Sentence of Death (The Keys of Marinus Episode 5)

The one featuring assault, domestic violence, murder, robbery, kidnap, perjury and bribery...

This episode is one of those with a distinctly educational vibe to it, laden as it is with courtroom intrigue and lashings of law and order. The establishing scene sees Ian wrongly accused of murder and robbery, but in Millennius it seems the tables are turned in favour of the prosecution, because Ian now has to prove he didn't commit the crimes, rather than the other way around.

The children watching get a good grounding in how justice works as we're introduced to a tribunal of judges, cases for and against the accused, case history and some prime Holmesian deduction on behalf of the Doctor.

Yes, the Doctor's back after William Hartnell's fortnight away (he was canny to take Easter Monday week off, as he probably got a day for free!) and the actor seems invigorated by his holiday. Hartnell seems glad to be back and firing on all cylinders, full of energy and visibly enjoying the material and the return to the spotlight. He might fluff a couple of times (most notably confusing "improve" with "prove", a clear indicator of the trouble with language that arteriosclerosis can cause), but he's on fine form and it's great to have him back, taking charge.

The judges of Millennius are a stuffy bunch too, especially the one on the left (Alan James) who can nod in agreement like nobody else. They wear suitably regal looking robes and head gear, even if it does make them look a bit silly, rather like JPs in Britain! The first thing the Doctor manages to do as Ian's defense counsel is secure two extra days of time for him to consider the case. These days flash by quite quickly, so we must pay attention.

While the utterly pointless Sabetha and Altos are packed off to the library to silently review case history (and director John Gorrie struggles to keep Katharine Schofield in the frame for some reason), the Doctor, Barbara and Susan return to the scene of the crime to give their best Poirots and Marples. As the Doctor attempts to re-enact the scene, Susan rather too willingly offers to play the corpse, and it must be said that Carole Ann Ford does a mighty fine job. But as Barbara pretends to discover the micro-key in the glass case, Hartnell gives poor Jacqueline Hill one hell of a wallop on the shoulder, and you can see Hill visibly react as she's subsequently hurled to the ground by an over-enthusiastic Hartnell! Like a trooper, Hill carries on, but I bet she had quite a bruise when she got undressed for bed that night!

Later, Barbara and Susan pay a visit to Aydan's house to ask some questions, first meeting his arch wife Kala (played by Fiona Walker, who returned to Doctor Who 24 years later to help celebrate the show's silver anniversary) before confronting Aydan himself. Aydan's no bright spark, giving himself away at the drop of a hat, but this scene is charged and tense, as both Ford and Hill spit their lines venomously at Martin Cort. Aydan goes to strike Susan, but is stopped by Kala, and we get the first idea that he is a nasty piece of work. This is confirmed seconds later when Barbara and Susan listen in to his conversation with Kala, which ends with him hitting her. This serial is riddled with crime, be it the murder of the Voords in The Sea of Death, slavery in The Velvet Web, or attempted sexual assault in The Snows of Terror. Add in the numerous crimes that take place in this episode, and The Keys of Marinus is turning out to be one of the most crime-filled stories in Doctor Who history!

Returning to the tribunal, the Doctor calls upon Sabetha of all people to provide evidence. Schofield delivers this key scene with her trademark lifelessness. It's as if she thinks Sabetha is still under the soporific spell of the Masters of Morphoton; Gorrie really should have had a word.

The Doctor is using Sabetha to lie to the tribunal, essentially getting her to commit perjury. He later admits his deception, but insists that the results justified the means. Lying under oath is lying under oath, Doctor, so by rights, Sabetha should be the next one in the dock! If only... maybe a year working in the glass factories in the desert would liven her up a bit?

As soon as lying Aydan is rumbled, he decides he isn't going down alone. "I'll tell you everything!" he cries. "I'm not in this alone!" But before he can name his comrade, he is shot down dead by a mystery assailant (Aydan's death is oddly executed, if you'll pardon the pun. Nobody seems very interested in who killed him). The crowd goes silent for an awkward few seconds as the camera pans across their faces, frozen in shock, until Fiona Walker is cued to react with the requisite sorrow. Despite being a battered housewife, Kala loves her husband to the very end.

But Ian's problems aren't over, as scheming Eyesen insists on the charges of murder and robbery made against him be upheld. Aydan had an accomplice, and Eyesen is determined to prove it was Ian. I find it amusing that Eyesen refers to the assassination of Aydan, and his wife's understandable mourning for him, as "dramatics and hysterics". What a sensitive guy!

The episode ends with Susan abducted, and making a call to Barbara to warn "they're going to kill me", followed by a rather final sounding thump. It can't be woman-beater Aydan. He's dead. So who can have kidnapped poor Susan?

First broadcast: May 9th, 1964

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: William Hartnell returns from holiday renewed and refreshed and lifts the otherwise dour proceedings, while Nation's inclusion of the violent but cowardly Aydan is a nice companion character to last week's Vasor.
The Bad: I'm not sure how clear I am on the actual court case. The Doctor's explanation of how the crime was carried out needs another draft for absolute clarity, I think.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

NEXT TIME: The Keys of Marinus...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: The Sea of Death (episode 1); The Velvet Web (episode 2); The Screaming Jungle (episode 3); The Snows of Terror (episode 4); The Keys of Marinus (episode 6)

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/2013/05/the-keys-of-marinus.html

The Keys of Marinus is available on DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Keys-Marinus-DVD/dp/B002ATVDHI