The Savages

Missing from the BBC archives and unavailable on audio CD until recently, “The Savages” is a serial that is often overlooked - a great shame considering that it’s probably better than some of Season Three’s more celebrated stories like “The Celestial Toymaker.”

Ian Stuart Black’s story is notable for three major points. Firstly, it marks Peter Purves’ final appearance as Steven Taylor; the Doctor’s fifth companion deciding to remain behind at the serial’s conclusion to lead the Savages. Having Peter Purves narrate the soundtrack for the CD release seems fitting for Steven’s swansong, and when watched in synch with John Cura’s telesnaps one can really get a good feel for the story. 

The second point “The Savages” is notable for is some very clever writing. In my opinion, Black succeeds here where Emms failed in “Galaxy 4” at hammering home the ‘moral of the story’ – “it’s what’s inside that counts” – without being too cheesy or obvious. In fact, much of this story’s appeal is down the uncertain state of affairs on the planet – it takes quite a while for the audience to realise just exactly who the ‘goodies’ and the ‘baddies’ are. For example, in Episode 1’s (yes; for the first time it’s actually called “Episode 1”) cliffhanger Dodo screams at the mere sight of a Savage inside the Elders’ city, whereas later in the story we see a female savage, Nanina, actually look after an injured guard who we saw mistreating her earlier in the story, clearly demonstrating which group has the moral high ground. The ending of the story is also a lovely little piece of storytelling; the Doctor impregnating Jano, the leader of the Elders, with his very own conscience and thus using him to free the Savages from the oppression of the Elders. Not only is the ending a clever finale to the serial, but it is also highly amusing to see Frederick Jaeger’s impression of William Hartnell as he plays Jano infused the Doctor’s consciousness. “Hmm…”

Thirdly, the aforementioned sexy savage Nanina (Clare Jenkins) is close to naked throughout. Seriously! She makes Leela look over-dressed. In one of the telesnaps you can actually see her arse! I’m not for a moment suggesting that such a thing marks the difference between an average story and a good one, but hey – every little helps! In all seriousness though, “The Savages” is a very enjoyable four-parter but it’s never going to be missed as much as the likes of “The Daleks’ Master Plan,” “The Evil of the Daleks” et al. This serial seems to have no reputation whatsoever – good or bad – and so if, like me, you go into it not expecting much I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.