The Rescue

The First New Companion

The Rescue* (2 X 25mins B&W)
Written by David Whitaker

Doctor Who Series two Serial three

The Powerful Enemy transmitted BBC1 2 January 1965

Desperate Measures transmitted BBC1 9 January 1965

* Note: until 1966 Doctor Who serials had no overall title, instead each episode had its own title.

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands inside a cave on the planet Dido, which the Doctor has visited before. Barbara goes outside and is menaced by the hideous Koquillion, who pushes her off a cliff. Fortunately, she survives and is found by 25thC Earth girl Vicki, one of only two survivors of  a crashed starship, the others having been killed by the Didonians. Meanwhile, Koquillion causes a cave-in, stranding the Doctor and Ian. Will they reunite, and will they and the two survivors, Vicki and Bennett, escape the murderous clutches of Koquillion?

Review

This two-parter was meant as an introduction to the new companion Vicki, played by 21 ear old newcomer Maureen O'Brien, who'd only worked at the Everyman Theatre in her native Liverpool for  a couple of months after graduating from drama school. Following on from the Dalek serial, and starting during the the new year school holidays, it kept up good viewing figures, reaching 13million for the conclusion (entering the Top 10 programmes of that week for the very first time).

Interestingly, the Doctor is asleep when they materialise, which he admits is dangerous, and the story starts with him calling out for Susan, before stopping. He's clearly upset, and afterwards Barbara and Ian too wonder about Susan, and what she's doing. Vicki is to be her 'replacement'.

Maureen makes an impressive debut, and is totally convincing as the young Earth girl who's lost her father, and is terrified of the admittedly repulsive Koquillion (whose design was based on a fly). In later life she said she tried to do her best on the show, but was let down by the show's budget and script, leaving little time for character development. But she acquits herself well here, and indeed seems to have inspired her co-stars to give of their best too. Hartnell has rarely been so animated. Charming, humane, and genuinely emotionally concerned about Vicki. He also takes a much more active role, showing up how much he'd become side-lined in his own show, with most of the action having been left to the younger cast.

As for the story, it's slight but intriguing. As a sort of psychological horror chamber piece, with the young girl harassed by the ugly creature, it works remarkably well, aided by the short running time. The costume design by Daphne Dare is excellent. Koquillion is a wonderful costume, and Vicki seems to be a sporting a modern Biba style split-sided mini dress (with tights), looking every inch a 1965 girl. Bennett, played by Ray Barrett, is suitably hirsute and wounded, whilst the Sand Monster, though not totally convincing, is at least not as bad as later Who monsters.

The production design is good, the model crashed spaceship and interiors quite convincing, as is the cave. Particularly good is the Didonian Hall of Justice. Just a few pillars, an altar, some smoke, Raymond Cusick manages to convey a lot with very little budget, helped by some for once subtle lighting.

All in all, a decent little chiller, let down in the end by a pat and unconvincing resolution, but everything else does its job, and at 50 minutes this is a mercifully brief serial, in comparison to some of the turgid epics to come (a twelve part Dalek story, for example). If it's not quite a Who classic, it's almost there, and deserves a much better reputation than it seems to have, especially as the next story (The Romans) left a bad impression on me when I first saw it. Maybe a reviewing will alter my opinion, just as Vicki's arrival has altered and softened the once tetchy if not downright rude First Doctor. Perhaps she deserved a more important introductory story?

TARDIS rating: 4.5/5.

Credits

Dr. Who .................................................................................... WILLIAM HARTNELL

Ian Chesterton .........................................................................  WILLIAM RUSSELL

Barbara Wright ......................................................................... JACQUELINE HILL

Vicki .........................................................................................  MAUREEN O'BRIEN

Bennett ..................................................................................... RAY BARRETT

Space Captain .......................................................................... TOM SHERIDAN

Title Music ........................... by RON GRAINER with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Incidental Music Composed and Conducted by ................. TRISTRAM CARY

Designer ............................................................................. RAYMOND P. CUSICK

Costumes Supervised ........................................................ by DAPHNE DARE

Make-up Supervised .......................................................... by SONIA MARKHAM

Associate Producer ............................................................ MERVYN PINFIELD

Producer ............................................................................. VERITY LAMBERT

Directed .............................................................................. by CHRISTOPHER BARRY

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