Marco Polo

“A caravan that flies !”

Il n’en reste que quelques fragments d’images perdues et figées et pourtant c’est toujours plein de vie.

Lucarotti raconte ici la douleur de l’exil et le partage, et Marco Polo est donc avant tout un puissant récit d’émancipation. Mais en plus c’est cette lutte pour l’émancipation qui unit chaque personnage. 

Ils viennent en effet des confins d’Asie, d’Angleterre, de Venise, ou même du fin fond de l’espace. Pourtant ils sont tous prisonniers de systèmes complexes, et ils se battent et vivent pour s’en libérer ! 

Alors en attendant, ils partagent quelques instants au coin d’un feu et rêvent des étoiles. 

Mais bientôt ils devront tous reprendre la route.   

(I watched the second Loose Cannon reconstruction.)

There are two major things dragging Marco Polo down and that's the racism and the fact that it really didn't need to be seven parts long. The events of this serial happen over a fairly long time period, making each episode almost its own separate little story on the same theme, but unfortunately that theme is ""Let's get to the TARDIS and get out of here!", "Oh no! Marco Polo isn't letting us get to the TARDIS!"" repeated multiple times

Marco Polo : 9.6/10 - just finished Marco Polo. Fantastic story! I think that Marco Polo and Tegana are two of the most well written characters in the shows history. I loved the anti-hero vibes that Marco Polo gave off and the looming threat of Tegana was fun watching through the whole story. There were some segments that dragged on and I think Barbara could have been used better but in total, its an amazing story. The sets were also something that impressed me. They were really well made for the time and it seemed like there was so many of them. The yellowface is pretty obvious but it was normal for the time so im not gonna rant on about it that much. 

So an immediate caveat - this story contains many examples of yellow face and that is not acceptable through modern eyes - or indeed in general. This is not the worst example of it (mostly because time passed after this story) but it is worth noting. For this review I watched the Loose Cannon reconstruction and also listened to the soundtrack release - which is an interesting combination to get as full a picture as possible from a completely lost story with no official release.

I'm a fan of true historicals - and indeed in the first few series of Doctor Who I'd strongly argue that the best stories are the true historicals over the sci-fi elements that are often a lot more pondering. Marco Polo in particular stands out as unlike most stories its explicitly set over a fairly prolonged period of several months with big gaps in the middle as Marco Polo's retinue (including the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan) passes from the Himalayas to Beijing. I think this is a big advantage - considering that we're fresh out of a trio of quite compressed opening stories and moving towards a different dynamic amongst the main cast (where the Doctor is more obviously one of the good guys, and not as morally ambiguous as the opening set of stories suggest) really helps that - there's an element of solidarity build up amongst the TARDIS crew at simply trying to escape.

While we cannot fully judge the visual elements of this story the tele snaps and photos make this look really impressive considering the budget of the show - and I think that's an element common with a lot of the early historicals (perhaps helped by being able to borrow more set pieces from other places). Of the missing stories its one of the ones that I most want to see video evidence of simply to see how the settings were conveyed on screen.

The story is also enjoyable - seven parters can drag and while this was not free from filler there was plenty here. The fact that the story moves locations a lot really helps this feel big - the desperation of the Doctor and others as they approach Shang-Tu where their chance to escape will vanish; Marco's increasing annoyance at his unexpected companions (and, somewhat notably, the first time that word is used to describe the Doctor's companions); and Tegana's schemes increasingly coming out - first appearing as a superstitious person before his real aim (representing Nogai against Kublai) becomes clear. The seven parts don't really drag in this - although there are a few moments where it feels like they filled screen time with either another failed escape in the TARDIS or Ian talking to Marco about them escaping. The climax works really well - Ian (imprisoned again after not convincing Ling-Tau of Tegana's intentions) manages to get Marco to intervene in Tegana's regicide attempt; and then Marco lets the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan escape because of that act. It is very rushed and abrupt but I think works in the context of the story.

