Harry’s Who Marathon: Season Two

Welcome to the second instalment of my Doctor Who marathon. You’re back, so I assume you wish to continue with this brilliant and nerdy journey through Space and Time! If you haven’t read the first part, you can do so here. In this article, we are going through all 39 episodes of Season Two. January was pretty dark and gloomy, but I am blooming thankful I had this interesting, creative, and funny show to accompany me through it.

Topically, this season was recently released on Blu-Ray as part of The Collection range. It is, therefore, nice timing that I have been able to watch and write about it! I do stress, however, that this won’t be a review of that box set and its many special features. As much as I want that William Hartnell High Definition goodness, I am collecting the standard editions (they’re nice and compact and fit on the shelves!), so it’ll be a year or two before I make that purchase.

We are also lucky enough to have the vast majority of these episodes surviving in the archives, with only two episodes of The Crusade missing. As before, I have watched these as telesnap reconstructions and will make a note of this in the article. With all that out of the way, let’s get a shift on!

S2 E1 Planet of Giants – We’re back! It’s nice to see the Fab Four rested from their 6 week’s holiday*. In the universe of the show, I’m sure they’ve been on many great adventures in the time we’ve skipped over. I am amazed by the inventiveness of the miniaturisation idea, realised through large worm and ant props, and a giant picture of a dead man’s face. It doesn’t quite hit the mark the whole time, but it does the job. Cracking episode – topped off by a giant cat! GAH!

*I found out later that Planet of Giants and its subsequent serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth were actually filmed in the same block as Season One. Nevertheless, the main cast still had bundles of energy!

S2 E2 Dangerous Journey – I continue to be impressed by the presentation of our main characters being shrunk, even more so actually. How were they able to build solid sets of things like a briefcase lock or a sink to provide the context for the TINIEST of scenes? Brilliant. I loved the fab four, but particularly Barbara’s emotional wobble at how ridiculous this situation is, grounding something totally bonkers. I really connected with her at that moment. This premise, underlined with a crime plot, is simple but so effective!

S2 E3 Crisis – This episode took a few leaps to get where it needed to – the ingenious match striking into a gas pipe just happened to catch the attention of a local police officer. I would perhaps like to have had the planned fourth episode to provide some more context to the supporting characters. I did, however, enjoy the dire absurdity of the titular crisis our heroes were in. And the Doctor is a lot of fun here, particularly when he seems ecstatic about committing arson.

S2 E4 World’s End – Move out of the way, because the Daleks are back! A wicked reveal at the end with a Dalek coming out of the Thames. Looks like we have a few supporting characters to get to know, so let’s see how they work into it. A great sense of atmosphere in this deserted London is presented on screen. My only real gripe is that strange smacked bottom line. This is really just set up for the meat and potatoes of the serial, so let’s strap in!

S2 E5 The Daleks – There was quite a lot of expository dialogue in this episode, explaining how the Daleks came to take over the world. Though it was hard to keep up at times in this fast-paced 25 minutes, I appreciated finding this all out now and being able to enjoy the story with this knowledge (and wondering WHAT the Daleks could be mining). It is a shame that Barbara and Susan seem to be doing very little – Susan is just being a whiny infantilized teenager and Barbara, besides fetching apples, only seems to contribute one idea about staging an arrest to bomb the Daleks. One thing I loved here was the Daleks turning the prison cell of the Doctor, Ian, and Jack (a new supporting character) into an escape game. We feel safe when we see the Doctor gleefully and sarcastically solve the puzzle, and so do the characters. And then, BAM, the Daleks snatch the Doctor when he escapes like they wanted him to, Ian and Jack are still trapped, and we have immense dread at the Doctor turning into a walking corpse of a Roboman. Clever subversive writing.

