March 5: The War Machines Episode 4 / Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.

(The War Machines episode 4 & the second Peter Cushing film)

On to the fourth and final episode, and I haven't even mentioned the special title graphics for this story, in that 60s "computer" font that denoted futuristic.  It's certainly different, the way the titles show up, one syllable at a time, on their own title card (as opposed to superimposed over the action, as has usually been the case in Doctor Who); it's as if, now that they've decided each serial gets its own title and they don't have individual episode names anymore, they have to do something different to make up for it.  Or it could be the new production team trying things out to put their own stamp on the show.

And one other thing to note (just to jump ahead slightly): the use of real BBC newsreaders (albeit not quite in their normal roles) helps sell the immediacy of this story, as we see a few random citizens' reactions to the news -- showing the threat isn't just isolated to a small area.  It's a nice little tactic that hasn't been used in Doctor Who before, but which adds some verisimilitude.

The Doctor examines the captured War Machine. (The War
Machines Episode 4) ©BBC

But the action continues as the Doctor stares down the oncoming War Machine, which decides not to attack him -- apparently because its programming is incomplete.  "This is a computer, and this computer hasn't been completely programmed," the Doctor tells the Minister (presumably of Defence).  "Can you make that a little clearer, Doctor?" the Minister asks, baffled.  Yes, clearly things have moved on since 1966.  Oh, and while we're here, as Toby Hadoke rightly points out in Running Through Corridors, it's not the case that the Doctor's cloak knocks off the end of the War Machine's gun; it's the Doctor's key that falls out of his cloak, and Ben reaches down to pick it up and starts to give it to him before deciding he'll do it later (which is why he has a key at the end of the episode).

And this is really Ben's chance to shine, isn't it?  He helps the Doctor trap the War Machine by running the cable that traps it, he goes up to the GPO Tower to rescue Polly before the converted War Machine attacks, and he generally gets to act heroic while still aiding the Doctor.  Michael Craze won't have a chance to be quite as good on Doctor Who again.

The action concludes when the Doctor, having reprogrammed the captured War Machine, sends it off to the GPO Tower to destroy WOTAN (presumably people can't do that because WOTAN would just hypnotize them).  There's an amazing shot where we see the top part of a War Machine as a back projection moves swiftly behind it -- it looks like it's taking a fun jaunt down the streets of London.  But the War Machine arrives at the top of the GPO Tower and smashes WOTAN, ending the threat.

It's not the most perfect story ever, but The War Machines is trying something different, setting its story in the present day and in a recognizable city.  It's occasionally awkward, but there's a charm and style to it -- certainly Michael Ferguson's direction is quite dynamic, shooting at different angles and often through bits of foreground scenery, which helps things no end.  But we also get to see Hartnell in charge of the authorities in a way we've never seen before.  He's helped out leaders and such previously, but he's never had such a commanding role before.  Here he's less an advisor and more a leader, and it's interesting to see how comfortably Hartnell-as-the-Doctor slips into said role.  The War Machines is really something quite special, presenting as it does a new way of doing Doctor Who.

But then that's been the remit of season 3 in a nutshell.  Season 2 was about seeing how far they could go.  Season 3 has been about expanding the boundaries of the show even further, but in different ways.  Season 2 experimented with different styles, increased humor, and more ambition, whereas season 3 has tried for different experiments that it (largely) pulls off.  We get a 12-part Dalek epic, but one that's played deadly straight, and any humor introduced comes naturally (and here I'm thinking of the Meddling Monk) rather than grafted onto the story.  We've had a story in the unbelievably far future, an historical tragedy with some doppelgänger action thrown in, a somewhat surreal tale with weirdly different tones from moment to moment...we've even had a comedy Western thrown in!  Season 3 showed us a new take on Doctor Who, with two new production teams, and it demonstrated that there's still plenty of life left in the format.

