The Highlanders

”The Highlanders” is a whimsical little story, weak on historical accuracy, strong on entertainment. The last of the Doctor Who historicals until “Black Orchid,” it is also quite a strange story in that the English are the baddies – it certainly takes some getting used to! However, the thing that Gerry Davis and Elwyn Jones’ four-parter will forever be remembered for is the introduction of Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines); not only the definitive second Doctor companion, but one of the all-time greats!

A fast-moving plot sees the TARDIS crew separated, Ben being taken prisoner with Jamie and the Scottish rebels, Polly on the run with Kirsty (a young Scottish woman) and the new Doctor still employing his early penchant for curious disguises. In “The Highlanders,” we see him add the suspicious German Doctor Von Wer, a moustached English redcoat, and an old washerwoman to his repertoire!

Much of this serial is quite light-hearted in nature, but nevertheless it does have its grittier moments. Polly and Kirsty are forced to blackmail an English redcoat, and Ben and Jamie are sold into slavery by a corrupt solicitor. The episode three cliffhanger is particularly disturbing as Ben tears up Solicitor Gray’s ‘contract’ and is ducked into the sea. If Mary Whitehouse was gonna complain about the drowning sequence in “The Deadly Assassin,” I don’t know how this one got past her!

Aside from Jamie’s introduction (who incidentally, isn’t his usual self in this story), for me the best thing about this story is Polly. Along with her sidekick Ben, she has to be one of the most underrated Doctor Who companions. Anneke Wills gives one of her best performances in “The Highlanders”, Polly coming across as very strong and resourceful, be it dressing up as an orange seller, blackmailing soldiers or even using her feminine wiles to get her out of sticky situations! 

Sadly, “The Highlanders” only exists today as four audio episodes with linking narration by Frazer Hines and as a collection of telesnaps from John Cura. I managed to compile a little reconstruction of my own by combing the two surviving elements on my PC, and I think I’ve managed to get a good feel for the story. Its loss isn’t in the same league as some of the other missing Troughton stories, but even so it’s a charming little story, well worthy of its place in the Doctor Who canon.