The disadvantages are the points where the script gets reductive with the 'escape get caught' stuff that Doctor Who at its worst is very bad at - although there are worse offenders here. Overall though this is a very fun story - and well worth seeking out.

This story is the first missing story in my marathon, all 7 parts of Marco Polo are missing which is an extreme shame. Like I said in my last review Marco Polo used a lot of money, from the costumes to the sets.  the story aired 22nd February 1964 - 4th April 1964.

Before I get into this review, the story has sone characters using yellow face it is wrong then and is wrong now, I’m not gonna act like it didn’t happen but I am not going to let it effect so story, as it’s a product of it’s time.

We start with roof of the world, The Tardis team rush out to see what Susan and Barbara have found, it appears that they have found a large footprint in the snow at the top of a mountain. This story starts off very well you truly feel they are all one United team now which is amazing. Anyway after the events of The Edge of Destruction the Tardis had ran into a technical difficulty, meaning they can’t get any food or water or fly the ship away. Which is quite terrifying cause after they wonder if they will freeze to death which is a horrible thought. Then suddenly after Ian n Barbara go in search of fuel, Barbara sees a figure in the tundra. Ian and Barbara rush back to the Tardis and tell the others what they saw, leading to another sighting of the figure. They follow him leading to Tegana who thinks they’re some evil spirits and go to destroy them, but suddenly Marco Polo steps out and stops him. They take the crew back to there shelter where a girl Ping-cho is making soup, we learn a little about Marco Polo and high altitude we also learn that they are travelling to Shang-Tu in Cathay. I love the music and what we can see of the sets in this story. At night Susan and Ping-cho talk throughout the night, we learn she is going to marry a man who is 75 years old getting a bit of a shock about arranged marriages at the time. We then cut too Marco Polo and Tegana talking in his tent, Tegana still thinking they are evil spirits even commenting on how there caravan has no wheels and can’t hold 4 people, the caravan being the Tardis. At sunrise the crew minus the Doctor go back to the Tardis, when Marco asks about how the ship moves Ian says it flys, which he’s not wrong about but it feeds Tegana’s suspicions even more. I love how the story adds a natural reason why the crew can’t go straight away, with Marco becoming more interested in the Tardis and with it broken down too. Back down the mountain the Doctor and Ping-cho talk, I love how much the Doctors developed from the first few stories at the start of this season. Marco, Ian, Barbara and Susan return informing the Doctor that they are going to make a sled for the Tardis to be brought down. Marco Polo wishes to continue travelling with the crew and the Tardis to Lop, his main reason being Tegana and his men think the 4 are evil spirits outside there caravan they are harmless, But it seems he has another motive. We now get the first of many map shots I love the map shots very creative and helps show off how far the crew have traveled. We also get diary segments in these segments learning more about Marco polos head space at the time. When the crew reach Lop Marco is arranging to get food and water sorted for there journey into the desert. The Doctor tries to get to the Tardis to try n fix it but the mongols stop him. This Leads to a lot knowledge about Marco’s personal history as all he wants is to go home, using the Tardis as a bargaining chip to let his master let him leave. The Doctor of course goes off this makes the tension in the story go up tremendously, the Doctor then laughs in annoyance which is quite fun to see even though he has no idea what to do. In the next scene we see Tegana talk to a bandit, grabbing some poison to use on Marco Polos water, telling the bandit they will then take the Tardis to make Kublai Kahn tremble. A really good cliffhanger to this episode.

Roof of the world is a good starting episode to Marco Polo, however with the story being lost it’s hard to judge the acting mannerisms of the characters. I’m using the most recent telesnap loose cannon reconstruction LC39 for this story, the quality is amazing and really helps with knowing what’s going on.

