Doctor Who "The Rescue" Season 2, Story 3, 2 Episodes Originally Broadcast 02/01/65 - 09/01/65 Written by David Whittaker Regular Cast William Hartnell The Doctor William Russell Ian Chesterton Jacqueline Hill Barbara Wright Maureen O'Brien Vicki Principal Guest Cast Ray Barrett Bennett Directed by Richard Martin Rating Doctor Who

For the first time in the series' history, "The Rescue" sees a new cast member added in. Not counting "An Unearthly Child", where Ian and Barbara are if anything the two 'familiar' characters, joining up with the 'new' Doctor and Susan, this would be the first of many stories where a new crew member would get an introductory story, ending with them boarding the TARDIS one way or another.

Just as "An Unearthly Child" gave a lot of the focus to Ian and Barbara, "The Rescue" gives new girl Vicki centre stage. The story itself is a fairly simple piece. I'd disagree with the assertion that it's a whodunit with only one suspect, as that it's a whodunit at all isn't especially clear on the first viewing. However, it's pretty obvious from Bennett's behaviour that he's up to something, and well before the end of episode one it's clear he's in cahoots with Koquillion, minimum.

This wouldn't be so much of a problem if Vicki was a better character. As it is, she's merely Susan, but from a future Earth. Maureen O'Brien's performance only cements this. O'Brien is a fine actress, but her inexperience shows, and she delivers a stagy, overwrought turn. Hartnell gives a good turn as the Doctor, getting to play detective, nailing a few great lines and generally being unusually likeable. William Russell gives his usual high work rate to a script that doesn't give either Ian or Barbara much to do beyond take it in turns to set up Vicki's reciting of her potted character biography.

While just about every companion to join in the future would get a significant focus in their debut story (Mel's the only real exception), I don't think anyone was basically the plot in the way Vicki is - not even Rose. The plot is sliver-thin, and the whole production exists simply to add her to the crew. The only other character is Bennett, and Ray Barrett can't really imbue the character with any sort of depth given the confined time he has - it takes a moment out of Murder She Wrote infodump in the second episode, as Bennett simply tells The Doctor the whole story, to give him any sort of motive. Even then, we don't have much information - why exactly did he murder a member of the crew in the first place? How exactly does a prisoner manage to arrange an explosion that destroys a village? The answer to all of these is the production team want it tied up neatly so we can move onto a proper story.

"The Rescue", to be fair, achieves its' own highly limited aims, introducing Vicki comprehensively and managing to remain halfway entertaining while doing so. It's still a cheap, insignificant footnote, though, and one that barely deserves a repeat viewing.

Review written: 13/05/2006
"The Rescue"/"The Romans" Double VHS @ Amazon.co.uk

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