For some reason, as a kid, I have memories of anxiously awaiting my first viewing of "The Keys Of Marinus". Was it because it's the first story after the Daleks to feature monsters? Audiences at the time had gone for over two months without aliens, but I'd only had to wait two weeks. Had I read the novelization by that point? They often made the older episodes sound more exciting than they actually were. I remember also eagerly awaiting "The Web Planet" for the same reason.
Whatever the reason, "Marinus" was high on my list of must-see classic episodes, and when the local PBS station started re-running the Hartnell years for the first time, I checked and double-checked the VCR to make sure it recorded.
Does it hold up? For the most part, yes. Compared to a lot of the older stories it's fun and moves at a brisk enough pace to keep one's attention. Is it a classic? Nope, not even close.
Terry Nation is writing once again. If the BBC hope to capture some of that Dalek magic, they were disappointed. The Voord are visually interesting, among of some of the most memorable designs of the early years. But are they humans in strange-shaped suits, or is that the actual shape of the creature inside? It's never made clear, and their lack of appearance in episodes 2-5 doesn't give them the opportunity to make much of an impression.
Once again, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan find themselves stranded, though this time it's due to a force field keeping them from the TARDIS. It's the first time we've seen this, and it's a welcome change from the TARDIS breaking down yet again.
Turns out they've landed on the planet Marinus, a world where peace was kept by a powerful computer called the Conscience that maintained justice throughout the entire planet. I don't think it's made clear how this was done: mind control? a computer-run legal system? It's a little vague, but it seems to involve removing some measure of free will, so it's not surprising when the Doctor and his companions turn down a request from Arbitan, the elderly keeper of the Conscience, to track down four missing keys to re-activate the machine.
Actually, that's not entirely true, as it's a little strange to see the Doctor and crew walking back to the TARDIS with no intention of helping anyone. We're still in that stage where the Doctor is eager to leave whatever planet he's on, which is odd, because it's not like he has anywhere else to go, aside from returning Ian and Barbara home, something he apparently doesn't have the capability to do. Their actions would have made more sense if the Doctor showed any outrage over the concept of the Conscience machine, but he never does. It's hard to imagine later Doctors letting the opportunity to speechify about free will and freedom pass them by, but if such a moment happens, we aren't privy to it, at least not until a small bit at the end.
Equipped with teleportation devices strapped to their wrists, the four of them are off to find the missing keys. Barbara, uncharacteristically, dives in and leaves before the others, resulting in a cliffhanger when her bloodied bracelet is found by the others after they arrive.
It's a cliffhanger that's swiftly disposed of, however, when we find Barbara being treated like royalty, and it turns out she merely scratched her wrist. It's here that the craziness begins, as Marinus is apparently made up of regions that seem to have been lifted from the most trite of science-fiction and fantasy stories. The next segment resulted in the BBC even being accused of plagiarism, but each part is so generic that it's hard to really say that Nation stole anything.
First, we get a land that manages to look like the Middle Ages mixed with ancient Rome, whose citizens are under the sway of brains in jars. It's pretty basic stuff, familiar to any fan of science-fiction and horror, but there are some interesting moments in which Barbara can see the world for what it is, while the others see nothing but luxury. While here, they find two of Arbitan's followers previously sent to search for the keys, his daughter Sabetha, and Altos, a man who, if not her boyfriend, seems to be by the end of the story. As if we weren't crowded enough, they decide to re-join the quest. Meanwhile, Hartnell apparently has some vacation days built up, as he's going on ahead by himself and we won't be seeing him again until episode five.
Boy, this is getting long. But this really is like five stories in one. Briefly, we get a plant infested region, whose similarly to "Day of the Triffids" is what nearly got the BBC sued; an icy region with frozen knights guarding a key and a trapper who seems intent on having his way with Barbara while leaving the other to die in the snow; and finally Millennius, a city with a very rigid justice system
It's this last location where things slow down. We spend the better part of two episodes in what is really the most boring segment of Marinus. Standard futuristic city, filled with uptight citizens bent on following rules. And there's a trial. It's tough to make a trial interesting, and this show doesn't have any tricks up its sleeve to change that.
After a rushed wrap-up, which involves discovering that Arbitan has been murdered by the Voord and the Conscience machine being destroyed, the Doctor tells Sabetha and Altos that they shouldn't be using such a device. Something he probably should have said in the first place.
It sounds tedious, but I still had fun watching this. The frequent location changes make this one of the few six-parters that doesn't drag for me.While it's all very predictable, it's still fun to see so many different things in one story: mind-controlling brains; screaming, murderous plants; deadly, ice-frozen knights. Everything shifts before there's time to be bored, and even the Millennius segment, boring as it is, would have felt rushed if they'd cut it down to one episode.
The Voord are interesting, and it's a shame they haven't turned up since. I'm not sure what the rationalization would be for such a thing happening, as I doubt a return to Marinus is in the Doctor's future, but they make for a great visual.
GRADE: B
In spite of the cliches, this is still a fun story, and I recently found myself watching all six episodes in one afternoon.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
What is the deal with Marinus? On the one hand, it's refreshing to see a planet that doesn't consist of one culture. But Marinus really pushes the limits of believability. Nothing seems to fit, and many of the places seem unaware of the existence of the other.
The final city, Millennius. They're obviously technologically advanced. Yet they seem to have no interest in the quest for the keys, and they're stunned when the travelers teleport away. Isn't this their own planet's technology?
Susan almost burns her feet off in an acid pool because she wants to "paddle". That says all you need to know about how poorly her characters is being written at this point.
Apparently, the Voord do return in the Doctor Who comics, but the story serves more to muddy up their history than make good use of them.
NEXT: The Aztecs. A four-part historical that I also have fond memories of. And it's one of the few stories Netflix is streaming, so no need to track down a good copy.
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