The Dalek saucer in London. (Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.)
©AARU Productions

And now, just as there was a special event between seasons 2 and 3, the break between seasons 3 and 4 saw a second Doctor Who movie: this one based on The Dalek Invasion of Earth.  But where Dr. Who and the Daleks saw a very faithful (one might say too faithful) adaption of the first Dalek serial, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. follows the basic plot beats of the second Dalek story without slavishly following every moment.  This means that, while the overall storyline is the same, the film moves much more quickly, cutting parts that aren't needed (for instance, the Slyther is missing entirely, and there's no David Campbell romance -- obviously partly because Susie Who is only 12 years old, but there's no romance with Dr. Who's niece Louise either) and streamlining other parts.  And here we note that David Whitaker received an "additional material" credit: one wonders how much influence he had on the scripts.

So the fact that the source material has been treated a little more loosely is actually a strength for this movie.  It means that we don't spend time retreading old ground (admittedly, not as much of a problem back when these movies were initially released and the original episodes couldn't be reseen) but instead getting to the action.  Roy Castle, who played Ian in the first movie, is gone; in his place is Police Constable Tom Campbell, as played by Bernard Cribbins.  This is an improvement; no disrespect to Roy Castle, but he always seemed slightly ill at ease in Dr. Who and the Daleks.  Bernard Cribbins, meanwhile, is immediately at home in his role, playing both action and comedy with such a sympathetic bent that you can't help but cheer him on.  And Jennie Linden's Barbara is also absent, so in her place we get Jill Curzon's Louise, who gets just about as much to do as Barbara had in the first one (which is to say, not much).  But Roberta Tovey's back as Susan, albeit a less irritating version, which is also welcome.  (And side note to say that it's probably not Tovey's fault, but Susan has quite appalling grammar: the note she leaves includes the phrase, "We heading for Watford.")

Brockley (Philip Madoc) betrays Dr. Who to the Daleks.
(Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.) ©AARU Productions

But once again it's Peter Cushing's performance as Dr. Who which steals the show.  Sadly, he's not present quite as much as in the last movie, but he lights up the screen with his portrayal.  He's just as curious and energetic as before, and he's a delight to watch.

And of course the supporting cast is also well chosen.  Ray Brooks as David and Andrew Keir as Wyler are both marvelous, with Keir just getting the edge as a gruff freedom fighter who's nevertheless charged with protecting a young girl.  He pulls it off with aplomb.  Godfrey Quigley's Dortmun also gets some nice moments, and his death attempting to bury the Daleks under a ton of rubble is at least more heroic-looking than his TV counterpart's demise.

But it's the collaborators who steal the show.  You really learn to dislike Eileen Way and Sheila Steafel as the two who betray Wyler and Susan to the Daleks in exchange for a bit more food; Steafel in particular looks wonderfully underhanded and devious in her scenes.  But the one who really wins the award is Philip Madoc as the black marketeer Brockley.  He has such an air of self-interest about him, calculating and cold, that even when he's helping our heroes (for payment, naturally) you can't help but love to hate him.  His final fate inside a shack destroyed by Daleks is a great moment.

Dr. Who, Wyler, and Susan in the Dalek control centre.
(Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.) ©AARU Productions

So the story is good, the cast is excellent, and the design is also great.  One of the places where The Dalek Invasion of Earth was let down was in its rather cheap-looking design: they tried, they really did, but in a lot of cases they couldn't quite stretch the resources to achieve what they needed.  No such problem here.  The Dalek saucer is really a spectacular design well realized, but it's not just the saucer: the Robomen uniforms are really great (perhaps losing a bit of that "zombie-fied" look that the originals had, but the images of secret police that these Robomen conjure up more than make up the difference), and the interior of Tardis also appears to have had an upgrade.  There are less loose wires hanging about and odd bits of technology scattered about haphazardly, in favor of computer banks and more sophisticated equipment.

As you've no doubt worked out, this is a movie with a lot to love.  The kinks present in the first film have been ironed out, and this stands as an exciting adaptation of a story that wasn't itself nearly as successful (or as much fun) as this is.  Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. would prove to be the final Peter Cushing film, but at least Dr. Who went out on a high note.