S2 E6 Day Of Reckoning – I don’t know if I like this one or not! To get the negatives out of the way, Dortmun’s whole ‘disabled genius’ archetype with his wheelchair and miniature Chess set felt too caricature for my liking (although I am aware this is the 60s, and attitudes from a different time are reflected). The production in this one was shaky at times – your standard line fluffs and boom mics, with dodgy cuts and unclear storytelling. On the flip side though, this production is tremendously ambitious, and I would say the faults are perhaps due to energy being placed into constructing that epic opening setpiece on the Dalek saucer and the wicked section across London – actual London! – with Barbara, Dortmun and Jenny running and avoiding countless Daleks patrolling the city. So a mixed bag. Susan has some good moments, with another reminder of her desire to belong somewhere and a sweet moment with the Doctor respecting her ideas.

S2 E7 The End Of Tomorrow – I don’t think that the Robomen and that hilarious Slyther creature with its weird guttural, manly wails were meant to be funny instead of menacing, but I still dig it. While the Doctor is out of action lying in a random street in London, the other members of our fab four have stellar episodes. Susan develops her chemistry with David, Barbara nonchalantly runs over a Dalek and Ian plays a covert badass action man in his quest to get back to London. The production and editing still struggle at times to tell a clear, fluid story, but I am super impressed by Terry Nation’s imagined Dalek dystopia, with the beastly Slyther minion and escaped zoo animals and immoral humans (the Black Marketeer, Ashton) who navigate the conflict in their own messed up ways.

S2 E8 The Waking Ally – The Daleks’ plan to ‘degravitate’ the planet and take it anywhere in the universe is BONKERS. I love it, as well as Ian’s reaction to hearing it before he is sent down into the Earth’s core. The women who make clothes for the miners out Barbara and Jenny to the Daleks so they can get food from them; complex and interesting characters, despite brief appearances!

S2 E9 Flashpoint – Ian falling down to the centre of the Earth, turning into a peg doll with long hair as he does so, and SURVIVING was some top-quality Ian content. Barbara was also amazing, talking history to try and confuse the Daleks and coming up with the idea to command the Robomen to rebel. The Doctor was also fiery, heading into the Dalek base in the climax and commanding the Robomen to kill the Da-WAIT, hold up! I thought he said an episode or two ago he doesn’t take life unless he is threatened! I guess that doesn’t just include immediate threats! He’s a murderer!

Susan leaves us this episode with an emotional farewell. With the sentiments of growing up, fleeing the nest, and wanting to belong somewhere, and the Doctor’s heartfelt goodbye from inside the TARDIS, my eyes were definitely swelling. It does seem strange that he abruptly leaves his granddaughter, but they are aliens from another world who perhaps navigate love in a different way, and I suppose it puts meaning to the ideas that if you love someone you should set them free, and sometimes you must be cruel only to be kind.

S2 E10 The Powerful Enemy – Very snappy and intriguing setup – I like it! I really want to know what the deal is with Kolquillion and his species turning bad and overthrowing this planet. Vicki seems like a wonderful new, fizzy energy to the show, and I particularly loved her speech directly to the camera (I love it when this fourth wall breaking happens!). The Doctor and Ian have some wicked rapport, culminating in a whopper of a cliffhanger (quite literally). The sets and costumes more often than not hit the mark, I just wish Kolquillion didn’t sound so posh and English!

S2 E11 Desperate Measures – OK, I didn’t see the twist of Bennett being Kolquillion coming (makes sense now why he sounded so posh and English). Still not sure how the booby trap at the end of the last episode was made – it can’t have been the Dido people because they’re ‘peace-loving’ as the Doctor kept saying. Maybe Bennett’s talents extend to booby trap making as well as costume design. There were just some weird vibes in this episode… there are NO CONSEQUENCES for Barbara who murdered an innocent animal. It doesn’t ring true at all that Vicki is the one who first apologises to her, and then ends up joining the TARDIS team. I’d say someone killing my pet would be an absolute friendship dealbreaker!

On the plus side, the Doctor has a great episode, getting into a good tussle with Bennett at the end and being very grandfatherly to Vicki in the absence of Susan, which Hartnell performs very well.