The next part the singing sands, we get a recap of the cliffhanger and then get more lovely music and more map n Marco polos diary entries, this time talking about how the Doctor has been insulting him which is such a first Doctor thing to do. We then get a scene in the tent with the crew having some dinner, the Doctor seemingly has not joined the group, and isn’t in the episode much because of it. Ian talks about the water for their travels, with Tegana having poisoned all the barrels apart from the first, (they of course have no idea yet.) a barrel lasts 5 days meaning the the crew have 5 days to notice if the other barrels are tampered with, Tegana asks for more water after this to use it up faster. We have some nice moments with Marco in this story, playing chess with Ian some good menacing moments from Tegana here, and apologising for Susan that the Doctor isn’t joining them. Susan leaves to take some food to him but then leaves upset, Barbara leaves to comfort her. this is one of my favourite scenes between Barbara and Susan, talking about how they should be travelling enjoying there travels, we really get an amazing insight into both of there mindsets. Susan even saying maybe one day we will find a place to stay her scenes of wanting to belong, I love the vindication I get during this marathon with certain expanded media parts being mentioned like Susan wanting to belong somewhere. The two part for the night Susan heading to bed while Ian and Marco still play chess, Susan n Ping-cho talk again into the night again, I love there relationship it’s so wholesome. The two sneaking out while the others sleep to see the moon, then seeing Tegana and go to follow him. Ian and Marco wake up Marco sences a sandstorm on the horizon I love how even the elements are a danger on this journey. Susan and Ping-cho ended up loosing Tegana, but soon the sand storm is upon them, finding shelter by a sand dune. The way the sand storm is sound designed is amazing like devils laughing as Ian says. Marco at the tent even says it could sound like the sands calling your name, the 3 suddenly realise Tegana, Ping-cho and Susan are missing, Barbara tries to run out n get them but Marco n Ian stop her. I love how it’s really showing how much Barbara has gotten attached to Susan on these travels. Back to Susan the sands start calling for Susan’s name, Tegana however finds them and brings them back to the tent. Marco and Barbara rightfully furious at them in a loving but angry way. Barbara tries to convince Marco to stay for 1 day here but Marco rightfully says, 1 day not moving is 1 days water waisted and that could mean life or death. Again I love how the elements are a threat as well as Tegana. After another map and diary entry, Susan and Ping-cho talk about Tegana, how he must have had a reason to leave the tent, Ping-cho giving us some knowledge of Tegana. In Marco’s tent Tegana questions Marco’s reason for keeping a journal. Anyway Tegana leaves and manages to cut sabotage the water supply cutting it and letting it spill out on the floor. I do wonder what the point of showing the poison was if Tegana was just going to sabotage the water anyway, however I guess you could say he was impatient and wanted to get this over with. In the morning the crew discover this and discuss how long the water they have will last and if they should turn back to Lop. Marco suggests bandits caused this, which is quite a reasonable assumption. They seem to have two choices, go back to Lop or try and find the oasis up north, Marco agreeing with Ian and they start to head north, Tegana however heads back to Lop saying it’s a death sentence to look for the oasis, but really needs to meet with the man he made a deal with in part 1, Marco tries to keep Tegana with him. We get another diary map segment talking about how the heat is exhausting and how they might not make it too the oasis. The crew sit under a wagon for shade, Marco pours out some water for everyone, Tegana who was forced to stay now tries to leave again taking his horse and riding off to find the oasis, again having a hidden motive. As everyone starts to head out again, the Doctor collapses, Barbara saying to Marco he needs to rest in his Tardis Marco agrees, Susan also goes with him but Marco doesn’t let Ian or Barbara go in so the other two don’t think of flying away. When you think about it 2 stories ago the Doctor would have so flew away and left Ian and Barbara. After that we cut to Tegana who manages to get to the oasis and drinks, and gives us my favourite cliffhanger of the story, pouring water while shouting here’s water Marco Polo come for it, amazing cliffhanger.

This part really shows off how long the journey has taken the crew, at least a month has gone by as this point I believe and you really feel all there emotions at this point in the story.