(Oh, and the final tag scene, with Tom arriving back in contemporary London just before he left, so that he can apprehend the criminals he was chasing at the beginning of the film, is wonderfully charming.)

March 4: The War Machines Episodes 2 & 3

My goodness!  Dodo is under the influence of the enemy and trying to betray the Doctor!  Has this ever happened before on the show?  I should know, I've been watching the thing, and I can't recall anything like this (a bit of hypnosis in "The Velvet Web" (The Keys of Marinus 2) maybe, but that's about it).  It should be faintly terrifying, turning the previously safe and trustworthy into the opposite, but it never quite feels that way.  Instead it feels more matter-of-fact, as if to say, "Oh yeah, I guess this is what the story's doing now, OK then."  Maybe it's just because, as The War Machines has existed in the archives for 30 years (and as far as my experiences are concerned it's never been missing), its major plot beats and twists have become overfamiliar from repeated rewatchings.  But you'd still think that this twist would engender some sort of reaction beyond, "Oh, all right then."

Dodo's final moment on Doctor Who. (The War
Machines Episode 2) ©BBC

It probably doesn't help matters that this part gets overshadowed by the nonexistence of Dodo's departure.  The scene starts off great: Dodo suggests they go visit Professor Brett again, so the Doctor phones ahead to make sure he'll be around.  So WOTAN tries to take over the Doctor via the telephone, which leads to an amazing scene where the Doctor is trying to pull the handset away from his head with both hands.  Dodo tries to tell him it's okay, contact has been established -- only it hasn't.  "It was as if... as if something enormous and terrific was trying to absorb me!" the Doctor cries.  Out of context it's a bit silly-looking, to be honest, but viewed in sequence with all the other stories, it's quite terrifying, much in the same way that Dodo's takeover isn't.  We've never seen the Doctor quite this scared and vulnerable before.  The moment quickly passes, but the memory lingers.  But then the Doctor regains his composure and successfully deprograms Dodo.  "I think she'll sleep for 48 hours," the Doctor says.  Sir Charles offers to take her to his home in the country, where his wife will look after her, and that's it for Jackie Lane -- we never see Dodo again.  There's a reason it's considered the worst companion send-off ever; she doesn't get any sort of proper goodbye whatsoever (and, to jump ahead briefly, the Doctor's departure is shot on location while Jackie Lane was still around, so there really is no excuse).  But goodbye, Dodo Chaplet; you often reacted in the strangest way to things, but you were fun in a cheeky sort of way.

Well, at least we've got companion surrogates Ben and Polly hanging about.  Polly gets captured pretty early on, undergoing the same hypnosis as Dodo, but Ben gets to do some investigating of his own, which leads him to the warehouse where one of the War Machines is being built and tested.

A War Machine chases after a soldier. (The War Machines
Episode 3) ©BBC

There's a bit of action in episode 2, but episode 3 of The War Machines is where the action really lies.  Ben gets to scramble around at the beginning, and then the action focuses primarily on him and Polly, as he sees what's going on, is captured and put to work, and then escapes to warn the Doctor. The Doctor gets Sir Charles to call in the army (more or less), which leads to a pretty good fight scene in the warehouse, as one War Machine takes out a squad of soldiers.  Of course, this is one of the scenes that was rather heavily censored, which means that we don't quite the full effect -- full props to the Restoration Team for restoring it the way they did, but there are a number of repeated shots and such that most certainly weren't in the finished product.  Nevertheless, we see the War Machine shoot down soldiers, cause their weapons to jam, and be impervious to any form of attack.  And then it gets loose into the street, and begins to bear down on the Doctor...

