Death of a Spy (The Myth Makers Episode 3)

The one where the Doctor is almost catapulted into the sky...

"HOW DAAAAARE YOOOOOOUUU?" Ah, it's our old friend Cassandra, High Priestess of Troy and one of the most vicious and acid-tongued women ever to appear in Doctor Who! I love her! Every time she appears, Frances White snatches your attention and doesn't let go, whether that's through the wonderfully spiteful lines Donald Cotton gives her, or the deliciously raucous performance. Not being able to see Cassandra in The Myth Makers is the greatest tragedy of this serial's loss.

After struggling to adjust to the comedic levels of Cotton's writing in episodes 1 and 2, I actually really enjoyed Death of a Spy. Previous episodes have had a tendency to be silly rather than funny, but here the writing is wittier and more artful. I love the exchange between Cassandra and her brother, the witless Paris, when he insists it is he who is in command, and she replies: "Of everything except your senses!" Later, King Priam expresses a form of admiration for Paris when he stands up to his sister, saying: "It's quite refreshing. It seems there's a man lurking behind that flaccid facade after all." Oo-er! All very Talbot Rothwell!

I'm a little more open to Barrie Ingham's portrayal as Paris this time too, but perhaps because he's not in it as much! Cotton's script is laced with delightfully witty exchanges, such as when Steven heralds Paris as the Lion of Troy, and Paris says: "There you are, you see? I'm treated with more respect by the enemy than I am by my own family!", to which Cassandra replies: "They don't know you as well as we do."

Vicki (Cressida) and Steven (Diomede) are banged up in the cells, but that does not prevent the orphan traveller from striking up a romantic relationship with Priam's son Troilus. Vicki mentioned how good-looking Troilus was in episode 2, but actor James Lynn wasn't credited so there's a bit of a mystery as to how Vicki saw him. I guess we'll never know if Troilus physically appears in episode 2 unless somebody finds the tapes, but it does seem odd that she has fixated on him well before he actually appears/ speaks in Death of a Spy.

Troilus visits Vicki in the dungeon and brings her food, and the two develop a delightfully gentle romance which both surprises and pleases me. Regular readers will know that Vicki is a favourite of mine (never recognised to be as good a character as she was, sadly) so to see her developing into this young woman is rewarding after everything she's been through. Dialogue between Vicki and Troilus suggests she is only 15, or 16 at most, but the character has really come on in the ten months since she first appeared on Dido. Cotton manages to give Vicki and Troilus a shared perspective: they are of similar ages, but prefer to think of themselves as adventurers rather than warriors. "I love adventure," says Troilus, to which a wistful Vicki replies: "Yes, I know what you mean..." You can see the attraction each might have in the other (and James Lynn was a very handsome man), although Vicki's sudden thought that she might be "quite happy here in time" rather goes against her desire for adventure. Would a teenager from the 25th century really want to settle down in such a relatively primitive time and place, just because a handsome prince fancies her? We shall see...

"Big brother" Steven seems resentful of Vicki's "new boyfriend", while Troilus is initially jealous of her friendship with Steven. It's a perfectly natural and human treatment of these three characters, and the scenes in the Trojan dungeons are among the very best in the story, accompanied by some somewhat incongruous but nevertheless effective guitar music from composer Humphrey Searle.

Meanwhile the Doctor is having a tricky time in the Greek camp, having been charged with the task of coming up with a way to sack Troy in the space of one day. At first he suggests they construct "flying machines" made of dried (and smelly) ox hide which will catapult Greek soldiers in the air and over the wall into Troy. It sounds to me like he's been watching the Ewoks do similar in Return of the Jedi. Amusingly, as soon as Odysseus suggests the Doctor should be the first one thrust into the air (and I don't need to see the visuals to imagine the amusing close-up on Hartnell's wide-eyed face at this suggestion!), he drops that idea like a stone and resorts to the mythical Trojan Horse, which he has already pooh-poohed as mere Homeric fiction!

Very quickly (and off screen) a 40ft high wooden horse is built and the Doctor finds himself squirrelled away inside with several Greek soldiers, waiting for the Trojans to take the "gift" into their city. The Doctor is not keen to be a part of this subterfuge (despite it being his idea), but Odysseus insists he stay and stop fidgeting, leading to the startling line: "Upon my soul, you're making me as nervous as a bacchante at her first orgy." Surely the first and only time the word "orgy" has been uttered in Doctor Who, and in the Hartnell era no less?!

As the episode draws to a close, Cassandra's talons are out again when it seems Cressida (Vicki) has brought an end to the 10-year war with the Greeks, and Trojan King Priam is most pleased. Troilus utters music to my ears: "Cassandra's furious about it. She hates you more than ever now." Surely this means more outrageous exclamations from the potty priestess?

As Paris brings news of finding the Great Horse of Asia out on the plain, Cassandra lets rip with some prize-winning vitriol: "It's an omen, an omen of disaster... It's our doom! It's the death of Troy, brought upon us by that cursed witch! Woe to the House of Priam! Woe to the Trojans!" The cliffhanger brings with it the inevitability of history - as the wooden horse is wheeled into Troy, the viewer (as well as the watching Vicki) knows what comes next. Episode 4 should be action-packed!

Note: I was wondering why this episode was called Death of a Spy until I remembered the tiny scene in which poor mute messenger Cyclops is killed before he can deliver Steven's message to Agamemnon not to attack Troy until the day after tomorrow. It was Tutte Lemkow's third and final role in Doctor Who, after having previously played the morally flexible Kuiju in Marco Polo and Ibrahim in The Crusade, although he would go on to choreograph the Dancing Dolls in The Celestial Toymaker the following year. Lemkow appeared in seven episodes of Doctor Who in total, but all seven are sadly lost. It makes the fact that Cyclops is mute all the more frustrating.

First broadcast: October 30th, 1965

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Cotton's witty dialogue is the best it's been yet, but I also like the gentle development of Vicki and Troilus's romance.
The Bad: Is the Doctor really serious when he suggests catapulting Greek soldiers over the city walls into Troy?
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

NEXT TIME: Horse of Destruction...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Temple of Secrets (episode 1); Small Prophet, Quick Return (episode 2); Horse of Destruction (episode 4)

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/2013/09/the-myth-makers.html

The soundtrack to The Myth Makers is available on CD. Find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Original-Television-Soundtrack/dp/0563477776/