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happymeishappylife · 3 years

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Prep for the 60th: 2nd Season of Doctor Who

“One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.”

The second season of Doctor Who begins to introduce us to the fundamental concept of Doctor Who and that is change. This season we begin to see why change makes the show work and makes the show last. But of course there are tears, smiles, and memories that established with every departure and yet excitement over the possibilities that can now come with fresh faces and voices. So beginning with the TARDIS team, this is how the season started:

(From left: The Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Susan Foreman, and Barbara Wright)

And this is the TARDIS team jumping into season three:

(From left: Vicki, The Doctor, and Steven Taylor)

With the departures of Susan, Ian, and Barbara, we get a fresh new start to what it means to be a TARDIS team and travel with the Doctor. And one of things Classic Who does really well in my opinion is the blending of teams as people leave and join the team, plus there aren’t catastrophic moments when a companion departs even if you might not like it (like I did with Susan). Still with a fresh TARDIS team, let’s introduce the new companions.

Vicki Pallister is a sixteen year old girl from Earth from the 25th century. She is rescued by the Doctor, Ian, and Barbara after her spacecraft crash lands on the planet Dido and she is lied to by a convict who has killed the rest of the crew, including Vicki’s father, to avoid being locked up again. Thankfully, she gets picked up by the Doctor who fresh off the emotions of leaving his real granddaughter behind, takes Vicki lovingly into his world.

Steven Taylor, is also from the future though its unclear which era exactly he comes from. He is found on the planet Mechanus where after crash landing, he has been held prisoner by the Mechanoids for over two years on his own. Once he meets the Doctor, Barbara, Ian, and Vicki, he gets energized to escape, but its chaotic when the Daleks start battling the Mechanoids. So at first you don’t think he makes it into the TARDIS, but after one serial, I’m glad he stole away because he’s a fun guy to get to know.

The serials:

1. Planet of Giants

This serial introduces the first instance where something wrong can happen to the TARDIS and the team has to deal with it in whatever situation they find themselves in. In this case, something affects the TARDIS’ materialization that causes the TARDIS to not fully materialize at its full size, but instead at a miniature level. So while the Doctor and Susan are climbing sink drains and Ian and Barbara are dealing with giant insects and insecticide, what the team doesn’t realize is they inadvertently help prevent this extremely toxic chemical from going to the market by being present while full size humans are murdering each other over money. Overall Rating: 7/10

2. The Dalek Invasion of Earth

The Daleks have conquered Earth in the year 2164 and are in the process of extracting the core of the planet and replacing it with a machine to allow them to pilot the planet. It’s a crazy plan, but even though they’ve conquered Earth and enslaved humans to force slavery onto other humans, there entire plan falls apart when the TARDIS lands and the team finds ways to stop them and embolden the humans of Earth. But this is the first episode of goodbyes because the Doctor makes the decision to leave Susan behind so that she can explore her wish to belong somewhere and follow her dreams without him. Overall Rating: 8/10

3. The Rescue

The Doctor is surprised when they land on the planet Dido, a place he’s been before, that the inhabitants are gone and in there place is a few monsters and a crashed spaceship. He then helps discover the true reason for this, that Koquillion isn’t a true resident of Dido, but Bennet who has not only killed his crew and some of the Dido people in order to be rescued by Earth and not still be convicted of his previous crimes. Foiling his plan, the Doctor also takes Vicki Pallister into the TARDIS once she tells them she’s been orphaned due to Bennet’s actions. Plus missing his granddaughter, the Doctor immediately latches onto Vicki who is need of care. Overall Rating: 8/10

4. The Romans

After leaving Dido, the team takes a break in ancient Italy enjoying a month’s vacation in an empty house and living life of Romans. But eager for adventure the Doctor and Vicki set off for Rome and quickly get caught up in the affairs of Cesar Nero’s court when the Doctor is mistaken for a famed musician. But instead of continued life in luxury, Ian and Barbara get kidnapped for a slave trader, Ian going to hard labor in a boat and Barbara to the court of Cesar Nero as the Empress’ pretty handmaid. Ian of course breaks few and chases after her and there’s a great sequence of all four being in close proximity and never seeing each other. Plus we learn the Doctor is the reason behind Cesar Nero’s idea for burning down all of Rome. Overall Rating: 10/10

