February 18: "Coronas of the Sun" / "The Feast of Steven"

(The Daleks' Master Plan episodes 6 & 7)

Last time the Daleks had cornered the Doctor, Steven, and Sara on the planet Mira.  But fortunately it's the Visians, 8-foot tall invisible creatures, to the rescue as they choose that moment to attack the Daleks and let the travellers make their escape by making off with the Daleks' spaceship.  This is followed by a lengthy sequence in the ship (which curiously makes the same "ship traveling through space" noise as the Earth ship Spar did) where the Doctor creates a duplicate taranium core to fool the Daleks with.  But it needs to be energized somehow, which Steven does with a very dangerous piece of technobabble that nevertheless almost kills him -- and let's just take a moment to appreciate how a good a scream Peter Purves lets loose.  This also has the effect of surrounding Steven in a forcefield that withstands a Dalek blast -- so he's able to make his escape into the TARDIS back on Kembel without harm.

This is yet another episode that probably looked better than it sounds, as it's concerned mainly with making the fake taranium core and the consequences of those actions.  At least the Daleks get a couple good lines though: "You make your incompetence sound like an achievement," the lead Dalek says to Mavic Chen after he attempts to convince the Daleks that he intended for the Doctor and company to be transported to Mira.  But beyond that, this seems like another episode marking time rather than significantly changing events or anything like that.  And this is the second episode in a row with a nice-sounding title that doesn't actually seem related to the events of the episode.

The Doctor has a chat with Bing Crosby. ("The Feast of
Steven" -- off-air photo taken by Robert Jewell.  From The
Destruction of Time - Off-Air Photos)

But now it's time for Doctor Who's first ever Christmas episode, "The Feast of Steven", which chooses to take a break in the middle of this Dalek epic and have some fun instead.  "The Feast of Steven" also has the dubious honor of being the least likely missing episode to ever be recovered, since there's no evidence that it was ever telerecorded -- certainly it was never offered for sale and wasn't part of the Daleks' Master Plan package that Australia passed on.  Which is a bit of a shame, because it sounds like it was quite fun.

The first half takes place in a police station, where the Doctor, Steven, and Sara each in turn head into the police station to either rescue the others or because they themselves have been arrested.  This is also the sequence where one of the first Doctor's more famous lines comes from: "Your ideas are too narrow, too small, too crippled... You might say that I am a citizen of the universe, and a gentleman to boot!"  Of course, what's less well remembered is the constable's reply: "He's having us on a bit, isn't he, sir?"

But after the shenanigans in the police station there's a quick reminder that we're in the middle of a serial ("I'd forgotten about the Daleks," Sara says), and then it's off to Hollywood in the silent era.  This part is less successful, in part because it's clearly visual; it's like listening to the soundtrack of a Three Stooges short and trying to imagine what's going on.  Peter Purves does his best narrating the soundtrack (even if he seems to be putting on a bit of a funny voice at times), but alas, this is a sequence that was probably best seen rather than heard.  Still, it's still charming in its own way.  And then it all ends with that (in)famous moment where William Hartnell turns to camera and wishes the audience "a Happy Christmas to all of you at home!"  And we have a photo to prove he turned to camera, too.  And thus ends Doctor Who's only 20th-century Christmas episode.

February 17: "The Traitors" / "Counter Plot"

(The Daleks' Master Plan episodes 4 & 5)

Wow, this is a brutal episode.  It opens with Katarina being held captive by a dangerous criminal, but then she sacrifices herself to kill him by opening the airlock to space while they're both inside it.  The Doctor gives a nice little speech about how he'll always remember her as one of the daughters of the Gods, and then we apparently got a shot of her floating through space that was so good, Stanley Kubrick asked Douglas Camfield how he'd achieved it.  Not bad for someone who's only been around for 4-and-a-bit episodes, but it also serves to underline the stakes in this story.  Up to this point we've been larking about on jungle planets and such, dealing with Daleks and their strange allies; it's been dangerous but not really threatening.  But now things are brought sharply into focus with Katarina's death.

