Doctor Who (TV Series) Colony in Space: Episode One (1971) User Reviews

A fairly rich and imaginative opening episode

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 22 August 2015]

I've ignored Colony in Space for a long time, so it's time to brush it down and give it an outing. My memory is one sadly of it being dull.

I'd forgotten how much occurs in Part 1,

The Timelords discuss how the Master knows where the plans to the Doomsday weapon are, so they decided to end the Doctor's exile, to send him once again into Space, to recover them. Jo Grant steps into the once marooned TARDIS, which starts up sending her and The Doctor to the planet Uxarieus. The Doctor and Jo are detained by the locals under suspicion of being mineralogists with a view to stripping the planet of its wealth. Two of the natives are killed by a giant lizard and something. Some strange natives are wandering around.

I loved Jo Grant, she was so unwilling in this adventure, she played it with such a sweet innocence.

It's worth watching to see Corrie's misery guts Gail crack a smile.

It's fairly well devised, a colony is starting out, their crops are being attacked, and there's some kind of threat, something's trying to force them out.

I've quite enjoyed the first part, it'fairly well written and produced, but why no talk of those aliens? and why is Helen Worth smiling? not much to get mega excited over, but it's not as bad as some claim. What's that awful device at the end?

7/10

A Change Of Pace

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 12 August 2010]

The Pertwee era splits fans of the classic series right down the middle . Some people positively hate it whilst some people like myself cherish the era . I guess one of the problems with the classic series is that if you didn't like the format different producers brought in then you'd be stuck because the format would last several years . Regardless of how you feel about NuWho one good thing is that if you hate a particular episode then don't worry too much because there will be another episode next week that will hopefully appeal to you . Variety is the spice of life with NuWho but this often wasn't the case with the classic series . Ironically my problem with NuWho is that the Tardis doesn't visit other planets enough

It was scriptwriter Malcolm Hulke who criticised the Earth bound format by saying they'd only be two plots - invasion from outer space and mad scientist . so baring this mind producer Barry Letts commissioned Hulke to write a story set on another planet . The story set up is rather contrived with the Doctor's exile being suspend briefly by the Time Lords in order to undertake a mission that involves the Master trying to get his hands on an ultimate weapon capable of destroying planets . The story itself takes place on a planet obviously inspired by the American frontier where homesteaders are getting forced out of the land they've farmed by a mining company

The story has been described as " cowboys and Indians in outer space " but this is very disingenuous to Hulke . He has written some very strong characters and you can see what motivates them . Caldwell could have easily been the clichéd " Good guy who realises he's working for a bad company " and we get strong performances from all the cast especially Bernard Kay as the aforementioned Caldwell . It's also interesting to see IMC wanting to liquidate The Master once they find out he's an impostor . It's very much a different and refreshing change of pace from what the contemporary audience had been used to for the last couple of years

Sadly Colony In Space comes very low in fans polls . Of the 160 stories from the classic series it often lands in the region of 115-125 in surveys . This is down to one simple reason - the novelization by Malcolm Hulke is so very good . We get chapters dedicated to characters like Captain Dent that shows what life is like on Earth and how the inhabitants live . Not even a modern day Hollywood blockbuster could live up to the picture painted by Hulke , it's an outstanding book , a novel in its own right that unfortunately no television show could live up to

Underrated Gem

[mrtanackqwertyuiop · 8/10 · 20 June 2019]

This serial starts off a bit slow but picks up mid way through. The second Delgado comes in, this serial becomes immensly interesting and doesnt slow down in pace. I put off watching this since I havent heard great things about this story, I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

One of Delgado's best performances and it's refreshing to have a non earth bound story from this era. Do not make the same mistake I made, pick this one up!

Way Out West

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 8/10 · 26 September 2014]

Review of all 6 episodes:

This is basically a Western plot adapted to space with a colony of farmers who equate to Wild West settlers, alien 'Primitives' playing the role of the Native Americans, the mining corporation which equates to mining companies, railroads etc in Westerns and The Master playing the role of a corrupt Marshall. The Doctor is sent on a mission by the Time Lords, presumably because they see he is far more suited than anyone in their society to engage in such actions, to stop The Master getting his hands on a 'doomsday weapon'. He is sent to the colony on a barren planet where a small group of humans are struggling to forge an existence with crops failing. There are indigenous 'alien' inhabitants known as 'primitives' who are mistrusted and slightly threatening from outside the colony but with some subservient primitives within the colony. The mining company seeks to push out the colonists and exploit the planet's minerals while the Master masquerades as an adjudicator to gain access to the Primitives ancient doomsday weapon.

