Crashed On Did-Oh, Yeah - The Rescue

Koquillion (left) facing a frightened Vicki (right)

 

    In my eyes, Vicki's introduction is when the series truly shifts from being "early Doctor Who" finding its footing into the show we all know and love today, because despite the large gap in time, The Rescue is one of the classic stories that most resembles what the show would become in the 21^st century. Whilst being one of the only two-part stories in the standard format of 25 minutes episodes makes for an easy comparison in runtime, the connection is more than skin deep.

    Something that can often feel lacking or underplayed in the classic series are the emotional journeys companions can go through, this is not a problem The Rescue has as the story focuses on the distress Vicki faces: having crash landed on the planet Dido, dealing with the loss of her father and being held captive by the sinister Koquillion, as one of the two survivors of the UK-201 spaceship. The people of Dido threaten Vicki and her fellow survivor Bennett but the Doctor has been to Dido before, knowing the Didoan people as a friendly race, he wonders what could have changed them.

    Ultimately, what Vicki is facing is a story of abuse and manipulation. When you realise the man behind this script is none other than the legendary David Whitaker, who acted as script editor up until the previous story and would go on to write The Crusade - a marvelous historical adventure - and fan favourite The Evil of the Daleks, it should come as no surprise that it's so carefully written, never going too far while still giving a full perspective of Vicki's situation. There are plenty of opportunities to showcase Vicki's struggle and how she handles herself through it, and even has a twist I would feel remiss to spoil even 58 years later.

This girl needs help, thankfully Barbara is here, surely this can't go wrong.

    This is played brilliantly by Maureen O'Brien, who is undoubtedly the star of the show, immediately endearing you to her and playing every scene brilliantly, Vicki's hope, sorrow, frustration and fear can all be felt. Although there is a slight hiccup towards the start of the story, as O'Brien has an inappropriate smile on her face as she frantically tries to regain contact with the rescue ship, having just had her hopes taken away.

    It isn't just on her own that O'Brien shines, after the demise of the sand beast affectionately named "Sandy" at the hands of Barbara, Vicki becomes further upset and fearful that the travelers will jeopardise her rescue. It's the Doctor who brings her back out of her shell, in a scene that could warm the coldest of hearts and where you will be completely sold on the William Hartnell and O'Brien dynamic.

Alas, poor Sandy! I knew him, Vicki.

    Ray Barrett plays the role of Bennett, the other UK-201 survivor, paralysed in the incident that saw the rest of the ship's crew dead. He gives a strong performance of his own, particularly shining in his character's final scene, once again playing opposite Hartnell.

    The production design is solid, Koquillion stands as one of my favourite monster designs in Doctor Who, while Sandy is an admirable attempt in portraying alien animal life, something the series will often shy away from attempting. The interior of the UK-201 is fantastic, although on my most recent watch it did have me questioning the size of the craft and how it would be able to fit a whole crew. Based on the perspective we have, it seems like it barely houses the two occupants it has.

    The Didoans are visually a small disappointment, underwhelming after everything leading up to them. While the exterior of the UK-201 is depicted with a well made model, it's much less convincing in close-ups as cute as it is, fortunately it's only shown close-up once.

The UK-201 model may be convincing from a distance, though this cliff sure isn't.

    Despite some small reservations, The Rescue stands as one of my favourite Doctor Who stories and was an excellent new start for 1965. This is an easy recommendation for anyone curious about the show in the 1960s, watch and you will surely come to love Vicki as quickly as I did, and when she sweetly accepts the offer to join the TARDIS - timidly saying "if you'll have me" - I dare you not to smile.