Doctor Who (TV Series) The Macra Terror: Episode 1 (1967) User Reviews

The Doctor and co land on a Holiday camp, for a well earned break?

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 15 November 2015]

The Doctor, Jamie, Ben and Polly land in an incredibly happy holiday camp. Resident Medok runs into them and is held by Ben and Jamie, the guards arrive and are happy with their intervention. The TARDIS quartet are taken to the Pilot and treated as guests of honour, they're even given a gracious thanks by the Colony's controller, and closely looked after by Barney. In custody Medok claims the camp is infested with creatures, that he has seen horrible beings. The Doctor releases Medok, but talks himself out of repercussions, he learns of the work the colonists do, refining gas. A curfew begins as night falls, he looks for Medok, intent on finding the creatures Medok described. The Doctor witnesses the hideous creatures for himself.

It's a truly fun episode, captures the spirit of the 60's holiday camps, the tannoy announcements, jingles etc. The beauty processing sequences sound incredibly funny, I bet they are great fun.

Patrick was wonderfully funny and entertaining, definitely crazier in character in his earlier episodes,

It does a good job at setting the blissfully happy camp, beset by night time monsters, it's a really fun, enjoyable opening episode. 8/10

Big Brother is watching you .... and he is a crab!

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 8/10 · 21 August 2014]

Review for all 4 parts:

I have been able to reassess this story having seen the nice new animated reconstruction which allows me to find greater appreciation for the story and edit my earlier review.

This 4 part 'futuristic' story is set in an apparently idyllic world which has dark secrets underlying the society. It is enjoyable and interesting with strong ideas of a 'Big Brother is watching you' type society and political underlying themes about manipulation and control. The Macra creatures, often referred to as 'giant crabs' due to their claws and crustacean like forms are quite an unusual and interesting idea too, though obviously the low budget and age of this story limited their original realisation on screen. The animated version makes the Macra a good monster visually as well as conceptually.

Part 1 features the ultra cheesy musical number which I found slightly irritating along with the music throughout but to be fair it was meant to be irritating, as it represents the unthinking, unquestioning happiness of brainwashed people. All 4 parts are well written, well acted, fun and have deeper themes that add quality. The animation provides sufficiently good visuals to allow the story to be really appreciated. I always enjoyed parts 2 and 3 just as much as I did watching the animation but parts 1 and 4 went up in my estimation as the visuals enabled me to enjoy them better. Reviewing by judging an animated version which gives a fair idea of how it was intended (albeit adding colour which was unavailable to the makers in the first place but if it had been available I am sure they would have used it). I therefore think it only fair that I use the animation to help judge the original story.

Overall an entertaining if slightly unexceptional adventure with some interesting elements and some great scenes. The animated version has beautifully vibrant colour visuals.

My Ratings: Episodes 1 to 4 - 8/10.

This is how you make a story terrifying and entertaining.

[wetmars · 9/10 · 4 November 2020]

When the Second Doctor, Ben, Polly, Jamie visit a human colony that appears to be one big holiday camp, they think they have come across a truly happy place. Yet a shadowy presence soon makes them realise that the surface contentment is carefully controlled.

The colony's inhabitants have been brainwashed by giant, crab-like creatures - the Macra. Insidious propaganda, broadcast by the Controller, forces the humans to mine a gas that is essential for the Macra to survive, but fatal to them.

The colony must be saved - but how? The Doctor and his team are up against it, particularly when Ben falls under the influence of the Macra. Can he be rescued from their evil clutches? Can the gas pumping equipment be destroyed, getting rid of the Macra for good?

Review for all 4 episodes -

I enjoyed watching this story for 92 minutes. It was so fun to watch it, no non-interesting moments, just all focused. Anyway, I watched the animated one because I'm tired of recons. The animation has indeed improved so much. I adore it. It was one of Troughton's best stories. I was not disappointed upon rewatching it.

Jamie did a lot in this story, which is leading me to like him more as us classic fans do, haha. The opening was good, really loved listening to the music. I liked the creepy concept behind the Macra, which made some very suspenseful senses that had my adrenaline going at once.

Such a total shame that this story's lost. I would like to see how the Macra crab moved and how big they were. Funny enough that the Macra was so huge that it had to be mounted on a van in order to move. Cool fact!

9/10.