Primarily, “The Smugglers” is a vehicle for establishing the Doctor’s newest companions, Ben and Polly. Following on directly from the end of “The War Machines,” the first episode starts with a lot of energy as the new additions to the TARDIS crew – Ben in particular – have trouble adjusting to the fact that they have just travelled in a time machine. Initially this is handled quite well by Hayles, but sadly Polly is convinced unbelievably soon and even Ben comes round to the idea far quicker than I feel is in keeping with his character.

The plot of this season-opening four-parter also leaves a lot to be desired. For the most part it revolves around several antagonistic factions of smugglers / pirates. Often this translates onto the screen as pure, unadulterated cheese – for example we have Captain Pike who, surprise, surprise, has a hook instead of a hand and a Church warden who, surprise, surprise, used to be first mate on a pirate ship before he found God! Moreover, Doctor Who’s production team may have changed considerably since “The Crusade” but they are still making the same mistakes – how on earth they expect us to believe that Polly, a beautiful woman, could be mistaken for “a lad” I have no idea! I’m willing to suspend my disbelief so far that I can believe that an alien from an ancient society travels through time and space in a Police Box, but there’s no way I’m having that Anneke Wills looks like a “lad”!

Believe it or not though, having now ‘watched’ “The Smugglers” twice (by playing the BBC Radio Collection’s release of the soundtrack in synch with John Cura’s telesnaps) I’ve actually become quite fond of it. It’s a harmless, light-hearted piece of melodrama that allows William Hartnell’s Doctor to have a little bit of fun! He gets to hunt treasure; Ben and Polly get to pretend to be wizards… it’s all good fun.

The serial hasn’t even dated that badly compared to some of its contempories – the pirate ship sets are realistic enough and scenes near the Church and on the beach (from the telesnaps) look pretty convincing. I’m just not sure how wise it was to call a black pirate “Jamaica”…

“The Ark” is something of a watershed story in Doctor Who terms. It is the first story ever to be recorded on a set-by-set basis, with the scenes being assembled into the correct order only at the editing stage. Moreover, it is unique in that the four parts are essentially comprised of two separate two-parters, each with their own different cast and (almost) self-contained story. Finally, “The Ark” will forever be remembered in infamy as Dodo Chaplet’s first trip aboard the TARDIS…

As you may have gathered, I am not a big fan of Jackie Lane’s Dodo. Not at all. She is absolutely horrendous, to put it mildly. I thought Steven’s pig-headed disbelief in “The Time Meddler” was annoying enough, but in the first episode of this story Dodo puts him to shame. Interestingly, Dodo’s introduction here sees Steven come full circle – this time he’s the one in the position of trying to convince the disbeliever that the TARDIS can really travel through time and space! Initial gripes over Dodo’s reaction to the TARDIS aside, her character is downright awful. She’s thick, opinionated and not even that pretty to look at; I really haven’t got a clue what the producers were thinking about when they conceived of this character. And what is it with that daft crusader’s outfit? In this, her very first story, she nearly destroys humanity – her common cold infecting the humans on the Ark who, ten million years of evolution down the line, have no immunity to it.

Mercifully, apart from Dodo’s contributions, Paul Erickson’s story is quite a clever one, and it is also one that translates very well onto the small screen, even considering the tight Doctor Who budget of the time. The Monoids (a slave race) are very impressive for a 1960s alien, and the Ark sets themselves actually manage to look sleek and futuristic without descending into the cheesy futurism that certain stories do. Basically, ten million years into the future the Earth is about to plunge into the sun. All Earth life is on a huge Ark on a 700-year journey to a new planet, Refusis II. In the first two episodes, Dodo’s cold wreaks havoc (very War of the Worlds!) on both the humans and the Monoids, but the Doctor comes up with a cure, saves the day and the TARDIS leaves at the end of the second episode with everything wrapped up. Or is it? The TARDIS rematerialises on the Ark 700 years later, when the Ark has reached Refusis II, and the statue that the humans had spent centuries building is revealed to have a Monoid head! It’s a superb cliffhanger.

Sadly, I didn’t find the second half of the story anywhere near as good as the first half. It’s interesting that for once the Doctor has to deal with the consequences of his actions – he lands in the same place, hundreds of years on to learn that his interference (well, Dodo’s cold) has caused the Monoids to advance into a dominant, militant species, and caused the humans to regress into passive slaves. Rather predictably though, the Doctor makes peace between both races and they both live happily ever after on Refusis II.

As with the next story, “The Celestial Toymaker,” there are a tumult of wonderful ideas here that just aren’t explored satisfactorily enough for my liking. At the end of the day, “The Ark” isn’t particularly good, but the first two episodes are a lot more palatable than a lot of the other rubbish farmed out during this very inconsistent third season.

”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.

