The claws of Axos (1971)
Review
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Review
This is a four-part serial, first broadcast between 13th March - 3rd April 1971. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: strangers arrive bearing gifts that promise to provide the world with an endless supply of food but, as is often the case, it turns out that there's no such thing as a free lunch. In the end, the Doctor gets together with an old enemy to save the day.
The good news:
- The Axons and their... ship... look gorgeous, and they're conceptually interesting.
- As usual, Pertwee is excellent.
- We see the Master - another Time Lord and the Doctor's archenemy - being held prisoner by Axos. This is an effective way to show us that Axos is the kind of top-of-the-food-chain predator that other predators will want to steer clear of.
Which brings us to the not so good news:
- We, the audience, know from the start that Axos is bad. This is a waste of a good story that could have been more intriguing by leaving us guessing for a couple of episodes.
- A great deal of the story is being 'told' rather than 'shown'. The Axons helpfully tell the Doctor and Jo that they intend to 'suck the earth dry'. In the end we don't see Axos stuck in a time-loop, we're being told about it by the Doctor (and even he seems at a loss for words, there). There's plenty of action, it's well-executed, but it does little to move the story forward.
- The regulars aren't used well here. Jo does little more than getting into trouble, being saved by the Doctor, being crushed when the Doctor appears willing to leave earth in the claws of Axos, retaining her almost childlike faith in him and seeing that faith rewarded in the end. The UNIT crew do little more than being removed from the premises by the British armed forces, shooting at things that their bullets have no effect on, and generally doing things that have little or no impact on the plot.
- Of the supporting characters Chinn is a stereotypical stupid bureaucrat, and the minister is a stereotypical Machiavellian bureaucrat. American agent Filer fares a little better - having a fight with his clone which has little relevance to the plot but looks cool, and helping the plot along by freeing the Master - but we see too little of him.
My verdict:
Eye-candy with a great deal of unrealised potential.
More about Doctor Who
An introduction:
Doctor Who reviews: introduction
More "quite good, actually" Doctor Who:
Doctor Who reviews: quite good, actually
More from the Jon Pertwee years:
Doctor Who reviews: 1970 - 1974
Similar stories:
Doctor Who reviews: alien invasion
Original version of this review:
06/08/09
More about this serial
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BBC Cult
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Behind the sofa
Outpost Gallifrey
DVD reviews:
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