S2 E12 The Slave Traders – A fun setup, and it is nice to see the new fab four actually having a proper holiday until they inevitably get themselves into trouble again! I enjoyed the flirty banter between Ian and Barbara (at least, that’s how I read it! Don’t they get together in the extended universe stuff?). I like the Doctor pretending to be this harp player, simply so he can meet Nero!

S2 E13 All Roads Lead To Rome – There was a cool amount of scope in this episode, with three different storylines for the Doctor and Vicki, Barbara, and Ian and his new buddy Delos, the latter being out at sea. Stock footage of ships sailing, sea storms, and lions is used effectively here. The scrapes our characters are in are very dire and compelling, and the story is doing a good job of pacing itself. Once again, I laugh in adoration at how much Ian takes stuff in his stride – he is quite casual and ‘gets on with it’ with regard to rowing on the slave ship and being told he’s about to be trained as a gladiator and fight a big cat.

S2 E14 Conspiracy – WOAH the story just took a massive STEP UP. So many things, OK. The writer Dennis Spooner has just decided halfway through ‘I’m turning this into a comedy!’ This has to be the most hilarious episode so far. Some of this humour is old fashioned (Nero comically chasing Barbara for a kiss wouldn’t go down well today, and so it shouldn’t), and some is over the top (Nero’s servant taking the drink of suspected poison, and then dying dramatically and theatrically), but most of the time it is expertly done. The Doctor silently plays the harp in a way ‘only intelligent ears can hear’ (clever plan to remain in his identity!) and all the pompous people at the feast nod interestedly at the silence! All of our split-up main characters narrowly missing each other is another humour highlight.

Other things I like: Ian’s beard and gladiator get up, Hartnell’s performance, the Doctor and Vicki getting time to bond, Barbara being tough as nails and pushing through the ordeal of being a slave (when she downed the alcohol, it KILLED ME!), and finally, the clever shift back into drama towards the end to highlight the true madness and impulsivity of Nero who gets violently jealous of the Doctor and puts Ian and Delos into a gladiator fight to the death. This climax was intensified by the lighthearted build-up, and these contrasting tones within the same episode make for inspired television.

S2 E15 Inferno – This story has solidified itself as my comfort watch Doctor Who. It is so barmy! The Doctor/Vicki and Ian/Barbara never meet throughout the adventure and the former don’t find out the latter was there! And the Doctor is a loveable maniac, as he finds it absolutely delightful that he gave Nero the idea to set Rome ablaze. Crikey! I feel like I shouldn’t like the fact that the Doctor loves setting things on fire, but for some reason, I really do! Hartnell is amazing as the Doctor, who is really turning into a loveable fun-loving older gentleman, not a care in the world! He has really softened over time, and it’s been a nice development to see. To be honest, this serial has really embraced the absurdity of Nero, both with the humour and drama that comes with it. And it makes for one of the most funniest and intense serials yet.

S2 E16 The Web Planet – Not immediately sold here. The Doctor and Ian leaving Barbara and Vicki behind because they’re the blokes doing the dangerous stuff – and so they can pad the episode – does not bode well for the rest of this storyline. I suppose that the story will take a turn for the better once they address the unanswered questions about where they are and how they got there. With a lot going on in the final moments, it felt scattered – Ian trapped in… a net? Barbara… possessed? Vicki leaving in the TARDIS! Goodness me. On the plus side, the realisation of the planet is stunning and the bug people – The Zarbi – look funny with their obviously human legs, and the Doctor’s sadness at losing his ship was a lovely bit of genuine acting from William Hartnell.

