Barbara slay in this one - 10/10

📝9/10

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"The Aztecs: A Tale of Gods, Guilt, and Greatness"

John Lucarotti’s The Aztecs brilliantly immerses viewers in the richness of Aztec culture, offering a story that feels both authentic and enthralling. Its mix of grounded historical detail and moments of humor and tension sets it apart as one of the strongest serials in Doctor Who’s inaugural season.

The narrative thrives on the central conflict between the Doctor’s principle of non-interference and Barbara’s determination to alter history, creating compelling tension between the two. This is a character-driven story at its finest, with the power struggles and moral dilemmas fueling the plot.

Barbara takes center stage in what is arguably Jacqueline Hill’s finest performance of the series. Her arc—from defying the Doctor and clashing with the scheming Tlotoxl to ultimately recognizing her limitations—is both powerful and poignant. The story also cleverly splits the TARDIS team, using each character to explore different facets of Aztec culture before reuniting them for a gripping conclusion.

The Doctor’s romantic subplot with Cameca provides a surprising but delightful opportunity for William Hartnell to showcase his warmer side, even if it’s a minor detour in the larger narrative. Meanwhile, Ian gets his own standout moment, defeating Ixta in a thrilling duel that feels both strategic and satisfying.

Carole Ann Ford’s reduced screen time as Susan—thanks to the actress’s holiday—proves a blessing in disguise, sparing viewers from her usual histrionics and letting the focus remain on Barbara and the Doctor.

Tlotoxl, played with deliciously sinister flair by John Ringham, is a standout villain. His menacing, almost theatrical presence makes him a joy to despise, and he dominates the story with his cunning and malice. Ixta serves as a strong secondary antagonist, while Autloc adds a layer of nuance as a priest torn between tradition and compassion (even if Keith Pyott’s delivery occasionally feels a bit too relaxed).

Visually, The Aztecs impresses with its attention to detail. Despite some obviously fake backdrops, the production conveys a convincing sense of scale, particularly in scenes atop the Aztec temple. However, a few moments—such as the unconvincing effort to move a fake stone slab—struggle to maintain the illusion.

The pacing falters slightly in Part 3, where the narrative meanders, but it regains momentum as the tension escalates. The climactic duel in Part 2 and the ominous cliffhangers are standout moments of excitement and drama.

While the final episodes take a few narrative shortcuts to wrap things up, The Aztecs remains a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling, combining strong performances, thought-provoking themes, and impressive production values to deliver one of the most memorable adventures of Doctor Who’s early years.

The Aztecs has always been one of my favourite Hartnell stories, and is probably in my all time top ten of the whole series, classic and new (although I tend to be unable to limit myself to 10 and the titles tend to be a little changeable depending on the mood I’m in).  I must have watched it countless times before and it never fails to entertain and amuse me.

What struck me the most though, on this viewing, is how different it is to John Lucarotti’s previous script for the series: Marco Polo. This is everything that Marco Polo wasn’t for me. Superb sets and costumes coupled with an intelligent, tightly plotted script, brilliant performances and the regulars actually doing something rather than being on the sidelines.

Of the regulars, this is Barbara’s story and allows us the pleasure of Jacqueline Hill’s best performance as Barbara – her sparring with Tlotoxl is amazing. William Russell gets to be a proper action man coming up against a man who is basically his Aztec equal, Ixta. William Hartnell’s scenes with Cameca in the garden (and the heartbreaking scenes towards the end when they part) show that the softer side of the First Doctor was evident much earlier than we may sometimes consider. Even Carole Ann Ford’s Susan is less screamy and useless than in surrounding stories and although partly due to her ‘holiday’ episodes, gets some decent, if brief scenes, in the seminary educating children everywhere on what it was like to be a young, single Aztec girl. Her opinions on marriage are fun, if a little more like a emancipated 60s girl’s thoughts than an alien Time Lord’s.

