| GALAXY 4 by William Emms |
| Story 18 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands on a planet, and is apparently attacked by a robot, which Vicki names a "Chumbley". The travellers seem to be imperilled by the robot, and are rescued by women called Drahvins. They tell them that the robots are controlled by the evil Rills, who caused the Drahvins to crash on this planet, which has a short time before it's destroyed. The Drahvins want the travellers' help in thwarting the Rills, and taking their spaceship, leaving the Rills to die when the planet blows up. The Doctor advocates a peaceful approach, but the Drahvins are more violent, and hold Steven hostage whilst the Doctor and Vicki go to deal with the Rills. On the Rill ship, the Doctor detects ammonia, and the Rills claim that the Drahvins shot them down, and they fear the Rills. Vicki stops the Doctor trying to harm the Rills. Steven tries to escape, but falls into a trap. The Doctor decides to help provide the Rills with the energy they need to get off the planet. The Chumblies attack the Drahvin ship, saving Steven from an imminent death. The Doctor and Vicki connect power from the TARDIS via a cable, whilst the Drahvins are held in their ship by a Chumbley. The Drahvins make a desperate attack, but fail. The Rills are able to leave safely, and the travellers return to the TARDIS and leave. The Drahvins are stranded as the planet begins to break up... |
| Review:- An old moral issue is presented in straightforward terms... The third season kicks off with the drama of a doomed planet, and the struggle of two new alien races, the Drahvins and the Rills. The Doctor is forced to intervene, with the Drahvins appearing the friendlier party at first... but they're not telling the whole story. In some ways, this is a very straightforward story. The presented notion that the pretty (!) Drahvins are good, whilst the mysterious Rills are bad is later turned on its head, just in time for the planet to blow up. The moral message is that appearances can be deceptive, but even so, how sound is it to abandon the Drahvins completely? Would later Doctors (and more pertinently, later production teams) have considered this an acceptable conclusion? Perhaps this story isn't quite as timeless as it seems... The regulars are broadly well written. The Doctor's scientific knowledge makes him desirable to the Drahvins, whilst Vicki's compassion finds out the truth about the Rills. Steven comes to grief with some lacklustre moments at the hands of the Drahvins, but this is partly explained as the result of the story being written with differing companions, and Steven being imperilled by default. The imminent destruction of the planet gives a decent little ticking-clock to keep the drama fresh, and it's nice to have a story which has no relation to endless continuity, either of aliens, or humans and Earth. A quiet gem, but nothing too deep. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book. |