Doctor Who: The Rescue and The
Romans (BBC DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras:
B+ Episodes: Rescue: C+/Romans: B+
There is a pivotal moment
early on in this excellent 6 episode issue of the early Doctor Who adventures that will affect all the Doctors and their
future history to come. It is a simple moment, based in part on the
Doctor’s aged appearance, when turning to his new companion, Vicki, he says
“Susan … er …”
Placed as it is in the
transitionary two episode adventure “The
Rescue,” it sets the tone for many relationships with the Doctor’s future
companions. It is at once touching and strange, allowing William
Hartnell’s Doctor a personal dimension not often highlighted in those early
years and prefiguring developments that have come full circle with the most
recent Doctor’s many varied companions.
The set under review
contains stories 11 and 12 of the 1st Doctor, the aforementioned “The Rescue” and its follow up, “The Romans.” 6 episodes in
all, they are really apiece. “The
Rescue” is the third story of Season 2, the first story to introduce a new
companion, Vicki, after the departure of Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter, in
the previous episode, “Invasion of the
Daleks.” As is mentioned in the excellent extra “Mounting the Rescue,” this episode
primarily serves the purpose of introducing the new companion, who joins the
established team of the Doctor, Barbara, and Ian. The team crashes
on planet Dido, where they discover another shipwrecked pair, Bennett and
Vicki, who live in fear of the inhabitants and particularly Koquillion while
they await rescue from a soon to arrive spaceship. In a relatively
transparent plot, the Doctor reveals that Bennett and Koquillion are actually
one and the same, the Koquillion persona being used by Bennett to keep Vicki in
check while they await rescuing. In fact, the plot is so transparent,
that a fake name is used for the actor playing Koquillion in the credits to
Part I, so as to throw viewers off the scent. Bennett ultimately pays with
his life for crimes against the inhabitants and with nowhere to go, Vicki, whom
the Doctor takes an immediate shine to, heads off with the crew at the
episode’s end.
Since the story takes a mere
two segments to play out, its relative transparency is a minor annoyance.
The new companion is intriguing and the bridging between Susan and Vicki will
serve as a model for companions throughout the series’ long history. The story
segues immediately into “The Romans,” a high point of the 1st
Doctor’s tenure. It is alternately played as historical fiction and
comedy, with farcical elements akin to theater, and is in fact the first comedy
episode of the Doctor. The Tardis crew arrives in ancient Rome in 64 A.D. and
takes a vacation of sorts. The restless Doctor takes Vicki and sets off
for Rome and Barbara and Ian are promptly kidnapped by slavers. Barbara
is enslaved to the wife of Nero and Ian takes a Ben-Hur like turn as a galley
slave. The Doctor is mistaken for a famous lyre player (whom Nero, no
slouch on the lyre himself, sees as a rival and tries to have
assassinated). All three story threads lead to, er, Rome, where through
an amazing series of coincidences, Barbara, who eventually reunites with Ian,
manages never to meet up with the Doctor and Vicki, who are sometimes in the
same room, the next room, or down the hall. Both sets of companions
escape separately after the Doctor apparently gives Nero the idea to set Rome
on fire, which he promptly does. This is an early introduction of the
on-going series theme of changing history, which has been treated variously
throughout the Doctor's long, storied history. “The Romans” was referred to very recently by
the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) in the episode “The Fires of Pompeii”,
when he mentions he was not responsible for the burning of Rome, "Not
really." The Doctor's characteristic waffling on the point perfectly
reflects the writers slightly varying attitudes over the years toward meddling
with history.
The extras, as with many of
the Doctor Who reissues, are really
worth the price of the package. There are the excellent making of
featurettes "Mounting the Rescue"
and "What Has 'The Romans' Ever Done
For Us," which chronicle how the stories developed and the
relationship between the two story arcs, while examining the growing Who
mythos early in its inception. There is also the usual photo galleries
for both episodes, with "The Rescue" having a PDF accessible via DVD-ROM
showcasing the original design drawings of Raymond Cusick. A number of
longer featurettes relate to "The
Romans," including one on Dennis Spooner and writing for television
and "Girls Girls Girls” - a
retrospective of the Who girls of the 60's. There were so many
"girls" during the 60's, as companions turned over with alarming
regularity, that each featured companion barely gets a minute (though Jean
Marsh, of Upstairs Downstairs, does
get considerably more “face” time) in this 17 minute extra, a sort of Cliff's
Notes to 60's companions. The recreation of a Roman banquet on the BBC
show Blue Peter has some farcical elements of its own and is
thankfully brief.
This set is a fine addition
for both the Dr. Who completist and
for those recent fans who wish to delve in a little deeper than familiarity
with just Messers Tennant, Eccleston, and Baker will allow.
- Don Wentworth