March 3: The Savages Episode 4 / The War Machines Episode 1

No worries; our heroes manage to escape, thanks to...Jano?  Yes, it seems the in-transference of the Doctor's energy has had more lasting side effects.  This of course means that we can regroup with the savages in the cave and plan the next move, which turns out to be to wait for Jano to arrive.  It seems the Doctor knows Jano's mind better than Jano does (probably because it's what the Doctor himself would do in that situation, although this is never clearly expressed), and so Jano does in fact turn up, after some guerrilla tactics from Steven that probably looked a lot more exciting than they sound (and to be fair, with the telesnaps it's not too bad).

The Doctor wishes Steven good luck. (The Savages Episode 4 -
from Doctor Who Photonovels: The Savages - Episode Four)
©BBC

This leads to the climactic moment where Jano takes everyone we care about into the laboratory, seals the door, and unleashes them on the machinery.  You can hear all the smashing going on in the background, even as Captain Edal frantically tries to gain entry and stop them.  But it's too late; the machinery has been smashed and the Elders and the savages now must live in peace together.  But they'll need a leader they can both trust, so they turn to Steven.  He's ultimately willing, and so he leaves the Doctor and Dodo behind as he starts the next phase of his life.  It's a nice, sweet departure -- we see that Steven has grown during his travels with the Doctor, and that he's now ready to take up new responsibilities.  After all, if he can look after the Doctor, he can look after this planet.

It's an odd tale, The Savages.  It's pleasingly situated firmly in the moral compass that the show has established with its "exploitation is bad" theme, but it's a theme that's not really developed.  The Elders try to justify their actions with a few "they're subhuman" lines, but you never get the sense that they believe that.  Instead we get a number of exciting action sequences in caves and things (filmed in Ealing, which suggests they were a little more dynamic and interestingly directed than might otherwise be expected) that just leads to frustration that we can't actually see what's happening.  Like The Celestial Toymaker before, this is a story that probably can't be adequately judged based on what's left.  We at least have the telesnaps, so we have a sense of what this looked like, but that's just not enough here.  It seems unlikely that this was an incredible story, but one gets the suspicion that it was more interesting than what the soundtrack suggests.

All of The War Machines exists on video²⁵, which means we can see the TARDIS arrive in '60s London.  We even get some location filming as Dodo and the Doctor look around.  "Oh, the tower!  It's finished!" Dodo exclaims while looking at the GPO Tower (so she must have left with the Doctor between 1961 and 1964).  "You know, there's something alien about that tower.  I can scent it," the Doctor says, making one of the better-known fluffs from this serial...except then Dodo replies with, "Smells okay to me; good old London smoke."  So either Jackie Lane is incredibly good at covering Hartnell's fluffs, or this was actually intentional.

But just take a moment to let the location sink in: we're back in contemporary London, a place we haven't visited in any detail since "An Unearthly Child" (brief stops at the end of "The Planet of Decision" (The Chase 6) and "Bell of Doom" (The Massacre 4) notwithstanding).  In many ways, then, this is as alien a world to Doctor Who as Skaro or Refusis II.  So take that moment, because the story certainly doesn't.  We go from the Doctor sensing danger at the GPO Tower to his arrival at the top, in the midst of a top secret lab containing a supercomputer named WOTAN.  It's really quite an astonishing shift, especially for this era -- you'd expect at least a little bit of the Doctor's efforts to enter the Tower and the lab, but here it's just presented as a fait accompli, as writer Ian Stuart Black clearly just wants to get to the main plot as quickly as possible (the novelization - also by Black - at least has the Doctor wave some paperwork courtesy of Ian Chesterton at the people in charge). 

And so we're introduced to the most advanced supercomputer ever, invented by a Professor Brett.  The Doctor tests it by asking it the square root of 17422 and is impressed when he gets the right answer back.  Er, yes.  Clearly the standards of impressive technology have moved on since 1966.  How it knows what the word "TARDIS" stands for is slightly more impressive, although that just suggests Ian and/or Barbara wrote it down somewhere and that's where WOTAN saw it.  Oh, and say hello to Professor Brett's secretary Polly -- she'll become important later.  Yet as impressive as WOTAN is, the Doctor still seems suspicious of it -- probably because of that sensation he had earlier, but there's also a subtext present that suggests he thinks computers shouldn't control too much.

