Colony in Space
"Are you some kind of scientist?"
"I'm every kind of scientist."
In this serial, The Doctor and Jo find their TARDIS whisked off (with them in it) to a small colony on the planet Uxarieus. The colonists are suffering, dealing with attacks by the native peoples of the planet, signs of a lizard monster, and poor soil for growing food. The planet is now also targeted by the Intergalactic Mining Corporation who have been allowed to claim it, conflicting with the colonists being allowed to claim the planet. Soon, the Doctor uncovers that the IMC has been faking monster attacks to try to convince the people to leave. Soon, the IMC's plans become more lethal, much to the concern (though inaction) of the lead engineer Caldwell. IMC captures Joe and a colonial firebrand named Winton to force the Doctor not to reveal anything but they both escape. The colonial leader Ashe tries to talk to the head of the project and they both agree to an adjudicator to settle it.
The Doctor learns that there is something strange about the planet's "primatives"; that they were actually once a highly developed race. When the Doctor returns he is shocked to find the adjudicator is actually the Master, who sides with the IMC. However, his plan is actually to force Ashe, in the name of laying claim to the planet, to use the primatives to help lay claim to the planet. When the Master learns the Doctor has already met the primatives, he uses the Doctor to get into their layer and expose his real goal; a powerful doomsday weapon. Meanwhile, after several back and forth battles for power, IMC winds up on top and forces the colonists to leave, despite the fact that the spaceship is in far too much disrepair to make the journey. The colonists trick the IMC but to do so, Ashe dies with the ship and they defeat them. At the same time, the Master tries to convince the Doctor to join him and the primatives leader allows the Doctor to destroy the weapon for the greater good. The Master flees and Caldwell switches sides, promising to help the colonists.
Colony in Space is Pertwee's first time really getting out into the universe again but unfortunately it also feels like the also-ran space episodes of the classic series. It doesn't have to be. In fact, the first half is promising; a somewhat starker story about capitalism leaning on the little guy. Granted it works more in theme than in practice (the colonist characters are dreadful bores, with non-entities and Winton and Ashe filling the generic Doctor Who roles of space faction where one wants to do things peacefully and one things shit needs to be stirred up. I don't care for either. The IMC side is more interesting. specifically Caldwell. Caldwell works because he understandably knows the cost if he stands up to IMC but in doing so allows evil to succeed. And that intrigue is where the series is interesting. I like that Caldwell keeps seeing new lows but only makes moves if he can't lose much for it (though the story can't seem to decide on these lines very well).
It's a very anti-capitalist story not only because it's about an evil company but the veil of civility and lawfulness. If anything, I feel like the Doctor and Ashe are meant to be voices to reason but it sure feels like they are playing IMCs game, which they can't win. It doesn't mean I like Winton or want a violent solution but I wish the solution was a more clever rebellion, something to turn IMC's tactics on itself. The villains are truly cold and appalling (I think the actor playing the project head does a good job playing cold "civility"), great villains to hate but frustratingly no clever or surprising comeuppance. I wanted to see him really absorb his loss. Similarly, I wish Caldwell's turn happened at a more interesting time or we dug into him more to look at how the average person who doesn't want to get involved is still complicit. It's where the story excels and it there's not enough of it.
But still, I actually think it's fine... until the Master shows up. In this season, the Master is rarely the lead villain, more a story spice who can keep changing roles to villain to unlikely ally to x-factor. But he transforms the intrigue into some dull super-villain bullshit. There's stuff here I think that informs the character and the series; the entire crab nebula created by a weapon seems like the cosmic scale of events and threats that the show does more frequently going forward. And while the "join me" seen is generic superhero pablum, the actors play it well with the implication being "I think I would really like you if you weren't against everything I stand for" and them just not getting each other. But yeah, its dull. The left-leaning story also fails the, *ugh*, primatives, who are not only pretty one-dimensional but also inconsistent. Are they just monsters? Or do they have a sense of justice? If so, why not destroy the doomsday weapon soon? Why chose to die. It's clear they are supposed to be "Indians" and they function not as characters but as whims of narrative convenience and distraction from the most interesting, grounded story. And it's wild to call the land permit legal dispute more interesting but here we are.
Over all, this should have been Caldwell's story. It should have been about the walls closing in around him; that he's going to have to take a damn side and be damned either way. Give him a better dilemma; maybe he has a family at home. Something that makes it even harder to not turn his back to injustice. We could all be there some day; it's easy to say we'd stand up for the right thing but it's not easy when it really costs you in life. I want the weight of that cost. I want him to do the right thing and suffer for it but have a cleaner soul. As it is, it's an OKish, generic space adventure that falls apart as it goes on.
Best Cliffhanger: Not intentionally the best but I love the robot with big dumb monster hands.
Next Time:
