Tuesday, 23 December 1997

The Enemy of the World

Premise: After arriving in Australia, the Doctor is mistaken for a scientist called Salamander who is regarded as a hero. But some believe he is intent on being dictator of the world...

Notes: The idea of the Doctor having a villainous double was not original to this story, as it was used before in the William Hartnell story The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. However, this time he actually gets to meet himself, but practical reasons limited this meeting to the climax of the story. Patrick Troughton's son, David Troughton, made an appearance as an extra, playing one of the guards in episodes five and six. This marks the first involvement of future producer Barry Letts in the series as director of this serial. He would later go on to become producer for the vast majority of Jon Pertwee's era until finally stepping down in 1975. The scene in episode one where the helicopter blows up was taken from the James Bond movie, From Russia With Love.

Verdict: A great spy thriller full of intelligent plot points and political intrigue. However, due to the lack of monsters it often ends up rather talky and doesn't give much opportunity for decent cliffhangers 7/10

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