S2 E17 The Zarbi – I will never dismiss the ambition behind these episodes but I think that the elements which make up the planet and aliens are not quite coming together. The Zarbi have a constant annoying ringing sound, and I think the costumes for the amount they are on screen are too big/hard to use for the actors and the human legs have become so distracting. The fly people have very irritating physicalities and their wings crinkle and crash all over the place. And our main cast looks bored as hell – even Ian, who is normally a charismatic force in the show, seems really miserable! The blurred camera effect looks awful; it actively avoids making the planet look interesting like it is trying to do. Worst of all – I’m bored. We’re in for a bumpy ride.

S2 E18 Escape to Danger – It feels like the crew has worked hard on this one. Both to put a serial together, but also in a way where everyone is tired and simply trying to pull through collective suffering. This story is hard going as hell, and not even Ian striking a charming friendship with a fly person, William Hartnell acting tremendously and the creepy voice of the animus can save it.

S2 E19 Crater of Needles – (Note: This was legitimately all I had the energy to write after this episode) I want this to be over.

S2 E20 Invasion – The only part of this episode that made me smile was Vicki naming a Zarbi ‘Zombo’, and the Doctor shutting down any idea of the Zarbi being ‘cute’. The plot is heading towards its climax, which would have been exciting had the build-up been so. Up to this point, Doctor Who has largely been consistently good, and at the very least, it has been OK. This is the first example of the show not being good for me, and essentially unwatchable. I will assume that the occasional dud is the price we pay for the longevity of this show, which has a brilliant concept and no doubt always has the creative forces behind the scenes trying their best to put on a good show.

This particular episode just isn’t doing anything for me right now. Maybe I will revisit it one day and like it, but I ain’t rushing back anytime soon. Goodness, I’m talking like I don’t have one episode left – is it STILL going on?

S2 E21 The Centre – Hallelujah! We made it to the end! And as soon as our fab four reunited I knew we would be back on form after this episode. As soon as they all took off, and we saw the Fly people talking a little longer, I debated switching off a couple of minutes early. But I stuck it out, because sometimes in life, you gotta break an egg to make an omelette.

S2 E22 The Lion – This is a bit more like it! Ian and the Doctor get into a fun sword fight, the Doctor and Vicki steal some clothes in the most interesting bit of padding we’ve seen so far, and we have a variety of characters and settings. Due to this variety, however, I’m finding it a bit hard to keep pace with the story. And, again, English actors portraying Asian characters are not good.

S2 E23 The Knight of Jaffa (Reconstruction) – Though Barbara being the damsel in distress and Ian being the literal knight in shining armour who tries to save her is a very 60’s-esque plot that I don’t like, I do appreciate his loyalty to her. I ship it! I don’t dislike this historical as a whole – I think it just lacks the same heart and fun as previous examples.

S2 E24 The Wheel of Fortune – Poor Barbara! She is treated so cruelly in this episode, as she is about to be subjected to torture by El Akir after being saved by a guy called Haroun (who gets a tragic backstory about El Akir taking his daughter as an impactful bit of context). Not to mention, Haroun asks Barbara to potentially kill his daughter and herself in possibly Doctor Who‘s grimmest plot point yet, heightening the drama and emphasizing the brutality of 12th-century Palestine. Jacqueline Hill is great, as always. Julian Glover and Jean Marsh give very shouty and theatrical performances as Richard the Lionheart and Joanna respectively – I commend them for their commitment!

S2 E25 The Warlords (Reconstruction) – Ian seems to rescue Barbara very easily in a rushed climax, which doesn’t ring true. Haroun’s thread gets wrapped up nicely when he reunites with his long-lost daughter after he also happens to come and save Barbara and co at the same time as Ian. How convenient. I found it hard to engage with this episode and the story as a whole. It is another case of not being familiar with the historical context and not being properly spelt out, like with The Reign of Terror. Most of the characters did not feel fully developed in their own right, away from the existing knowledge of them as historical figures.

S2 E26 The Space Museum – An intriguing left-field setup. After a couple of rather generic stories, I like this weird concept of exploring the ‘dimensions of time’, and the fab four trying to prevent their fate from ending up as exhibits in this space museum. Looking forward to the rest of this one.

