As a countdown to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who I and my wife will be watching an episode a day until we are caught up to whatever the Beeb has planned. This is a record of my initial reaction to each day's episode published with minimal editing and crappy synopsis.
"I told you that I'd treat you as enemies."
This is a mixed one for me. The previous episode had an atmosphere that is lacking in this one. Perhaps that's due to a change in directors, perhaps the script just ran that way. In either event, this was a let down.
I'll start by going over the good bits.
There's a bit of a hand flutter that Hartnell does at the beginning of this one that for some reason I like. There's a sense of mischief that Hartnell puts into it.
Barbara. They may as well just start calling this the show Barbara Wright's Adventures Through Space and Time cause she kicks ass in this one. With all the theories that are being thrown around during the story, she's the one who keeps things focused and figures out what the hell is going on. She also is willing to take the olive branch that the Doctor offers her after he's proven to be an ass, but only after she's sure that he means it.
There's a nice touch where the Doctor gets Ian's name right when he suspects the teachers of treachery, but soon starts mangling it again when the crisis is over.
The interaction between the travelers after the crisis shows a true sense of camaraderie that wasn't there before. Barbara and Ian have more or less joined the family.
I don't know if this counts as "good" per se, but it was nice to see that the Doctor's dick streak hasn't gone away. In a fit of pique he tries to put Ian and Barbara off the Ship.
The ears of my inner geek perked up at the mention of a Danger Signal. Perhaps a precursor to the Cloister Bell?
And now the bad.
The acting isn't as focused as last episode. I think that Carol Anne Ford suffers the most from this, but all of the regulars seem to be a bit off. Hartnell fluffs his lines more than usual.
The cause of the fault is a stuck button. The fast return switch was pressed at the end of the Dalek serial, a spring got stuck and the TARDIS thought that it the Doctor was piloting it to the beginning of a solar system. On the one hand, the idea that a small malfunction can cause HUGE consequences is fairly cool. On the other, it's still a stuck button.
They then compound this by having the Doctor explain what went wrong to Susan. Ang pointed out that Susan has a grasp of science that's better than Ian's. You wouldn't know it from the embarrassing scene where the Doctor explains a flashlight spring to her.
The button that stuck in the first place is labeled "Fast Return Switch" in Sharpie. This was probably put there during rehearsal for Hartnell's benefit. It should have been removed for final filming.
Next Up: The Rood of the World
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