Frontier in Space Episode Three

The one where the Doctor is sent to a prison on the moon...

Malcolm Hulke really is taking the piss now, isn't he? After being locked up endless times throughout episodes 1 and 2, what's the first thing that happens to the Doctor and Jo in episode 3? They escape their Ogron kidnappers, only to be immediately apprehended by their former human captors - and locked up again! "The time has come for extreme measures," says General Williams. Yes, I agree - perhaps sack Malcolm Hulke?

I've barely mentioned General Williams so far, but he is played with glowering intensity by Michael Hawkins so well. On the surface he's your typical brusque military boor, but there's a beautifully written conversation between Williams and the President which casts light on their relationship and softens the office politics somewhat. It seems the two were "friends once", and despite their opposing ideologies, she still trusts him, and he still respects her. It's a touching moment amid the political posturing, carried by two sensitive and talented actors.

The Doctor is subjected to a mind probe which looks similar to that used by the Daleks in Day of the Daleks, but is much less effective. He manages to blow it up just by telling the truth, which makes the probe a rather pointless gadget. And he didn't even have to mention purple horses with yellow spots.

Back in the cell there's more warm exchanges between Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning (who gets awfully close to her leading man at one point!). However, the crux of the scene is that they have to wait in the cell hoping that they will be kidnapped once again. Oh, the irony! The tedium!

Ultimately, the Doctor is sent to the lunar penal colony, without trial, where all of the political prisoners from Earth's Peace Party are sent. Not content with having the Doctor locked up again and again, Hulke now decides to incarcerate him permanently in a full-blown jail! Having the Doctor trapped in this way for so much of the time simply means he can't do anything, and the plot begins to stagnate (which it has). There's only so much our hero can learn and do while locked in a cell.

The fact people are imprisoned merely for speaking against the government suggests the President runs a rather fascistic regime on Earth, which is difficult to imagine considering she's trying her hardest to be diplomatic with the Draconians.

The lunar penal colony is, surprisingly, a mixed gender facility where everybody wears blue pyjamas and awful plastic sandals (and look out for the moment when one female inmate almost chokes on her rations!). The softly-spoken Governor is a somewhat hands-off boss, leaving the day to day disciplining of the inmates to a man called Cross, who's very astutely named because he seems to be permanently so. There's also a fired-up peace activist called Patel (he's Indian, you see) and a wise old sage called Professor Dale, played by Harold Goldblatt in a permanent state of distraction, his eyes often cast down despondently.

It's not long (a matter of hours?) before the Doctor gets to join Dale in an attempted escape, aided behind the scenes by Cross, who Dale has promised a pardon to if the Peace Party ever gets to power on Earth. Predictably, Dale is foolish to have trusted Cross, who betrays the wannabe escapees by trapping them in an airlock and depressurising the chamber. What a bastard.

Back on Earth, the Doctor and Jo have been claimed by Sirius IV, a former Earth colony which now has its own dominion government. Sirius IV's High Court of Bassat wants to see our heroes, and has sent a diplomat to Earth to negotiate their release. This is all very sudden. But then the representative from Sirius IV is ushered in and OMG - it's only the bloody Master! Seriously, I did not see that coming, and the almost casual reveal by director Paul Bernard works in its favour, because you're really not expecting the representative to be the Master. The script has been pointing toward Ogrons and Daleks, and perhaps suggesting General Williams is plotting behind the scenes, but this is a wonderful twist!

Roger Delgado has the ability to lift any script out of the doldrums, which he does here expertly. When he goes to collect Jo from her cell, the interplay is laced with familiarity as well as distrust, and you can almost feel the warmth between Manning and Delgado. It's amusing that the Master thinks to request that Jo accompany him, rather than just force her compliance, and he is pleased to get her prior agreement. It's intimidation through a veil of pleasantries. "Are you coming, or do you really wish to vegetate in this hole for the rest of your natural?" he snaps. Wonderful!

Now, finally, it feels like the story's developing.

First broadcast: March 10th, 1973

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The appearance of the Master as the delegate from Sirius IV is... masterful!
The Bad: Not content with writing scenes of repeated incarceration, Hulke puts the Doctor in an actual prison. What was he thinking?
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

"Now listen to me" tally: 22
Neck-rub tally: 13

NEXT TIME: Episode Four...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode One; Episode Two; Episode Four; Episode Five; Episode Six

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/frontier-in-space.html

Frontier in Space is available on BBC DVD as part of the Dalek War box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Frontier-Planet-Daleks/dp/B002KSA3T8