The Keys of Marinus

The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian to what appears to be a deserted island with glass shard beach and a looming pyramid-like tower, all surrounded by a sea of acid. There they meet a man named Arbitan, who is the keeper of a machine called the Conscience of Marinus. The Conscience was designed to be the planet's judge and keep the citizens from committing acts of violence but when its power was deemed to be too great its activation keys were removed and hidden across the planet, out of reach of a man named Yartek and his followers, the Voord. Arbitan needs the keys back and blocks the travellers from the TARDIS, ransoming it for their help in collecting the keys and returning them to him. Reluctantly they agree and embark on a journey across Marinus that takes them to a city which is too good to be true, a jungle where the plants attack, a treacherous polar region, and to a highly civilized city rocked by a recent murder.

My first encounter with this story was when I bought the Target paperback off the shelf at the Coles in Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket a long time ago. The novelization was done by Philip Hinchcliffe, a series producer in the mid years of the show, and I remember being really drawn into it and enjoying it as a 12 year old would have. I would not see the actual episodes until many years later when Buffalo Channel 17 would show the omnibus adventure on a Saturday afternoon, which was a bit of a mind-number really. It's six episodes of good Doctor Who but seen in one go it's a bit daunting - this time I split it up between domestic tasks on a Sunday afternoon.

It's another big epic adventure for the crew, this one spread over six episodes. This makes for a variety of settings, some a bit better realized than others as production budgets back in the early days were pretty low and the design team did not have a lot to work with, just their imagination and some makeshift skills. The DVD extra, called The Sets of Marinus, features series designer Ray Cusick giving some pretty candid thoughts about the quality of what he had to work with, and he's pretty realistic about it all and not exactly pleased with his work. Visually yeah it's not as solid looking as it could have been and although some of the sets are very simple and look as if they were put together cheaply they're not so horrible that they ruin the effect of the show. The transportation effects are simple enough but would have thrilled the viewers at the time; the Doctor and company all traverse Marinus though use of wrist worn travel dials, with transport being more or less instant, and the screen is split to allow for some to vanish and those left behind to react incredulously.

Parts of the script, however, could have used a bit more work. I don't know if I am looking at this the wrong way or not but if the TARDIS crew are eager to get this quest over with, why are they settling in as new residents at the city of Morphoton in the second episode? Barbara and Susan are all keen to go dress shopping all of a sudden and the Doctor is lured away by the promise of an advanced laboratory. Ian remains skeptical about the whole thing but eventually it's Barbara who realizes the truth behind what's going on. The Doctor travels ahead to where he believes the fourth keys is to be found leaving Susan with Barbara and Ian to travel with two people who were previously sent to find the keys - Arbitan's daughter Sabetha and a young man named Altos (played by Robin Phillips who has some pretty fetching legs - through even the dreadful snow episode he still shoes em off travelling Marinus in, effectively, a speedo and a shirt with a sort of cape, and sandals... Phillips passed away last summer in Straford, Ontario, just a few hours away from where I used to live). This was devised so William Hartnell could take a break from production, and the inclusion of Sabetha and Altos kept the numbers up so there was enough narrative to go around. With five people, though, some of the shots get a bit crowded here and there. And in other notable moments, Susan loses her shit a lot in this one. One of her shoes falls into an acid pool and she loses it. A Voord tries to kill her and she loses it (we'll allow that one). The jungle is noisy and she loses it. A vine falls across her legs and she loses it. She manages to pluck up enough courage to try using a rope bridge and then some hastily slung together ice stalactites (which like stryofoam - shhhh) to cross a sheer drop and then loses it again when she's kidnapped and held at gunpoint.

And how about the Voord as enemies? Script author Terry Nation only a couple stories ago gave the show the Daleks, and their fame would endure forever. Word is that the Voord were to become big baddies as well, menacing as they were in the all-black rubber suits with the handlebar headpiece (one assumes this was critical to how the Voord stayed immune to the effects of the Conscience, otherwise why wear such things) but when they can be seen tripping over their own flippers in some shots they lose something of that menace. There's no doubting that they are particularly vicious though, preferring to stab their enemies to death rather than use a gun. If they'd had more screen time then maybe they might have come into their own a bit more, but only appearing in episodes one and six doesn't give them enough time to make a lasting impression.

The Voord are going to get their shot at a sequel, though, just not right away. For the meantime the TARDIS crew are headed back to Earth for another adventure in history...

NEXT EPISODE : THE AZTECS