The Keys of Marinus

"I don't believe that man was made to be controlled by machines. Machines can make laws, but they can not preserve justice. Only human beings can do that."

Writer: Terry Nation
Format: TV
Broadcast: 11th April - 16th May 1964
Season: 1.05

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

On a remote island of glass surrounded by a sea of acid, there is a machine that can remove evil from the minds of an entire population - the Conscience of Marinus. Fearful of its immense power falling into the wrong hands, its sole guardian has scattered the machine's operating keys across the planet. The TARDIS crew arrive to find the island under attack by the evil Voord. Marinus' last line of defence - and its only hope - is the Conscience machine. The Doctor and his companions must undertake a deadly quest to recover the Keys of Marinus...

Verdict

An all time favourite of mine is The Keys of Marinus and it was a pleasure to re-watch the tremendous serial. I just adore the concept conjured up by Terry Nation and the pace over six episodes is absolutely perfect. What I like so much about this is that, although the aim for each episode is pretty much the same - retrieving the Key to the Conscience machine - the danger preventing the key from being retrieved is always different and entertaining. And as if the regular characters of the Doctor and Susan along with Ian and Barbara aren't enough, this serial has a spectacular guest cast! Altos and Sabetha are wonderful additions to the team for the serial and they have close relations with Arbitan - the guardian of Marinus who was a brilliant character in his own right. Keys never fails to keep interest in the storyline and there's some magnificent plot twists! Vasor was good and I really loved the Ice Soldiers! The absence of the Doctor doesn't hurt the serial one bit and it allows the companions to have the focus, though in the early days of Doctor Who, the Doctor isn't the sole focus. He's just the owner of the time machine. The twist at the climax of episode four was outstanding and then you had the final episode which was very much law based, and with my studying of A-level Law which I am loving, this particularly was interesting. The role of the judges was good and the way Ian was eventually proven innocent was superb. The serial ended excellently with the defeating of the Voord, marvellous villains who'd appeared in the first episode and wanted control of the conscience and murdered Arbitan! I really look forward to their return in Big Finish's new audio range in late 2014! Overall, an instant classic - pure excellence!

Rating: 10/10