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Monday, 2 November 2015

The Enemy of the World



The TARDIS arrives on a beautiful stretch of beach on the planet Earth...

The Doctor and his friends Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield emerge to breathe in the sea air.

The Doctor is determined to make it a jolly holiday...

...and can't wait to go for a paddle!
That's quite a cool looking hovercraft he's spotted.
Grave-Ad@davadsteel The hovercraft lads look like The Searchers with those haircuts.

Blimey, the Doctor in his long johns. 
Grave-Ad@davadsteel Jamie's laughter is brilliant!
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly This wasn't scripted. The strain of production just got to him.

Those nosy parkers ring up Astrid to tell her they've found "him".

She's looking at a map of the "Australasian Zone". That beach didn't look much like Australia. 

Astrid - and her boss Giles - want the Doctor taken alive but the leader of the hovercraft, Anton, has other ideas.

The Doctor puts his clothes back on over (what must be) soaking wet long johns. Victoria's right: he *will* catch his death!

The hovercraft lot give chase...

...so Pat & co. do some comedy running to escape...

...and hide in the nearby dunes.

Astrid to the rescue! 
Grave-Ad@davadsteel The location work is really well done. Barry Letts adding some real style. He must like hovercraft and helicopters!

Yes, I love the stock music used here too! Great action stuff all round!

This must be some time round 2018; Astrid's Helicopter has a tax disc valid til December 2018.

Jamie takes the "whirly-bird" description a bit too literally.

The hovercraft crew are able to make an educated guess at the safehouse that Astrid will head for.

After a bit of a bumpy landing it becomes clear that Astrid's been shot in the arm.

She says it's "Just a scratch." but Jamie and the Doctor help her take her jacket off anyway. What helpful chaps...

"You're determined to be mysterious!"

So amazing to see all Troughton's little looks & gestures; it really is a whole other dimension to the audio soundtrack.

The Doctor's actually quite flirty with Astrid.
50dw50@50dw50 Very flirty! A touch of the real Troughton coming through?

Seems that way! You really can see a lot of Matt Smith in Troughton's performance in this episode (or rather the other way round) too.

Astrid reveals the reason for her interest in the Doctor - he closely resembles another man: a dictator!

They're forced to flee when the beach bums attack again. 

The beach bums take to the skies, but they forgot that they'd been shooting at it earlier and the leaking fuel line causes it to explode!

Retreating to (relative) safety, Astrid introduces the Doctor and his friends to Giles Kent, who can't believe his eyes.
Grave-Ad@davadsteel I might dress up as Giles Kent at Halloween. We have the same "haircut"!

This Salamander does look rather familiar...
Grave-Ad@davadsteel It's Robbie Williams!

Salamander's found a way to harness the sun’s rays to generate more crops, eliminating hunger & starvation.

Doesn't seem all that bad!

But Giles says he's a power hungry megalomaniac and wants the Doctor to impersonate him!

Jamie and Victoria are inclined to believe Kent. 

The Doctor can't quite place Salamander's accent, but isn't far off.

He still thinks there's something about Giles Kent that's just that bit... off, somehow. 

Giles has summoned Security Chief Donald Bruce to force the Doctor into impersonating Salamander. 

Bruce seems a bit of a pompous tosser.

Well, here goes... the Doctor has no choice but to give Bruce his best Salamander impression at short notice!

"Why, hello, Bruce. What are you doing here, huh?"
Grave-Ad@davadsteel Real tension here. It's a great script!
50dw50@50dw50  i was familiar with the sound track but actually seeing it gave the script so much more. i confess to being disappointed that Enemy had been found rather than another story, but i was so wrong, it is brilliant.


Yes, I think it made people think twice about a lot of other missing stories too!

50dw50@50dw50 plus Enemy shows what a bloody good director Barry Letts was before being led astray by CSO!

Bruce is confused by Salamander's new penchant for polo necks.

He has to accept being fobbed off by "Salamander"s explanation that he's there in secret to question Kent about his actvities...

...and Giles & Astrid are able to convince Bruce that the dead man at the beach was after Giles.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland Doctor Who's like all "No way man, I ain't doin' dat thing" but then he's all "Yeah man, I am totally lovin' this"

"Why should I interfere?" Like the Doctor never does that...

Jamie thinks impersonating Salamander is a challenge the Doctor can't pass up.
Simon Pittman@LibraryPlayer If only he could remember why he chose that face...#BringInTheEels
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland Did the first incarnation of Doctor Who meet Salamander in an exciting untelevised adventure? Did he choose this face in order to defeat him? Enquirying minds need to know...

The Australasian Zone is only 2 hours from the Central European Zone by rocket.

Bruce checks with Salamander's assistant, Benik, if he was aware that their leader was in the Central European Zone.

"Do you mean did I stand there waving my handkerchief?" Actually Benik *is* quite funny, despite what Bruce thinks.
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly Benik's brilliantly vile. Should have come back.
An Odd Couple style sitcom with him and Griffin the Chef sharing a flat would be my preference...!

