The Chase

The Executioners [Episode 1]

Me: So, you may remember that the Doctor helped himself to a new bit of kit from the Space Museum at the end of the previous story.
Hannah: Yes. Did it have a hidden tracker inside it?
Me: No, but you're about to find out what it does.
Hannah: Does it turn the TARDIS into a tiny little china model?

Admittedly the model shot of the TARDIS in transit isn't the most convincing, but we both love the opening scenes of domestic life on board the ship; Hannah is a little put off by the "weird chirpy music" but it turns out to be the Doctor whistling as he repairs the museum piece. She's not sure about Ian's "striking" shirt either and it takes her a while to realise it's not a pair of pyjamas.

The Space-Time Visualiser is a "time television" that allows the operator to view any event in history. (Try not to think too hard about how it works.) When Ian asks for Pennsylvania on 19th November 1863 and the device somehow knows it should be focusing on Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address, Hannah immediately has questions.

Hannah: Pennsylvania's a large area. How would it know they want to see that bit? From that description it could have been a cow in a field. Or a worm underground.

A quick look at the throne room in the Elizabethan period reveals that Hannah is more familiar with the characters in The Merry Wives of Windsor than I had realised (even if she's half expecting Blackadder to turn up), and Ian's dancing to "Ticket to Ride" goes down very well when we finally get to the Beatles.

Hannah: Did they have to pay to use this clip?
Me: Yes, it's from Top of the Pops. The Beatles wanted to be in Doctor Who but they couldn't make the schedules meet; the plan was to have them as elderly versions of themselves performing a 50th anniversary concert, but they were busy filming Help! at the time so they used this footage instead. Although it does raise the question of how Ian knows the lyrics to a song that was recorded two years after he left Earth.
Hannah: Maybe he heard it when they were in the future at some point. It'll probably still be just as iconic.

Of course, it can't all be Beatles music. (We should be so lucky.)

Hannah: Whoever's doing the music for this story is, er... bit different. Sounds out of place. Ooh, an inside shot of the TARDIS as they're leaving it. I like that.

The TARDIS arrives on the desert planet of Aridius. The location footage for Aridius was filmed a mere 20-minute drive from where Hannah's parents now live, so I decide to see whether she can distinguish it from any other expanse of sand.

Me: Do you recognise this?
Hannah: Is it the fossilised forest?
Me: No, it's Camber Sands.
Hannah: Oh! It doesn't look like that, does it? With things.
Me: Does it look familiar now?
Hannah: No. It's some black and white sand.

She's completely nonplussed by the strange mix of different story styles.

Hannah: This episode is just a thing after a thing after a thing. It's all different. Domestic life, history programmes, exploration... and they seem to be doing a lot of filler this episode, otherwise they wouldn't have this scene with every single Dalek going through a narrow door one at a time.
Me: So you don't think it adds texture, then?
Hannah: No! They obviously didn't have enough to fill this episode.

When the episode ends with a Dalek emerging from a sand dune, the dramatic tension is somewhat undermined for Hannah because it sounds to her like the Dalek is coughing in disgust at being covered in sand.

Hannah: Very strange episode. Very strange. A bit of everything mixed in there. Some of it was really good, and then they had all those filler bits. It's like making a really nice drink and then diluting it with some water.

The Death of Time [Episode 2]

Hannah: How are the Daleks moving on sand?
Me: Well...
Hannah: And I don't see how the Aridians could possibly survive. They've completely evolved to live in the water, and now their planet is a desert wasteland. Why aren't they dead?

She's more forgiving of the similarly-afflicted "grotesque underground octopus" but then she gets engrossed in following the movements of a Dalek with a missing plate (or "bald bit") on its bottom section. Then Ian sets a trap that requires Barbara to sacrifice her second cardigan in as many stories.

Hannah: Oh. Playing chicken with a gun? This is just silly. I thought they were going to wave the clothes around, make them look like people.
Me: The Daleks have discovered space-time travel. They're not stupid.
Hannah: I think they are.

There's also a rather bizarre moment towards the end where the Doctor taunts a Dalek by calling him "Archie."

Hannah: "Archie"? As in "archenemy"?

Apparently it wasn't in the script, so your guess is as good as mine. Ah, the mysteries of life.

Flight Through Eternity [Episode 3]

Hannah: What's this, lounge music? The jaunty music in this story feels very out of place. And what's happening on those monitors in the Dalek ship? Are they trying to do magic eye tricks in the background?
Me: They've got to pass the time somehow. What do you expect them to do when they're not invading?
Hannah: Science.

After several establishing shots of New York City, our next stop is the observation deck of the Empire State Building.

Hannah: This is the weirdest story I've ever seen. Drama, drama, drama, then lovey little jolly music and a slide show of New York.
Me: That annoying tourist is played by Peter Purves, back in the days before he became a Blue Peter presenter. He originally auditioned to be a Menoptra in The Web Planet but ended up getting this job instead because he was too good to be hidden inside a giant butterfly costume.
Hannah: Everybody's putting on horrible American accents.

