Doctor Who (TV Series) The Enemy of the World: Episode 6 (1968) User Reviews

A hugely enjoyable story

[GusF · 9/10 · 27 December 2013]

This may only be the page for the final episode but I'll review the entire serial.

As some of you made have heard, this story was rediscovered recently! I held off watching it on iTunes as I wanted to treat myself with the DVD for Christmas. I'd listened to the BBC soundtrack years ago but I'd forgotten what a good and what a fun story it is. It was so exciting watching a complete, rediscovered story, the first full story to be found since I became a fan.

It may be a fairly silly accent but Patrick Troughton is excellent as Salamander and you can tell that it was a thrill for him to play the baddie in "Doctor Who" for once! The guest cast is very strong, particularly Bill Kerr, Colin Douglas, Mary Peach and Carmen Munroe, and the characters (especially Giles Kent and Donald Bruce) get a great chance to develop over the course of six episodes. Milton Johns is rather camp as Benik but he never goes too far over the top. Some of the other accents are rather dodgy though. I'm not even sure what countries most of the characters were supposed to be from! I think that the entire cast bar the underused George Pravda and Carmen Munroe were British-born. I wish that the others had just used their natural accents. I knew that David Troughton made his first television appearance in the last two episodes so I was on the lookout for him. I'm fairly sure that he was the guard who was escorting Jamie and Victoria in the final episode but I only saw his face for a second.

The nature of the story means that the Doctor takes a backseat in the first half of the story while Jamie gets a great chance to shine. Victoria doesn't play as important a role - she gets to write out menus - but at least she gets a break from screaming at monsters! However, Jamie and Victoria might have well have disappeared from the story in the second half, given that they are entirely absent from the fourth episode and play only a small role in the fifth and sixth episodes.

As with most six plus episode stories, it drags a bit from time to time - the first half is certainly the strongest part - but, overall, it's a hugely enjoyable story. I've often seen this story described as "Doctor Who" does "James Bond" but, other than Salamander and the opening action sequence (which I was very impressed by), I don't really see the similarities. Even though it's based in the future, it has a great deal more in common with the First Doctor era historicals than either the "Bond" films or the other Season Five stories. I also like the fact that, unlike most Earth based stories, it takes place entirely outside Britain. I'm not sure if any other televised "Doctor Who" story takes place in either Australia or Hungary.

A truly wonderful final episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 24 February 2020]

The Doctor learns exactly what is going on, Salamander is forced into a corner, and has only one means of escape.

This has been a wonderful six part story, it's been exciting, imaginative and thrilling. A complex story which delivers on every level. The final scenes, the big showdown are sensational, leading us nicely into The Web of Fear.

Astrid has been a terrific central character, fighting against many of the sexual stereotypes of the time, she is brave, empowered, and ready to fight at the forefront.

I've been an avid fan of this show since I was eight years old, I had overlooked this story as being simply average, I've watched it several times since its discovery, and would now class it as one of the best of the black and white stories.

A superb last episode. 10/10

Enjoyable and solid throughout, strange at times but becomes really good in last few episodes.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 2 September 2014]

Review for all 6 episodes:

This is often said to be like a Bond adventure. Certainly it has that type of feel. It involves various locations around a near future Earth, political intrigue, spies, helicopters and chases, glamorous women and a Bond villain type enemy who is played by Patrick Troughton in a fabulous dual role. As the Doctor, Troughton is a genial, clowning and mercurial character. As Salamander, Troughton gets the chance to play a ruthless, slimy and powerful villain.

Throughout its 6 episodes this is solid, enjoyable and intriguing but it has some strange, awkward, slightly badly done moments in the first 3 episodes. The near future setting is not particularly convincingly realised. Jamie and Victoria are also given dialogue and actions not in keeping with the characters they are meant to be portraying. This happens a little bit in other stories but happens a bit more blatantly in this story. The final 3 episodes really crank up with great material for Troughton, interesting story developments and exciting action.

Overall a very good story if a bit below the extremely high level of series 5 brilliant standards in the first 3 parts.

My Ratings: Episodes 1-3 - 8/10, Episode 4 - 9/10, Episodes 5 & 6 - 10/10

S5: Enemy of the World: Odd story but forcefully delivered despite flaws

[bob the moo · 23 December 2013]

After the last few serials in this series essentially being the Doctor keeping aliens on the outside of a community of humans (in one way or another), this serial is set on a future Earth with no aliens or monsters per se. The plot sees the Doctor mistakenly the subject of an assassination attempt and it is this that leads him to learn that he is the pure spit of someone called Salamander. This man it seems is the leader of the world and is very much a dictator who is suspected of somehow using natural disasters as a weapon. Those seeking to bring him down try to use the Doctor to infiltrate and bring down the cruel ruler.

This plot is an odd one because it is so different from the usual Doctor Who stuff so far; no aliens, no monsters and a plot that is a bit more spy-orientated than it is pure sci-fi. It is also odd because it relies a lot on some unconvincing aspects – the old "exact double" thing being one of them but generally things happen and are accepted easier than makes sense. These things work against the plot but there are some very nice aspects and ideas – I like the background to Salamander's plot and I also liked the changes in some of the characters throughout the serial. What really helps is the performances – in particular Troughton, who is very enjoyable, which is really just as well since this whole thing was done to let him play two characters. He plays both very well and I guess it was only the limits of the time that meant he didn't have more than the one direct confrontation between characters. Hines is good here, although again it really bugs me that he seems to know all the modern references and grasp complex ideas despite being from the 18th century. Watling really continues to be forgettable for me – I cannot even picture her face. The supporting cast are generally good, Kerr, Peach, Douglas and others – although it is Munroe that sticks in the mind (although primarily because I know her from the 90's sitcom Desmonds!).

Enemy of the World is an odd serial but it works well because of how forcefully it is delivered by all involved. It has its flaws and problems but mostly it gets through them overall. On a side-note, my timing for watching the original serials is pretty good since the majority of these episodes and the next serial were only just discovered in Nigeria shortly before I reached them!