John Ringham, as Tlotoxl, is probably the series best villain up to this point – far more menacing than Tegana and a character who actually succeeds in certain aspects of his dastardly plans. Possible a touch melodramatic at times (particularly in his final scene sacrificing the Perfect Victim after the TARDIS crew have escaped), but huge fun. His scenes of plotting against Barbara, in particular his tricking her into agreeing to have Susan punished, are a joy to watch. He is supported ably by Keith Pyott as Autloc, Ian Cullen as Ixta, Walter Randall as Tonila and Margot Van de Burgh as Cameca, all working together to create a believable Aztec community.

The script allows for these wonderful performances. Is there any scene better than the Doctor getting accidentally engaged to Cameca? It’s hilarious and is coupled with the wonderful scene where the Doctor casually mentions to Ian what has happened with William Russell’s brilliant double take. Episode 3 also has the superb scenes where Barbara saves Ian by threatening Tlotoxl and later where Tlotoxl and Tonila attempt to poison her. There are so many excellent scenes across the four episodes (in fact I cannot think of a duff scene or even line in any episode). The dialogue sparkles and even though it strays towards the ‘Shakespearean’ vibes I didn’t find appealing in The Crusade (or for that matter Marco Polo), it just seems to work in this instance.

In teaching us a little about the Aztec culture, the majority of information is concentrated on the practice of human sacrifice. We are presented with the balance of the priests of sacrifice and knowledge; we are given detailed information about the Perfect Victim and we have the odd nugget of detail dropped into dialogue such as the Aztecs not having invented the wheel. We also have the reason for Barbara’s drive to change the Aztec way of life in her explanation of the arrival of Cortez – although we never actually see this for ourselves.

The costumes and sets look authentic and are in no small part responsible for how wonderful this story is as a whole.

I honestly cannot think of one bad thing to say about this story and look forward to watching it again some time in the far distant future when I’ve finally finished this marathon.

A strong and wonderful classic Doctor Who episode. Often cited as a high mark for both the First Doctor TV episodes and pure historicals in general, perhaps even used as a standard of quality for these types of stories going forward.

Sure, it might have the odd dodgy set or performance in the one-take marathon that is the First Doctor's era, and yes, the writing can be a little slow sometimes, but it largely holds up. I think the most effective aspect of this episode and where it gets a certain timeless quality to it (aside from the black and white minimizing the special effects weaknesses) is how respectful it feels towards the Aztecs. We are engaging with the era instead of treating it with stereotypes or dehumanization. Barbara gets to shine here but I really think it is a pretty well-balanced adventure overall. A pretty strong chapter in early Doctor Who.

Psh. And they say the classic doctors are non-sexual creatures.

This is a Barbara episode, which was just what was needed. She had until now established herself the least, but this gives her the chance to show off her pragmatic cleverness and some of her morals. Which is great stuff.

The other focus is the rewriting of history. Can it be done? And should it be done? It’s kind of difficult to look back on with the modern knowledge, because that doesn’t really allow me to judge this attitude on its own. It also feels slightly contradictory. Didn’t they interfere with the daleks? With Marco? With Marinus? So why now?

Modern knowledge pushes me towards this being a ‘fixed point in time’, but that’s very handwavy. Instead, I think we can look at it as the show discovering what it wants to be. At this point, that’s still a diary through history, instead of true fiction. I know a shift in that perspective is coming, and I wonder how it is handled. Will it suddenly appear or will it transition. Time will tell.

The other elements in this story work well. Ian has shown himself as capable throughout the episode, but might comes before the fall, which is a small, but fun subplot. The doctors romance is mostly comedy, but it gave me a big smile. I also like how the 2 overlap to test the relationship between our cast, which is very strong by now.

I do think the major villain is pretty weak. He basically walks around, plans and hates, which could be good, but gets monotonous. The strongest villains are the ones who have an understandable perspective, but are still a hindrance (like Marco Polo). Still, he works for getting the most out of our cast (except Susan, but that’s fine for an episode).

I wonder if moral clashes are going to come more often in these stories, that would be interesting. For now we have a pretty good tale of a society that just wasn’t ready for change, but also some hope, because there was a first shift within its people. It’s a bit of a pessimistic approach, but it is done well enough that that isn’t a hindrance.