I'm going to assume she means that these specific accents are horrible, rather than American accents in general. Peter Purves isn't innocent in this either, as he's lumbered with playing a tourist from Alabama.

Hannah: Eugh. Oh, it's just awful.

When the Daleks turn up and confront the tourist, it looks for a moment like they're going to put us all out of our misery.

Hannah: Aw, does he die?
Me: Why, do you like him?
Hannah: No.

When the Doctor is tinkering with his equipment I can sense Hannah's disappointment that his screwdriver isn't a little more sonic, but she thinks the next set looks excellent. Except...

Hannah: Why does he keep bouncing around Earth?
Me: How do you know this is Earth?
Hannah: It's humans on a ship. Where else is it going to be?

Hannah, sadist that she is, laughs out loud when Vicki accidentally hits Ian on the head.

Hannah: He's been hit on the head so many times! He must have brain damage.

When the crew abandons ship to escape the Daleks, she almost manages to anticipate the historical in-joke (she goes with the Bermuda Triangle rather than the Mary Celeste, but close enough).

Hannah: Oh, that's actually really dark! A woman is jumping overboard with her baby!
Me: Unfortunately that really happened. The captain's wife and infant daughter were among the people who disappeared from the actual ship.

Hannah notices that the Daleks aren't actually shooting anyone, not even the Peter Purves character (so it's not as if they weren't provoked). The light-hearted comedic style combined with a sense of urgent threat just isn't meshing for her.

As the credits roll, Hannah can't resist taking one final swipe at the American tourist.

Hannah: Morton Dill. It's a stupid name for a stupid man.

Journey into Terror [Episode 4]

Hannah: Oh! Where are they this time? Are they still on Earth? That's just boring. It's too Earth-y. Obviously all the budget went on this dry ice.

She doesn't waste any time trying to get to the bottom of it.

Hannah: It's like a haunted house. Are they in Dracula's castle?
Me: Don't be silly, there's no such thing as Dracula.
Hannah: It looks like an actual haunted house. Like a fairground attraction. Clever, but I don't like it. Old-style camera tricks are creepier than CGI.

She doesn't seem overly shocked when Frankenstein's monster turns up, nor when Dracula makes an appearance shortly afterwards. But something about the vampire doesn't seem quite right.

Hannah: He's not speaking! Did they dub him because he couldn't speak with the false teeth?
Me: Interesting theory.
Hannah: Have they accidentally landed inside a book? I don't think that's quite how the TARDIS works.

Just to keep things interesting, a woman appears and screams at us.

Me: That's Rosalyn De Winter.
Hannah: Who?
Me: The insect movement choreographer on The Web Planet. She was put in this as a thank-you for her "insect movement" work.
Hannah: A thank-you? Like, "good work"?
Me: Astounding, isn't it?

Hannah is disappointed when the Daleks finally manage to destroy the Frankenstein monster (presumably due to his literary status as a misunderstood social outcast), but that's nothing compared to her reaction when the TARDIS accidentally leaves without Vicki.

Hannah: They've left her behind! I can't believe they forgot Vicki! Would he ever have forgotten Susan?

She's relieved to see that Vicki has stowed away on board the Dalek ship, and when the setting is revealed to be a haunted house attraction in Ghana she accepts it without asking too many questions. Probably for the best.

Hannah: I knew it! I really like the haunted horror thingy. I mean I hate that kind of thing and I would never go in one, but I thought it was a fun bit of plot.
Me: It still doesn't explain why the exhibits attack tourists.

To infiltrate the group, the Daleks create a robot duplicate of the Doctor that they claim is "impossible to distinguish from the original."

Hannah: Except the face. Why did they use a body double for the distance shot and then use Hartnell for the close-up? I know you need a body double if they're both going to appear in the same shot later on, but right there? Was Hartnell just not available for filming? He couldn't run from one end of the studio to the other in time because they're on such a tight schedule, but then he got there in time to do a quick close-up? Weird.

The Death of Doctor Who [Episode 5]

When the TARDIS lands on the planet Mechanus, lush with pulsating malevolent vegetation, Hannah flippantly suggests that they've landed inside a greenhouse. She's clearly still annoyed about Edmund Warwick playing the robot.

Hannah: Why couldn't they just use Hartnell? It's stupid. It's stupid and it sticks out. Are we supposed to tell the difference because the robot's got stripy trousers?
Me: And the fact that it doesn't look anything like him.

When the confrontation between the two Doctors finally takes place, Hannah manages to keep her enthusiasm in check.

Hannah: That was one of the most rubbish fights I've ever seen. Not because I thought the Doctor is a bad fighter but the two of them together... it's like they were doing it in slow motion, giving each other the time to attack.

