Written by Brian Hayles, Sydney Newman, and Donald Wilson
Directed by Lennie Mayne

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as “The Doctor” and is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means he travels through time to various places. One of his favorite places to visit is Earth. Typically, he has a companion traveling with him, usually female, sometimes male, sometimes one of each. He travels in a time machine known as a TARDIS which is disguised as a British Police booth.   

A Time Lord can regenerate if fatally wounded, which has accounted for all the different actors who have played The Doctor throughout the years. This was the era of the third Doctor, portrayed by Jon Pertwee. He is accompanied by one of the most favorite of all his companions, Sarah Jane Smith (portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen).

The Doctor returns to Peladon fifty years after his last visit to find things have changed. His old friend the King has died, leaving his daughter, Queen Thalira (portrayed by Nina Thomas) to reign in his place.  The caste system of Peladon hasn’t changed much over the years, and the miners are still working using primitive tools as they believe that the updated technology is angering the spirit of Aggedor. This seems to be proven true as any time technology is used in the mine, people seem to die.  The miners are starting to rebel, which is a problem since the mineral they are mining is a key component in parts needed for the Federation’s war effort.  There is intrigue within Thalira’s government as she is perceived as being weak, but Sarah Jane’s advice and support help in this regard quite a bit.

There is so much that was great about The Monster of Peladon.   The story is one of political intrigue that compares to the miner’s strike in Britain the same year this aired and has great pro-Labor overtones.  Then there is the feminist agenda where Thalira is consistently marginalized by others in her government while Sarah Jane counsels her as one strong female to another.  This was a fantastic story arc for Sarah Jane and it’s evident that the original intentions for the character were watered down. She’s quite nearly the Doctor’s equal here in terms of helping the situation on Peladon.

Pertwee here is also terrific, although the story is one that I could see the next Doctor, Tom Baker, handling as well.  The writing style and storylines seemed to be changing now that the Doctor was out from under UNIT’s thumb and it’s a lot more fun.  Pertwee is handling that quite well, and it’s been said that he took any opportunity on the show to be seen as an action star.  The supporting cast does a terrific job as well, particularly the members of Thalira’s cabinet.  I thought Nina Thomas herself was a bit under-used, coming off with more of a deer-in-the-headlights portrayal of the Queen until almost the end of the story arc.

The main drawback is the length of the story.  Many during the Pertwee era seemed to run into a six-episode story arc like this one.  Some worked better at that length than others.  This one feels as long as it is.  It could have been tightened up quite a bit.  The little bit of special effects and rubber-suited costuming is unusually bad, although not as bad as some.  It’s just pre-Star Wars and it shows.

The DVD is packaged well.  There are two discs for this story arc.  One has the complete story arc as well as the commentary while the special features are on the second disc.  There’s enough here to make it worth buying for the Doctor Who fan versus just streaming the story arc.  I do recommend listening to the commentaries at least once.  They are a lot of fun and very insightful.

The Monster of Peladon is a classic Doctor Who story that is definitely worth a look, although I’d still recommend some of the stories from the Tom Baker era first to learn about this earlier incarnation of the series.  It was much different than what we are used to now, but in some ways it was better, allowing for more political intrigue in a relaxed format.  This is one of those story arcs.


SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Audio Commentary with Toby Hadoke, Script Editor Terence Dicks, Producer Barry Letts, Nina Thomas, Donald Gee, and Alf Whitson
• The Peladon Saga – Part 2
• Deleted Scene
• Where Are They Now?
• On Target – Terrance Dicks
• Photo Gallery