The worst aspect of the story is the effects, sets and costumes which are all pretty shoddy. It does let down the production but the writing and acting mostly makes up for it.

The first episode is very interesting and really well done in terms of script and characterisation. It is not the most exciting or polished of episodes and the production values are disappointing but thanks to the acting and dialogue it holds up as a decent episode. The quality steps up in the next couple of episodes 2 & 3 with intriguing, absorbing drama, great characters, intelligent ideas, political and moral themes and smart dialogue. Pertwee is at his best as the Doctor and almost all the guest cast are strong. The story runs out of steam a bit in episodes 4 & 5. Once again it shows that stories longer than 4 episodes, with notable exceptions, often stretch a story. It puts pressure on keeping the quality up and on keeping the credibility up and those both suffer here as events get a bit silly at times and it gets less political and less interesting. It becomes more just a run-of-the- mill sci-fi adventure with very unimpressive and rather laughable aliens. Acting and better aspects of dialogue keep it from falling too far and the arrival of Roger Delgado as the Master is the main plus in these 2 episodes. His conniving, smooth villainy, superbly played by Delgado, maintains interest. The final episode is stronger again though not as good as parts 2 & 3.

My ratings: Part 1 - 8/10, Parts 2 & 3 - 9/10, Part 4 - 7/10, Part 5 - 7.5/10, Part 6 - 8/10. Overall average - 8.08/10

Colony.

[wetmars · 8/10 · 4 June 2021]

Space... The Final Frontier. Alright, I am just kidding. We get introduced again by the Time Lords! Their outfits are black and white just like the previous era was. 3 is still trying to fix the dematerialization circuit with Jo. The Brigadier comes in. Jo answers the Phone Call. The Brigadier gets in line. It never gets old when the Brigadier is on a phone call, lol. The Brigadier states that the latest field reports are in. Still no trace of the Master. Here, we get a wholesome moment between 3 and Jo. Jo: "Ah. Now you've offended him." 3: "Well, look what happened last time." 3 states that he completely made himself a new dematerialization circuit. Hopefully, one that will bypass the Time Lords' homing control. We get introduced by the TARDIS! Talking about the design, I do dig the green console. The walls are well-done except the paper walls. "I don't believe it! It is bigger inside than out!" 3 explains that it is dimensionally transcendental. Bigger inside than out. The TARDIS has taken off but, something is operating it by remote control. "The Time Lords!" like 3 said. Haha, the Brigadier enters the room, then boom. The TARDIS is gone. "Doctor! Come back at once!" I love the Brigadier. They're not outside of the space-time continuum. 3 states the planet Uxarieus is the prime destination. Oh, look. Rocks! Some mining detecting machine is on the planet. Wacky design, I've seen better. Since Spearhead from Space, the TARDIS has finally landed! The planet is quite healthy, similar to Earth before the invention of the motor car. Sweet. I love Jo's surprise here.

Again, we get much more lovely dialogue here. Jo: "All that talk of yours about travelling in time and space, it was true." 3: "Well, of course it was true! Before I was stranded on Earth, I spent all my time exploring new worlds and seeking the wonders of the universe." Jo: "But you don't know what's out there." 3: "Then let's find out." Jo discovers a pretty flower. Yet, someone is watching them! Poor Jo, I can't wait to see more of her character development. The tribe discovers the TARDIS. Jo questions 3 what is up there at the cliff. 3 explains that they're tracks made by some sort of machine, suggesting the planet must be inhabited after all. They spot another one. Oooo, colonists. Nice sets, 3, and Jo enters the colony. Ah, I am getting the point of this story. Leeson: "They were examining rock samples. They're mineralogists. It was bound to happen." 3: "Look, we are not mineralogists. And even if we were, why all the hostility? It's a respectable profession." Leeson: "Because we don't want our planet gutted. This is our world. You've no right to be here." 3: "Look, we've as much right to be here as anybody else." Ashe: "This planet has been classified as suitable for colonisation. Once your big mining combines move in, you'll reduce it to a galactic slagheap." 3: "Haven't you got laws to deal with this kind of thing?" Leeson: "Yes, there are laws. We can complain to Earth's government just like all the others. By the time you'll get a final decision, the planet's useless." 3 uses his Venusian Aikido skills. The TARDIS fricking falls, the tribe picks it up to somewhere else. Jo eats some lunch in the Communal mess hall.

