Saturday 9th May 1964 - Doctor Who - Sentence of Death
DOCTOR: Well, you, my child, and Barbara, can be my detectives. And you, my friend.
IAN: Yes. What can I do, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Trust me.
This episode suffers from having no sense of establishing the city (country?) in which events happen. It starts in the locked room where Ian is knocked unconscious and the key stolen. We are shown a few other locations: a courtroom, a reception area and the home of one of the villains, Ayden. If only the model of a futuristic city state was shown. Other than the first episode, The Sea of Death, we've not had any exterior establishing shots and, for me, it affects my belief in Marinus being a coherent world. I suppose after the lengthy journey across China depicted in maps, the producers wanted something different so we get transmat wrist-devices and absolutely no sense that this is all one planet.
Ian is the victim here and, for the first time, we see the Doctor effectively taking charge and running to Ian's rescue. The script does a good job of portraying Ian's naivety in assuming that the legal system in this place is that of mid-twentieth century Britain. He's shocked when Tarron, one of the guardians (presumably military police) tells hime: "I mean that you are already guilty of this crime. The burden of defence is entirely yours. You must prove without any shadow of doubt that you are innocent, otherwise... you will die."
We also see Terry Nation presenting another story (after Daleks) involving a visibly authoritarian quasi-fascist regime. It's something that he'll develop most fully in Blake's 7. Here we have Nazi-like insignia and sinister military outfits (even worn by the "good" characters like Tarron). The judges of the tribunal are less militaristic and have more of a "futuristic" vibe.
I'm not sure about the slightly-futuristic nature of the world this episode takes place in. It's all a little 1960s bureaucratic office-world with some fancy pretend-scientific stylings. Phones look like microphones. There's an "authro-ray" scanner that checks identities, a weapon that kills with a flash and something called psychometry which Tarron helpfully explains as: "Experts are able to divine from an object the characteristics of the person who last had contact with that object." In this sort-of futuristic setting, we do have a lingering shot of a keyholes and handle of a very ordinary doorhandle.
My chief complaint with this episode is the awful performances of some of the actors. Altos, for instance, is told that his friend, Eprin, was the person murdered at the start of the episode. Althos has no emotional reaction and willingly follows the Doctor's instructions with a smile. The villian, Ayden, twice makes the same mistake of blurting out in a way that makes him look not only guilty but also incredibly stupid.
What IS delightful is the return of the Doctor. He commands every scene he's in. (From a narrative point of view, it shows how far he's developed his relationship with Ian and Barbara.) The Doctor revels in being not only legal defence for Ian but also guiding the investigation into the murder and theft of they key. The scene in which the Doctor reenacts the muder with Susan and Barbara is, in my opinion, the best we've seen. (Though, again narratively we have no idea what the Doctor's been up to while his companions have been having their adventures. Barbara and Susan are in the city(?) for two days during Ian's arrest before the Doctor appears. No one seems to wonder where he's been.)
In case the viewers have forgotten the purpose of this adventure (it was a month ago that this started), a random character (Kara, the wife of the villainous Ayden) reminds why the Keys of Marinus are important: "Because there are only five of them in the entire universe. It was brought to the city years ago by a man called Arbitan. It was the sworn duty of the Elders to protect it."
I wasn't expecting the sudden left-turn in the story when Ian is still found guilty and sentenced to death. And I didn't notice that Susan had disappeared at the end which set up the cliff-hanger where Barbara receives a note warning her of another death followed by Susan's phone call. Susan's been kidnapped and tells Barbara: "They're going to kill me."
Next episode: The Keys of Marinus
IAN: Yes. What can I do, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Trust me.
This episode suffers from having no sense of establishing the city (country?) in which events happen. It starts in the locked room where Ian is knocked unconscious and the key stolen. We are shown a few other locations: a courtroom, a reception area and the home of one of the villains, Ayden. If only the model of a futuristic city state was shown. Other than the first episode, The Sea of Death, we've not had any exterior establishing shots and, for me, it affects my belief in Marinus being a coherent world. I suppose after the lengthy journey across China depicted in maps, the producers wanted something different so we get transmat wrist-devices and absolutely no sense that this is all one planet.
Ian is the victim here and, for the first time, we see the Doctor effectively taking charge and running to Ian's rescue. The script does a good job of portraying Ian's naivety in assuming that the legal system in this place is that of mid-twentieth century Britain. He's shocked when Tarron, one of the guardians (presumably military police) tells hime: "I mean that you are already guilty of this crime. The burden of defence is entirely yours. You must prove without any shadow of doubt that you are innocent, otherwise... you will die."
We also see Terry Nation presenting another story (after Daleks) involving a visibly authoritarian quasi-fascist regime. It's something that he'll develop most fully in Blake's 7. Here we have Nazi-like insignia and sinister military outfits (even worn by the "good" characters like Tarron). The judges of the tribunal are less militaristic and have more of a "futuristic" vibe.
I'm not sure about the slightly-futuristic nature of the world this episode takes place in. It's all a little 1960s bureaucratic office-world with some fancy pretend-scientific stylings. Phones look like microphones. There's an "authro-ray" scanner that checks identities, a weapon that kills with a flash and something called psychometry which Tarron helpfully explains as: "Experts are able to divine from an object the characteristics of the person who last had contact with that object." In this sort-of futuristic setting, we do have a lingering shot of a keyholes and handle of a very ordinary doorhandle.
My chief complaint with this episode is the awful performances of some of the actors. Altos, for instance, is told that his friend, Eprin, was the person murdered at the start of the episode. Althos has no emotional reaction and willingly follows the Doctor's instructions with a smile. The villian, Ayden, twice makes the same mistake of blurting out in a way that makes him look not only guilty but also incredibly stupid.
What IS delightful is the return of the Doctor. He commands every scene he's in. (From a narrative point of view, it shows how far he's developed his relationship with Ian and Barbara.) The Doctor revels in being not only legal defence for Ian but also guiding the investigation into the murder and theft of they key. The scene in which the Doctor reenacts the muder with Susan and Barbara is, in my opinion, the best we've seen. (Though, again narratively we have no idea what the Doctor's been up to while his companions have been having their adventures. Barbara and Susan are in the city(?) for two days during Ian's arrest before the Doctor appears. No one seems to wonder where he's been.)
In case the viewers have forgotten the purpose of this adventure (it was a month ago that this started), a random character (Kara, the wife of the villainous Ayden) reminds why the Keys of Marinus are important: "Because there are only five of them in the entire universe. It was brought to the city years ago by a man called Arbitan. It was the sworn duty of the Elders to protect it."
I wasn't expecting the sudden left-turn in the story when Ian is still found guilty and sentenced to death. And I didn't notice that Susan had disappeared at the end which set up the cliff-hanger where Barbara receives a note warning her of another death followed by Susan's phone call. Susan's been kidnapped and tells Barbara: "They're going to kill me."
Next episode: The Keys of Marinus
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