...space but time as well, and its a fun place for them to take the story (even if it does feel like a missing ep of 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞!) Love seeing Hartnell having fun, and being mischievous with Peter Butterworth's duplicitous Monk, who both have great chemistry. A shame Steven and Sara have little to do

𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

Better than expected! A shame that for an ep with lots of visual action that we can no longer see it (urgh!), but it's nice to have the Daleks back exterminating after a few weeks bumbling about. The move to ancient Egypt is a great reminder of the adventure’s scale across not just...

...for the Doctor to fix everything with his magic ring (don't ask!), shows signs that Dennis Spooner is doing his best to breathe life and adventure into a flagging story. Its nice to have contemporary (NYE revelling) touches added to an otherwise outer space epic, but the urgency is slipping

𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨

Here we are starting (if we hadn't already!) to loose focus on the wider story. The discovery that the core is a fake, and Chen's growing unease is all great, but the superfluous cricket match, wander around a volcano, the eponymous meddling Monk returning for a chat and mischief, only...

…but the Hollywood studio stuff is where the ep has more leeway for stylistic fun: the Chaplin ‘cameo’, Keystone Cops chase, title cards, blustery director/demanding star are all fruitful opportunities for (what sounds like) a passable cast. Toys-back-in-the-box-at-the-end sort of fun. Moving on…

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

Cliffhanger? Never heard of her. This ep is exactly what it was made for: frivolous, expendable fun, with no significant bearing of the overall story - to which it is, by and large, successful in a mildly amusing, sufficiently ambitious way. The ‘Z-Cars’ antics are tolerable…

...coma/forcefield handover is a pretty cheap idea, that is notably concluded by saying 'ok, that worked once, lets never do that again'! Again, Sara is forgiven too quickly - it would be much more interesting if she's ultimately useful, but they are never 100% sure that she's fully on side

𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧

Action packed start of Daleks vs Visians, which I am sure Camfield did a creatively dynamic job of - not a fan of the 'thwomp' Dalek gun sfx though. Some great back-and-forth scenes between Chen + the Daleks - starting to show the tension in their fraying 'alliance'. Steven's...

...I think her turn from the ‘dark side’ to the ‘light’ is fumbled a bit too irreverently here (not that she has much choice!) Clever money-saving device making the terrifying, 8ft Visians ‘invisible’, but the footprints, haunting sfx and twitching branches on cotton threads are effectively spooky.

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭

Strong, on the whole, but this is where the back-and-forth rot starts to set the tone for episodes to come. Amazing that Hartnell nailed "cellular dissemination", but then completely threw himself off for his next line! Sara is an interesting character (and Jean Marsh is superb) but...

...Stoney has great, slimy chemistry with Maurice Browning's Karlton. Peter Hawkins on peerless form esp as the Supreme Dalek, offering a chilling menace, wonderfully complemented by the more robotic David Graham. Sadly, as great as he is, Nick Courtney unceremoniously adds to the growing body count

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬

Katarina's death has to be one of the most brutal + harrowing send-offs in all of classic Who - Steven’s screams, the silence that follows, and Hartnell’s beautifully played "daughter of the Gods" eulogy is surprisingly moving. Great development showing Chen's growing ambition, and...

...Some fun Hartnell line fluffs in this one! however it's great to see him take charge. Although they are pretty two-dimensional, the convicts of Desperus are a nice addition to the story's world-building, and I'm sure the terrifying fight with the Screamer wasn't awkwardly played at all(!)

𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭

A nice enough interlude ep, although the well paced race against time (will the Daleks or the convicts get to them first?!) is effective enough. It's a shame that, knowing Katarina's fate, she has hardly any dialogue, or much to do beyond being told ‘hold that switch, child, hmm!’...

...we get to see more of the BRILLIANT Kevin Stoney, as the cunningly feline, Mavic Chen. I love the scenes with the different alien delegates, and the Daleks holding court - even if, in a moment of panic, they all just forget about their oh so precious taranium core just left lying on the table…

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐨𝐧

By virtue of this ep surviving, we can appreciate what a phenomenal job director Douglas Camfield does: the extreme close-ups, the variety of perspective angles + all the Dalek action in the jungle shows the work of a real pro. Hartnell, again, firing on all cylinders here, and...

...have been turning behind the scenes for some time, all leading to this moment. Hartnell is great: he has a real whimsical intrigue here reminiscent of his early stories, and has great chemistry with Adrienne Hill's Katarina - albeit something of a dead end character. Great sets and model work!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬

Ominous from the start! Huge praise to the sound design/Tristram Cary's score for completely immersing you in this strange new world. Picking up from 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 it does a great job of suggesting this broad galactic canvas, as though cogs from around the universe...