This story in a nutshell: A world of peace and prosperity isn’t quite the paradise that the Doctor claims to be…
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Dead as a…: The funny thing about Dodo is that whilst she was never the most successful of companions (for breadth of backstory and her ability to convince as a person in her own right she might the least successful companion - I simply cannot see this person functioning outside of these adventures) it is other peoples reactions to her that give her her most successful moments. She is at her best when paired with Steven and Purves somehow makes Lane’s performance a credible one. The Doctor says his two companions are very pleasant apart from ‘juvenile exuberance’ which must be aimed at Dodo! She should have kept hold of that mirror inlaid with real diamonds and she could have made a fortune selling that back in 1966. I enjoyed her inquisitiveness in this tale (some would call it being nosy but there is a corrupt government to bring down so her instincts ultimately prove legitimate). Stoic defiance brings out the best in Jackie Lane and she proves a feisty lass once she is caught observing the life sucking procedure and threatens to smash all the equipment if they come anywhere near her. When the Doctor infects Jano describes Dodo as ‘the child with the ridiculous name’ which sadly might be the kindest thing anybody has ever said about her character. Now Steven isn’t around any more to make her character plausible it wont be long before she is for the chop.
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‘You wanted my intellect. You got it and along with a little conscience, hmm?’
The Good: Christopher Barry has always been a director that has tried to push the resources of Doctor Who to make the story look as good as possible and The Savages opens on a vertiginous shot of the TARDIS taken from above, nestled in a bleak featureless landscape. Location work was still something or a rarity at this point so to have so much lavish film work is something of a novelty and the telesnaps show that Barry knew how to get the best out of his location. In particular he manages to frame scenes so guards are standing atop mountainous ridges in the foreground with the characters fleeing towards the camera giving a rare depth of vision and sense of scale to a Hartnell story. He reverses the effect from the top of the ridges looking down into the valleys as well. I love the music in this story, Raymond Jones enters the world of Doctor Who with ambitions to make this story as exciting and affecting as possible and deploys the violins and oboe to fantastic effect. I particularly like the violins trembling wistfully as Steven and Dodo explore the city and the discordant twangs as Nanina tries to escape the guards. Its unusually atmospheric for a time where something more unsubtle and melodramatic was the norm. A long time before Love and Monsters and its parody of Doctor Who fans you had the Elders who have been charting the Doctor’s adventures from galaxy to galaxy! I bet they have long laborious conversations about which companions are the best and discuss in minuscule detail the hints the Doctor has made about his home planet and where it could possibly be. The Doctor causally sits around with the Elders like an ex Doctor Who actor at a convention bar having plaudits thrown his way. I can't decide whether Edal and Excorse standing around bitching about the action are a Shakespearean double act or a Douglas Adams comedy duo but their commentary is quite amusing. Barry also shoots from the ceiling down on the sets which gives a great perspective and highlights Stuart Walker’s masterful creations in their entirety. Take a look at the full size telesnaps for the end of the episode and the exquisite lighting along that corridor Dodo is pursued down – it black and white makes a standard Doctor Who cliche (horror in the corridors) a surprisingly nightmarish prospect. Scenes like Nanina screaming for help as she is shoved into the machine that drives the life force from her are genuinely frightening and give this morality tale a horrific backbone. It isn’t a very subtle metaphor for the exploitation of the poor but having this rich and prosperous society vampirically sucking the life out of its lower class citizens is such a rich and dramatically satisfying premise it is ripe for the Doctor to harshly object and bring the whole messy business to an end. There is a very exciting chase sequence in part three through some caves and tunnels that are lit evocatively by firelight so that all that can be seen is the actors faces in flickering shadows as they are pursued. It looks and sounds claustrophobic with just the telesnaps and the soundtrack to go on so I shudder to think how exciting the moving visual were. Sometimes all it takes is for one person to step up and protect the enemy and Nanina proves real strength of character by not allowing her people to harm Exorse. That is the reason he refuses to betray them once he has escaped. Two acts and the first faltering steps towards peace. There is something extremely satisfying about the savages being able to violently smash the equipment that has been feeding from their life energies to pieces. Its much more personal than a bally great explosion!
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The Shallow Bit: I have no idea what a Reacting Vibrator is but it sounds like I should find out. The Doctor enjoys the attention of the ladies once his is glammed up in the Elders robes, the old rogue! According to Dodo he’s really ‘with it’ now! Nanina is a bit of a fox and wearing little but savages rags shows a lot of leg as she runs about the quarry. Steven is in a tight black top in his last story and looks more dashing than ever.
Result: Massively underrated and practically forgotten by fandom, The Savages is a terrific morality tale directed with real class. The simple premise of the prosperous leeching from the savage works a treat because it allows the Doctor to do what he does best – protect the underdog and bring down a vampiric regime. All three regulars are treated to some fine material; the Doctor is at his domineering best as he confronts a society of hypocrites, Steven fights against the role of an action hero and leaves the series as a thoughtful man embarking on a tough new life and even Dodo gets to show some curiosity and bravery. Having Frederick Jaeger’s Jano take on the personality of the Doctor halfway through the story was a fascinating move and the way the Doctor steers the events of the story even when he is unconscious shows the strength of his will. I find Christopher Barry an underrated director and his best stories (The Daleks, The Daemons) see him pushing the limits of what the show can achieve visually whilst always giving the actors some room to showcase their talent. The Savages looks gorgeous with plenty of engagingly shot location work, fine sets and atmospheric lighting and the music by one off composer Raymond Jones gives the story a fresh, dynamic feel. It’s a tragedy that none of the episodes of this story exist because if people could see the damn thing I think it might be re-evaluated in a far more positive way but even as an audio the clear storytelling, moral ambiguity and psychological angle make the running time simply fly by. A fond farewell to Peter Purves who has performed wonders with his role of Steven Taylor and become my favourite male companion in the bargain: 8/10
2 comments:
I wonder is there somebody who likes Dodo? Even Susan is better in my opinion, especially older Susan from audios.
Pity that this story is survived only as reconstruction.
This story reminds me of Star Trek's The Cloud Minders, with the rather more insidious twist that it's the lower classes themselves that are being mined for resources. This is a great story and a fitting farewell for Steven. I'm not sure any companion has gotten so a great retirement package as an entire planet to rule. I love Purves' idea that the Doctor should have come back to find that he'd set himself up as a despot. That would have been brilliant.
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