The Planet of Decision [Episode 6]

Hannah: I remember the Mechanoids from that documentary about Doctor Who toys. I wondered when they would turn up. Well, actually I forgot about them until I saw them just now.

(The documentary is on the special edition DVD release of The Aztecs, if you're interested.)

When the Daleks repeat their chant from the previous episode, I'm impressed that she actually remembers the whole thing. Not to mention slightly unnerved when she starts joining in.

Hannah: "Attack and destroy! Destroy and rejoice!" Why are they rejoicing? I thought they didn't have emotions?
Me: That's Cybermen; Daleks are very emotional creatures. Mostly hatred. Have you not noticed how they gloat like playground bullies when everything goes their way, and then throw childish tantrums when they get thwarted?
Hannah: I know, I just keep forgetting because of the robotic voices.

The design of the Mechanoids looks great, although the effect is slightly spoiled by the antenna that suddenly pops out of the top.

Hannah: Ping pong balls on springs.
Me: Same to you.
Hannah: The Mechanoids look interesting, but they don't look very agile. They're basically a completely useless shape.

She's very impressed with the miniature model of the Mechanoid city.

Hannah: Someone actually had to build that. It doesn't look like there are any rooms; it's all corridors. What happens if two meet each other in a corridor?
Me: This.
Hannah: Ah yes, it's happening now. Are they dancing, conversing, or just annoyed that they can't get past?

In the Mechanoid cell our heroes meet a fellow prisoner, astronaut Steven Taylor. And his stuffed panda mascot.

Me: Does he seem familiar to you?
Hannah: No. Is that Purves again?
Me: Yes.
Hannah: He's the most animated guest character out of all the stories so far. The only one who appears to be slightly believable.

He's also grown rather attached to the panda over two years of isolation, so when our heroes accidentally start a fire during their escape he runs back inside to rescue it.

Hannah: (laughing) He's gone mad! He's going for the panda! I hope he's a descendant of that mad guy from Alabama. Oh, Ian's got his hands up Barbara's pants.

As the Daleks battle the Mechanoids (which are apparently much less resilient than the 20th century funfair attractions we saw earlier), the city goes up in flames. Hannah is devastated.

Hannah: Some actual fire! Oh, someone set fire to the model. That's really depressing! Someone put a lot of effort into that. It was the Kate Moss of sculptures.

After everything is wrapped up nicely, except for our heroes being completely oblivious to Steven running around lost in the jungle ("Aw, he's got his panda!" beams Hannah), there's just time to have a look inside the Dalek time machine. Incidentally, it's also bigger on the inside, for reasons that are never explained.

Hannah: So the Daleks have got dimensional science as well?
Me: Apparently.

When Ian and Barbara decide to use it to go home the Doctor is furious, but it's clear that he just doesn't want them to leave him.

Hannah: It's very emotional, he doesn't know if they're going to die or get back home safely. You can tell the Doctor is really upset and I think if he hadn't acted like that, it wouldn't have been right.

The Doctor watches their return on the Time Space Visualiser, although (as Hannah points out) given that they arrive two years off-target he would have needed to do a hell of a lot of trial and error to find them.

As the Doctor and Vicki set off, there's still something troubling Hannah.

Hannah: There's still a man outside. And his panda. They've left him behind as well! You don't even know if he's dead or just having to live on that planet for the rest of his life with a stuffed panda. I was hoping he might tag along and be the next companion. Has he stowed away? Maybe at the beginning of the next episode they're going to find him curled up in a corner with his panda and screaming "It's so big inside!"

Hannah watches the credits in a state of mild shock.

Hannah: I didn't think they'd ever leave.
Me: You knew they would at some point.
Hannah: I know, but I didn't... you know, you never think they will.
Me: Yeah. They've been there since the very beginning. It's the end of an era.
Hannah: I don't like it. 3 out of 10, there we go. We're done. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to watch it without them. I'm almost serious.
Me: I know how you feel. I've been dreading this story because I don't want them to go.
Hannah: They're the best bit. I suppose it would have been wrong for them not to jump at the chance to try and go home when the story has concluded with a fully-working time machine at their disposal, but I always thought the Doctor would die first. I'd like to see their reaction to a different Doctor; we've already seen the Doctor have to cope with another companion, so now I want to see the companions cope with another Doctor.
Me: You will. Just not yet.
Hannah: I know, but I wanted them! I wanted them to experience it.

The Score

Hannah: Okay, so... it's funny but weird. It's a very strange story, it's got all kinds of different things thrust together; you've got the little funny sequences alongside an overarching air of terror and then some deep and meaningful bits at the end. It's a big mish-mash, and I like parts of it and I don't like other parts of it. There's a lot of filler and some of the direction's a bit rubbish with some awkward, jarring cuts between shots. It's hard to rate this one. I like the story but the execution is a little rubbish; there are so many good bits and ideas but so much weirdness and rubbishness that it doesn't flow properly.

7/10

Hannah: I'm glad they got home.