S2 E27 The Dimensions of Time – How bizarre that when the Doctor gets split from the rest of the team, Ian quickly decides it’s best that they all continue to try and escape the museum without him. Besides this, however, this was great. I am intrigued to figure out what the backstory of this freaky museum is. The Doctor has a fun episode, miraculously managing to tie someone up and hide inside a Dalek casing on display, and making funny images appear on a mind-reading television screen.

S2 E28 The Search – Good to know the context of the serial from some expository Xeron dialogue. These guys with funky eyebrows were invaded by Moroks (guys with funky hairdos) that have advanced weaponry and want to run a museum. I think it’s neat to have that intrigue at the beginning of a serial payoff with an explanation later on. This is a good formula for the serials going forward. I enjoyed the three companions getting all the screentime in this part, getting separated in their borderline hopeless scramble to change the future. This is solid Sci-fi!

S2 E29 The Final Phase – I’ve not really been a huge fan of the Xerons or Moroks – they are underwhelmingly dressed and performed (I suppose it is the exact opposite of the creatures in The Web Planet, which were overwhelmingly clad and overacted!). This episode got more and more perilous, at one point making me have no clue as to how the Fab Four would escape their fate of being stuck in the museum. But then the Xerons come and save the day not only for our heroes but for their planet too – yay! A happy ending showing sometimes we really do need to rely on other people to secure our future. Also… a surprise cameo from the Daleks at the end leading into the next story? MOVE OUT OF THE WAY BECAUSE I’M READY.

S2 E30 The Executioners – I am excited that the Daleks are back, but I do wonder: are they THAT good that they have made some kind of base under the desert to lure our travellers into? Only time will tell. Not much really happened here and there was a bit of padding – the visualiser was a bit over-explained. But it isn’t exactly doomed yet; it’s got some time to develop as a story. You can do this, Terry Nation!

S2 E31 The Death of Time – Ah, turns out the hole in the ground and the underground city was just a staple of the planet Aridius. Still doesn’t explain why the Dalek rose from below the sand (which, judging by his groaning, he didn’t enjoy very much!). Thinking about it, we still don’t know why a Dalek rose from the River Thames earlier this season. Maybe they just like to be extra. But anyway – great episode. The actors playing the Aridians have glamorous costumes and you can tell all these actors are really into their parts. This serial seems to be adopting the ‘one setting a week’ premise of The Keys of Marinus. Unlike that story, the setting here was simple enough to be quickly explained and played with for 25 minutes, which sets a strong precedent for proceeding instalments.

I loved Barbara in this episode – everything from Jacqueline Hill’s awkward sitting-up sleeping pose to the character trying to save an Aridian after they attempt to feed her to the tentacle monster – how heroic is that?! And I loved the callback to The Space Museum where she gets cheesed off at Ian for being asked to sacrifice another of her cardigans! This TARDIS team is working really well together for the first time since Vicki joined, culminating in an awesome climax where they lure a Dalek into a trap (‘WOO HOO, DALEKS!’ says Ian, funnily waving his arms about) and narrowly escape the rest of the ‘pepperpots’ who are about to pursue them throughout eternity. The stakes have never been more personal, and I am here for it.

S2 E32 Flight Through Eternity – This episode is inspired. Though the performances of the New York residents and ship sailors are all a bit crap, and there is a really silly moment where a screaming Dalek decides to follow a sailor into the sea only to fall to its death, I thought they presented the two main settings of this episode really nicely. There were some funny moments, best of all being Vicki mistaking Ian for a sailor and knocking him on the head with a bat. Ultimately, this episode is a fun romp, continuing the ever-present threat of the ruthless pursuing Daleks.

S2 E33 Journey into Terror – Nice setting with the haunted house (which our travellers thought was some kind of manifestation of human fears, but was actually just a live attraction). It was funny how spooked our main characters were. Unfortunately, Vicki getting lost and the other three not clocking it until they’ve spent a good chunk of time on the TARDIS is some poor, contrived writing. Oh, and the clone of the Doctor that the Daleks make, which is apparently ‘an exact copy’ – what in the name of Skaro was that? WHY did they use another actor?!

