The Daleks have been defeated and the
TARDIS has departed Earth, leaving Susan behind to start her new life. “The Rescue”
begins not too long after the previous story, but long enough for the Doctor to
get a good snooze in at the beginning of the story, sleeping through the TARDIS
materialization on the planet Dido. Concerned, Barbara and Ian wake him, and
this is where we get the first real look at how Susan’s departure has affected the
Doctor. After checking the instruments, the Doctor begins to tell Susan to open
the doors, but then catches himself. It’s a rather sweet moment, and one which
doesn’t seem forced in any way. Barbara gently asking him to show *her* the
door control is a good moment for the both of them to get around stating the
obvious that they all miss Susan. And then Ian comes off like a jerk implying
to Barbara that the Doctor’s not quite all there. Bad form, Chesterton.
The story of “The Rescue” is a bit of
a non-starter as it serves only to introduce Maureen O’Brien as Vicki and not
much else. But it makes that introduction well, and ticks all the boxes on what
will be a standard companion application: orphaned Earth girl, in danger for
most of the story, joins the TARDIS crew by the end of the story. I did like
how the Doctor actually invites Vicki to join, and it wasn’t she who begged to
be taken along. Along those same lines, the departure of Susan has opened up a
well of emotion in the Doctor as I feel this is the gentlest we’ve ever seen
him. He’s genuinely concerned for Vicki, talks about how much he cares for Barbara,
and is outraged once he discovers the truth about Bennett/Koquillion. For as
much as this story is just a bit of fluff after the Dalek six-parter, the
Doctor gets some truly heartfelt moments here.
Obviously, though, the real focal
point of the story is the introduction of Vicki. Maureen O’Brien has a
different “look” from Carole Ann Ford which helps the transition of companions.
Although she has her screaming moments here, Vicki also seems to be less prone
to hysteria than Susan, excepting when Barbara kills Vicki’s pet, Sandy. Not Ms. Wright’s greatest moment, to be sure.
Vicki has got the “futuristic teen” angle down fine, but I don’t think she is
as bright as Susan. I mean, Bennett is
pretty darn mobile for a man who can’t move his legs, and Koquillion always
seems to want to see Bennett alone.
Nothing suspicious there!
“The Rescue” is a decent little
throwaway story, a light little two-parter worlds away from “Edge of
Destruction” the previous two episode story, back in Season One. It gives a
decent introduction to a new companion, but shows that Susan didn’t just
disappear at the end of the last story, that she is still on the mind of
everyone in the TARDIS and at home. A nice plus is that it ends on a decent
cliffhanger, leading to a story I’ve been looking forward to. All in all, “The Rescue” is a pleasant way to
pass an hour in the Doctor Who
universe.
NEXT
EPISODE: The Romans
Please
leave comments if you could. I'd really love some feedback.
Thanks!!
It's interesting. I find this one of the most entertaining stories of Season Two. You're right that not much really happens in it, but the Bennett/Koquillion mystery is just enough of a story to keep things interesting, and the interactions between the Doctor and Vicki are really heartwarming. William Hartnell really shines. Barbara's killing of Sandy is really shocking, though--a moment that I always remember.
ReplyDeleteThe killing of Sandy really is a surprising moment. If something similar happened in the modern series, there'd be a whole character arc about it. Here, Vicki is mad at Barbara for half an episode and then it's forgotten.
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