Things continue in this vein after the Spar crash-lands on Earth.  Bret is forced to kill one of his friends, who accidentally reveals that he's working for Mavic Chen.  Bret Vyon has been labeled a traitor, since it's known that he and Kurt Gantry went looking for Marc Cory after they received his distress signal (odd, that, since Cory never launched the distress signal beacon and in fact the Doctor found the tape in the jungle -- of course, if we're discussing odd things, the same scene has Mavic Chen, upon learning that Vyon and Gantry were on Kembel, declare that they must be the ones who "took over my Spar"; you'd think he wouldn't want to broadcast that he himself had been on Kembel, but maybe given the ship Bret and company stole it was unavoidable).  And then, in the final moments of the episode, he's gunned down by fellow agent Sara Kingdom -- another life lost.  "The Traitors" is a brutal episode, and it's becoming clear that the days of Verity Lambert running the show are over.

The Daleks corner Steven, the Doctor, and Sara on the planet
Mira. ("Counter Plot") ©BBC

"Counter Plot" is fortunately another episode that exists on video.  Funny, that; Marco Polo is a serial that was sold to 23 different nations, and none of its episodes survive.  The Daleks' Master Plan was sent to a single country but never aired, and yet we have three of the twelve episodes existing in the archives.  Interesting how things work out.

But in any case, this episode begins with the Doctor and Steven trapped on Earth -- although they don't actually know that yet, and they don't even know that Bret's been killed.  All they know is that they're caught in a room with Sara Kingdom and some white mice when suddenly all three are disseminated across space to the distant planet Mira, caught up in a science experiment.  After the events of the last episode, things go back to the way they were before, with another episode that seems to be marking time.  But we do get some wonderful gloating moments from Mavic Chen (along with some sinister acting from his right-hand man Karlton), and the Doctor gets a good line after he realizes he's been transported across space: "The mice couldn't have done that."  But beyond that, the primary function of this episode is to get the Doctor and Steven away from Earth and convince Sara Kingdom that Mavic Chen is a traitor, which they seem to do easily enough.  Then she reveals that Bret was in fact her brother, just to give a sense of how strong her sense of duty is.  And then the Daleks find them.  "I'm afraid, my friends, the Daleks have won," the Doctor announces sadly.

It's not the strongest or most interesting episode, but it is nice to be able to see "Counter Plot".  Much how a fairly standard episode like "Day of Armageddon" revealed some nice camera work and interesting direction, so too does "Counter Plot" reveals some interesting moments -- the shots of the Doctor, Steven, and Sara being transported through space via cellular dissemination are pleasingly unusual, with good direction blended with unusual sounds to create something wonderfully evocative.  It once again shows how good Douglas Camfield is, and "Counter Plot" ends up being a reasonably entertaining episode.  Even if we never actually discover what the counterplot is.

February 16: "Day of Armageddon" / "Devil's Planet"

(The Daleks' Master Plan episodes 2 & 3)

Hooray!  Back on video for "Day of Armageddon", and you can get a bit of a sense of what we've missed by being audio only.  Because let's be honest: in terms of plot, it's not very exciting.  The Daleks burn down the jungle, the Doctor impersonates a delegate to the Dalek conference, and Bret, Steven, and Katarina steal Mavic Chen's ship.  Everything else is just talking.

Bret, Steven, and Katarina prepare to steal Mavic Chen's ship.
("Day of Armageddon") ©BBC

But when you can see the images, you can tell what Douglas Camfield is doing with the camera.  There are some great shots, not just of the Daleks burning down the jungle (which were shots that already existed prior to 2004), but also of the conference.  You can see Kevin Stoney's performance as Mavic Chen, which plays with a sense of mischievous superiority. And seeing pictures of the delegates is one thing; seeing them move and interact is something else quite entirely.  "Day of Armageddon" is largely a setting-up episode (we learn what the Daleks' plans are and how Mavic Chen is involved), but it's directed with enough flair that you don't really notice until subsequent viewings.