The next part five hundred eyes begins with a map n diary entry, we learn though this that Tegana hasn’t come back and that Marco is worried about the lack of water, this works well as a mini recap along with playing the last part of the singing sands, it really helps catch up new audience members. In the Tardis the doctor is awoken by water dripping on his head which is amazing use of teaching about condensation, Susan and the Doctor try to gather as much water as they can and run out to give the crew. Marco thinking the Doctor lied to him, leading to Ian having to explain to Marco the science behind it. The crew now having the Tardis water have enough energy to meet up with Tegana at the oasis, Tegana looking shocked and surprised by this. At the oasis Barbara manages to convince Marco to stay for the night and the doctor thinks he can fix the broken circuit in a week. Barbara comments on not believing Tegana’s story about bandits thinking he didn’t want to come back with water. In another map diary segment we learn that Marco has now got the Doctors Tardis key as they arrive at their next destination Tun-Huang. While there there the crew explore and talk about the cave of 5 hundred eyes, Ping-cho saying she will tell a story of it later. The Doctor reveals that he’s given Marco A key but has made another Tardis key to continue work on the Tardis later. I love the next scene, Ping-cho tells a story on the cave the music used and the set is amazing as well as the writing of the story and how it’s performed. Everyone gives Ping-cho a round of applause once she’s finished, I love how she isn’t a companion but since the crew have been with her so long and she’s made a nice friendship with Susan she kind of feels like one. Barbara still suspects Tegana is up to something and fellows him, I love how Barbara is shown to have good intuition. At the cave of 500 eyes Tegana meets an old man and follows him through the caves, meeting with a group of people to arrange an ambush. The old man notices Barbara has followed Tegana and tells him, leading too Barbara being kidnapped. We cut into the next morning where Ian and Marco are furious that she’s gone missing, Tegana joins the search for her. Meanwhile in the caves two of Tegana’s people play a game to see who gets to kill her its disgusting and terrifying but amazingly done you really feel the urgency. Meanwhile the Doctor is being watched as he tries to enter his Tardis, the landlord of the house the crew are staying at. Susan stops him however, along with Ping-cho they think they know where Barbara is the cave of 500 eyes. The 3 go there to look for her in the cave Susan feels uneasy then realising the eyes are moving. A really good cliffhanger again.

This story has so much to talk about I love it honestly I do, but damn is it hard to review especially with no visuals. Anyway I really enjoy this part you get more of Barbara with her being right again, and Susan n Ping-cho friendship is on show again in peak form.

In the next part the walls of lies Ian, Marco and Tegana arrive at the cave, Ian finds the secret room Barbara is in and saves her from her captures. When the crew get back to there Homebase Tegana tries another tactic, saying Susan is a bad influence on Ping-cho and tries to get Marco to split them up, also suggesting the doctor has another key due to the landlord telling him. Tegana and Marco have such an interesting relationship I can’t tell if Tegana just hates Marco or if there’s unspoken respect for him. After that the Tardis team enter Barbara says she followed Tegana to the caves, Tegana calling her a liar then strides out the room. This leads to Marco taking Tegana’s advice and splitting up Ping-cho and Susan, in the next scene we get more map n diary moments talking about how they are closer to Shang tu. the Doctor Ian and Barbara talk about how far they have gotten with the circuit, and talk about how Susan must be feeling about being split up from Ping-cho, the Doctor telling them she saw the spare key too. We cut to the two girls talking about Tegana and Ping-cho is obviously upset that Susan will be leaving soon, once the Doctor has finished his work. Susan promises to say goodbye to her before they leave. We get another map diary segment showing that have arrived near the Great Wall of Cathay. Tegana tells Marco he’s going into town, this gives Ping-cho an idea to prove Tegana lied, quoting Tegana as proof. Marco of course doesn’t accept this as such and says it’s reckless to say such things. Tegana meets with his men, talking about slaughtering the crew in the upcoming forest. The next scene in the courtyard, the crew try to get ready to leave as Barbara watches guard the Doctor gets into the the Tardis. Tegana soon enters the courtyard however, so Barbara tries to find Ian to help distract Tegana. Ian finds Marco and tries to distract him, talking about Susan and Ping-cho but Tegana walks in telling Marco the Doctor is in the Tardis. Tegana is proven right and the Doctor is forced to give the key to Marco, he calls for the guards and officially ceases the Tardis in the name of Kublai Kahn. We then get another diary entry which works amazingly just after that scene giving us a little of what Marco is feeling. The next scene Ian is frustrated and tries to get a plan to get to the Tardis using a broken plate to cut his way out the tent, also using the plate getting closer to the guard but the guard has already been stabbed. An alright cliffhanger for the part to finish on I feel maybe I would have made Marco ceasing the Tardis the cliffhanger but oh well.