But then Dodo mentions how she'd like to go to "the hottest night spot in town", and the name of the place hasn't even left Polly's mouth before we're transported to the Inferno; clearly this story is all about action.  And here we're introduced to a sailor named Ben Jackson, who will also become important later.  So Polly and Dodo have a good time with Ben, while the Doctor heads to the press conference for WOTAN, only Professor Brett is really late, and when he does arrive he behaves very oddly.  It turns out that the Doctor's suspicions were right, and WOTAN is indeed dangerous.  It's trying to hypnotize people into carrying out its bidding, and to this end it takes over Dodo, who heads to the Tower.  So when the Doctor wanders into the Inferno ("He looks like that disc jockey!" club owner Kitty says, presumably referring to now-disgraced-isn't-really-strong-enough-a-word DJ Jimmy Savile), Dodo's nowhere to be found.  She's meeting with WOTAN, who informs her that "Doctor Who is required."  Get used to this, by the way...Gerry Davis appears to be operating under the impression that the Doctor's name really is Who.







²⁵ Well, except for some missing censored clips from episodes 3 & 4, but these have been recreated on the DVD using the original soundtrack and some clever editing.

March 2: The Savages Episodes 2 & 3

So the inhumanity upon which the Elders' society has been created is revealed by the end of the last episode.  Yet it's not immediately clear if Dodo understands the full implications of what she witnesses in the transference room.  But the Doctor is willing to listen to her suspicions (albeit outside of the city, where they're less likely to be overheard).  This, combined with his own uneasiness about the Elders, starts to sway him.  The discovery of the savage from the top of the episode (the one who "threatened" Dodo in the last cliffhanger) and his callous treatment at the hands of one of the guards seems to set the Doctor firmly against Jano and his people.  This leads to a great confrontation between the Doctor and Jano.  "Do you not realize that all progress is based on exploitation?" Jano asks.  But the Doctor is indignant: "Exploitation indeed!  This, sir, is protracted murder!"  As the Doctor is opposed to the Elders' way of life, they decide to subject the Doctor to the same treatment as the savages.

The Doctor confronts Jano over the actions of his society.
(The Savages Episode 2 - from Doctor Who Photonovels: The
Savages - Episode Two) ©BBC

The thing that's interesting about this is that, after having set up the amoral actions in the first episode, the second sets the Doctor against it but powerless to do anything.  He is helpless in the clutches of the Elders and finds himself on the receiving end of their machinery.  That means it's up to Steven and Dodo to take action.

This is primarily what Episode 3 is about.  The Doctor has been drained of his life energy and thus can't even help himself, much less anyone else.  (Although it doesn't seem to be the case that William Hartnell is actually on vacation, as he's present for a number of scenes here.)  But Steven and Dodo not only befriend the savages, they also help capture one of the guards sent to look for them.  It sounds like a reasonably exciting sequence; pity we only have the soundtrack now.

But what the soundtrack does convey effectively is Frederick Jaeger's performance as Jano.  He decides to take on all of the Doctor's life force (the "in-transference") for himself, ostensibly to protect anyone else from unknown side effects -- the Doctor, after all, is a much higher source of energy than they've ever used before -- but really more so that Jano can take on some of the Doctor's characteristics.  It's really quite amazing to hear Jaeger take on so many of the Doctor's mannerisms and inflections; you could almost believe that someone's simply treated Hartnell's voice to make it sound a little different than normal.  But it's not just the vocal part; Jano seems to have acquired some of the Doctor's morals too, initially making to smash the transference machinery before he recovers himself.

The Doctor, of course, is still helpless, and when Steven and Dodo go back to the city to rescue him, he's used as bait in a trap, allowing the guards to capture all of the time travellers, so that they can each be used to give of their life force...

