In an effort to find something quick that can be written as part of Daily Doctor Who, we are continuing with Say Something Nice, where I look back at each of the Doctor Who stories and pull out one or two cool things about it.
(Daily Doctor Who #124)
Read the previous entry here. Today, we continue with the third season’s opening story…
Galaxy Four
Featuring the same cast as last time: William Hartnell as the Doctor, Maureen O’Brien as Vicki, and Peter Purves as Steven Taylor. Written by William Emms and directed by Derek Martinus.
Individual episodes are called Four Hundred Dawns, Trap of Steel, Air Lock, and The Exploding Planet.
Say Something Nice…
(Named for Missy–aka the Master–and her catchphrase from her first full appearance in Dark Water).
The story has some interesting ambitions, dealing as it does with false ideas about what makes a monster and what doesn’t. Thus we have the Drahvins, a race played entirely by attractive women, who turn out to be the evil aggressors in a conflict, while the obviously hideous and scary looking Rills are revealed to be peaceful and the story’s victims.
But because we’re equal-opportunity fans here, we’re not going to only be sycophantically complimentary.
You craven-hearted spineless poltroon!
(Another cry from the Master, but not exactly a catch-phrase, this time from The Deadly Assassin)
Nobody has seen this entire story for years, but from what I gather all the lead actors disliked it and it seems to have led to a lot of tension between the cast and the show’s producer, John Wiles. In reading the story description, it seems like the Drahvins and their leader Maaga are presented as being a bit thick-headed and thus not particularly compelling as antagonists.
Catch you next time!
Blue Towel Productions 