This part is very character focused mainly on the relationships between the main and supporting cast, I love how the whole team are on the same page about Tegana it really adds to their unity and companionship.

The next part Rider From Shang-Tu, Tegana’s men have slowly started there attack waiting for there signal, the Tardis team try to warn Marco about the bandit attack, Ian prepared to defend and Susan and Barbara go into the tent to look after Ping-cho. The Doctor tries to convince Marco to give him back his keys he refuses of course, this leads to Ian using his science teacher skills to know about how bamboo reacts to fire and use that for defence. The bandits start to think of making a sport of their fight, Ian comes clean to Marco about their original plan having a very good scene about how important the Tardis is for both of them. Tegana starts to suggest there are no bandits but suddenly noises slowly heard as the bandits advance leading to the crew fighting Tegana killing his own men, the bamboo explodes and the bandits run off. After that victory we get another map and diary segment I love these segments it really gives you a time frame to work off of, as they edge closer to Shang-Tu. The Tardis team still start to think of escaping, Marco taking them as prisoners in a way under house arrest. The Doctor starts to realise Tegana knew the bandits and Barbara starts to connect the bandits she saw in the cave of 500 eyes.  Ping cho and Susan come into the tent with a rider from Shang Tu named Ling Tau, he is here to request the caravan to speed up. This leads to Marco to plan that once they get to Cheng-ting the crew must go on horse back and send the Tardis and other supplies to come later. Ping Cho also finds out where the Tardis keys are hidden. I love how Ping Cho has a lot of respect for Marco but does what she thinks is right. Anyway after another map diary segment we find out that it took a week ish to get to Cheng-Ting, meaning they must have been on this journey for at least 2 months now right maybe more. Marco gets things ready for journey to Shang-Tu getting a man Wang-Lo who helps get the luggage from the journey ready to transport. We then get a nice Susan and Ping Cho scene where there naming different fish people they know, it’s honestly so cute and we even get a nice moment where Susan says without the Tardis she can’t get home, and Ping Cho says she can’t say where the key is as she promised Marco, and Susan promises no one will ask her. It’s so nice how they value there friendship. Later Tegana bribes a man named Kuiju who agrees to steal the Tardis and take it to Karakoram. While Marco writes his diary Ping Cho calls him for dinner and while he goes she pockets the Tardis keys, later giving them to Susan technically not breaking her promise to Marco just so Susan can get home. Susan again promises to say goodbye. The crew later that night try to make another escape Susan however promised to say goodbye to Ping Cho and then when she comes back she is grabbed by Tegana.

This cliffhanger is very sudden but in a good way the part flew by, and honestly might be one of the most fun of the story. I’m also gonna stop pointing out the map segments now cause I think I’ve said all I can say I love them a lot though.

