The Claws of Axos

Out of the darkness of space comes a strange object; it’s not a comet, it’s not a meteor, it’s almost a space ship but it has a name: it is called Axos. Axos is not a conventional space ship – it was grown and is a living thing and its power reserves have fallen dangerously low. Axos and the Axons who live inside have come to Earth to beg for help, to ask to let the ship replenish its energy reserves as it continues its journey. The Axons offer a gift, a substance called Axonite, which can solve all of Earth’s energy problems. The Doctor is not sure about this – something that sounds too good to be true usually is in the end. But as the governments of the planet scream for their share of the miracle that is Axonite, the Doctor discovers two terrible secrets: the true nature of Axos, and the Master travelling with the aliens.

It’s a good old fashioned vampire tale, this, and it’s loaded with classic elements of the series from this era. It’s a full on UNIT adventure for starters, and the Brigadier has his hands full with an inquiry from the Ministry of Defence lead by a bloated self-important underling named Chin. Despite being a separate entity from the MOD, UNIT is still subject to their prying eyes, and the fact that the Doctor doesn’t seem to have any official existence has got Chin right riled. UNIT’s battles with bureaucracy are never ending, with the script writers painting the civil servants as meddlers, untrustworthy and ultimately as fools who get in over their heads, and the theme will return several times over the course of Perwee’s era on the show.

Check out the wacky design of Axos. Even from the outside it is a bit ivky looking with gills and moist yellow flesh and an airlock which looks a lot like a lamprey’s mouth. Inside is no better; fleshy walls and floors, ganglia hanging off the walls, and all nature of organic stylings to reinforce that Axos is alive and to walk inside is to be literally in the belly of the beast. By contrast, the Axon family who greet the Doctor and company are statuesque golden creatures, very slim and fit looking… so why they are living inside this flying lung is anyone’s guess. I mean – every time I watch this one I feel like the smell inside Axos would make me gag. But there are also the “other” Axons to contend with – the blobby “depersonalized” tendrilled monsters whose touch can kill. Of course the perfect golden Axons are the ones everyone gets to meet and to see; they prefer it if you don’t see their true form. Unless you are about to be killed, then they are fine with it.

The Master is along for the ride again having pointed Axos towards Earth and promising it a good time there. The Axons are holding his TARDIS as insurance that he co-operates with them, but whose side is he really on this time? Destroying Earth and humiliating the Doctor would suit him fine but on his terms; to be forced to follow someone else’s design is a bit of a comedown and as soon as he gets a chance he starts playing both sides. His swaying allegiances do tend to annoy after a while but as it happens we are just at our third Master story so it's not become a visible habit yet.

Claws goes into an interesting place where the Doctor's exile is concerned; yes he's stuck on Earth for his crimes but the extent of the Time Lords' sentence is a bit more pronounced with him having no access to his memories about time travel. Axos can see that there are blocks in his mind but the Doctor can't overcome them on his own. It's obvious that he has been trying to get the TARDIS working through guesswork as the console is a mess of wires and parts when we see it, although the central column has finally been replaced with something newer. His desperation to escape and be free is evident, and his occasional outbursts at people he is stuck with only illustrate that fact more, although I think that yelling at Chin and people like him is perfectly acceptable.

The Doctor's exile continues, although with a bit more control of the TARDIS by the time the menace has been dealt with. And a bit more mobility will come in handy in the near future.

NEXT EPISODE: COLONY IN SPACE