Back to the soundtrack for "Devil's Planet" (other than a minute and a half clip from Blue Peter) which seems mainly like complications.  Trantis, the delegate from last time that the Doctor impersonated [edit: the doomed delegate's actually Zephon, not Trantis -- keeping all the delegates straight is hard work], is executed by the Daleks (their word), while the Daleks manage to drag the Spar off course and down onto the planet Desperus, "the penal planet of the Solar System", where convicts try to escape their imprisonment.  Oh! and we learn that the Doctor stole the core of the Daleks' ultimate weapon, the Time Destructor, which consists of a full emm of taranium (Terry (Nation) + uranium, perhaps?), which is both incredibly powerful and incredibly rare.  That's apparently a big deal, and so the Daleks are keen to get it back.  Anything else?  Oh yes, the Doctor produces Marc Cory's last message (as seen, sort of, in "Mission to the Unknown"), so that plot thread is wrapped up.  But this is just another episode marking time, it seems, full of incident but not much plot.  Still, it's a hell of a cliffhanger scream from Katarina.

February 15: "Horse of Destruction" / "The Nightmare Begins"

(The Myth Makers episode 4 & The Daleks' Master Plan episode 1)

The thing about "Horse of Destruction" is how different in tone it is from the previous three episodes.  Before it's been quite fun, largely larking about with Greeks and Trojans, but this episode is decidedly darker in tone.  There's little humor present, with the proceedings much more concerned about the drama of the situation.  Vicki convinces Troilus to leave Troy before it's sacked but without telling him why, but when he's out on the plains he encounters Achilles and has a fight with him which appears to leave him wounded.  Meanwhile Odysseus is shown to be a cruel man who hopes that Agamemnon or Achilles is killed so that he can gain more of the booty -- interested more in wealth than any sort of honor or pride.  And there's something quite upsetting about finding Priam and Paris dead, after we've spent two episodes in their quite pleasant company.  Death and carnage abound, and even Steven is gravely injured.  Yet Vicki decides to stay behind, apparently because she's quite taken with Troilus, and so the Doctor and Steven leave without her (but with Cassandra's servant Katarina instead) as she plans with Troilus and his cousin Aeneas to found another Troy (or in other words, Rome).  So good-bye to Vicki, who at least gets a decent farewell scene, even if we don't actually see her farewell to the Doctor.

I have to admit, before this I hadn't really given much thought to The Myth Makers -- I'd listened to the soundtrack once before and read the Target novelization, but that was about it.  But now, having listened more closely, I find this story has gone way up in my estimation.  Sure, the last episode is rather at odds with the other three, but it's at least somewhat appropriate for the tale ultimately being told, and those other three episodes sound like quite a delight.  The Myth Makers is now quite high on my wish list for missing episodes recoveries.

But it's time to move on, back to the planet Kembel (where we were four episodes ago), to find out what's been happening since "Mission to the Unknown".  Earth has sent someone to investigate the disappearance of Marc Cory, so say hello to Nicholas Courtney's first role on Doctor Who, as agent Bret Vyon.  He doesn't exactly make the best first impression though, seeing how he takes the TARDIS key from the Doctor and tries to hijack the ship -- albeit to warn Earth about "those things."  So not only is it the introduction of Nicholas Courtney, but also of not discussing the identity of the main villains, despite the fact that not only was the Daleks' return spoiled in the Radio Times that week, but also the fact that we're on the same planet as we were in "Mission to the Unknown" -- you know, the last episode to feature the Daleks.  But whatever.  At least Bret Vyon helps cure Steven's blood poisoning, acquired from his wound last time.

There's also a casual infodump where two technicians on Earth watch the news, where we learn about Mavic Chen, Guardian of the Solar System, the fact that it's currently the year 4000, and that there's been peace in the system for 25 years.  It's really quite lovely, and a long way from an "as well you know" speech.  But it also sets up Mavic Chen for his betrayal at the end of the episode, as he plans on selling the Solar System out to the Daleks.  And really, that's about it for this episode.  Not that much really happens, but the clips we can see suggest it was directed well, and to its credit it does keep things moving quite nicely, so that you don't really notice how little actually goes on this episode.  And it's got a nice evocative title too.