Part 6 The Mighty Kublai Kahn begins with Ian trying to get Tegana to release Susan, Tegana won’t though until they release the key and give it back to Marco. Ian has a nice moment of being heroic with having him take the blame for Ping Cho. Barbara manages to trick Ian into talking to Marco, we then get a lovely scene with Ian and Marco talking about the Tardis and Ian giving Marco the truth, Marco of course doesn’t believe this however this then leads to Marco realising Ian didn’t steal the key. Ping Cho in a scared choice tries to flee the group. Once they discover she is missing Marco lets Ian go find her which is nice it’s showing they have bonded and that he wants to trust him. Ian manages to track Ping Cho down after she had been tricked out of her money by Kuiju the same man who was told to steal the Tardis. Just before the crew make it to Kublai Kahn’s palace, Susan n Barbara tries to convince Marco that this arranged marriage is a bad idea for Ping Cho. So Marco in retaliation sends Tegana after Ian to get the pair back. When the group arrives at the palace after around let’s say 3 or 4 months in the journey (from my calculations they could have been longer) they are told to kneel which the Doctor struggles with, in a funny scene of him trying it bend down the Kahn and the Doctor end up bonding over this which is the best outcome. Ian and Ping Cho manage to find the man Kuiju and get him to admit the truth about conning Ping Cho and trying to take the Tardis,  but suddenly Tegana appears smiling an evil grin.

The story in total builds up Tegana as a really threatening villain, it’s nice to see him act like that more around the main cast especially for this cliffhanger. I love the pairing of Ping Cho and Ian for this too, and it’s also really fun to see some comedy peaking through a little in this part.

The final part assassin at peking, picks off where we left off. Ian and Tegana having a lot of tension then broken by Ling-Tau, the rider from Shang-Tu from part 5 and some soldiers killing Kuiju Ling-Tau not commanding it though. Tegana manages to manipulate his way out of it, Ling-Tau taking the 3 to Peking. At Peking the Doctor and the Kahn play some backgammon, the Doctor seemingly winning but the Doctor makes a most important wager and looses, the wager being the Tardis. The fact the Doctor lost the Tardis in a game of backgammon is hilarious. Ling-Tau then meets up with Marco and explains that Ian,Ping Cho and Tegana are in his custody, leading to Ian being questioned Ping Cho however was pardoned by her future husband who also moves the wedding for tomorrow morning. Ian tries to explain what happened but it becomes his word against Tegana’s. Tegana then tries to manipulate the Kahn, he is such a good villain. Marco then has a change of heart and tries to give the Tardis back to the Doctor, this leads to his barging of getting home failing, and also failing to give the Tardis back to the Doctor. The Kahn however isn’t a fool and does recognise Tegana’s power of manipulation. The next scene it’s revealed that Ping Cho’s husband to be died, he drank a potion that killed him. They ask why Ping Cho is not upset and she gives an amazing line, how can I greave for someone I have not met. I don’t understand why she chooses to stay though, when in the whole story she was talking about going home with Susan. After that Marco is told by the Kahn that he needs to earn back there trust or be thrown out of there court. After that meeting we cut too our Tardis crew talking about Tegana and wondering how they can stop him. Some really good United moments here between the four even escaping a guard together trying to get to the Tardis and stop Tegana. They run into Marco who then runs into the room as Tegana tries to swing his sword at the Kahn missing. The 2 of them then have a sword fight I wish I could see. It ends with Tegana disarmed and guards are called, leading to Tegana killing himself on the guards spear, very dark but very satisfying. Marco then gives the Doctor back his keys to the Tardis, and the four run off into the Tardis Susan and Ping Cho saying a little goodbye just before and set off on to another adventure, the Kahn let’s Marco leave after saving his life and I think Marco puts it best still wondering what the truth is he wonders where the crew are now the past or the future.

This ending was perfect and honestly the episode was pretty flawless, apart from the thing I mentioned at the start of this review. Over all this story was so much fun it really flew by, if you think about it the first 4 stories of s1 since they all lead into each other you could watch as a movie type thing. The 7 part episode length is very justified the only thing I wish is that the episode actually existed haha.

The first of the missing stories has distinct, well developed characters who jump out of the screen despite the lack of the visual cues. I ache to see the visuals for these 7 episodes but thankfully the loose cannon reconstruction shows off the beautiful sets and costumes used for the production. Its a particular shame to miss the sword fight in the final installment. The choreographer for this is credited, so I imagining it took a bit of coordination. I hope at least Marco Polo Part 7 is out there somewhere waiting to be rediscovered.