March 1: "The OK Corral" / The Savages Episode 1

(The Gunfighters episode 4 & The Savages episode 1)

So much like Donald Cotton's last script, The Gunfighters concludes with a darker, more violent episode than the previous three had been.  But unlike The Myth Makers, "The OK Corral" ends with the people we're rooting for still alive at the end, while the villains of the piece receive their comeuppance.²⁴

Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday shoot Phineas Clanton.
("The OK Corral") ©BBC

The nature of the episode is such that it's not nearly as humorous as the last three, and thus it's much more concerned with wrapping up the story.  But that's ok; we needed some more substance to this story, and "The OK Corral" delivers, moving all the pieces to the final, surprisingly somber gunfight at the OK Corral.  Other than a slightly out-of-place bit with Dodo ("I was only trying to help!" she says indignantly, after Doc Holliday has to rescue her from Johhny Ringo.  "You try to help me any more, you'll be the death of me!" Holliday replies), the gunfight is deadly straight.  This is serious (and well-directed) business.

There's a bit of a tag at the end, as Holliday wishes the time travellers well, but The Gunfighters is essentially over.  Now, this story has a reputation as being one of the worst Doctor Who stories -- probably as a result of Peter Haining's book  A Celebration, which had to select a story as its whipping boy while it extolled the praises of all the rest.  This is grossly unfair.  All right, maybe you don't like the song (although it must be said, it's a very catchy melody that you'll be whistling for days after), but the sheer comic talent on display here should more than make up for it.  This is a gem -- maybe not a perfectly polished gem, but still one heartily worth enjoying, with the added bonus that this happens to be a story that we can actually see in full.  A story to be treasured.

But it's time to move on, as we say farewell to individually-titled episodes ("The OK Corral" marks the last time part of a story receives an individual episode title until 2005) and on to The Savages Episode 1.  So we're back to the soundtrack, but now that Innes Lloyd is producer the telesnaps are back!  So we can actually get a glimpse of what this story looked like.

It's got to be said though that this story starts rather oddly.  There's no visceral danger present; Steven and Dodo are threatened by some savages, but most of what happens occurs on a cerebral level.  It's also odd that the Elders who built the city near where the TARDIS arrives (sorry to be awkward with the phrasing, but neither it nor the planet itself ever receives a proper name) seem to already know of the Doctor and in fact have been expecting his arrival.  We're getting a sense, quite early on in the series, that the Doctor is a known figure in the universe.  The Doctor admires the Elders' society, but when he questions what it's based on, the Elders' leader, Jano, is a bit evasive, only saying that they take energy from "a very special form of animal vitality."  Yes, this story is about exploiting other people for their own gains.  The savages outside the city are presented as just that, but they also clearly feel pain and concern and are obviously intelligent (when one of the guards captures the young girl Nanina, another savage named Chal offers to take her place).  The savages are people just like the Elders, even if their society is different.  This then is a more cerebral sort of danger, the nasty exploitation of a group of people for selfish ends.

Oh, and then while this more abstract horror is sinking in, Dodo wanders down a dark corridor and is scared by a shuffling figure with outstretched hands.  Roll credits!







²⁴ Ok, historical nitpicking time: setting aside the fact that The Gunfighters doesn't mention the Clantons' allies the McLaurys at all, Phineas Clanton wasn't present at the gunfight, and neither was Johnny Ringo.  Although Billy was killed, Ike fled the scene almost immediately.  Meanwhile, Virgil Earp was wounded, along with Morgan Earp, who was also present at the scene, while Doc Holliday was grazed by a bullet.  It seems that more than a few of the events depicted here derive from the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral rather than actual history.

February 28: "Don't Shoot the Pianist" / "Johnny Ringo"

(The Gunfighters episodes 2 & 3)

So there's some strong competition, but "Don't Shoot the Pianist" might be one of the funniest episodes of Doctor Who.  It's certainly up there.  Steven's getting really fed up singing the same song over and over again, and it takes the regular singer Kate showing up to let him stop -- only to have him play the piano while she sings.  "Don't mind me," Dodo fumes, having just been playing.  "Just have a good time with your new friends!"  Honestly, her sense of priorities seem consistently misplaced -- has she not noticed they were being forced to play at gunpoint?