February 14: "Small Prophet, Quick Return" / "Death of a Spy"

(The Myth Makers episodes 2 & 3)

Seriously, though.  How did Donald Cotton get away with a title like "Small Prophet, Quick Return"?  Especially given that his original title for "Death of a Spy" was nixed...¹⁷

A Trojan goddess emerges from the shrine.  ("Small
Prophet, Quick Return", from 8mm off-air footage) ©BBC

But anyway. Last time our attention was focused mainly on the Greek encampment.  This time we get a lot in Troy, which is generally portrayed as something less out of Homer and more out of a P.G. Wodehouse novel.  Paris behaves like a member of the Drones Club, frightfully polite and not really into this whole fighting business at all, but he's being forced into it by his father King Priam, taking the "rich uncle" role, albeit a slightly bloodthirsty one.  ("I should think not indeed, bringing back blessed shrines," Priam remarks after Paris announces he's captured a shrine for the temple.  "Go back and bring Achilles' body, if you want to do something useful.")  And Cassandra is the sister who no one listens to because all she prophesies is doom and destruction ("Don't pay any attention to Cassandra," Paris tells Vicki, "she takes the gloomiest view.  I suspect it's a kind of insurance, so that if things do go wrong she can always say, 'I told you so.'").  It's into this that Vicki is thrust, but she never tells anyone anything other than the truth: that she's from the future.  Cassandra seems to dislike her, but everyone else is quite taken with Vicki.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is forced to admit he's not Zeus, and consequently Odysseus gives him two days to win the Trojan War.  Steven, meanwhile, decides to go rescue Vicki from the Trojans, so he plans to be taken prisoner by Paris.  That whole conversation leading up to the duel is quite a delight:

PARIS: It's Achilles I seek.
STEVEN: And must my Lord Achilles be roused to undertake your death, adulterer?
PARIS: Yes, well, I'm prepared to overlook that for the moment.  I assure you I have no quarrel with you.
STEVEN: I'm Greek, you're Trojan.  Is not that quarrel enough?
PARIS: Yes, well, personally, I think this whole business has been carried just a little bit too far. I mean, that Helen thing was just a misunderstanding.

(from The Doctor Who Transcripts - The Myth Makers)

It's also great how quickly Steven turns to flattery after "losing" the duel, which leads to Paris willing to take him back to Troy just so he can tell the Trojans how great the Greeks think Paris is!  Of course, that backfires slightly when Vicki recognizes Steven, leading Cassandra to declare them both Greek spies.  Next Episode: "Death of a Spy"...

"Death of a Spy" isn't quite as witty as the last two episodes, but that's probably because Steven and Vicki spend the majority of the episode locked up in a Trojan cell.  This does give Vicki (who's been rechristened Cressida) a chance to chat happily with Troilus, and let a little bit of romance blossoms -- complemented by a rather sweet, understated guitar piece from composer Humphrey Searle (one of the more distinguished composers to ever work on the series).

There's some humor in the Greek camp, though.  The Doctor's first thought for defeating the Trojans is to be catapulted over the walls in giant paper airplanes, but he rather goes off the idea when Odysseus informs him that he'll be the first to fly.  Finally, somewhat defeatedly, he gives the Greeks the idea for the Trojan Horse, which Odysseus seizes on eagerly and presents to Agamemnon and Menelaus.  There are a couple jokes here: for instance, when the Doctor describes how they'll build the horse and the Greeks will sail away, Menelaus perks up, until the Doctor informs him that the Greeks will, of course, return: "Why is there always a catch in it?"  And it's quite clear that the Doctor, who is forced to be inside the Trojan Horse, would really rather be somewhere else, as he keeps fidgeting and making noise until Odysseus has to basically threaten him to get him to stop.

The cliffhanger to this episode is interesting.  Paris announces he's having the Horse brought into Troy, and the credits roll.  It's the first time that the cliffhanger has relied on the viewers having prior knowledge of history/myth (delete according to preference), rather than on some obvious danger apparent on screen.  It's worrying not because we think the Doctor and his friends might not get out of their predicament, but rather because we know what's going to happen next.







¹⁷ It was going to be called "Is There a Doctor in the Horse?", but this was apparently too much for the production team.

