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.
"Gracious maidens, gentle lords pray attend me while I tell my tale..."
We listened to this on the drive back home. The weather provided an ironic twist; whilst Marco Polo's caravan was suffering from dehydration, nearly dead from thirst, we were driving through a strong rain.
There was a little bit of a science lesson with this one. A little heavy handed, but not as bad as some that we'll get. Condensation forms on the TARDIS interior saving the caravan from certain death. The explanation is provided to calm Marco Polo's rage. He thinks that the Doctor lied to him about not having any water and is only satisfied when the science is put before him.
The caravan makes it to the oasis that they started for last episode to find Tegana there awaiting them. Tegana claims that he found the oasis lousy with bandits. The bandits left in the morning, but by that time Tegana could already see Marco Polo's caravan approaching,
Tegana is one of the better liars in Doctor Who history. Sometimes in TV a character who is lying isn't that well acted. Either the actor or the director wants the audience to know that this guy isn't telling the truth. This leads to an exaggerated "tell." If Tegana had one it was a visual one and nothing that comes over in the audio track.
Barbara is all over Tegana like ugly on ape. She points out the fact that it was cold last night and that there is no sign of a bandit campfire. Ian provides a rational explanation, but still has the good sense to question Tegana.
The questioning is cut short by Polo who wants to push on to civilization as soon as possible.
Once in a town the party settle down to an evenings entertainment. Ping-Cho tells the tale of the Hashashins, some 250 of whom were killed in the local area.
Tegana leaves during story time to visit his conspirators at the cave where these hashashins were based out of before their supposed destruction. Barbara has been watching Tegana like a hawk and slips out after him. She ends up shadowing him for over a mile to the cave of 500 eyes.
She ends up getting caught by Tegana's allies.
Polo is pissed when he hears that Barbara has wandered off into the night. He, Ian and Tegana form two search parties whilst the others stay put under Polo's orders.
The Doctor has been looking to spend some time in the TARDIS to effect repairs, but Polo has forbidden his return to the Ship and demanded the key. Fortunately the Doctor made a copy.
The Doctor tries to make it back to the TARDIS while Polo is out, but Susan and Ping-Cho are convinced that they know where Barbara is. They know that she was interested in the hashashin cave and believe that she went there. A little strong arm persuasion of one of Tegana's men gets the trio the directions that they need to make it to the cave.
The Doctor has clearly changed. Earlier in the series he would have argued against going after Barbara or anyone other than Susan for that matter. It's nice to see that the bond that has been forming between the Doctor and Barbara that began in the Thal camp on Skaro has impacted the character. It's a small thing, but it is another step on the path to the Doctor that we all know and love.
The cave sounds interesting. Once again I'm pissed at the BBC for not preserving this.
Susan lets loose with the loudest scream that we've heard in the series to date. A scream that won't be bettered until either Victoria killed the fury from the deep or Peri saw the fury of Colin Baker's wardrobe.
Next Up: The Wall of Lies
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