THE SMUGGLERS

"Last chance Old Man: Where. Are. The. Missing. Episodes!"

Season: 4
Episodes: 4*
Broadcast Dates: 10 September-1 October 1966
Producer: Innes Lloyd
Script Editor: Gerry Davis
Writer: Brian Hayles (x2)
Director: Julia Smith
Regular Cast: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Michael Craze (Ben), Anneke Wills (Polly)


The Plot: Ahoy, ship mateys! The Doctor goes treasure-hunting in 17th century Cornwarll while Ben and Polly are accused of murder by a man who happens to be the inside man for a smuggler's ring.
We Like: The fact that the nursery rhyme which points to the treasure's location changes every time somebody says it. That'll certainly help.
We Dislike: Pirates! Why did it have to be pirates! Sorry, mate, I don't do pirates...and Jack Sparrow's not in it, too.
Rating: 1

* All episodes missing as of August 7, 2014

COMPANION FOLLOW-UP: STEVEN TAYLOR

Steven's sweater is defnitie proof that black & white
Doctor Who has qualities of its own. 

A space pilot from the future, Steven found himself marooned on planet Mechanus. He was taken prisoner by the robotic Mechanoids until they brought in other prisoners, namely the Doctor and his companions. For the first time in two years, Steven finally had a ticket out.

Origin: The future, most likely the 22nd to 24th century.
Seasons: 2-3
Tenure: 26 June 1965-18 June 1966
Reason for Leaving: For some reason, the Doctor selected Steven to become the leader of the former Elders and Savages, to help rebuild their civilisation.
Assessment: Take Ian Chesterton, strike about 20 years, and add an even more belligerent and argumentative nature yet take out all the humour and you have Steven. I quite liked Steven but couldn't they have made him less a pain in the ass? Guess not. Steven gets to shine in The Massacre when he is left alone in the middle of chaos and murder, and rightly calls the Doctor on it. He's also very amusing in The Gunfighters (and quite the singer as well).

COMPANION FOLLOW-UP: DODO CHAPLET

Teenage hearthrob Dodo was much interfered with. Here, she is refusing
the advances of a Monoid. 

When the TARDIS materialises at Wimbledon Commons, young teenager Dod Chaplet went in, mistaking it for a real Police Box. Steven, however, is sure she is a descendent of someone he knew in 1572.

Origin: Contemporary England.
Season: 3
Tenure: 26 February-2 July 1966
Reason for Leaving: Mind-controlled by the malevolent computer WOTAN, Dodo got a bit of a headache and decided to stay with her aunt.
Assessment: Obviously, Dodo was a step back from Vicki, Sara Kingdom and, yes, even Katarina. She was supposed to talk with a Cockney accent, but the BBC doesn't do Cockney. The production team didn't have a single idea what to do with her, and never even bothered to give her a parting scene.

THE WAR MACHINES

The Doctor inspects the latest innovation: a fully-automated, radio controlled
MP3 player with bonus machine guns. 

Season: 3
Episodes: 4
Broadcast Dates: 25 June-16 July 1966
Producer: Innes Lloyd
Script Editor: Gerry Davis
Writer: Ian Stuart Black
Director: Michael Ferguson
Regular Cast: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Jackie Lane (Dodo)
Joining In: Ben (Michael Craze), Polly (Anneke Wills)
Jumping Ship: Dodo, who has a bit of a headache.

The Plot: Doctor Who goes Mod Squad as the Doctor and Dodo teams up with a pair of kids from the Now! Generation to stop a maniachal computer.
We Like: The Doctor lands in contemporary England, teams up with government officials and the army to stop the baddies. 3 and a half years later down the line, you'll be seeing this kind of stuff every week. Groundbreaking!
We Dislike: WOTAN manages to be ahead-of-is-time and hopelessly dated at the same time.
Rating: 4

THE SAVAGES

When he was about to leave his home planet, the Doctor seriously consi-
dered going with The Tourist as his username.

Season: 3
Episodes: 4*
Broadcast Dates: 28 May-18 June 1966
Producer: Innes Lloyd
Script Editor: Gerry Davis
Writer: Ian Stuart Black
Director: Christopher Barry
Regular Cast: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Peter Purves (Steven), Jackie Lane (Dodo)
Jumping Ship: Steven, 'elected' king of the Elders and the Savages by the Doctor.

The Plot: A parable on how the rich and powerful exploits the poor and downthrodden for their own benefit.
We Like: Frederick Jaeger steals the Doctor's life force and gets to imitate William Hartnell. What fun!
We Dislike: In those days, when they wanted to get rid of a companion they didn't mess about, did they? Still, Steven's departure is wayyy better than Dodo's (see next story).
Rating: 2.5

*All episodes missing as of August 6, 2014

THE GUNFIGHTERS

The Doctor assures Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp that he is indeed a
doctor, and he's also on holiday, sort of. So why all the fuss?

Season: 3
Episodes: 4
Broadcast Dates: 30 April-21 May 1966
Producer: Innes Lloyd
Script Editor: Gerry Davis
Writer: Donald Cotton (x2)
Director: Rex Tucker
Regular Cast: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Peter Purves (Steven), Jackie Lane (Dodo)

The Plot: Hee-haw! The TARDIS crew arrrive in Tombstone, Arizona, and the Doctor is mistaken for Doc Holliday. You can see where this is going.
We Like: Often cited as the worst Doctor Who serials ever, but don't believe a word of it. Like all humourous episodes, it starts out full of laughs but ends in grim tragedy when we get to that infamous gunfight. The accents are a bit dodgy, but no one said Brits could do 'American' well, so there.
We Like: The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon. Did we have to hear that song every single episodes? Even Steven has to sing it as well (albeit at gunpoint).
Rating: 4

THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER

"Last question, Doctor: what is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?"
"What do you mean, hmm? African or European swallow?"

Season: 3
Episodes: 4*
Broadcast Dates: 2-23 April 1966
Producer: Innes Lloyd
Script Editor: Gerry Davis
Writer: Brian Hayles, Donald Tosh
Director: Bill Sellars
Regular Cast: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Peter Purves (Steven), Jackie Lane (Dodo)

The Plot: Come on down, Doctor! You're the next contestant on The Celestial Toyroom.
We Like: The sheer concept of the Doctor and friends trapped into a seemingly innocuous realm of fear.
We Dislike: Judging from episode 4, they shouldn't have bothered. It's not uninteresting, but this attempt at surrealism falls flat, or at least not as weird as it should have been.
Rating: 2

* Only episode 4 still exists as of August 4, 2014.