The Doctor, while holding the Clantons at gunpoint, is happy
to see Wyatt Earp. ("Don't Shoot the Pianist") ©BBC

But really, the star of the show is William Hartnell.  Donald Cotton has decided to write a story where the Doctor isn't responsible for the main action but instead wanders about the place slightly bemused.  It means that in general Hartnell can play up the comedic side of things without having to worry too much about moving the plot along.  And as there's not too much plot moving happening in this episode (most of it is at a more-or-less standstill while the Clantons labor under the misapprehension that the Doctor is Doc Holliday), that leaves quite a bit of room for comedy.  From the Doctor explaining to the Clantons that he's not Doc Holliday, he just happened to be in his office when Seth Harper walked in and then Holliday insisted on lending him his gun, to his time spent in the jail cell under the protective custody of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, Hartnell is a master of underplaying just the right amount, so that even though he's incredibly funny it still seems in character.  Steven hands him a gun through the cell window, which he then fiddles with in front of Earp, pointing it at him at one point while gesturing (which John Alderson as Earp reacts to with just the right amount of faint alarm) before handing it over: "I have no intention of trying anything, only people keep giving me guns and I do wish they wouldn't."

Sure, there are some minor issues (and here I'm thinking primarily of the accents -- most of them aren't too bad, but Peter Purves' accent is a bit odd just because we're used to him sounding otherwise, while David Cole as Billy Clanton sounds like he went to a finishing school, despite attempting to speak in a dialect), but they by no means detract from the action.

"Johnny Ringo" is a little more serious, introducing as it does the title character and advancing the storyline.  After Steven is saved from a lynch mob, the Clantons learn that the Doctor isn't Doc Holliday after all, and so they plot to go after him by hiring Johnny Ringo to take care of him.  Ringo is shown to be a brutal man, gunning down Charlie the barman just because he talks too much.  The Clantons may be a bit inept, but Ringo is anything but.  Yet as Holliday left Tombstone and took Dodo with him, Steven decided to team up with Ringo to find them.  Meanwhile, Phineas Clanton is broken out of jail by his brothers, who gun down Warren Earp as they do so (again, not historically accurate -- Warren Earp wasn't in Tombstone at the time).  The stage has been set for the final episode.

There are still some fun moments: the "Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon" starts entertainingly narrating the action on screen, and there's one moment with the Doctor that is hilarious.  The Doctor explains to Wyatt Earp that Steven has gone off with a man named Johnny Ringo to look for Dodo.  "Ringo?" Earp responds in disbelief.  "Yes, yes," the Doctor replies.  "You've got a photograph of him here, look," he adds, helpfully passing Wyatt a wanted poster that Earp immediately throws aside.  But ultimately this episode is more about getting things ready for the climactic shootout than anything else.  Soon the stage is set for "The OK Corral"...

February 27: "The Final Test" / "A Holiday for the Doctor"

(The Celestial Toymaker episode 4 & The Gunfighters episode 1)

Oh hey, we can actually watch this episode!  And it is clear that visuals do help somewhat -- we can see Cyril's reactions and we can watch the danger that Steven and Dodo are in by almost falling off the game spaces and onto the electrified floor.

But we're still watching other people play a board game.  And it's not the most expensive-looking set ever, is it?  There's a certain minimal charm to it, but it's not sufficiently distracting to engage the eye when the mind wanders.  Some aspects are good though; the Toymaker's desk and the tin robot monitors are really quite lovely, but then they're stuck in a nondescript white room.

Dodo also continues to be gullible, falling for Cyril's "injured" trick despite already knowing that a) Cyril's an underhanded player, b) moving to a different square without authorization sends you back to the start, and c) Steven is adamantly telling her not to.  It's this last point that seems to make up her mind, as she yells she's going to help him, moves to his square, and has to go back to start.  It does point out Dodo's kind nature and her willingness to see the best in people, but it's also frustrating to watch since we're really on Steven's side in this case.

