It’s the day my mother died” is an extraordinary thing to throw in then throw away. “We shall play endless games together!” is a tedious pitch for a story. Trying to make “they play for the TARDIS” a big moment twice in episode one is pushing it. Seriously, why isn’t this about the Toymaker versus Steven and Dodo, with the Doctor placed out of the way, so Gough can do his scenes with the story’s (forced) leads?

Why would anyone invest in a run of guest characters who are set up specifically as fictional creations just for the games? (They try to square this circle with Dod’s speech in episode three, but you still don’t care when the opponents have their lives taken away.) They technically plug this plot hole, too, but really: why would the Doctor make any moves at all if he needs to give Steven and Dodo time to do their puzzles? (And if each move might be wrong, why not let the Toymaker automate the whole thing?)

I’m honestly not sure that’s Hartnell’s voice in episode two, and Steven even has a gag about it not being. Imagine typing “Only 72 moves to go, Doctor” as dialogue. It feels like a month between the heroes winning their games and the actual end of the episode.

The trilogic puzzle’s final move is kinda clever, but the ending with Cyril’s sweet is a mess — it plays like the sweet (which shouldn’t exist now anyway) is a trick-flavoured one, a school prank, not that the Doctor breaking a tooth.

THE GUNFIGHTERS

Lots of overhead angles. Love the “A Holiday for The Doctor” pun. Episode one is interminably slow, but I like the song (very akin to Moffat using nursery rhymes). First cleavage in Who? Blimey, when she straps a gun belt on the Doctor…

Nice that the Doctor getting mistaken for someone else is deliberate, a set up, this time. Dodo’s in a very different show — cheerily bursting in on Holiday right after the barman is gunned down. A lot of ‘acting without incident’ while people wait for the song verse to finish — shows a difficulty with the device; these days you’d script activity to go with the song. Beyond allowing the Doctor to lose, this era, this story, ushers in the Doctor fighting history, trying to prevent an inevitable event. No wonder Dodo can’t fit in — this story might be a comedy, but these jaunts are what the jolly Vikki signed up for.

How does Kate beat the Doctor to the saloon from the dentist’s?! “Keep ’em talking, Stephen, I’ll sneak round behind” is a lousy plan to yell across the street. Does the Doctor keep loaded guns on the TARDIS in case of a cosplay emergency?! The running gag of the Doctor being given guns is neat, witty, and a surprisingly good commentary on the character’s pacifism/heroism.

THE SAVAGES

Poor Steven, like Yaz he so often gets to repeat the subtle information as blatant and literal. “The traveller.” “You mean the Doctor!” “You live in caves like animals?” He also disbelieves Dodo for no reason at any given opportunity.

Doctor offered high office by stuffy tech bastards, as he will be on Galifrey. (More prototype stuff.) Splitting the Doctor from his companions at start of episode one turns out to be utterly redundant. Edal takes the Doctor away at gunpoint despite the Doc in theory being in authority. When the Doctor announces his intention to oppose the city leaders he has such thunder — he’s become our Doctor, his actions driven by decency, justice.

Lovely reveal that the savages are artists and builders, creators of a beautiful temple. Rare for the show to do the ‘practical solution to a SF problem’ thing like Steven using mirror on the light gun.

A bit regressive to start with the old ‘Doctor goes off to do science’ thing. It’s not just that the poshos are draining the savages, it’s that they know it’s wrong or they wouldn’t be hiding it. I’m desperate to know how the ‘freeze guns’ worked on screen when they moved captured characters around.

It’s a small thing, but in this story and the last Hartnell has been much more on-point with his dialogue delivery. Looking at the stills in the reconstruction, are Jano and some of the Elders’ skin…painted gold? (Or is it blacking up, putting us on very uncomfortable territory?) The Doctor’s personality ending up in Jano is one of those developments that feels true to the sci-fi of the episode, but also surprising — it also really connects to the theme empathy, of seeing from others’ perspectives.

Jano impersonating the Doctor is the show reaching the idea of the title character being an icon, familiar by mannerism, voice and vocabulary alone. Jano also a hairs-breadth from saying “I am…the Doctor” as a phrase with weight and power. The Doctor defined as conscience. He declares his intention to stop the Elders rather than sneaking around, the big old showboat.

Love the Doctor expressing his joy in the smashing up of the system. Two years ago he’d have been complaining that people are wrecking important and expensive scientific equipment. Slow pacing probably annoys people, but I love how much time you spend with the Elders up front knowing they’re the baddies and letting them talk until we essentially have them condemned from their own mouths.

THE WAR MACHINES

A series of brutal hits to start: London, wide shots, WOTAN knowing the term TARDIS, hard cut to club, sex and flirting in the air, the Doctor taking a taxi, in a club, WOTAN’s bug W symbol on screen at the end of episode one and getting his own credit, saying “Doctor Who”. Blimey.

They make pains to point out that Ben wasn’t doing important Navy work, so his departure in the TARDIS wouldn’t really be desertion. Ben immediately ruins his ‘save the cat’ introduction moment by blaming Polly for the assault he saved her from. Funny tension where Ben and Polly are introduced and Dodo gets hypnotised — cos she is clearly being replaced. Daft to hypnotise Dodo since who knows if she’s acting out of character?

There’s huge ambition and energy to the direction — madly stylised at times, but it gives a potentially tired show some real verve. Great integration of pre-recorded location film and studio sets throughout. The Doctor believes Ben’s report instantly — that’s a leap forward from standard form (again). With everything else so current, the 40s-style American journalist sticks out as a genre relic. Doctor never facing down WOTAN in person an odd omission, but obviously him standing up to a war machine is fab.

Check out WhoThrough Season One and WhoThrough Season Two.