The Rescue

“Then I’ve got nobody”

C’est un joyau négligé, avec deux êtres brisés se rencontrent sur une planète presque morte et qui se sauvent tous les deux de la solitude. 

Mais ce qui frappe donc ici c’est l’humanité du récit!

C’est d’abord l’histoire d’un peuple fantomatique qui se venge silencieusement. 

C’est aussi l’histoire d’une jeune fille qui se bat contre des abus et la cruauté d’un homme. 

Et c’est surtout l’histoire d’un vieillard compatissant qui ne veut plus jamais rester seul.

Il n’y a pas de monstres. Juste nous. 

I really like Vicki :]

"We're here to help, my child." 

A fun two part story. Well paced and a simple story, but does a good job at introducing us to a new companion in the form of Vicki. A character immediately with more story and development than Susan ever got, and while some of the performance is a bit of a Susan 2.0, I do like how her and The Doctor get along immediately, his grandfatherly and softer side immediately coming through to sooth and ease her. It's sweet.

The story itself is simplistic. With the reveal being rather obvious. I do like the design of the ship, the interior and exterior as well as Koquillion, it's a fun, silly design, but works in the context of the story.

Not my favourite of all time, but it's a nice, fun, simple two parter.

👍🏼(7.52) = GOOD!

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

David Whitaker brings us this two-part story to introduce the new companion Vicki, who'll join the Doctor, Ian, and Barbara in the TARDIS.

We see Vicki and the only remaining crew member of her crashed spaceship on Dido at the story's beginning, even before we meet the TARDIS travellers. Vicki's exuberance at potentially receiving rescue is contagious. I also enjoy the warm friendship between the three regulars.

Susan’s exit is touched upon slightly, and we see how it affects the Doctor. This is a nice bit of character continuity, even if it is forgotten by the end of the adventure.

While Susan establishes a friendship with Vicki, the Doctor and Ian struggle to understand the current situation and partake in a cave-climbing sequence that is almost as tedious as the one in The Daleks but thankfully much shorter. If The Rescue does one thing right, it is to properly introduce Vicki and allow us to get a feel for her. She is a bit more well-rounded than Susan and has excellent chemistry with the Doctor from the beginning.

Part 1 ends with a rather weak cliffhanger (the sword trap thing is silly), but at least we see the Doctor and Ian supporting each other much better than before. Although their portion of the adventure aims to create tension and excitement, it lacks the engagement of the Barbara/Vicki plot.

In Part 2, a wonderful scene unfolds between Vicki and The Doctor, as the latter tries to win her over. This is the moment they form an important bond, revealing the new grandfatherly side of this Doctor. Later on, she has another great bonding moment with Ian and Barbara as they discuss the Doctor and the TARDIS.

I like the scene of the Doctor entering the People's Hall and revealing Bennett’s ruse. The moody lighting and Hartnell’s strong acting make it a wonderful scene. The scene also features a rare (and brief!) fight scene for the First Doctor.

Dido's simple setting and small cast (the regulars, the two crashed humans, and Koquillion) remind me of a Big Finish audio, and the cost-cutting measures allow for a greater emphasis on the characters and the story's progression.

This adventure features simple production values, and while some editing and directorial techniques may seem outdated these days, they largely contribute to the story.

William Hartnell is very grandfatherly here, but also quick-witted and well-spoken. Maureen O'Brien is instantly likeable as Vicki, with optimism and a strong sense of justice driving her actions. Jacqueline Hills shows a newfound fearlessness after kicking Dalek ass in the previous adventure, and this is what initially gets her off on the wrong foot with Vicki.

Koquillion's design is simple but effective, but the mystery of his true identity never felt particularly compelling at times, and even less so upon a rewatch. It's pretty obvious what's going on when you think about it. There’s not much time to do much with the character, and he remains somewhat forgettable, even if he turns out to be a murderous maniac.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• The Doctor has visited Dido before. That’s an adventure I wish we could read about one day.
• Other names considered for Vicki were Tanni, Lukkie, and Millie.
• The second episode of The Rescue was the first Doctor Who episode to reach the top ten most watched programmes of the week in the UK and remains one of the highest-charting episodes in the programme's history.

The Rescue: 9.3/10 - The Rescue was a fantastic serial. I was a bit apprehensive at first of a companion introduction being only 2 parts but damn did it work well. I honestly didn’t see Bennet being Koquillion and thought that plot twist was very good. The line where the doctor forgets Susan isn’t there was so precious as well. I also think the tension between Vicki and Barbara after Barbara kills the creature was nice. I think my only problem was the nonexistent explanation for the two people at the end who save the doctor from Koquillion but I can look past that.

This is a fun two-parter that introduces us to Vicki. With Susan leaving, this is our first companion changeover, but production and the cast do a great job at making this all feel like a realistic part of the universe where this is fluidly happening. No awkwardness, Vicki is introduced and shows off a lot of potential out of the gate. What is less remarkable is the story itself, which I found a pretty simple affair with the whole "fake monster" angle. It works enough, even if I am very glad it wasn't dragged out beyond two episodes.

