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TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Saturday, February 24, 1973

Production Code

QQQ

Written by

Malcolm Hulke

Directed by

Paul Bernard

Runtime

150 minutes

Time Travel

Future

Story Arc (Potential Spoilers!)

Second Dalek War

Inventory (Potential Spoilers!)

Spoons, Sonic Screwdriver, Space Suits

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Draconia, Earth, Ogron planet, The Moon

Synopsis

The Third Doctor and Jo are caught in the escalating tension between planets Earth and Draconia and discover that the Master and the Daleks are secretly working to provoke the two into all-out war.

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6 Episodes

Episode One

First aired

Saturday, February 24, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Malcolm Hulke

Directed by

Paul Bernard

UK Viewers

9.1 million

Synopsis

The Doctor and Jo land on a spaceship in the far future as it is attacked by Ogrons, which the human crew see as Draconians. The Doctor and Jo are taken to Earth as spies.


Episode Two

First aired

Saturday, March 3, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Malcolm Hulke

Directed by

Paul Bernard

UK Viewers

7.8 million

Synopsis

The Doctor and Jo are taken to Earth, where both humans and Draconians believe them to be a spy for the other side.


Episode Three

First aired

Saturday, March 10, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Malcolm Hulke

Directed by

Paul Bernard

UK Viewers

7.5 million

Synopsis

The Doctor is sentenced to life imprisonment at a lunar penal colony while Jo encounters an old enemy.


Episode Four

First aired

Saturday, March 17, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Malcolm Hulke

Directed by

Paul Bernard

UK Viewers

7.1 million

Synopsis

The Master rescues the Doctor from the lunar penal colony, aiming to take him and Jo to the Ogrons' planet, and the Doctor's attempt to escape leaves him stranded in space.


Episode Five

First aired

Saturday, March 24, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Malcolm Hulke

Directed by

Paul Bernard

UK Viewers

7.7 million

Synopsis

The Doctor, Jo and the Master are taken to Draconia, where the Doctor tries to convince the Draconians of the truth.


Episode Six

First aired

Saturday, March 31, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Malcolm Hulke

Directed by

Paul Bernard

UK Viewers

8.9 million

Synopsis

The Doctor, Williams and the Draconian Prince head to the Ogrons' planet to find evidence of the Master's actions but the Master tricks Jo into leading them into a trap.



Characters

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Reviews

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15 reviews

I was thoroughly impressed by Frontier in Space, a pleasant surprise after barely sitting through the vaguely similar Colony in Space. This was a lot of fun with a bunch of memorable characters and set pieces. What really stands out about Frontier to me is that each episode feels like its own thing. There's one where the doctor is stuck in a prison on the moon, another on a cargo ship, another on Draconia - they all feel really distinct and helped keep the serial interesting to me. I also like the characters, especially on the Draconian side as they felt like well-developed individuals to me (and even the humans weren't too bad).  The dynamic of Jo and the Doctor getting stuck between these two competing forces worked well for me too. The fun doesn't change when the Master shows up, and Delgado's final appearance before he tragically died makes this story special in its own little way.

Some of the Draconian costumes were a little sweaty but looked good, as did most of the sets. The Daleks feel a little unnecessary given they are about to get their own story, but I guess we are leading into that a bit. Little choices like that hold back an otherwise near-perfect experience, but overall I had a great time and would absolutely recommend this one.


dema1020

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"This story was carried by the main characters" is an odd thing to say, given how stories work, but there is a reason I enjoyed Frontier in Space and it wasn't the plot (anti-war storyline started strong and weakened with each episode), the side characters (forgettable), or the aliens (very racialised in design, most obvious with the Ogrons, who are a few small steps removed from blackface, but also with the Orientalism in the Draconians)

 

It's a shame this was Delgado's last story. Obviously, they couldn't have known he was going to die, and fair play the interactions between the Master, the Doctor, and Jo really make this serial, but it's a but of a flop to end in


greenLetterT

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This review contains spoilers!

Malcolm Hulke is in part responsible for such favourites as The War Games and Ambassadors of Death. This story picks up on the recurring theme of political diplomacy with other lifeforms, which is present in Hulke's Silurian stories. The Draconians more successful than the Silurians (and certainly the Sea Devils) in terms of embodying a credible vision of an intelligent alien species, they also look very convincing - with fantastic masks. They speak and act in ways which are on par with human intelligence and the political tension between Draconians and Humans is enjoyable, at least at first.

Frontier in Space begins very well. The TARDIS excitingly almost collides with a 26th Century spaceship, The Doctor and Jo end up on board. Through a port window Jo spots another spaceship shimmering and it becomes what is described as a Draconian battle-cruiser - which begins to attack.

The audience soon finds out that it is not Draconians, but actually the Ogrons attacking. A hypnotic wave is being set off "by someone", tricking individuals into seeing something they fear, rather than what is actually there. When Ogrons attack Humans, the Humans see Draconians. Elsewhere Draconians are falsely perceiving their attackers as Human.

This causes an interesting diplomatic tension between the two long term allies and makes for an enjoyable first couple of episodes. But this is where the plot starts to run a little thin. This same scenario is stretched out over six episodes with little or no development. I find it unbelievable that by the beginning of episode 6 the Draconians and Humans have yet to work out what is going on. I became frustrated at the same situation and arguments being repetitively played out on screen. We see The Doctor explain what is actually happening, then the two opposing sides explain what they have perceived to have happened - again and again and again.

