Ep. 85 The Exploding Planet

"Importance lies in the character and to what use you put this intelligence. We respect you as we respect all life."

    When I was reviewing the first Daleks serial I was critical of the (unintended) message that good equals blond and beautiful and that evil equals shriveled up and ugly.  At the time I pointed out that a future story would turn that idea on it's head.
   This is that story.  The Drahvin are blonde and beautiful and have no mercy.  They are as xenophobic as the Daleks though they can be more subtle about it.  The Rills are ugly and noble.  If their ship can't take off in time they want the Doctor to get away in his ship. 
   At it's heart this is a well intentioned episode.  The moral is don't judge by appearances.  It seems a bit simplistic, but it's good that Who put this one out there.  All too often the ugly alien turns out to be evil; this approach makes for a nice change of pace. 
   I would have to say that The Sensorites did a better job of it though.  This is a morality tale and the sides are drawn in distinct blacks and whites.  The Sensorites had more grey tones.  Not every human or Sensorite was entirely on the same ethical page.
   This episode does come close to being preachy and I do have problems with the way that the "beautiful" race is portrayed.  They may have flipped the evil/good dynamic, but they accidentally kept may have accidentally left in a beauty equals dumb message.  Both the Thals and the Drahvin are technologically inferior to their ugly counterparts. 
   I'm also not thrilled with the way that Maaga and the Drahvin drones were dealt with.  Did they get what they deserved?  Yes.  Did it need to happen that way?  Probably not.  I'd like to have seen the Rills make a further offer to the Drahvins.  Something along the lines of "throw away your weapons and surrender, and we'll drop you off on the next inhabitable world." 
   At this point we're not too far from the departure of Vicki.  Something that snuck up on me.  Since the departure of Ian and Barbara I think that Vicki has shone.  Seeing her depart in another five episodes seems like bad timing to me.

Next up: Mission to the Unknown