This story is most impressive for its large scale. As someone used to modern who, the length of this is pretty special in its own right. The characters of Marco and Ping-Cho are likeable and the journey is varied enough to stay interesting. The locations were sometimes a bit too much to keep track of, but most were distinct. It also dawdles a bit here and there, with several escape attempts and a few too many “Give me key? No!” conversations for my liking. Also, Tegana felt aimless at times. His villainy should’ve been obvious for ages, so why do we keep pretending like there’s nothing going on? Same goes for Marco’s regret for stealing the Tardis. They spent ages together, and suddenly on the last few pages, he gets a feeling of remorse. That could’ve been set up way earlier, especially since we have characters that can never reach their home, which is the exact situation Marco finds himself in. Ping-Cho’s marriage plot was also a bit waved away and slightly unsatisfying. She didn’t want to marry someone she didn’t love, so instead she…. Married someone she met 2/3 times. I like the way the old man died though. That was funny to me.

Okay, onto the stuff I actually really liked. Barbara got to flex her history muscle for arguably the first time in the show. It was very clear she knows her stuff. The Susan and Ping-cho combination was also solid and allowed for character building. Clearly portraying Susan as adventurous and optimistic. Which is something that adds to the (otherwise relatively grumpy) group dynamic. Ian got his heroic moments, but I wish Barbara’s knowledge was a bit more used at the end near the palace. The doctor shows his intelligence with the games of chess and backgammon, which is the first time he has really shown how smart he actually might be. The scale, as mentioned before, is also a really good selling point, and quite ambitious! Even if some of it is filled with an irritating sense of frustration between the parties.

Marco Polo is a little like the Holy Grail of Doctor Who. It’s the earliest missing story. Until recently all we knew about the story came from a few photographs and the audio soundtrack. The discovery of telesnaps (for all of the episodes bar episode four, The Wall of Lies) allowed us a more realistic glimpse into the story. Ultimately, though, Marco Polo has, for many years, rested on the laurels of its legacy. The pinnacle of historical stories, we are led to believe.

I beg to differ.

Comparing this to other historical stories, especially those from the first season, it pales into comparison next to The Aztecs and even The Reign of Terror. Marco Polo is just too long. Seven episodes is a rare story length for Doctor Who – the only other stories with 7 episodes are the triumvirate of Pertwee Season 7 serials: Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death and Inferno. Those stories, in particular Inferno’s parallel universe plotline, make good use of their seven episodes.

This story has the Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara join Marco Polo’s caravan for an interminable journey to meet Kublai Khan. The main thrust of the story revolves around the fact that Marco refuses to let the TARDIS crew return to their caravan (to which the Doctor needs to effect repairs) wishing to give it to the Khan as a gift. Around the fringes of the story are a blossoming friendship between Susan and Ping-Cho and the machinations of the villainous Tegana.

The journey for the characters is long and arduous, and unfortunately it is for the viewer as well. There is an awful lot of talk and not a lot of action. Every episode sees the TARDIS crew trying to convince Marco of their need to return to their ‘caravan’ and Marco refusing. Every episode sees Ping-Cho torn between her loyalty to Marco Polo and her friendship with Susan. Every episode sees Tegana attempt to sabotage the journey, generally fail, be caught out by one of the TARDIS crew and yet remain trusted by Marco.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this story for me is how underused the Doctor and Barbara are. Barbara, as the history specialist, is allowed a bit of ‘knowing the history’ at the beginning, but then spends the rest of the story suspecting Tegana of things which Marco never believes. Her kidnapping in Five Hundred Eyes and The Wall of Lies, is quickly forgotten and as far as I can tell she contributes nothing to the final few episodes. The Doctor disappears almost entirely for Episode 2 (so much so that, until he cropped up for one line towards the end I thought it must be one of the traditional ‘holiday’ episodes). In the next episode he collapses from exhaustion and dehydration. It is only when they meet Kublai Khan that the Doctor is given anything of significance to do. The idea of the aged Khan and the aged Doctor bonding over a game of backgammon is a lot of fun, but comes too little too late.

