June 19: Frontier in Space Episodes One & Two

After a near collision with a passing spaceship, the TARDIS materializes on said ship, only to find that tensions are high.  It seems that Earth cargo vessels, like this one, have been raided recently by Draconian ships -- and sure enough, this ship is next.  Except things aren't what they seem, as Jo watches the ship outside appear to change shape, and then soon after one of the crew members perceives the Doctor as a Draconian, while Jo sees a Drashig (as seen last time) -- and each illusion is accompanied by a strange noise.  It seems that something is influencing the perceptions of the humans aboard, using ultrasonics to cause them to see whatever it is they fear.  All well and good, but try convincing the already paranoid crew of that.

This first episode concerns itself largely with setting up the situation.  We learn about the tensions between the humans and the Draconians (thanks to a scene between the Earth President and the Draconian Ambassador), about how there was a war before and it looks like there'll be a war again, as each side accuses the other of violating the previous peace treaty and raiding the other race's ships.  Clear care is going into making this seem futuristic; the fashion, obviously, with the huge collars and the frankly implausible padding on the shoulders and forearms, but also touches like the President being a woman and the newsreader being black (both progressive ideas in 1973) help define this as a "future" story (and, parallel timeline aside, the first look of futuristic Earth we've had (as opposed to simply hearing about it) since The Seeds of Death).  And we should also take a moment to acknowledge how genuinely impressive the Draconian makeup is, with an alien yet humanoid appearance, extremely expressive and lovingly crafted⁷², and with an attention to detail that extends to the similarly textured arms and hands.  It's fantastic work.

Then as the episode progresses we see that the attackers of the cargo vessel aren't Draconians but in fact Ogrons, as last seen in Day of the Daleks (well, and a brief cameo in Carnival of Monsters).  But of course the human crew see Draconians, and they can't be persuaded otherwise.  A shootout leaves the crew stunned but unharmed -- which means they can testify that they saw Draconians, and that the Doctor and Jo are Draconian spies...

So yes, episode two does see the Doctor and Jo spend the vast majority of the length locked up, but at least Malcolm Hulke has inserted some humor into the situation: "Right," Jo declares, once the guard has moved off; "we'll give it a few minutes, then I'll start groaning and pretending I'm ill.  When he comes in, you can use your Venusian karate...  Then, we'll take his gun, go to the flight deck and make somebody take us back to Earth."  "Jo," the Doctor replies reasonably, "this ship's already going back to Earth."  Then, once they arrive on Earth, they're held in a different cell, while the Doctor reassures Jo about mind probes: "As long as you tell them the truth, they can't do you any harm."  This leads to a story about a giant rabbit, a pink elephant, and a purple horse with yellow spots, who were all delegates at an intergalactic peace conference, it seems.  So when the Doctor was captured by the Medusoids ("a sort of hairy jellyfish with claws, teeth, and a leg"), the mind probes couldn't believe he was telling the truth, and so they burned themselves out.  It's a fun little story.

The problem with Earth, however (getting back to the main plot), is that no one will listen to their story of a third party attempting to start another war between Earth and Draconia.  General Williams is convinced that the Doctor and Jo are Draconian spies, and nothing the Doctor says can persuade him.  ("Allow me to congratulate you, sir," the Doctor says to Williams, exasperatedly.  "You have the most totally closed mind that I've ever encountered.")  The President seems slightly more inclined to listen, but she still has a hard time believing the story.  Meanwhile, the Draconians believe that the Doctor and Jo are in fact working for General Williams, trying to assign blame for the raids to the Draconians and thus incite a war.  We learned he started the last war between the two races, and the Draconians think he's trying to start another.  Stalemate, it would seem.  And then, to make matters worse, at the end of the episode the Ogrons (once again making the humans see them as Draconians) raid the prison where the Doctor and Jo are being kept.  "You, come," an Ogron says to the Doctor at the end of the episode.







⁷² Well, at least as far as the hero masks go.  The Draconian illusion that one of the crewmen sees the Doctor as is obviously a rough one-piece copy of the more detailed appliances.