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it is a race against time for the TARDIS team
to get to safety. Yet they seem to hurtle from
one problem to the next as the Doctor and his
companions come to face the War Chief, the
War Lord and even The Time Lords in this ten
part tour de force.
Everything comes together so well in this story,
with the writers (Malcolm Hulke and Terrence
Dicks) especially being on top form. Often it
is difficult to convince audiences that a character is in peril mid-way through a story because we (as DVD viewers) know there are still
more episodes to view. This is even more impressive in a regeneration story. Yet Dicks and
Hulke manage to pull off the impossible here.
The audience is led to truly believe that every
member of the TARDIS team could die at any
moment. Yet credit must also go to Troughton,
Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury who create
this feeling of dread and worry.
The Villainous War Lord and the War Chief...
The supporting cast is incredibly strong, with
the likes of Lt Carstairs and Lady Jennifer feeling very much at home on the show to the extent that I could have happily seen them as
new companions.
Our first look at Time Lords on their Homeworld
The sets look stunning and will impress even
those who argue that Classic Who suffered
from “wobbly sets” and cheap effects. From
the crazy psychedelic backdrops to the awesome World War One settings to the fabulously
sixties enemy costumes to The Time Lords, this
really is a beautiful looking story.
People who have only watched Doctor Who
since it relaunched in 2005 might consider
Donna Noble or maybe Amy Pond as the Doctor’s best friend. But if you watch any of the
Second Doctor’s serials (well, any after The
Highlanders at any rate) and you will soon find
out that there is one companion who the Doctor truly sees as his Best Friend Forever: Jamie
McCrimmon. The connection between the
Doctor and Jamie is one that just sparkles on
the screen. Troughton and Hines have an unbelievable chemistry together, almost to the level
of a sixth sense. They are aware of what each
other is going to do before they do it. To witness their friendship being torn away is worse
than watching Rose get stuck in the alternative
reality or Amy being zapped back to nineteenthirties Manhattan never to return.
It is a shame that so much of Troughton’s run
as the Doctor does not exist but even the small
amount that does will make you instantly fall
in love with him in the role. In my opinion, The
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