Added to this is the fact that when the villainous Tegana is defeated at the end of the story, it is Marco, rather than any of the regulars, who fights him leading him to eventually commit suicide. The TARDIS crew simply stand on the sidelines watching, receive the TARDIS key from Marco and depart literally minutes after Tegana’s death.

Throughout the entire story I just had the overriding impression that the TARDIS crew were merely bystanders. As the first proper historical story (100,000 BC was far more concerned with establishing the premise of the show than educating us ‘historically’) Marco Polo suggests that the historical story would gently educate us about famous figures from our past whilst the TARDIS crew potter impotently around the fringes. Thank goodness The Aztecs came along to see the regulars properly interact with history in the same way they were doing in the futuristic stories – contrast the roles of the TARDIS crew in The Daleks with their roles in Marco Polo and you may understand my dissatisfaction.

I think it is telling that The Beginning DVD box set of the first three televised stories contains a 30 minute version of Marco Polo as an extra. Frankly, it manages to tell exactly the same story and very little is lost. I am sure the costumes and sets looked wonderful, particularly for the time, but on the basis of the audio and images available I don’t think I am ever going to rate Marco Polo as one of the all time great lost serials.

✅80.7 = Mildly recommended!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! This time: befriending Marco Polo; surviving assassination attempts; and playing backgammon with Kublai Khan!

I adore the travel diary style of this series, accompanied by animated map sequences showing the route the group takes—something never seen in the show again.

The dialogue casually incorporates historical, cultural, and scientific lessons, reflecting the show's educational intent in the past.

From what you can tell from the surviving stills and telesnaps, the production values on this story are amazing, even on a BBC budget. Marco Polo has the feel of a big-budget TV period drama, so it's a shame it's all lost.

All performances are top-notch, from the main cast to the small but well-utilised guest cast. Mark Eden makes for one of the better takes on Marco Polo I've seen. He's not a villain, but not quite a hero either; he's more like a troubled leader, but also an unrelenting ally. I also love how naturally he becomes the reason that the Doctor and company cannot simply enter the Tardis and leave.

This is an interesting story for the Doctor. He's never quite in control of the situation, having to comply with Polo's demands, but he desperately tries to come out on top. William Hartnell is marvellous throughout.

Susan gets some nice scenes separated from the rest of the TARDIS team. Allowing her to get into trouble with a fellow teenager makes her less annoying. Ping-Cho, in turn, proves to be a better companion for this story than Susan.

Tegana is the first memorable villain in the franchise. He's sly, suspecting, and two-faced, performed sharply by Derren Nesbitt and never a loud-mouthed comic villain like some later ones; he is calm and calculative, which makes him very unnerving. I like how Tegana uses different ways of killing Marco and his men, keeping a light shadow of tension in the story.

Martin Miller brings a silly little performance as Kublai Khan, and I'm not sure what to think about it.

There are intense parts that unfortunately don't translate well in reconstructed form, such as the sandstorm in Part Two, which is a mess that makes my ears bleed, or the fight scene in Part Five.

This is a pretty slow story, mostly set on different campsites with very little action, so it is something of a chore to sit through even with such a great reconstruction. The repetitiveness of the plot in the middle episodes (parts Three to Five) and the slow plot development prevent Marco Polo from feeling like a true gem, particularly when there are sequences here that would benefit from moving pictures. It's the filler scenes, like Ping-Cho's story in Part Three, that hamper the story's flow and make it unnecessarily long.

The latter part of this serial, however, truly picks up the mystery and tension once again as Tegana comes very close to killing Polo. The Doctor also has a nice little moment with Kublai Khan in the last episode, using his wits and backgammon skills to win his TARDIS back. The show concludes with another fight scene that leaves our imaginations unsettled, revealing an ultimate fate more brutal than we've come to expect.

Sadly, there are some racist archetypes here, the worst of which is the fairly offensive Wang-Lo in the last three episodes and Tegana's henchman with the monkey in Parts Five and Six.