The Wall of Lies (Marco Polo Episode 4)

The one where Tegana's scheming turns Marco against our heroes...

The Wall of Lies is the first of 34 episodes of Doctor Who for which there is no episode to watch and no John Cura telesnaps to look at (most of them are Hartnells from Season 3). John Crockett, the director of this episode, did not ask for telesnaps to be taken (they had to be paid for), and so all we have is the audio recorded by David Holman from that magical Saturday teatime back in 1964...

The main feature of this episode is Tegana's scheming, and the effect it has on the dynamic of Marco's travelling caravan. Until now Marco had been a cautious ally, or at least open-minded, but as a result of Tegana's duplicitous lies, by the end of the episode, his "wall of lies" has succeeded in turning Marco against our heroes.

Marco is a fair man, but he does get very shouty when people don't do as he says. There have already been several examples of him losing his rag when people wander off-camp without his permission (Susan and Ping-Cho getting lost in the singing sands, for instance), and in Five Hundred Eyes he raged: "What kind of country do you come from where a woman can wander alone through the streets at night?" He is rightly annoyed that first Barbara, and then the Doctor, Susan and Ping-Cho, have left the camp for the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes, so already we can see how the disobedience of the Doctor's group has tried his patience.

Tegana cleverly pokes at Marco's growing frustration, like shoving a stick into a beehive. He tries to make Marco see that the strangers have been a divisive influence, pointing out how Ping-Cho has been turned against him by the bad influence of the "cunning Susan". He adds: "They will set us at each other's throats by lies and deceit, and then, when they have divided us, they will destroy us, one by one". He also maligns Barbara's character by making out she is lying about having seen him at the Cave. Barbara knows he is lying, the viewer knows he is lying, and Tegana knows he is lying, but he has the upper hand, and Marco believes his deceit.

And so Marco directs that Susan and Ping-Cho should be separated, and the viewer feels the harshness of this more because of the good work put into the characters in episodes 1-3. Barbara tells the Doctor that the girls are "very fond of each other" (make of that what you will!), but the Doctor distrusts Ping-Cho (that "Chinese child") as she knows he has a second TARDIS key.

When Ping-Cho and Susan try to prove Tegana lied about never having been to the Cave before, their argument is pathetically weak, and Marco sees that. To all intents and purposes these two young girls are coming across as immature schemers who are throwing accusations around on a whim, with very little hard evidence. It's easy to see Marco's perspective here, as we can when he explains to Ian why he might distrust the strangers ("mysterious travellers from a far-off land") but trust the respected emissary for peace Tegana.

We also get more plotting from our deceitful Mongol warlord. Tegana orders Acomat to kill the travellers - "slaughter them all" - and says he will let Marco die "like an old woman in her bed". The way Derren Nesbitt delivers these bloodthirsty plans adds such chilling depth to Tegana, who one moment claims to be Marco's greatest friend and ally, and the next is planning his ignominious dispatch. He even plans to murder the Doctor with a stake through the heart! Pretty graphic stuff for children's telly!

The end of the episode sees Marco confiscate the second TARDIS key from the Doctor (Hartnell brands him a "poor pathetic stupid savage" with undisguised ire and disgust) and Tegana's plan to turn Marco against the strangers is complete, as they are confined to their own tent for the rest of the journey.

The Wall of Lies is a well-written example of how good characterisation can lead to riveting drama, as long as the writer and actors put the hard work in. Like with Game of Thrones today, if the audience didn't feel they knew or cared about the characters so much and well, a lot of the drama and incident of the story wouldn't have the same impact or resonance. Because we care about Susan and Ping-Cho's newfound friendship, it smarts to see them split up. Because we know Barbara was telling the truth, it's even more frustrating when she is branded a liar. And because we know Tegana plans to murder Marco in his bed, it's all the more outrageous that he has turned Marco against our heroes and aligned himself even closer to him.

First broadcast: March 14th, 1964

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: John Lucarotti's intricate plotting and character work really pays off here as the balance of power tips against our heroes.
The Bad: For all the positive characterisation, there's not a lot of incident. The story needs to crank up a gear if we're to consider this as the epic it's often touted to be.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

NEXT TIME: Rider from Shang-Tu...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: The Roof of the World (episode 1); The Singing Sands (episode 2); Five Hundred Eyes (episode 3); Rider from Shang-Tu (episode 5); Mighty Kublai Khan (episode 6); Assassin at Peking (episode 7)

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/marco-polo.html

Marco Polo is available as a soundtrack CD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Original-Television-Soundtrack/dp/0563535083