Colony in Space

"I want to see the universe, not rule it."

Writer: Malcolm Hulke
Format: TV
Broadcast: 10th April - 15th May 1971
Season: 8.04

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

The Time Lords discover that the Master has stolen their secret file on the Doomsday Weapon. They grant the Doctor a temporary reprieve from his exile on Earth to deal with the crisis. He and Jo arrive on the planet Uxarieus and become enmeshed in a struggle between an agrarian colony and a powerful mining corporation.

Verdict

Colony in Space was another excellent serial to continue my BritBox free trial of jumping around Classic serials that I am yet to blog! I remembered little about this story prior to watching and I was thrilled with what I watched. A really great adventure. It hadn't occurred to me that this was Jo's first venture into the TARDIS and with that her first visit to an alien planet. I thought that was handled rather splendidly and it suited her character at this stage in the series for her to be a little sceptical about what was going on. She just wanted to get back home. I found it quite humorous that she initially had never believed that the Doctor travelled around in time and space before his exile, with the Doctor visibly a little hurt by that statement. He'd love for nothing more than to not be stuck on Earth. Well, this time he had the Time Lords to thank for some respite away from Earth. I love the mystery that comes with the early appearances of the Time Lords and the continuity from The War Games in their appearance and manner is excellent. I'm a huge fan. Of course, Season 8 is renowned for being the one that introduces the Master and has him in every story, but he doesn't play a role in this one until the fourth part which worked well. His arrival as the Adjudicator is done magnificently and even though he's mentioned at the start of part one at having stolen the plans for the Doomsday Weapon that later comes into fruition in the concluding part, there is no indication that he would be the Adjudicator. A masterful disguise. I really enjoyed the premise of the battle for rights to the planet between the Colonists and ICM, with the latter not really having any rights and just attempting to bullying their way into gaining the mineral value on offer. They made for a brilliant group of villains and the use of business was quite refreshing. We had the alien presence of the primitives and those within the city, but they weren't major elements for most of the adventure. Norton's arrival to the dome was good and it was clear from the get-go that he would end up sabotaging things. Of course, he was with ICM and attempting to scare the Colonists away from the planet. Jo adapted to life on her first alien planet well and I enjoyed her relationship with Mary Ashe very much. Gemma's reaction to seeing an incredibly young Gail Platt from Coronation Street was a comedic moment in our household. The tension and intellectual battle between her father and Captain Dent was a real highlight of the serial and they made conflicting but intriguing enemies. They had very different intentions and morals and I thought it was good how that was explored. I really liked Caldwell's character and it was nice that despite having no issues with the odd lie or scare tactics to aid ICM's desire, he drew the line at murder. He ended up helping the Colonists and it was lovely that he got to stay with them once all was said and done. The Master doesn't offer a huge amount in the story, but his presence is more than enough. His search for the Doomsday Weapon should probably have come a little earlier, but the pace of the self destruction of the inner city and ridding the Master of all hope for his grand weapon was exciting. The way he slips away whilst there's a gunfight is marvellous as well. One thing I will say that was a negative for me about this story was the cliffhangers and their resolutions. They weren't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but they did seem a little repetitive and perhaps just shaken off as resolutions at the start of each episode. The guest cast continued to impress with Winton and Morgan also being strong characters who again were pretty much polar opposites. The scare tactics of ICM with their mining robot were good and I liked the idea of the evidence being presented to the Adjudicator. The apparent seriousness with which the Master was taking the trial was very good as well. Roger Delgado's calm persona is terrific. Overall, a brilliant serial!

Rating: 9/10