Serial L, in 2 parts
Written by: David Whitaker
Produced by: Verity Lambert
Directed by: Christopher Barry
"Though well-made and highly entertaining, The Rescue was a fairly simple story..." - from Doctor Who: The Sixties by Howe, Stammers, and Walker (Virgin: 1992)
After the big-budget, action-packed Dalek Invasion of Earth, Doctor Who returned to its modest par with this quick and painless two-parter. The Rescue is an engaging mystery, if a bit thin. It's not so much a proper episode as it is an introductory vehicle for the Doctor's new companion Vicki, played by Maureen O'Brien, pictured above getting friendly with the bristly villain Koquillion.
Vicki was obviously intended to replace Susan as the mandatory "young person" in the cast. Susan is clearly the better companion; they're both a bit whiny for my taste, but Susan has a mystique surrounding her that Vicki lacks. But Vicki's pleasant enough, I suppose.
A couple of points about this episode - Hartnell's Doctor is unusually active, bashing down a door in one scene and brawling with Koquillion in another. It seems to me that the old boy must've been quite scrappy in his youth!
My other observation is that, starting with this episode, Dennis Spooner took over the story editing reins from David Whitaker. Henceforth, Doctor Who took a nose dive in quality. Whitaker clearly played a large role in making the first season so good, and his absence hurt Hartnell's later episodes enormously.
OVERALL RATING: B-
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