For some reason; I'd forgotten how much I enjoy the Keys of Marinus. Before this rewatch I had it in my head as a below average story that dragged; with the court room stuff being slow. None of that is true - this is one of the faster paced 60s Doctor Who stories, especially in contrast to a lot of the early sci-fi shows in the series.

It's an incredibly ambitious story; in a way it feels like four separate stories to fetch each key with an overarching arc with the fetch to get the keys. I understand why this is not something that was done more often (it is expensive to need a whole new set of sets every week) but it makes this stand out very well.

The individual stories however are somewhat inconsistent. The Voord don't really stand out as villains (probably why they've never returned on TV since this story; despite being the second ever set of alien villains) and the opening episode is one bit that moves slowly; but George Colouris's portrayal of Arbitan is very good - especially for a single part guest character. The story in Morphoton is an incredibly creative idea that I'd love to see the new series return to - the TARDIS crew are immediately brainwashed into thinking they are in some lavish environment as part of a scheme to completely brainwash them into working for the brains that control the city; Barbara manages to accidentally prevent this which means that she sees right through things and is the star of the show in terms of ending their rule over the city - while Ian, the Doctor and Susan are completely under their control. One of the thing this story does very well in making a strong use of the support cast (helped by Hartnell skipped episodes 3 and 4 for a holiday) and this is a perfect example.

Episode 3 feels like filler - but at least more interesting filler than other stories. The design of the forest set is impressive considering that it probably was the size of a shoebox; although the story is primarily 'Ian/Barbara fall into traps, barely escape, rince repeat'. It's an old Doctor Who staple; but feels awkward here. The fourth episode picks up - this is the section of the story where Ian gets to shine with him single-handedly rescuing Altus and somehow convincing the burly tracker to accompany them to the mountains. Its not remarkable but fits in here.

Episodes 5 and 6 are great - as the story goes into pure courtroom drama. Ian is accused of murder and theft of the final key; and stands trial in a justice system where individuals are guilty until proven innocent. The courtroom scenes are pure Phoenix Wright stuff 40 years before that existed: the Doctor as defence attorney is great with the examination of Sabitha leading to the death of Aydan; and the deception of Kala comes across very well. It's very well put together; and makes you want this to have been a bit more of the overall structure of the story.

The end feels like an anti-climax: Arbitan is dead and a Voord is wearing his cloak in the worst disguise ever; and Ian gives them the fake key to cause the Conscious of Marinus blows up. I also like that Altos and Sabitha are not particularly exciting characters with some very... awkward acting: and the alleged romance between the two doesn't come across and that doesn't help with investment in the overall story arc. Susan is the one character in the main four that doesn't get a chance to shine - Barbara has the entire second episode and finding Susan in episode 6; Ian has the march through the mountains; Susan is not particularly strong in this which is a negative - I feel like her playing a greater role in the detective elements in Millenius would have been a good use of her.

Overall I really enjoyed this - in particular episodes 2, 4, 5 and the first half of 6. Its an ambitious attempt at doing a lot with a little and while it falters at times, I think it succeeds more than it fails plus I'd prefer this level of overambition to slow and safe.