We finally meet the *real* Salamander, warning Denes & Fedorin of the dangers of volcanoes...
50dw50@50dw50 and some rather wonderful back screen projection.

Ooh, it's Castellan Spandrell. Or is is Jaeger? 

Astrid's walkie talkie could do with some batteries so it doesn't seem so obviously hollow. 

"A disused Yeti!" *Groan*

Great little scene between Fedorin and Fariah re: the foodtasting.

"Salamander talks to many people; some people only once..."

Not so keen on Fedorin's gimp outfit.
Grave-Ad@davadsteel Fedorin looks like he's escaped from a suburban S&M party.
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly He didn't mean to wear it to work but the zip got stuck.

50dw50@50dw50 a mask would really improve him!



Troughton's Bond villain performance as Salamander is a joy.

Jamie "saves" Salamander...

...and is recruited to his guard.

"It's not so good, boys, not so good. I'm watching you..."
Grave-Ad@davadsteel Troughton is excellent. You don't question that Salamander is a different person from the Doctor.

Fariah bosses the guards and gives Victoria a job in the kitchen. Screaming at plates or something, probably.

Astrid meets Denes under the boardwalk, out of the sun. They'll be having some fun.

Under the boardwalk - People walking above...

We're starting to see the real Salamander now, though... 

 ...a sinister, threatening, blackmailing megalomaniac.

Obvious stock footage here, but it works really well; really lends scale to the destruction. No CGI required!

Denes realizes that Salamander caused the disasters...

Salamander springs his trap on Denes, blaming him for not taking precautions despite his warnings of these "natural" disasters...

...and Fedorin is powerless to stop himself being dragged into it.

It's great to see episode 3 in the context of the whole story now.

Denes kids himself he can take Salamander down in court.

Next Salamander orders Fedorin to poison Denes.

After putting Jamie in his place...

...Bruce imprisons Denes on the sofa of reasonable comfort.

Griffin the Chef is hilarious. 

On hearing the recipe for Victoria's "mush-up": "Yeah, I've got a job for you - peel those spuds."

"My mother was right; she wanted me to be a dustman."

"First course interrupted by bomb explosion. Second course affected by earthquakes."

"Third course ruined by interference in the kitchen. I'm going out for a walk. It'll probably rain."
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly He's the best supporting character of the 60s and he managed it with just one episode.

The Doctor and Giles Kent wait for Astrid to return...

...with the Doctor still suspicious of Kent's motives.

Benik's goons are kind enough to forewarn them they're on the way with a stupid siren so the Doctor has time to hide in a box.

Benik bursts in while the siren's still sounding then has a guard break a few plates. The bounder!

"People spend all that time making nice things and other people come along and break them." #CanHasMissingEpisodesPlease

One of the guards tries to chat Astrid up. Bizarre.

Astrid gets word to Jamie and Victoria that they need to get Denes away to safety, but she's interrupted by Griff's return from his walk.

Needless to say he's his usual cheery self. "Maybe they'll shoot me, and I won't have to worry any more. No, they wouldn't do that, the firing squad'd miss me."

Jamie wonders if Fariah enjoys working for Salamander, and Victoria naively suggests that it must be "wonderful" travelling around the world with him, which meets with ire. "Sometimes we do what we have to do, not what we want to do."

"Who's going to control this zone now - Fedorin?"
"Fedorin, oh, what a good idea!"

Will Fedorin make the most of his chance to spike Denes steak?

Salamander grows suspicious of Jamie.

When he's not allowed a knife, Denes enjoys having the guard cut up the steak of doom for him.

Fedorin bottled poisoning Denes...

...so Salamander poisons Fedorin instead.

It's all too much for Griff. "Why did I ever leave Woolamaloo?"

Astrid and Victoria's attempt to rescue Denes fails, as he's shot in the back.

Salamander isn't fooled by Jamie's excuses.

Uh-oh, Bruce and Salamander have rumbled that there's an imposter at work!



The Doctor & Kent clash as to their ultimate aims; Kent wants Salamander dead.

Astrid makes it back to base, but her call to Kent is monitored by Benik.

Fariah has come to tip off the Doctor that Salamander has Jamie and Victoria.

He has to help now, surely...

Knock, knock? Who's there? Benik. Oh, I thought you were going to say "Doctor"
Johnny Spandrell@JohnnySpandrell look at the way those bricks flow effortlessly around the corners of that wall. #wallpaper

Astrid takes on the guards so the Doctor & Kent can get away...

...but Fariah is killed in the attempt.

By the way, I'm pretty sure that view from the window was Barry's little "Odessa Steps" homage.
Chris Cwej@chriscwej and another Clara intervention...?

