"Doctor Who" The Search (TV Episode 1965) Poster

(TV Series)

(1965)

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6/10
The Space Museum: Episode 3 - Very interesting first episode followed by 3 very disappointing episodes
A_Kind_Of_CineMagic12 August 2014
Review of all 4 parts:

The Space Museum

This adventure has a reputation for going downhill after its excellent first episode. I can see why so many people say that as that is EXACTLY what happens.

Episode 1 has the brilliantly interesting idea of the time travelling crew questioning how their actions can alter a future they have glimpsed but episodes 2 to 4, whilst not bad overall, are below usual high Doctor Who standards in many ways.

The TARDIS crew debate whether to act one way or another or even to do nothing, not knowing what actions may save them from the fate they have seen ahead in their future. This creates much interest in Episode 1 but is not explored well in the later episodes.

Unfortunately, episodes 2 to 4 are more or less just a pretty uninspired adventure dragging out the wait to see what their final fate will be with not much interesting happening in between. This contrasts with the great concept for the first part.

There are some decent elements in the later episodes but the standard is far below the first part of the story. This is largely due to the bad acting of the main villain and his fellow 'Moroks' who are all very wooden. The Moroks are embarrassing I think and they spoil what would otherwise only be a very unexceptional but perfectly acceptable few episodes. It still is not terrible but it is a let down after such a promising start because it doesn't continue as well and the Moroks are very weak.

All in all the adventure has one very good idea which it set up really well in episode 1 but then being undermined by the rest of the story leaving it as failing to reach its potential.

It is one of my less favourite Hartnell stories but certainly not a total dud. There are far worse stories around and I would happily rewatch this rather than most stuff on TV nowadays 👍🏻 Worth watching for the first episode alone.

My Ratings: Episode 1 - 8.5, Episode 2 - 5.5, Episode 3 - 5.5, Episode 4 - 5.5.

Overall average - 6.25/10.
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6/10
The Search
guswhovian13 August 2020
Ian, Barbara and Vicki are separated from each other, while the Doctor is being turned into a museum exhibit by the Moroks.

There's a real big dip in quality between this and "The Dimensions of Time". William Hartnell is on holiday this week, and his presence is sorely missed.

The acting situation with the guest stars hasn't really improved much. Ivor Salter is introduced as the bitter and unimaginatively named Morok Commander. Salter seems incredibly bored throughout the episode, turning in a terrible performance.

The plot strands that Ian, Barbara and Vicki get are pretty silly. Barbara spends quite a bit of the episode locked inside a storage room, while Ian doesn't really do anything at all. Vicki helps Tor and Sita break into the Morok armory with embarrassing ease.
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5/10
Dull as dishwater
Sleepin_Dragon4 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
With The Doctor captured by the Moroks, the three remaining crew members split, Ian goes in search of The Doctor, Vicki starts a revolution with the rebels, the Xerons, while poor Barbara hides and gets gassed.

All of the fascinating elements of Part one are essentially forgotten here, all of the terror has turned into a rather drab story of the Doctor and crew helping the good guys overthrow the cruel aggressors.

The Moroks are diabolical, and the Xerons aren't far behind, standing around hopelessly doing nothing. Only Vicki has an interesting story, she essentially starts and leads a revolution with character and humour. The Doctor is hidden, Barbara is poorly written, and Ian is rather good.

This could have been a classic, but essentially it's the crew helping the Xerons open a locked door. Poor 5/10
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4/10
You could almost skip this one
TARDIS_Tech_Support7 September 2022
I could imagine, back in the 1960s, having missed this particular episode, and not losing any of the plot. This is a true filler episode, with little to offer. The characters flurry about, doing nothing of any note. The antagonists do much of the same. The overall plot is a rehash of other, better episodes.

It is a shame, since the first episode of the serial showed so much promise. The Search does not live up to those expectations.

The characters needed something more to do, or perhaps an explanation of the events of the first episode should have been included in the narrative.

But no matter. This is a take-it or leave-it episode.
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