Samuel K. (Solvanda)
Reviewed on 10/10/2018...
Four episode serial aired on the BBC in 1968. One of the many such shows filmed in gravel pits. Much of this particular show is rather akin to some sort of acid trip. The subject matter concerns a bunch of alien folks unknowingly having been enslaved for the last 1000 years by an alien influence: The Krotons. This is a claustrophobic piece, the slate-dark quarry filming fluid and gloomy in mood. Also, the scenes where the Doctor and his companions infiltrate the Dynatrope are very creepy, as well as the harmonizer-filter processed voices of the Krotons.
The Krotons was a shoe-in, emergency script from Robert Holmes, who would go on to write, for the most part, the most memorable of Classic Doctor Who episodes. A most excellent early electronic score is rendered here by Brian Hodgson, available as an album. With the arrival of a younger Doctor and changing tastes, the Second Doctor's tenure was characterised by a faster pace and a preference toward "monster of the week"-style horror stories, with a notable lapse in the historic. Sadly, much of the Second Doctor's run was wiped from the then expensive video tape media being utilized to film episodes. Some have been located in recent years, and are great!
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