📝6/10

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“The Chase: Laughs and Farewells in a Chaotic Romp"

Terry Nation’s The Chase takes the Doctor and his companions on a zany six-episode adventure across time and space, culminating in the heartfelt departure of Ian and Barbara. A wildly uneven affair, it blends slapstick humor, scattered sci-fi ideas, and touching character moments in a way that’s both maddening and oddly endearing.

Not only does the opening episode of Nation's anthology epic include some rare scenes of life inside the TARDIS, but it also includes an extended sequence with the Time-Space Visualiser (never to be seen again, sadly, although it does pop up again in other media), allowing the TARDIS crew to watch such historical events as The Beatles playing "Ticket to Ride" on Top of the Pops (the only surviving clip of that gig, ironically), and Ian jamming delightfully to the tune; Shakespeare talking with Queen Victoria (both to be seen again!) or the Gettysburg address—scenes that are completely irrelevant to the rest of the plot but somehow very fascinating nonetheless.

Terry Nation’s Greatest Hits—Recycled

Nation’s penchant for self-plagiarism is on full display here. The structure of constantly changing settings is borrowed from The Keys of Marinus (1964), while the cliffhanger reveals and jungle settings echo his work for The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Even the Mechanoids feel like a less effective rehash of the Daleks, their awkward design and grating voices failing to replicate the menace of their predecessors. To top it off, the cringe-inducing episode titles (The Death of Time, anyone?) don’t help matters.

Parody or Adventure?

From the outset, The Chase doesn’t take itself seriously, leaning heavily into self-parody. Nation likely aimed for a lighthearted romp, but the bizarre mix of nonsensical plotlines, tongue-in-cheek performances, and a jazzy circus-like score makes this feel more like a spoof than a canonical Doctor Who adventure.

The Doctor taking offence to Barbara apparently calling his singing awful, answering Morton Dill with "No, it ain’t!” or running scared from a Frankenstein's monster robot; Morton Dill's doofus dialogue (“You have different years here?”); the stuttering Dalek—whether by design or accidentally, Terry Nation provides a script filled with dialogue that frequently makes me giggle—and that’s a rare feat for a Doctor Who story, even today.

A Hodgepodge of Settings

Anthology stories like this often suffer from an identity crisis. The multitude of locations—from deserts to the Mary Celeste to the House of Horrors—makes the narrative feel disjointed. None of these places leave a lasting impression, save for Mechanus, which at least boasts some solid sci-fi design. The pacing stumbles as the story lurches between dull, laughable, and overstuffed segments.

Low Stakes, High Silliness

Despite the Daleks’ pursuit, the tension is almost nonexistent. These once-terrifying foes are reduced to bumbling comic relief, complete with stuttering lines and inexplicable behaviors, like one screaming as it falls into the sea. The story’s ridiculousness does, however, lend it a certain charm, making it an easy, breezy six-parter to sit through.

Standout Moments of Character

What The Chase lacks in plotting, it makes up for in its treatment of the main cast. William Hartnell’s Doctor is sharp, witty, and full of warmth, his chemistry with Ian, Barbara, and Vicki shining through. Ian and Barbara’s camaraderie is at its peak, with their banter and resourcefulness adding levity to the chaos. Their emotional farewell in the closing minutes is a masterclass in understated drama, cementing one of the series’ most heartfelt exits.

Vicki continues to grow into her role, though her characterization wavers between intelligent and Susan-esque, as if Nation hadn’t realized Carole Ann Ford had left the show.

Morton Dill is so bad he's good. The unnecessary supporting role in Part 3 landed Peter Purves the new companion role three episodes later, and that terrible accent and goofy persona are something to remember, for better and for worse. He’s one of the few supporting characters who’ve survived an encounter with the Daleks.

The introduction of Steven, played with gusto by Purves, injects fresh energy, even if his addition feels tacked on.

There's something clever about the impostor Doctor. He is antagonistic and selfish, much like the Doctor was when we first met him in An Unearthly Child (1963), a clever callback to how much the character has developed in just two seasons. How no one noticed the obvious difference between him and the real Doctor is a real mystery, though.

Production Hits and Misses

The production values are a mixed bag. Mechanus stands out for its ambitious set design, but Richard Martin’s direction undercuts its potential. The House of Horrors sequence is laughably bad, riddled with production errors like the infamous out-of-place Dalek. The imposter Doctor concept is clever in theory but poorly executed, with clunky editing and sound design undermining its impact.

The Chase is a strange beast—part anthology, part spoof, part farewell. While it’s riddled with lazy writing, production gaffes, and tonal inconsistencies, it’s saved by its cast’s charisma and the touching departure of Ian and Barbara. Not a classic by any means, but its chaotic charm and heartwarming moments make it a memorable installment.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• This is the first time we encounter a doppelgänger of the Doctor, something that will reoccur multiple times going forward (in stories such as The Massacre, The Enemy of the World, Meglos, The Arc of Infinity, A Nightmare in Silver, and so on).
• Ian’s cardigan moment (“Oh no, not again!”) is a delightful callback to earlier stories.