Today is March 3, 2472. So, the crew exited the Earth in 2471. It seems like Uxarieus is quite a windy planet. Some giant frog-reptile hybrid is invading the colonies. It eats the female. It looks like humans are still using topography 451 years from now. Mary and Jo come in and inform Ashe that a kind of giant reptile attacked Leeson. "Well, there's no need for you to get involved, Doctor." Ah, without him. You guys would be doomed. Hmmm, what's also on the planet is some birds and insects. 3 investigates the Crime Scene. He notices some claw marks. It must be 20 foot high. "Then will you kindly tell me how a creature 20 ft high came through that door?" Lol. A group of colonists argues against Ashe that they must move on to another planet. If they stay here, they'll be dead. Ashe informs that the spaceship was old when he brought it, making it incapable of surviving another trip. I do like Ashe's point that the colony has invested a year in the colony. The beginning of colonies can be hard. Winton complains that their food stocks are getting lower all the time. Ashe claims that they can be overcome. 3 supports Ashe. Martin asks 3 why wouldn't the crops grow. 3 explains that they are being inhibited by some unnatural force, tracking it down and overcoming it. Martin asks what if the animals attack again. I do agree with Mrs. Martin that they fight back. It's called self-defense. Ashe orders the team to stick together, organize patrols for the domes and have the Doctor help them. One of the patrols finds Norton wandering in the South Sector, allowing Mary to bring her to the dome. Ashe orders somebody to get him some water, and they do so right away. Ashe asks where he comes from. Norton says that he came from another colony a long way from here and that he has been wandering a long time for months. Poor dude has been traumatized. Winton asks where are the other colonists? Norton says that they're all dead, killed by Giant Lizards that came from nowhere,

killing everything, only he's the only one left. 3 and Ashe enter Leeson's dome. They almost get attacked by the green alien tribe. 3 asks do they have a language of their own? Ashe says that he has never heard them speak, but they seem to understand what he is saying. 3 comments that are extraordinary, must be some rudimentary telepathic ability. Questioning that are they friendly? Ashe responds: "Depends on how you treat them. We had two colonists killed when we first moved here. You must go now." The aliens do so. 3 uses some sharp tool to inspect the wall debris. Some kind of war machine barges in and tries to kill him. Great cliffhanger, yet terrifying. Caldwell comes along with the War Machine. It doesn't attack The Doctor. (( Yes, I am calling it the War Machine. )) 3 questions Caldwell, what is he doing here? "IMC. Interplanetary Mining Corporation. We're doing a mineral survey." "I'm every kind of scientist." Damn right, you are! Caldwell states that he is on his way back to his spaceship. He asks the Doctor if he wants to come with him. "Well, I'd like to, but I haven't really got the time. In any case, I ought to get back and tell the colonists that you've arrived." Big mistake. The War Machine blocks his way. The Doctor says that the two colonists that were living here have been killed. The War Machine lets him go. The two get on "Space Bessie" Caldwell programs Charlie to go back to the spaceship. I like the music here. Back to the Communal mess hall, Norton is still recovering. I like this dialogue here. You feel bad for the man. He explains that the lizards killed most of them. After the lizards, there were only a few survivors. When the primitives saw how weak they were, they turned on them.

They killed his family, his friends, everyone. Ashe orders the green alien to go outside and wait for food after Norton's more traumatized warning that they will regret having that green alien over the colony. Winton says to Ashe that he can't keep feeding "these savages" even if the colony starves. Meanwhile, the Doctor notices that his TARDIS is gone. I like this cool ICM-157 vehicle design. The Doctor stays in the rocket guest cabin. Caldwell and Dent argue over two dead people and finding more duralinium to double ICM's profits in 2473. They discuss whether they should get rid of the colony. Dent plans to have a chat "with this colonist of yours." He does so. He says that this planet doesn't seem very suitable for colonisation. Dent explains more that the colonists shouldn't be here. ICM has been assigned the mineral rights on Uxarieus. The preliminary survey indicates a very rich concentration of Duralinium to use for the construction of residential complexes. I like how 3 argues that people need new worlds to live in like Uxarieus. Worlds where they can live like human beings, not battery hens. Yet, Dent doesn't give a crap. I hate this guy, already. He's ignorant. The Doctor excuses him that "he" lost some very valuable equipment. A tall blue box.

