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| The Doctor and Jo study the history of a once-great, now primitive civilization. |
6 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 145 minutes. Written by: Malcolm Hulke. Directed by: Michael E. Briant. Produced by: Barry Letts.
THE PLOT:
The Doctor has completed repairs on his dematerialization circuit. He installs it while showing off the TARDIS control room to Jo. Then, suddenly, the timeship takes off on its own!
They materialize on Uxarieus, a desolate world whose only indigenous life is a civilization that has devolved into a tribal, primitive state. A group of humans, fleeing overpopulation on Earth, is attempting to build a colony here. Ashe (John Ringham), their leader, reveals that they have begun running into problems: crops that fail without cause and sightings of giant lizard creatures. Many of the colonists are on the verge of giving up and going back to Earth.
That's when representatives of the Interplanetary Mining Corporation show up. Led by Captain Dent (Morris Perry), the IMC men insist they were surprised to find a colony here. Soon enough, the Doctor discovers that the colony's problems stem from sabotage by IMC, with Dent determined to drive them out so that he can strip-mine the planet.
The colonists send for an Adjudicator to resolve the dispute. But the man who arrives, for all his credentials, is an imposter. The Doctor and Jo recognize him immediately: It's the Master - and he has come to this barren world for reasons all his own!
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: When he shows off the TARDIS to Jo, he preens at her amazement that "it's bigger on the inside." As soon as they take off, he realizes that the Time Lords must be controlling his ship. Even so, he's happy to step out onto a planet that isn't Earth again. He badly wants Jo to share in his delight at even this temporary escape, seeming to almost need her to feel the sense of wonder.
Jo Grant: She reacts to the TARDIS's sudden takeoff the way most people would: with fear and a desire to go back home. She trusts the Doctor, and she allows him to coax her out onto her first alien world. She seems to pass an unspoken test when she forgets her anxiety long enough to be dazzled by an alien flower - but that doesn't stop her from being appalled when the TARDIS is stolen. This nervous reaction is well written, and it helps her to remain relatable. Crucially, her fear doesn't come at the expense of her helping the colonists. She bonds with them quickly and is actively assisting with daily chores by the second episode.
The Master: This is the one Season Eight story where his appearance feels tacked on. Still, Roger Delgado's performance remains excellent, and the script feeds him a few good character beats. He's learned caution from the Doctor's previous burglary of his TARDIS, putting in an alarm and additional defensive measures. He's also entirely genuine in wanting the Doctor to join him in his scheme, and he's hurt by his rival's rejection.
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: Nicholas Courtney appears just long enough to justify his spot in the credits. Even that couple of minutes establishes that he's actively following up on leads regarding the Master's whereabouts. The Doctor insists that this is a waste of time, but I'm going to side with the Brig on this. It's already clear that the Master has a desire to defeat the Doctor, not just escape him, so it's reasonable to think that he'll turn up on Earth again at some point.
Capt. Dent: The story's actual main villain. Morris Perry leans hard into the character's archness, just in case you miss that he's evil... Not that you're going to, because this is a man with zero positive traits. He's utterly corrupt and obsessed with profits. His plan is to scare the colonists away, but he is unbothered when an encounter results in two deaths. He wants to cover his worst abuses legally, even holding a show trial for the colony leaders at one point. The only thing that ultimately matters, however, is that he clears them out so that he and his men can mine the planet's resources.
THOUGHTS:
The Colony in Space is the first story of the Pertwee era to break the Earthbound/UNIT format. Though I've enjoyed that format, it was time for a change of pace. The simple fact that the Doctor goes back to traveling for a story, albeit on a leash, makes for a refreshing change of pace.
This story is not generally regarded as one of the era's better ones, but I've always rather enjoyed it. The first four episodes work particularly well. The conflict between the colonists and the miners may be routine stuff, but it's deftly scripted and builds steadily, an accumulation of incidents that leads to rising violence.
There are a range of personalities on both sides. Ashe, the colony's leader, is patient to a fault and wants to find peaceful solutions using the law. His second-in-command, Winton (Nicholas Pennell), is quick to want to fight, with both Ashe and the Doctor trying to hold him back. But given how aggressive the IMC men are, Winton may just have a point regarding the need for self-defense! Meanwhile, though the miners are definitely the "baddies," mining expert Caldwell (Bernard Kay) despises the methods that Dent is willing to use - and even Dent occasionally has to check the open sadism of security man Morgan (Tony Caunter).
I find the final two episodes to be a lot weaker, and I can describe why in two words: The Master. Roger Delgado is as good as ever, but he doesn't feel like an intrinsic part of the plot. It takes more than half the serial for him to appear, and he spends all of Episode Four pretending to be an Earth official and acting in that capacity. It would not surprise me if this had been originally scripted as a Master-free serial, with his subplot tacked on.
The final episode particularly feels as if it's cutting between two unrelated narratives, one involving the colony and one involving the Master. This harms both threads: The Master story feels rushed and underdeveloped, and the ending of what had been the serial's central plot gets squeezed around the Master's latest shenanigans.
OVERALL:
The Master subplot harms the ending, but not enough to stop me from recommending the story overall. For the bulk of its running time, The Colony in Space is enjoyable bread-and-butter Who, and even the final episodes offer several good moments. Most of all, when viewing the series in order, it's a breath of fresh air to see the Doctor get away from Earth, if only for one story.
I just wish that this one time, the Master had been left out of the proceedings.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
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