5. The Web Planet

I know this is one of the beloved serial from Classic Who, but I’m sorry, I can’t. Between the constant beeping of the Zarbi, the weird speaking and hand motions of the Menoptra, and the bizarre enemy of the Animus who makes webs but is some ethereal being, I just can’t get on board with it. Plus while the scattering of the companions in other episodes is okay, this one just feels unnecessary and ridiculous when the final scene is all four coming together in the Animus chamber to then defeat it. Plus, how do any of these creatures actually live and breathe on this planet? Overall Rating: 3/10

6. The Crusade

Having just recently read the book novelization of this serial, I was happy to rewatch it again, though it is disappointing that two of the episodes are missing. The show itself tells a good story of how the TARDIS team lands in the middle of the crusades, explores the two factions between Richard the Lionheart and Saladdin, but also was just a good watch this snippet of history and don’t get too involved with the major events. Sure Barbara is captured and the story revolves around Ian rescuing her, but for the most part the TARDIS team takes a backseat as we explore Richard’s weariness to go home and his trials to try and end these long wars. Overall Rating: 8/10

7. The Space Museum

This is the second serial that explores the problem of something weird happening to the TARDIS, when it materializes a few moments ahead of it actually physically materializing and gives the team a glance at a possible future in which the four are turned into exhibits for the space museum they stumble upon. Fearful of accidentally ending up this way, they instead find themselves running from the keepers of the museum and in Vicki’s case, starting a revolution against them to try and prevent the outcome. It’s one of the more suspenseful early stories, mainly because the Doctor almost does get turned into nothing but a model, but also when he does sneak inside an empty Dalek shell to escape his captors, we see that silly side of him come out. Overall Rating: 9/10

8. The Chase

In probably the most confusing Dalek story ever, we go on quite the journey to avoid the Dalek’s chase of the TARDIS team. It starts on the planet Aridius, ends on the planet Mechanus, and somehow manages to go to New York for the first time, the Mary Celeste ship, and a haunted horror house where Frankenstein destroys a Dalek. We do learn some interesting things about the Daleks and the TARDIS in this episode, but its also notable for two reasons. The first is we meet Steven Taylor and though its unclear, we learn in the next episode he steals away on the TARDIS to avoid being stuck on Mechanus. The second is it’s the serial where Barbara and Ian leave the TARDIS once they realize the Daleks’ time machine can get them back to London in their own time. Overall Rating: 6/10

9. The Time Meddler

We meet another Gallifreyan and the first besides the Doctor and Susan when the Doctor lands just before the Battle of Hastings. We also learn more about the Doctor’s people (though not their species or planet yet) and that there are principles to Time Travel which the Monk has no issue exploiting for his own amusement, but the Doctor is strict about. This leads to the Doctor finding ways to prevent the Monk’s plan of destroying the invading Viking fleet while also removing a key component in the Monk’s TARDIS so he can’t meddle through time anymore. Overall Rating: 9/10

Adding to our previous lists, items in bold are things we learned in Season 2:

Historical Figures:

Marco Polo

Kublai Khan

Maximillen Robespierre

Napoleon Bonaparte

Ceasar Nero

King Richard the Lionheart

Things we learn about the Doctor:

Pioneer among gallifreyans

Ian only refers to one heart being okay “his heart is okay”

Knows three dimensional graph geometry

Things I’ve learned about the TARDIS:

It has a computer that reads and feed data to compute information about where to go next

It has a food generator where you pick flavors to be added to a nutrient bar

The lock comes away from the door and has 27 different mechanisms, getting one wrong might melt the lock

Field dimensions can be damaged by breaking down doors

The TARDIS is made of material that is impervious to Dalek shots

The Doctor does not have a Mark 4

Things we learn about Gallifrey:

It’s quite like Earth, but at night the sky burns orange and the leaves on the trees are a bright silver

Timelords we meet:

The Monk

People the Doctor has supposedly met before:

Pyrrho

Henry VIII

James Watt

#prep for the 60th #doctor who #season 2

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