February 13: "Mission to the Unknown" / "Temple of Secrets"

("Mission to the Unknown" & The Myth Makers episode 1)

So "Mission to the Unknown" (or Dalek Cutaway, if you really, really must¹⁶) must have come as something of a surprise to viewers at the time.  Instead of the Doctor, Vicki, and Steven, we focus in on Marc Cory, Space Security Service Agent ("Licensed to kill"), and the crewmen he's forced into service: Jeff Garvey and Gordon Lowery.  They're on the planet Kembel, "the most hostile planet in the universe", where Cory suspects the presence of a Dalek base.  And he's right: the Daleks are using Kembel as a place to form an alliance with six other major galactic powers in order to conquer the universe -- with Earth as their first target; there's a pause when the Black Dalek announces that the first planet to be conquered will be.......Earth! Which could be a dramatic pause, or he might be gesturing at a map of the solar system, but either way, pure melodrama.  (Though not quite as melodramatic as the stock music they've decided to use, which is so over-the-top that it's almost taking the piss.)

But the thing that's perhaps most surprising about this episode is that, fairly unequivocally, the Daleks win.  Their alliance has been formed, Garvey and Lowery both fell victim to Varga plants, and Cory is exterminated by the Daleks before he can send his warning message off.  And no one knows Cory and company are on Kembel.  The Daleks are therefore ready to conquer the universe...

"Mission to the Unknown" isn't really designed as a stand-alone story, but rather as a teaser for an upcoming Dalek story.  What's perhaps most interesting about it is how it's then disconnected from the next four episodes, which means it's sort of a "meanwhile" scene hinting at larger machinations at work.  In this regard it's surprisingly modern (especially since we know with hindsight that a huge Dalek epic is in fact on its way), confident enough to tell a story completely separate from the Doctor and his companions -- and a story that doesn't have a real resolution.  And, thankfully, the Daleks here are back on form as a powerful force in the universe, rather than the somewhat buffoonish characterization we got in The Chase.  And this is where the Daleks really start to become that galaxy-conquering army of terror: a characterization distinct from where we've seen them before (The Dalek Invasion of Earth was pretty small fry compared to this) but one that will launch them into new heights.

And finally: this episode was only made because they had to make up an episode after Planet of Giants episodes 3 and 4 were edited down into a single part.  So this is in production terms Galaxy 4 episode 5, but more importantly it's the last episode to be produced by Doctor Who's original producer, Verity Lambert.  Now Bill Hartnell is the only person from the beginning who's still around...

What was it like for viewers, who, having gotten over the surprise of an episode with Daleks and no Doctor, next got an episode with the Doctor and no Daleks?  "Temple of Secrets" is completely disassociated from events on Kembel, and indeed seems to follow on directly from "The Exploding Planet", as Vicki's still got a sprained ankle.  But fortunately, "Temple of Secrets" makes up for any lack of Daleks by being quite a witty script.  The TARDIS arrives at the end of the Trojan War, and writer Donald Cotton wastes no time in deflating the myths.  Achilles is shown to be something of an idiot, who only slays Hector because Hector is distracted by the Doctor walking out of the TARDIS to ask for information.  And Agamemnon and Menelaus are depicted quite entertainingly, with Agamemnon a ruler using Helen's abduction as an excuse to try and gain control of the trade routes through the Bosphorus by conquering Asia Minor, and Menelaus as a man who's quite content to see the back of Helen ("It wasn't the first time she'd allowed herself to be abducted," he complains.  "I can't keep on going off to the ends of the Earth to get her back.  It makes me a laughing stock."). 

Odysseus is probably the characterization closest to the one we're familiar with today, but that's simply because he's somewhat conniving and refuses to take Achilles' claims of the Doctor's godhood seriously (since Achilles thinks the Doctor is Zeus).  And he gets a great line when he drags Steven into Agamemnon's tent: "Who is this?" Agamemnon asks.  "My prisoner, the god Apollo," Odysseus replies.  "Achilles, will you not worship him?  He is a Trojan spy, but of such undoubted divinity he must be spared."  It's fortunate that an episode that exists only on audio relies so much on dialogue, because it means we can still enjoy the proceedings without wondering as much what we're missing (which often was the case in Galaxy 4).  And that next episode title!  I'm amazed Donald Cotton got away with it.