The Ark is an rather unheralded gem from season three, forgotten amongst so many other black and white classics, and is notable as the full story for Dodo Chaplet, who boarded the TARDIS in mysterious circumstances at the end of The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve. It is an interesting debut for Dodo (especially with that cockney accent of hers) and she starts off in annoying manner, baiting Steven and giving the impression of being an know it all, but she settles down from The Plague (Episode 2 of the Ark) onwards, and becomes rather more likeable actually. 

I think it is an nice and original touch that the main crisis of this story is inadvertently caused by Dodo’s cold, and the severe repercussions it would have on the life forms onboard the Ark, however it is not fully explained properly why the Guardians of the Ark (whom seem to vastly outnumber the Monoids) have their ‘spirits’ broken by the more severe outbreak of Dodo’s cold, but it does serve an excellent example of how the oppressed can become the oppressors. 

The direction from Michael Imison is most impressive, and it is a shame he didn’t work on more stories for Who. The Ark looks believable and well designed, and benefits from such live animals such as an snake and a baby elephant !

The first two episodes set on the Ark, and the crises aboard it, are probably better then the last two set of Refusis II, although I find the predictable courtroom trial scene tiresome and predictable. However the script of the first two episodes sadly glosses over the oppressive treatment of the humans towards their Monaid counterparts, something which would have served the story far better when the TARDIS rematerialized on the Arc 700 years later.

However the grief and guilt that Dodo displays during The Plague is nicely handled, as is the softer Hartnell Doctor, showing genuine pity and compassion towards her, something that probably would not have happened in Season One, when he probably would have ranted about the sanctity of space/time travel

It is also interesting to notice tat the Doctor is the only know who suspects the intelligence of the Monoids when one of them helps him out with his experiments for an cure. The Plague also features one of the more chilling moments from the Hartnell Era, when on the big monitor inside the Ark a vision of Earth is shown burning up as it approaches the Sun, and the cliff hangar is also very cleverly handled, with the head of the giant statue supposedly meant to represent humanity, is shown to have been completed with an monoid head atop it. 

Episode Three, The Return, has shown quite clearly that the Monoids have now enslaved the humans aboard the ship, which is no surprise as clearly the guardians of humanity’s last hope appear to be toothless wimps. The story picks up a pace when The Doctor, Dodo and the Monoids touch down on Refusis II, and its hilarious to see the arrogance of the Monoids brings them unstuck on the planet, due to the invisibility of the inhabitants. 

I suppose this serial does become rather formulaic at this point, with the Monoids planning to desert the humans aboard the Ark and destroying them with a bomb planted inside the statue, but at least it’s handled with aplomb with plenty of desperation among the humans and Steven does get a lot more to do in this portion of the story, having been separated from the Doctor and Dodo, he displays his leadership skills amongst the rather insipid humans aboard the Ark.

The final episode, The Bomb, contains some nice scenes as well, such as the Doctor fairly pointing out some of humanity’s flaws, including intolerance and how they treated the Monoid’s as slaves in the first place. I also enjoy the civil war that rages amongst factions of the Monoids, which probably elevates above other alien races during this period, it is rather regrettable that they never got another appearance in the show as they look superbly designed and convincing. 

I do think it’s sad that so many fans rate this story so poorly as it’s really quite an competent (if admittedly unspectacular) outing for the First Doctor, the plot is fairly thin and doesn’t cover humanity’s poor treatment of the Monoids in the first place, but it has a great performance from all the regulars, beautiful sets and fast direction, and a great new race of aliens in the Monoids. 

Sadly it remains only one of two complete stories remaining from season three (along with the Gunfighters), long regarded as one of the finest seasons in the first decade of Who.

“Just one small question. Why do you want to blow up the world?”

Most great seasons in television have at least one clanger, and Doctor Who’s near-perfect fourth season is no exception to the rule. Of the nine stories that make up Doctor Who’s fourth run, Geoffrey Orme’s “The Underwater Menace” is the worst, and it’s the worst by a mile. Ironically, the earliest surviving Pat Troughton episode is Episode 3 of this serial – hardly the best showcase for his era. To think that survived the fires when so much wonderful stuff was lost…

To be fair to Troughton, there is nothing wrong with his performance, nor that of any of his companions; quite the opposite in fact - even Frazer Hines makes the best of a bad situation, after his character had been hastily pencilled in at the last minute. The newly regenerated Doctor is very entertaining - the problem is that the story isn’t compelling. Take the first episode for example. The TARDIS lands on an extinct volcanic rock surrounded by sea, circa 1970. It turns out to be the lost Kingdom of Atlantis. Living there, is a mad scientist called Zaroff who, for no apparent reason, wants to blow up the world. Okay, so initially Zaroff claims that he wants to raise Atlantis from the depths of the ocean, but as the story progresses and he descends further and further into madness (and Joseph Furst descends further and further into over the top, clichйd acting) it becomes clear that the man has no motive; he’s just completely radio rental. 

