A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 53. Desperate Measures (The Rescue, Episode Two)

I am definitely on Team Vicki!

So The Doctor and Ian do get out of the Monsta Trap and eventually find their way to the rocket where the others are sheltered.  There’s a bit of tension going on as Barbara shot a monsta that she thought was about to eat Vicki, but turned out to be her...pet? Sandy looking for some veggie num-nums.  The Doctor goes to talk to Bennett to find the guy missing.  He also finds a trap door that leads to the seat of Dido Civilization.  The Doctor has figured out that Bennett is secretly Quollillion!  It seems Bennett had murdered someone on the ship and was going to go to prison...so he sabotaged the ship, killed off everyone on the ship save Vicki and the whole of Dido Civilization with a bomb, and was planning on killing Vicki, using Quollillion as a scapegoat!  The Doctor actually fights Bennett, and almost loses before two of the actual Dido natives (Didoians?  Didons?) show up to put an end to the villain’s shenanigans....and sabotaging the ship once the crew invite Vicki to join them on the Tardis.

If I was a little unsure last episode, I am not anymore; Vicki shows more range in this one serial then Susan did almost throughout her tenure.  O’Brien oozes chemistry with Hartnell in their scenes, and the scene of Vicki taking in the concept of the time travelers from the Pre-Swinging 60‘s is actually pretty good; our new companion treats the concept first as a joke, then actually works up to grasp what Barbara and Ian are saying.  I like that approach.  I like that she seems capable of contributing something to the crew--the whole twist with the Monsta having been domesticated was a lil’ surprise for me.

The other thing I really liked is how the Doctor ends up doing most of the heavy lifting himself, unraveling the mystery and revealing Bennett’s plan.  He even gets into something of a fight, and sensibly doesn’t come out on top.  Yeah, the idea of the Dido Guys showing up is bald-facedly deus ex machina, but considering how the Doctor has been emphatically portrayed in previous serials as aging and, well, if not feeble not in the prime of his life, it makes more sense than having him overpower a much younger, fitter man.  I liked that the Doctor is capable of taking the spotlight when needed.

...oh, and Barbara shoots a monsta!

Obviously, several minutes are spent inducting Vicki into Team Tardis.  I didn’t mind it as much as some of the NuWho onboardings, and I thought it didn’t become what we’ll see in the future with an accelerated acceptance (‘Hey, I just stumbled into this police box after my aunt was shrunk to death....uh, okay, I guess I’m a companion now.’).  And considering I was so sold on Vicki as a character, the wrap up made me happy...as did this story as a whole.

While I’m sure I should be a little upset that this is the first--and as far as I know, only Scooby-Doo serial, I actually was pleased to find a genuinely fun and interesting change of pace that ends up giving us what promises to be a great new companion.  Color me super-intrigued!