| THE KROTONS by Robert Holmes |
| Story 47 Synopsis: Inside the City of the Gonds, two young Gonds have been selected to serve the Krotons, whom the Gonds worship. Abu enters happily, but Vana is obstructed by Thara (son of the Gond leader, Selris), who fears she will never return. Outside the city, the TARDIS appears, and the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe watch helplessly as they see Abu exit through a door, and then obliterated. They make their way into the city, as Vana finally enters the machine. Racing against time, they rescue the shattered Vana from obliteration. Thara decides to attack the Teaching Machines of the Krotons, though the Doctor says it's not the answer. Zoe takes the intelligence test, and is selected to enter the machine. The Doctor decides to take the test too, and he is selected. They enter the machine, where their brainpower has triggered the revival of the Krotons. They escape through the back of the machine. Jamie is allowed in, but his brain proves less impressive, and he nearly dies. The Gonds decide to attack the Kroton machine, but to little success. Eelek, a Gond aiming to usurp Selris, makes a bargain to hand over the Doctor and Zoe, in return for the Krotons leaving the planet. Inside the ship again, the Doctor manages to infect the Kroton nutrient tanks with sulphuric acid, causing the ship to self-destruct. Thara replaces his dead father. |
| Review:- Another under-rated monster tale, and the first credit for Robert Holmes. What amounts at first light to a rather simplistic tale of alien mind control, is given depth and some wit, to create an altogether deeper and satisfying adventure. The Krotons spend most of their time inside their machine - indeed until well into the 2nd part, all we have to go on is their threatening presence. They clearly subjugate the Gonds, and we as viewers are soon privy to the truth about their choice of students. The Gonds are a feckless lot, although with good reason. Having been manipulated for a very long time, it is a stiff routine they live in. It is amusing though, that Selris finds opposition not just from his son Thara, but a rival, Eelek. Despite ignorance, there are some traits that even under oppression, remain as strong as ever. The TARDIS travellers are rather blandly dealt with. Zoe proves her intelligence, although that has scarcely been in doubt. Jamie proves his lack of intelligence, but that wasn't in doubt, either. The Doctor gets to play chemist for a change, and make a few daring escapes and rescues. Perhaps the main problem is the Krotons' short lifespan. Even after the enormous power boost that revives them, they're still only able to operate for a fairly short time, after which they would presumably revert to processing Gonds. Even though, for its use of science and discussion of the nature of protest and education, this is quite a reasonable adventure, and one I would recommend. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |