The Enemy of the World

"You're the most wonderful and marvellous man that's ever dropped out of the skies."

Writer: David Whitaker 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 23rd December 1967 - 27th January 1968

Season: 5.04

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Victoria

Synopsis 

The TARDIS lands on an Australian beach in the 21st century. But this is no seaside holiday - within minutes, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are under attack.

They soon discover that the Doctor bears a startling resemblance to Leader Salamander, would-be dictator intent on world domination. Before long, the Doctor and his companions are plunged into a dangerous game of espionage, intrigue and deceit as they face off against the enemy of the world...

Verdict 

The Enemy of the World was a very good serial and it's just such a privilege to have watched this serial in its entirety on DVD! Around two-and-a-half years ago in July 2012 I started the entire watchathon of TV stories and 260 days later I watched what was then the last broadcast serial of The Snowmen. Sadly during that run I had to bypass this story but now thanks to incredible efforts by Phil Morris I can watch this story in full and give my thoughts in this blog. I was trying my best to not let the fact that this is a 'new' Troughton story influence my rating and I'm certain I achieved that. I really wasn't sure what to expect as there's only so much you can ascertain about a story from episode three on Lost in Time so I certainly got all the shocks and surprises that were thrown my way. I wasn't too keen on the opening I must say with the Doctor running into the sea, even if it did highlight just how barmy this incarnation is! I really am loving Victoria as companion now and there's absolutely no doubt that she's settled in wonderfully. I love how well she gets on with Jamie and I bet he must have liked pretending that she was his girlfriend after the comedic reference to female attire in the previous serial, The Ice Warriors, which was also nicely referenced. This episode is notorious for Patrick Troughton's dual role and what a stellar job he does playing both the Doctor and Salamander! However that shouldn't overshadow the brilliance of some of the guest cast with Kent, Astrid and Bruce all impressing in their respective roles. The setting of 2018, now watching in 2014, really was intriguing to see what writers of the 1960s thought life would be like fifty years from penning the script to the depicted story. I suppose it does have some resemblances but the fact that the political situation was actually kept pretty vague helped the perception. The idea of Salamander attempting to become a world leader was good and I did admire the subtle similarities to the way Hitler gained his power in Nazi Germany in 1939. Salamander had somehow convinced a group of people to go below the Earth's surface into 'safety' causing natural disasters was excellent! The events they'd trigger, believing they were preventing the continuation of a nuclear and atomic war, were effectively Salamander's Reichstag Fire. He was hoping to exploit anything he could which I did admire the character for - a wonderful villain. I loved the impersonation of Salamander by the Doctor and it just highlights perfectly how good an actor the late Patrick Troughton was, playing both the protagonist and antagonist! The idea of world overpopulation is a running theme lately with the appearance in the previous story which I find interesting. The run of the plot for this story was decent and well paced but I do think the cliffhangers were pretty poor overall. There wasn't really a threat of fear at all and there were five of them! The climax was really good with Astrid going down below the surface and revealing all to those and how they'd been cheated and played all for Salamander's aid in attempting to become a dictator. The comedic value between people mistaking the Doctor and Salamander or vice versa was terrific! I thought the ending was rather surprising with a sudden takeoff and the antagonist sliding out of the TARDIS to his death. An intriguing lead in to the next serial, one which was also recently discovered! 

Rating: 8/10