A lovely palate cleanser after the,
um, experience that was “The Web
Planet”, “The Crusade” is a story that has a lot going for it right from the
beginning. A Hartnell historical,
written by David Whitaker and directed by Douglas Camfield? Sign me up!
Episodes Two and Four are still sadly missing, so it’s back into my recon
library for this one, and it is so definitely worth it. It doesn’t replace “The
Aztecs” as my favorite historical story, but it is an enjoyable four episodes.
I won’t call it a “romp” as there is some fairly grim subject matter
interspersed throughout the story, but it’s not as farcical as “The Romans”,
not by a long shot.
From the very start, Whitaker’s script
is sharp. The dialogue sparkles and the characterizations of both the regular
and guest casts are well tuned. Saladin is by no means a savage of any sort,
being both honorable and thoughtful yet still a man involved in conflict. King
Richard, on the other hand, comes off as more of a petulant “do it my way or
else” kind of jerk. Julian Glover plays it well and makes a convincing monarch,
and the late Bernard Kay as Saladin gives a performance that could easily have
tipped into an over the top villain but never does. Since the story does need a mustache twirling villain,
we get El Akir, who seems hell bent on killing Barbara and will go to great
lengths to do so.
Dear Barbara. This isn’t her strongest
story, but she gets some meaty material, particularly when trying to escape El
Akir and being rescued by Haroun. When she is given a knife and told to kill
Haroun’s daughter and then herself should they be found, Barbara at first
argues that any life would be preferable to dying. Then the reality of what she
is being told sinks in. The understated, implied sexualized violence and threat
of violence in these early stories is quite shocking, frankly. This isn’t the
first time Barbara has been on the receiving end of a rape threat, but I
believe it’s the first time suicide is offered as a means of escape for one of
the main cast. Jacqueline Hill, as always, does great work here, speaking
volumes with facial expressions alone.
The rest of the cast is on top form as
well. William Russell gets to buckle his swash after he is knighted “Sir Ian”
and is in all ways the action hero. The Doctor and Vicki are caught up in royal
intrigue surrounding King Richard, his sister Joanna (a STUNNING Jean Marsh),
and the Earl of Leicester, not to mention a chamberlain and a silk merchant.
Vicki’s disguise as “Victor” is thankfully short-lived and Maureen O’Brien gets
to indulge in some royal costume change and not her daft pageboy ensemble. The
Doctor gets to spout some witticisms, and bemoan the fact that he didn’t get
knighted as well. He still has nine regenerations to go before that happens.
Joanna gets one of those classic “description
of the Doctor” lines in Episode Three: “There is something new in you, yet
something older than the sky.” Damn, Whitaker, that’s an extraordinary line. I
would love to know what he had in mind as a backstory for the Doctor when
writing his episodes. Not simply a traveler in time and space, I think.
Even with half of the story still
missing and only available via recons, telesnaps and soundtracks, it’s incredibly
easy to recommend “The Crusade” as a must-see. There is a joy in watching the
cast in the historicals being woven into events, the outcome of which they (and
we) already know. I’d love to see the new series take a chance on a pure
historical – Capaldi would knock it out of the park! Until that day though, the
classic series offers gems like “The Crusade” for us to enjoy.
NEXT
EPISODE: The Space Museum
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