This is a perfect 2 parter honestly one of the best

After leaving defeating the Daleks and leaving his grand-daughter behind him it is understandable that the Doctor seeks out rest, but the TARDIS has other plans. They land in the future on an alien planet and a fairly ordinary two-parter ensues. I think it is true to say that this is more of an introductory episode for Vicki then anything else.

There is some thoughtfulness in the script. Barbara is scared for her life and kills an innocent sand monster, not understanding it had good intentions, as soon as Vicki reveals to her that it was an innocent creature she immediately feels guilty - so it has some stakes. I am glad that over the 11 stories not all the aliens have been evil, showing there is plenty of good in the universe. I am disappointed though that The Doctor played down the tragedy of this creature's death in order to win Vicki round to liking Barbara. It would have been interesting to see Vicki learn to forgive Barbara on her own merits.

There are nice moments, Barbara and Ian have plenty in common with Vicki as a companion - they are both from Earth and trapped outside of time. My main worry with Vicki is that she will take Susan's role directly in the TARDIS and have little to do that we have not already seen.

Another short one from the same writer as “Edge of Destruction”. One thing is clear: David Whitaker knows these characters inside out.

We land on the planet Dido and start of with a small rescue ship. After a huge explosion among locals, the 2 passengers are the only creatures left alive, but are threatened by another local force.

This story introduces us to Vicki, the new companion that will replace Susan. In some ways, it might be justified to call her a bit of a Susan clone, but I think this story makes the differences quite clear.

Vicki seems, at first glance, different from Susan in a few ways. She’s quite temperamental, way more than Susan was, and at the same time isn’t as knowledgeable as the girl that was there from the start. This connect wonderfully to the changes our main character has had in the last season. He always had a parental role, but with Vicki, he has to take more time, take her through the steps way slower than Susan and make time for emotions. It’s lovely, because it allows him to use the skills he has now learned through his travels.

The other characters shine bright as well. Ian and Barbara get some fun moments together, which is surprisingly rare. Their dynamic is great. Ian still has a little sternness, but it is less pronounced this time. Maybe the doctor rubbed off on him a little. I wonder if we get back to that.

The doctor, as mentioned, also gets some new stuff to do. There are several highlights for him in this episode. He gets a fantastic opener, where he dances around the tardis, gets a bit forlorn about Susan, and immediately pick himself back up when he gets help. His more energetic self is a joy. That energy also gets channeled later on. For the first time, it is the doctor that gets an actual fight scene, which is great.

The best moment by far, however, is the meeting with Vicki. He’s the grandpa who just lost his granddaughter and meets the girl who just lost her parents. It’s a great dynamic and immediately feels comfortable. Like a family has already been formed. I can’t wait to see more.

The overall story is fine too. It’s clearly a character tale first and foremost, but it is serviceable. Has a neat mystery that allows for fun moments, more than being strong on its own. That’s completely okay!

The Rescue and Edge of Destruction are like two peas in a pod. Both are small scale, short, but with leaps in character growth that are some of the best moments in the show. I hope we get tons more of this, because it is fantastic.

The Rescue is by no means a perfect story, being part of an era better suited to longer stories and having to serve as a companion introduction above everything else means it squanders some of the potential in its mystery and, in my opinion, somewhat rushes Vicki's forgiveness of Barbara. But really these are minor complaints about a story I adore.

At its core the Rescue is a really great introduction to Vicki, you really get a sense of how young she is and the hell she has been through since crash landing on Dido, even before Bennett/Koquillion's true nature is revealed. At the same time she still has this sense of fun that her character will retain as she joins the TARDIS as we learn of Sandy, a large dangerous looking creature who she has been keeping almost as a pet.

I find Sandy's death to be truly heartbreaking, Sandy is potentially the only being left in the universe who truly cares for Vicki when we meet her, and it is in the story's handling of Barbara shooting him that I feel it falls short. While yes, Barbara did believe it was necessary to save Vicki, there's a lack of understanding in how Barbara, Ian, and The Doctor all insist to Vicki that she should instantly forgive Barbara and move on from what happened almost immediately. I find myself struggling to understand why she would choose to leave with these people. While they may have revealed to her what Bennet had done, rescue was only a few hours away and didn't require her to instantly forgive the pain they caused her however unintentionally. While I have gone on about it some, this is overall a minor gripe, and probably just my 21st century morals and concerns clashing with those of the 1960s.

Overall I'd heartily recommend this story if you've not seen it, especially if you are looking to dip your toes into the first Doctor's era for the first time, or even Classic Who. As its only two parts, The Rescue is a lot faster paced than other stories of the era so a good one to try if you are not yet used to the storytelling of the 60s, and of course my beloved Sandy is in it who I am sure everyone will fall in love with.