¹⁶ It's one thing to debate the merits of using An Unearthly Child vs. 100,000 BC, but some people insist on calling this story Dalek Cutaway, despite the fact that it's only one episode long and has the title "Mission to the Unknown" on it, simply because there's some contemporary paperwork that calls it Dalek Cutaway (even though no one goes around referring to The Claws of Axos as The Vampire from Space, and that name got as far as a filmed title sequence).  This is basically the Doctor Who equivalent of hipsterism -- referring to "Mission to the Unknown" as Dalek Cutaway simply because it's more obscure.  Or you could call it a form of elitism, but that essentially boils down to the same thing.

February 12: "Air Lock" / "The Exploding Planet"

(Galaxy 4 episodes 3 & 4)

"Air Lock" was one of the two missing episodes recovered in 2011¹⁵, which means that we can actually enjoy watching this episode, rather than just listening to the soundtrack.  And it does make it clear how much the visuals improve things: the soundtrack alone denies you the pleasure of Stephanie Bidmead's performance as Maaga, and how she turns directly to camera to deliver some of her asides; or how the Rill's recollection of events immediately after the crash are augmented by a flashback sequence that shows Maaga gun down her crewmember; or even the appearance of the Rill itself.  We're also treated to an interestingly abstract building that the Rills have constructed, a simple frame with pieces of plastic attached to the geometric design: the Rills, it seems, think in terms of triangles for their structures.

Maaga prepares to kill one of her soldiers. ("Air Lock") ©BBC

Of course, the story itself continues more or less down the same path as the last two episodes.  We're introduced to the Rills and we learn that they're actually quite decent folk.  Meanwhile, Steven manages to escape from the main part of the Drahvin ship, but then he ends up trapped in the airlock for the rest of the episode.  And, er, that's about it.  This episode is more about illustrating the morals of the two sides (the Rills are decent and giving, the Drahvins are ruthless and selfish -- witness their conversation about self-sacrifice) than anything else.  And like I said, it does help tremendously to be able to see things, but this continues to be not the most action-packed serial.

Back to the soundtrack for "The Exploding Planet", which is a bit sad because it sounds like things are actually happening this time around.  We can hear a Drahvin soldier stealthily approach a Chumbley and smack it with an iron rod.  The Drahvins start to attack the Rills' base, and then the TARDIS.  And the planet actually explodes!  One wonders if they used stock footage of volcanoes and things to show the destruction of the planet.  As such this is actually a fairly urgent-feeling episode, as the Rills need to power up their ship before the planet explodes.  Of course, we still get a little poetic moment: "To think that at dawn all this will explode into nothing," Vicki muses.  "No, not just nothing, child," the Doctor replies.  "Hydrogen gas that springs itself out like molten silver against the other stars in the same galaxy."  But beyond that, this is primarily wrapping everything up, as the Rills fly away and the Drahvins are left to their fate.  And then we get a teaser for the next episode: as Vicki wonders what's happening on a planet seen on the scanner, we travel to that planet, to see (well, hear) a man muttering about how he must kill...

Galaxy 4 isn't a terrible story by any means, but it's hardly a stand-out.  The tale seems a bit simplistic, honestly, as it focuses first on showing how ruthless the Drahvins are before then demonstrating how decent the Rills are.  If there is a sense of "appearances aren't everything", it's from the Drahvins, who believe the Rills to be evil just because they look weird.  But as the Drahvins are also shown not to understand things like friendship and loyalty, this more demonstrates that the Drahvins are really in the wrong, rather than just being misguided.  It's entertaining enough, and the existing episode suggests that this might have looked pretty good indeed (certainly "Air Lock" shows us that new director Derek Martinus has put some thought and care into things), but ultimately this is one of those pleasantly average stories that Doctor Who occasionally turns out, not doing anything wrong but not really wowing anyone either.







¹⁵ The other episode being The Underwater Menace Episode 2.