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Doctor Who: Galaxy Four [1965] 'We are strange beings to you. You've never met anything like us.' Surviving mostly on audio [though a substantial clip from one episode shows what it looked like], this fable-like serial was conceived by a schoolteacher who submitted the idea on spec and must have been a hero to his pupils. It boils down to an elementary lesson in not judging by appearances [a similar tactic was used on a Lost in Space episode]. The Doctor [William Hartnell, fumbling with his lines but incorporating the trait into his performance] and a slimmed-down crew of Vicki [Maureen O'Brien] and Steven [Peter Purves] land on a planet presumably in Galaxy 4. The place is inhabited by two stranded spaceship crews, and due to blow up in 'fourteen dawns' - which isn't as far off as one might expect since the planet has three suns. The Drahvins are a race of stern, emotionless, nasty women: actually, one evil, cackling leader Maaga [Stephanie Bidmead] and a clutch of brainless, obedient clone-soldiers. The Rills, who breathe ammonia, are only-glimpsed nasty-looking types with somewhat cute robot pals [the 'chumblies' – sort of lovable daleks] who turn out to be altruistic. While the Drahvins see no point in helping anyone, the Rills see no
point in not doing so. It's all spelled out for the kids, with moral
points under debate; the social set-ups of the two races seem simplistic
now, but the clone angle [the word is never used] probably copped from
Huxley was cutting edge for 1965. One suspects the disintegration of
an entire planet would have stretched the BBC's effects budget at the
time. At four episodes, it moves swiftly with not too much padding,
though it has one of those ping-pong plots as the heroes are successively
imprisoned and escape from either faction. It ends with a tag that links
to the one-off set-up show that precedes the epic Dalek
Master Plan... First published in this form here. Visit Kim's Official Website at www.johnnyalucard.com
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