Dent goes and checks. He details someone to escort the Doctor back to his "colonist friends." Morgan introduces himself to the Doctor. They go back to the dome that was wrecked. Three of the green alien tribe attacks, the Doctor uses his skills to catch the spear. AWESOME! He fights back. One of my favorite parts about Pertwee is that he is so good at fighting. I am loving Jo more. Norton attacks the green alien. Then, he kills the guy off. Yikes. The colonists discover the dead bodies. Norton confessed that he did it in self-defense. 25th Century Earth sounds more hell than now, no thanks. The Doctor arrives at the dome. Do I sense a cliffhanger now? The Doctor suggests the whole thing has been faked by somebody who wanted to frighten the colonists away using some sort of a mechanical device. Here we go again. He pulls a gun on him. Cliffhanger!

The Doctor uses Venusian Aikido on him! Ashe reports to Mary and Jo that the colony has enough to last a few days. No power for machinery, no heat, no light. Ashe sends someone to go look for him. The three hear a spaceship landing right by them. (( By that time, I thought my PC fan was running fast. I was worried there, lol. )) Radar printing confirm terrain firm. Keep man retrorockets steady. Altitude report. 100 metres. Descent rate now at minimum. Activate landing stabilisers. Landing stabilisers in position. Final altitude report. 20 metres. 15 metres. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5. WE have contact. Cut motors. Dent and Ashe argue. The Doctor is finally reunited with Jo. The Doctor says that he has been another victim of the imaginary monsters who has been trying to frighten the colonists off Uxarieus. The IMC people are using a robot to fake these monsters by using optical trickery.

"There's no animal life, just a few birds and insects." Uninspiring opening episode.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 18 November 2007]

Doctor Who: Colony in Space: Episode One starts as the Time Lords on Gallifrey suspect that the evil Master (Roger Delgado) has stolen plans on a secret doomsday weapon, they decide that they can use the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) to help them get them back. On Earth & the Doctor has completed his repairs on his dematerialisation circuit for the TARDIS, his assistant Jo (Katy Manning) scoffs at the idea of a machine that can travel through time & space so the Doctor invites her on-board the TARDIS which the Time Lords then take control of & sends it to a desolate planet called Uxarieus during the year 2472. Once there the Doctor & Jo are captured by colonists from Earth who are having problems colonising Uxarieus...

Episode 15 from season 8 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during April 1971 & was the fourth story in Jon Pertwee's second season as the Doctor following the Claws of Axos (1971). Directed by Michael E. Briant this is a rather low key start to a mammoth six parter, the script by Malcolm Hulke is obviously going to have a few slow patches & a bit of padding to cover the six episodes & this is a relatively slow start. The Master is mentioned at the very start but this as yet has come to nothing & there's yet another early look at the Time Lords & Gallifrey. Otherwise this is pretty standard Doctor Who opening episode fare, the Doctor & his companion arrive on an alien planet, meet some humans who are having trouble that the Doctor decides he can help with & not a lot else. This was the first time the Doctor had used the TARDIS to travel in space for two years, not since the Patrick Troughton story The War Games (1969) in fact. Nothing particularly exciting or breathtaking happens in this one but I suppose it has to set the story up for the following five episodes so it's understandable, at only 25 minutes it's still worth a watch & is fun but it's not the best start to a Doctor Who adventure that I've ever seen. Also, isn't the sentence 'there's no animal life, just a few birds & insects' a contradiction in terms? I mean aren't birds & insects classified as animal life? Don't even get me started on the very human shaped green creatures that suddenly turn up which the colonists seem to know all about as well although still claim the planet is free of any animal life on several occasions.

As usual for classic Doctor Who the alien planet Uxarieus is in fact a quarry, the Old Baal China Clay Quarry in Carclaze in Cornwall to be exact. During this episode the doors of the TARDIS open inwards when it arrives on Uxarieus & the both Doctor & Jo look out onto the landscape but instead of the police box panelling which should have been seen on the outside door panels of the TARDIS those roundrel things are seen on them yet in the very next shot when the Doctor & Jo leave the TARDIS on location the doors clearly have the police box panelling back on them. This one features a huge lizard, it's just a normal lizard photographically blown up to a huge size & looks alright.

Colony in Space: Episode One is an OK start to what I hope will be a good story, there hasn't been much to get excited about so far but it's worth a watch.