If this was not bad enough, we later learn that this hypnotic ray (set off by The Master) makes the individual see "what they fear the most". Unfortunately, this does not tally with the fact that Humans and Draconians have been long term allies. Even if there was some historic friction between the two sides - why would they find each other more frightening than any other force? Or surely, at least one Human or Draconian would find something else (like a Dalek) more frightening?

This is not even the worst thing about Frontier in Space. About 5 or 6 times an episode we see a character (usually The Doctor) imprisoned and then escaping that prison. Hulke is stuck in a loop where every time a protagonist is in trouble, they get sent to a prison and then within moments escape that prison. We see Jo sent to a prison and then escaping that prison. We see 26th Century humans sent a to prison then escaping that prison. We see an Ogron sent to a prison and then escaping that prison. I lost count of the number of prisons in this story, but it could have been half that number and it would have been too many prisons.

At one point The Doctor is sent to a prison moon(!) which seems to be included for no reason other than to add a bit of local colour and to use up an episode. It is extremely bizarre that the moon prison and its political "peace" prisoners are never mentioned after The Doctor escapes that prison. So many ideas are set up and never revisited on that moon - it seems so confused.

I finished Frontier in Space dissatisfied with the number of loose threads it presented. What on Earth was going on with the Ogron's green God creature? It looked cool - but was included so briefly within the story and seemingly for no reason - It did not tie up at all.

The story gets better again towards the very end, the presence of the Daleks (with restored authentic voices) got my attention back, but it was too late for the story as a whole. I hope that Planet of the Daleks picks up on some of these loose threads and delivers something which makes both stories more satisfying.

It is a crying shame that this is the last we will see of Delgado's Master - this is not a fitting end of a character and a performance I have eulogised since Pertwee's second season.


15thDoctor

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This review contains spoilers!

This serial has something of a poor reception within fandom as being 'dull', and I don't understand it. I thought it was excellent. Whilst the ending leaves a lot to be desired and the Doctor seems a bit gullible when he somehow doesn't recognize the Master's voice over the radio in the cargo ship, overall it's a fun and epic space opera for the Pertwee era. Jo Grant is at her greatest here, as she demonstrates how much she has learned from the Doctor, and Roger Delgado's last performance as the Master is every bit as cold and commanding as you would expect. This serial deserves more love.


WhoPotterVian

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This review contains spoilers!

This serial had the obvious problem of the Doctor and Jo being captured and escaping way too many times. However, it was a lot of fun and the political intrigue was compelling. Jo is great in this one, specially in their escape from the Master's cell in the ship. Then she resists his hypnosis! And escapes using a spoon!!! It was part of the Master's plan, but still she one ups him by stealing the mind control thingy. I just really like Jo. And hey, the Master's back! Very good to see him again, and I love the twist when he shows up, and the twist that he's working for the Daleks (gasp!)

Some other minor comments: loved the look of the Draconians, loved the cliffhanger of having the Doctor call the Time Lords for help at the end (we know it's serious when he calls Gallifrey). They used the building of the Brazilian national congress as a stand in for the Earth Presidential Palace and wow, that was a huge surprise for me, as a Brazilian. It really is a very cool looking building.


mndy

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Statistics

AVG. Rating504 members
3.64 / 5

Member Statistics

Watched

933

Favourited

88

Reviewed

15

Saved

7

Skipped

1

Quotes

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JO: A mind probe?

DOCTOR: Oh, you don't want to worry about those things, Jo. As long as you tell them the truth, they can't do you any harm.

JO: They can't?

DOCTOR: No, of course not. Well, they're only sort of computers with a few extra knobs on. And you know how stupid computers can be, don't you? Now come and sit down, stop worrying. Come on. Sit down. Did I ever tell you the story about how I was once captured by the Medusoids?

JO: What are they?

DOCTOR: Medusoids? How can I describe them to you? Well, they're a sort of hairy jellyfish with claws, teeth and a leg.

JO: Erk!

DOCTOR: Anyway, they put me under one of these mind probes things, you see, and tried to get me to tell them where I was going. So, I said I was on my way to meet a giant rabbit, a pink elephant and a purple horse with yellow spots.

JO: What happened?

DOCTOR: Well, the poor old machine just couldn't believe it, had a nervous breakdown.

JO: And then what happened?

DOCTOR: Well, they put me under another one of these mind probe things and the same thing happened.

JO: But you weren't telling the truth. I mean, you weren't really going to meet a giant rabbit, a pink elephant and a, what was it?

DOCTOR: A purple horse with yellow spots. Yes, I was. You see, they were all delegates for the third Intergalactic Peace Conference.

JO: How did you get away from these things?

DOCTOR: Well they had to turn me loose eventually.

JO: Why?

DOCTOR: They ran out of mind probes.

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Transcript Needs checking

Episode One

[Spaceship Bridge]

(A utilitarian space ship is travelling between star systems. One of its crew reports back to base.)

HARDY: This is Earth cargo ship C982 on course and on schedule. We shall be entering hyperspace in fifty seconds.
STEWART: Do you know what I'd like?
HARDY: What?
STEWART: A job on one of those luxury space liners. First Officer on the Mars Venus cruise, that'd suit me.
HARDY: You can keep it. Spit and polish, cocktail parties and all those passengers?
STEWART: Gold braid uniform, beautiful stewardesses? Yeah, I'd take that any time.
HARDY: You'll more likely wind up pushing a battle cruiser.
STEWART: There's not going to be an interplanetary war.
HARDY: Didn't you see the videocast last night? The President of Earth's government deplores the Draconian attack on two of Earth's cargo vessels.
STEWART: Look, they steal a few of our cargoes, we steal a few of theirs. It'll all blow over. Right, we're ready for the jump.

(Stewart straps himself in.)


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