One of my favourite things
about the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who was that almost every story had a good
point to make. Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks never did a story about nothing
in almost five years. And The Mutants is no exception. Bob Baker and Dave
Martin have been on record stating that they felt The Mutants was their finest
script for the show, and I am in consummate agreement.
From the very opening
shots of the old mutant stumbling through the mist on alien planet, I know we
are in for an intelligent and superb piece of drama. Themes of colonialism and
racism are addressed with tact, and are not overtly thrust down throats so as
to detract from the adventure at all. However, the script rings with pertinence
and has some superb character building.
Paul Whitsun Jones as the
Marshall of Solos is just yet another of those immensely talented actors who
takes to the role with zeal and aplomb. He is a bombastic buffoon but with a
devious and nasty nature that truly makes him a palpable villain and force to
be reckoned with. Together with George Pravda as his somewhat unwitting partner
in crime Jaeger they make a right couple of arrogant cretins. Their total
dedication to the destruction of the Solonians doesn't make them one
dimensional baddies though.
Christopher Coll made a
favourable impression with me in The Seeds of Death and here again he makes a
great character in Stubbs. It’s just a little sad that he again suffers a nasty
death. His scenes together with Rick James's Cotton genuinely lead you to know
they are close friends.
I've seen Rick James come
in for a lot of slack for his performance in The Mutants. Personally, I can say
I’ve seen countless worse acting efforts on screen in countless programmes.
He's a well-rounded character in a very well-rounded story indeed.
The Solonians themselves
too are an absolutely superb design. They genuinely look insectoid and as
realistic as any design the classic series could ever manage to put together.
Their movement too is very well directed. And again, it is great whenever you
have an alien species who are not overtly evil. In fact, this time you get to
feel sad for the barbaric way the humans are treating them all through the
story. Several mutants die in horrible and unnecessary ways and the climax to
the tale is extremely satisfying when the tables are finally turned.
Garrick Hagon's Ky is
another winning character and he embodies the voice of the Solonians throughout
this ripping yarn. If the Humans are the establishment, then he is the superbly
performed and defiant antithesis. John Hollis as Sondergaard makes his presence
felt too, and his scenes with the Doctor as they try to discover what the
tablets meaning might be come over very strongly. They make a great foil to the
callous and totally selfish Marshall.
Katy Manning as Jo gets to
be as lovable and brilliant as she always is. It’s good to see her getting to
use her escapology skills and to see her as a strong-willed woman stand off
against tyranny. And yet again she seems to easily strike up an affinity and
trust with Ky and their flight from the Marshall is believable and very watchable.
Even Geoffrey Palmer gets
to shine briefly as the reasonable yet doomed Earth Administrator, but this
comes as no surprise at all as Geoffrey has long been a superb and talented
actor indeed. It’s just a tad sad that like plenty of Doctor Who characters he
gets murdered far too soon.
James Mellor rounds off
the pack as Varan. His pain at the death of his son by the Marshall's hands is
strongly delivered, and one is inclined to feel very sympathetic for him as he
slowly begins to turn into a Mutant.
There are a few seriously
good effects in this story too. The colourful radiation cave for one, and the
final transformed form of Ky as a super being. The direction is solid. Although
maybe just a few times it is plain to see that the apparent mutating lumped
backs of the human are just part of their garb and not attached to their spines
so they don't really convince. But once in full mutant form they are an
incredible lifelike design indeed. One of the finest along with the Ogrons and
Zygons in my book.
The Mutants ranks amongst
the best Third Doctor entries of all in my book. Its themes are raised without
ever becoming preachy and one is left with a great deal to think about. All the
best Doctor Who episodes do it. Bob Baker and Dave Martin had their tour de
force with The Mutants. The storytelling is always tight. Combine this with a
flawless as usual performance from Jon Pertwee and you get a story that
definitely deserves its place in the higher echelons of the very best Doctor
Who stories of all.
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