If anything, “The Underwater Menace” is reminiscent of James Bond… only crap. We have the Doctor signing notes “Doctor W.” (aaaah!!!), Ben and Jamie sent away to work as slave labour (how original), and worst of all we have the absolute worst cliff-hanger of all time. I mean it; it’s dire.

“Nothing in the world can stop me now!”

It’s so bad in fact, that it is the only good thing about the story. At least you can have a laugh at it!

The Celestial Toymaker' seems to have been largely regarded as a classic, until the soundtrack and surviving episode were released, since when praise for the story has been rather muted. This is a shame, as Doctor Who's first foray into surrealism, whilst flawed, is a highly imaginative and engaging story. 

The Toymaker himself is a great villain, played with relish by Michael Gough. The concept of a villain who is enormously powerful and immortal and whose motivation is solely to stop himself getting bored is now relatively widespread in science fiction and fantasy, but at the time it was a fairly original idea and this was the first time that Doctor Who explored it. The Toymaker captures victims simply to play games; the fact that he sadistically turns them into eternal toys and makes it virtually impossible for anyone to beat him is what makes him an actual villain. He's also one of the most charismatic villains to appear in the programme up to this point, and maintains an air of avuncular charm right up until the end; he doesn't rant because, quite simply, he doesn't need to, since he is in complete control of his world until his final defeat. Even his occasional moments of anger at his toys are focused and controlled, more like a stern (if psychotic) parent than a megalomaniac who sees his plans at risk of unraveling. Despite this charisma, he is also at times a deeply sinister foe, the most effective example being his "Make your last move" speech during 'The Final Test'. His revelation of the rooms in his doll's house prepared for Steven and Dodo is also a chilling moment, emphasizing that, to the Toymaker, his victims are not people, but playthings.

In the face of such a powerful villain, the Doctor maintains a quite dignity, even when forced to play the trilogic game, and rendered invisible, intangible and mute. His confrontation with the Toymaker at the end is one of his finest moments, as he struggles to outwit and almost undefeatable foe. As he tries to work out how to escape from the Toymaker's final trap, Hartnell's face is a picture of intense concentration, impressively conveying the impression that Doctor is bringing all of his considerable intellect to bear on he problem at hand. His eventual last-minute defeat of the Toymaker by impersonating his foe and ordering the trilogic game to make its last move is an ingenious end to the story. For most of the serial however, he is sidelined and as in 'The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve' his companions take the centre stage. 

'The Celestial Toymaker' is perhaps the best example of why Dodo is so disliked. As she and Steven are forced to play the Toymaker's games, she repeatedly falls into the trap of looking for the good in the Toymaker's servants and trying to befriend them, or at least sympathizing with them. Initially, this is an admirable character trait, but by the time she almost allows Cyril to beat them during 'The Final Test', I found myself admiring Steven's restraint at not strangling her. She seems alternatively stupid and irritating, and falling for Cyril's red ink trick is the last straw. Steven is far more resourceful and pragmatic, and Purves successfully portrays his increasing frustration and anger at being forced to play by the Toymaker's rules, but despite his and Dodo's prominent role in the story, he somehow doesn't really seem to do much here. The story seems entirely constructed to showcase the Toymaker's games, but incredibly, it manages to succeed on this basis, thanks largely to the supporting characters. 

The Toymaker's first three pairs of toys, all played by Campbell Singer and Carmen Silvera, steal the show. Admittedly, Joey and Clara the clowns don't work very well on audio, but the Hearts and Sergeant Rugg and Mrs Wiggs are hugely entertaining, as they exchange banter in their attempts to distract Steven and Dodo from their games and also, perhaps, win themselves and earn their freedom from the Celestial Toyroom. My personal favourites are the Hearts, who are very well characterised. Their constant squabbling, and their attempt to trick the increasingly suspicious Fool into trying one of the chairs, are amusing, and carry 'The Hall of Dolls' along at a merry pace. The lethal nature of the chairs nicely offsets this, maintaining the sinister edge of the story in balance to the humour. The decision by the King and Queen to risk "death" together is strangely touching and reminds the viewer that the Toymaker's servants are just as much victims as the Doctor, Steven and Dodo could become. During 'The Final test', the Toymaker decides to try a more dangerous opponent, presenting us with Cyril, an overgrown schoolboy (rather infamously) in the Billy Bunter mold. He's far more sinister than Singer and Silvera's various characters, which is possibly due in part to the incongruity of seeing an adult dressed and acting like a schoolboy. He's also easily the most ruthless and underhanded of the Toymaker's games, setting a lethal trap for Steven and Dodo which he ultimately falls victim to himself. 

The design of 'The Celestial Toymaker' is excellent, at least based on the existing photographic evidence and the surviving final episode. The incongruous mix of fairground sets and the Toymaker's weird mechanical constructs (including the Toymaker's robot) are highly effective and add to the air of surrealism already evident from the soundtracks of the first three episodes alone. In summary, 'The Celestial Toymaker' is a fascinating and enjoyable experiment in surrealism.