The Curse of Peladon Episode One

The one where Jo becomes a princess...

Thunder and lightning! A gothic castle on a mountainside! Gloomy corridors lit by flaming torches! A man in flowing robes accompanied by bare-chested guards! We're on another planet, and this must surely be the most alien place we've been to since The Dominators. It all looks a bit doomy! It's designed and lit beautifully by Gloria Clayton and Howard King respectively and gets you right into the feel and atmosphere of Peladon. The opening scene might just be an old man walking along some dark corridors, but it feels refreshing and quite exciting after so many stories set on contemporary Earth.

We get straight into a soap opera showdown between traditionalist high priest Hepesh and progressive chancellor Torbis, who disagree fundamentally about the way forward for their people. Peladon is on the cusp of joining the Galactic Federation, but Hepesh fears the unlike and does not trust aliens, believing the planet should maintain its independence. Torbis believes there will be greater prosperity in uniting with neighbouring planets in the galaxy.

It's all so deliciously topical, both for the time The Curse of Peladon was made - when the UK was on the verge of entering the European Economic Community - and today, when the UK is just weeks away from leaving the European Union after a debate which has split the nation. The parallels between the fictional tribulations of Peladon and the real-life Brexit negotiations in 2019 are astonishingly palpable, more so now than ever. Traditionalist Hepesh is the equivalent of today's Leaver, while globalist Torbis would be a Remainer.

Both men - who look far too similar, with white, bushy beards and ginger-streaked hair - are fighting over how best to advise their young king, also curiously called Peladon, played by the dashing blond David Troughton (familiar surname). After a heated exchange between the two that you know is never going to be resolved, Torbis flounces out of the throne room, only to be killed by a roaring beast which Hepesh believes is the spirit of Aggedor, a now extinct beast sacred to the people of Peladon. Ironically, Torbis doesn't last four minutes into this story, and it's a tragic fact that actor Henry Gilbert didn't last much longer either. His appearance in Doctor Who was broadcast on January 29th, 1972, and he passed away exactly 12 months - to the day - later.

Rather unexpectedly, the TARDIS arrives on this storm-lashed planet surface (taking an inordinately long time to do so!) in what the Doctor refers to as a test run, his first trip after apparently fixing the TARDIS. This is somewhat out of the blue, that he has managed to overcome the Time Lords' block on his knowledge of time travel, but we'll accept it because it means we'll get more fun and adventure. I'm not sure what the heck Jo Grant thinks she's wearing (I'm sorry, it's just awful), but she's none too pleased to be whisked away in the TARDIS when she's supposed to be hitting the town with Mike Yates (hinting at a budding romance?).

In an exciting turn of events, the TARDIS appears to be balanced precariously on the very edge of a precipice, and the Doctor and Jo have to leap outside to safety before the police box topples to the bottom of the mountainside (bumping into the model cliff as it goes, causing it to wobble!). This action scene is really well done, and the viewer senses the loss of the TARDIS as much as the Doctor and Jo. I mean, what are they going to do now? Peladon doesn't lend itself to a holiday retreat quite like Ancient Rome did the last time this happened in The Slave Traders...

A committee meeting to decide upon Peladon's fitness for entry into the Galactic Federation is taking place, and delegates from other Federation member planets are arriving to take part. There is another of Doctor Who's semi-regular WTF moments when we're introduced to the delegate from Alpha Centauri, who's called Alpha Centauri. This creature design is startling to say the least, a giant eye on a green body with six arms and a tie-dyed cape. It speaks like a giggly schoolgirl, but is referred to as "he", and shuffles along on none-existent legs. Alpha Centauri is supremely camp, the queerest character to appear in Doctor Who in its nine-year history (perhaps ever?). I love him/ her/ it!

We also meet the delegate from Arcturus, who's called Arcturus. It's another stunningly imaginative design incorporating a rubbery hand puppet head inside a glass dome atop a bulky transport machine. It's like the high priest of Uxarieus fused inside a War Machine, and it's utterly bizarre. And I love him too, he's so grumpy ("I am delegate Arcturus. You are late!").

The Doctor and Jo scramble their way inside the castle via dimly lit corridors and fibreglass secret doors, happening across a shrine along the way containing a statue of Aggedor. Curiously, the Doctor says he's never seen a place like it before, on Earth at least, but what about his trip to Atlantis in The Underwater Menace? Rather wonderfully, the Doctor makes his entrance in the throne room at exactly the moment that Hepesh is reciting the legend of Aggedor, which states that "a stranger will appear in the land", bringing peril and tribulation.

By this point the Doctor is aware of the presence on Peladon of his old enemies the Ice Warriors (they really should be referred to by all as Martians, but we're going to have to let that slide). He knows of old not to trust these aliens, but keeps schtum until he can be sure what they are up to. They claim to be delegates from Mars, and the Doctor has been mistaken for the delegate from Earth, so this means that Peladon is somewhere in the galactic vicinity of the Solar, Alpha Centauri and Boötes systems (Arcturus is actually a star, not a planet, but again, we'll have to let that slide!).

Desperately trying to cover up the fact they are not delegates from Earth, the Doctor presents Jo to Peladon as Princess Josephine of TARDIS, a royal observer to the talks, and there's an instant attraction between Jo and the young buck king, much to the Doctor's obvious frustration! Jon Pertwee is great in this scene, portraying the Doctor's jealousy at Jo's head being turned, without stealing the scene. There's also a lovely moment when Izlyr calls out: "Your highness?" to Jo, but she doesn't register that it could be her, and the Doctor has to nudge her. I also like how Jo says the pilot of their crashed ship was "exceedingly inefficient", which is met by a thundering look of indignation from Pertwee!

Lovely little character moments like this only become possible if the actors have a strong rapport and chemistry, which Pertwee and Manning plainly did (throughout their tenure you can often see Manning gazing adoringly at Pertwee like she's utterly infatuated!).

The cliffhanger sees Peladon's mute bodyguard Grun (aren't all musclebound bodyguards mute?) levering a stone statue of Aggedor off a shelf onto the passing delegates below. Who will get squished? This first episode has been great, managing to fit in both action and background to make the story instantly engaging. It might be quite political, but the menagerie of creatures on display makes it so much more fun. Bonkers, but fun!

First broadcast: January 29th, 1972

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The creature design is marvellously creative and ambitious, making for the most alien aliens Doctor Who's seen for years.
The Bad: The TARDIS bumping into the mountainside as it falls, making it wobble!
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★★☆

"Now listen to me" tally: 15
Neck-rub tally: 5

NEXT TIME: Episode Two...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode Two; Episode Three; Episode Four

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.com/2014/05/the-curse-of-peladon.html

The Curse of Peladon is available on BBC DVD as part of the Peladon Tales box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Peladon-Tales-Monster/dp/B002SZQC70