The Toymaker congratulates the Doctor on (almost) completing
the Trilogic Game. ("The Final Test") ©BBC

In any event, Cyril is eventually undone by his own schemes, making the winning roll but then forgetting he'd put slippery powder on one of the spaces, which sends him off to his "death", leaving a charred doll behind.  The rest of the episode consists of the Doctor brought back to permanence and full voice -- despite Wiles' and Tosh's best efforts²³ -- and attempting to work out how to leave the Toymaker's domain without getting caught up in its destruction.  He eventually figures out how to imitate the Toymaker's voice to make the final move for him, dematerializing just as the Toymaker's realm explodes with some, ah, interesting choices of stock footage.

The Celestial Toymaker is a hard story to evaluate based on what we've got, as so much of it does appear to be visual in nature.  The visuals we do have though, with "The Final Test", aren't the most encouraging things ever.  There's enough reason to be cautiously optimistic, but it's still not clear how much visuals would save, say, the second half of "The Celestial Toyroom".  But possibly more than any other currently missing story, The Celestial Toymaker is almost impossible to evaluate based on what we've got, other than to note that it's not very workable as an audio-only story.

So not only does "The Final Test" still exist, but the next four episodes still exist as well.  So we can enjoy "A Holiday for the Doctor".  It's not much of a holiday, though, as the Doctor is suffering a bad toothache as a result of one of Cyril's sweets at the end of last episode.  But rather than arrive in a modern or futuristic locale where he can get his tooth properly looked at, he arrives in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, in 1881 (the second time Doctor Who has traveled to America).  The episode starts out quite seriously; there's a song occasionally entering the proceedings to help set the mood, and the Clanton brothers all seem pretty intent on getting their revenge on Doc Holliday, who killed their brother Ruben (not historically accurate, but never mind).  Doc Holliday is less than enthralled by this: "You kill a guy out of sheer professional ethics, and then you've got three of his brothers chasin' after you to leave at once." 

As things progress it becomes clear that this isn't going to be as serious a treatment of the subject as, say, The Massacre was -- not surprising, given writer Donald Cotton's last story was The Myth Makers.  This means that there are some great moments, such as when the Doctor, in Holliday's office to have his tooth removed, realizes there's no anesthetic available.  "You're welcome to a slug of rattlesnake oil!" Holliday says, proffering a bottle.  "Oh my dear man, I never touch alcohol," the Doctor says.  "Well, I do," Holliday replies, taking a large swig.  And then there's Steven and Dodo, who've dressed up in what look more like fancy-dress versions of American West attire, being forced to sing and play piano for the Clantons (who are under the impression they're friends of Doc Holliday).  The bit where Steven starts to become exasperated while singing, only to see one of the gang nonchalantly point a revolver at his face, is a piece of understated joy.  We're only an episode in, but The Gunfighters looks like it's going to be much more entertaining than The Celestial Toymaker was.








²³ Producer John Wiles, who was Verity Lambert's replacement, never got along with William Hartnell, and it was becoming clear to many that Hartnell, who was sick with arteriosclerosis (though he didn't know it at the time), wouldn't be able to continue in the role much longer.  So Wiles and story editor Donald Tosh decided to write him out in this serial by virtue of giving him a different appearance and such when the Toymaker brought him back, allowing the role to be recast.  Hartnell reportedly got wind of this and went over their heads to Gerald Savory, who had Hartnell's contract extended for 6 months.  (That's one version, anyway; another suggests that the contract was extended automatically without Wiles realizing it.)   John Wiles, who hadn't really wanted to produce in the first place, decided that enough was enough and he left the position -- which is why The Celestial Toymaker is actually the first story produced by Wiles' successor, Innes Lloyd. And yes, in many ways the drama behind the scenes during the making of this story is much more interesting than what ended up on screen.