S2 E34 The Death of Doctor Who – A very messily put-together element of the Doctor battling a robot version of himself, but I’m going to put it down to the limitation of the way the show was filmed. It was an interesting idea all the same.

S2 E35 The Planet of Decision – I am very glad I had subtitles because I don’t think I’d have understood what those Mechanoids were saying otherwise. There was quite a cool showdown between them and the Daleks near the end of the episode. This is the strongest of this serial, introducing Steven Taylor who is a jolly supporting character, and having a wonderful send-off for Ian and Barbara. I cried. Not because the scene itself was too dramatic, but because it has been an awfully big adventure following those two’s with the Doctor, and then ending up back in London, both happy to be home, nonchalant as ever, and yet with a totally different perspective on the universe.

What a terrific story wrapped up in a nice bow. The Doctor’s sadness at the departure is a far cry from his disdain for them in the beginning, and it encapsulates the hallmark of a great journey. That hallmark is growth. Goodbye Ian and Barbara – I hope they drink lots of beer and watch lots of Cricket matches together.

S2 E36 The Watcher – The absence of Ian and Barbara is truly felt in the opener of this episode. Still, as soon as dosey old Steven Taylor comes into the TARDIS, having stowed away with the Doctor and Vicki, I instantly began warming to a brand new time-travelling trio. We begin exploring what we think is 11th-century England but as it turns out, it might be something a whole lot different. And we are cleverly told this with distorted sounds of singing Monks (which were both beautiful and haunting) and the presence of a modern-looking watch. Consider me intrigued to know what the heck is happening!

S2 E37 The Meddling Monk – In an episode titled The Meddling Monk, we don’t find out anything about him. But that’s cool – it adds to the intrigue of this crafty buggar holding the Doctor prisoner and playing mind games with Steven and Vicki. Speaking of which, those two work so well together; I feel like Vicki is shining a lot more as a character with initiative and wit because her chemistry and banter with Steven allow her more focus, which I felt was more on Ian and Barbara when they were around. And Steven has quickly settled into the adventuring of the whole TARDIS affair – both characters are great to watch. This really is their episode too, as the Doctor is absent mostly. We also learn in this episode that Vikings are very theatrical in their bloodthirsty pursuits, and can even appear out of nowhere from the sky!

S2 E38 A Battle of Wits – Hartnell has another of his best episodes. He performs the Doctor splendidly, as our hero outwits the Meddling Monk. Just how did the Doctor manage to knock on the door to the Monastry and teleport inside once the Monk answered it? It makes no sense, but I don’t care! The build-up towards a climax can be felt in this episode and constantly I am wondering just what is the Monk’s deal until Steven and Vicki stumble upon the Monk’s very own TARDIS! A genuinely jaw-dropping cliffhanger. Another alien from the Doctor’s home world? Oh, this is spicy…

S2 E39 Checkmate – The Meddling Monk is more of a complex antagonist it seems. Yes, he was meddling in history in a way that the Doctor advocates you should not, but he was doing so to progress humanity more quickly; he was actually trying to help. Why he wished to do this isn’t explained, but the blurry morality around his intentions is cause for engagement. It actually makes the Doctor’s resolution of shrinking the inside of the Monk’s TARDIS and trapping him in the 11th century seem rather cruel! I do hope the Doctor does follow through with the half-promise to retrieve the Monk, be it on or off-screen.

After all, the Monk can still attempt to mess history up in the time that he is trapped in! Despite this, the Doctor is charming and heroic here, and in a montage of our new trio’s faces superimposed over a scene of the cosmos, I finish Season 2 looking forward to more adventures for them.

Another 39 episodes reviewed! And one day, dear reader, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. To review the third season. See you then.