Despite Benik's last ditch attempt at interrogation, the dying Fariah refuses to give up the Doctor.
Grave-Ad@davadsteel Benik is a right sadistic little bugger isn't he. Poor Fariah.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland The Doctor really cares that Fariah is killed. Did he think she might have joined him at the end of the adventure?
Interesting thought! Great character too.
Chris Cwej@chriscwej the way he protects her blackmail secret is unusually sensitive of him.
Now what's Salamander up to?

He travels in secret to an underground shelter...

...and puts on a dirty boiler suit. Hang on, what?

There's a whole load of people he's keeping trapped underground, with lies about a war and radiation!

Blimey, just imagine a world leader lying to his own people about a war! What must that be like? *cough*Chilcot*cough*
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly D'ya think Cameron's got a secret base full of pale saddos doing his bidding? Apart from the BBC, I mean.

Murdoch powers the Sky News studio with captured homeless people pedaling Boris Bikes hooked up to a generator. Allegedly.

Salamander's mole people live in a shelter made of Dalek bumps. And they still don't twig he's evil.

That's how he's causing the earthquakes and eruptions - these poor mole people are doing it for him!
Grave-Ad@davadsteel Colin Douglas is great! Lots of "working out what is going on" acting. 
Grave-Ad@davadsteel It all goes a bit "Out of the Unknown" here and there's no harm in that! Political thriller shifts into pure science fiction.

Uh oh, the Doctor's caught red-handed down the barbers having "a Salamander"...


...but maybe Bruce is not necessarily on Salamander's side after all.

Bruce must have his own suspicions, because he's at least willing to entertain the possibility that Salamander is all the things Kent says he is.

Like the Doctor, though, Bruce doubts Kent's motives.

The Doctor wins Bruce's trust by surrendering the gun. 

He'll later do the same on the bridge of Seabase 4 in his fifth incarnation.
Mole people Colin and Mary argue about their chances of ever seeing the surface again.
Grave-Ad@davadsteel Colin's a bit of a drip isn't he though.
Yes, definitely - and seems to be another Troughton era character who's been cast older than written.

James VHS Gent@jamesgent76 WE JUST WANT TO SEE THE SKY AGAIN!

Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly Colin is hilarious. So earnest, so pathetic. Like a drama student appearing in panto thinking he's playing Hamlet.

John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland Poor Colin. BARRY: Sometimes less is more. ADAM: BUT I AM DOING LESS! BARRY: *sigh*

Grave-Ad@davadsteel He wants the others to help him put on a show to save the coffee bar from closure!


Colin in his head vs Colin in reality.


Chief Mole-man Swan has that sinking feeling when he finds a scrap of newspaper.

Salamander has some explaining to do.

But he's got his story prepared - yes, he lied to them, but only because the "survivors" of his phoney war are horrible mutants!

Should have mentioned before, but I quite like the way Jamie & Victoria have (almost) matching kilts. Cute.
KrynoidPodCast@KrynoidPodCast Benik: a man who has his hair chewed off rather than cut.

The Doctor fools Benik with his impression...

...and Jamie & Victoria too! 

What they say when they think he's Salamander does sway Bruce, though.

The Doctor has to mime his recorder to convince them! 
Grave-Ad@davadsteel The Doctor playing Air Recorder is charming.

If the mole people have been there for 5 years, Swan's jim-jams are from sometime around 2013.

Salamander obviously has no intention of letting Swan reach the surface alive...

Astrid & Giles fool the guard with the old ketchup-as-blood trick. 

It even looks like ketchup.

Escaping, Astrid lurks in the bushes & finds a dying Swan fingering Salamander!


Bruce agrees that the case against Salamander is stacking up, but still wants proof. 

Astrid confirms Swans fears; Salamander has lied to them all along, and there was no war at all.

"Redhead? Is that your wife?" Jamie, you dog.

The mole people aren't too pleased to see Astrid, and threaten her with a damn good sweeping.
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly Frustrated white folk, grabbing their brooms and going hysterical at the sight of an outsider. All a bit UKIP-y.

Hang about, that's Giles Kent, sneaking into Salamander's secret hideout!  

He was in on the plan to trick the Mole people but Salamander cut him out & he's out for revenge!

But the Doctor's fooled him into confessing everything, knowing that Bruce is watching.

Sensing his boss is about to face justice, Benik tries to cut his losses, but Bruce isn't letting him off the hook.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland The Doctor suspected Kent all along...

Giles holds the Doctor hostage to escape...

...but soon runs into a trigger-happy Salamander.
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly Salamander's playful psychopath routine is proper creepy. They should have got Troughton to play the baddie in all of 'em.

Stricken, Kent gets desperate, and tries to blow the place up. 

Salamander is buried under polystyrene rocks... or is he?

Astrid and Bruce help the Doctor out of the control room wreckage.

Jamie and Victoria have made it back to the TARDIS, and wait anxiously for their friend.

"The Doctor" staggers back into the TARDIS... but something's not right. 

I think we can tell what's going on here...
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly Not the first time Jamie's helped the Doctor stagger into the TARDIS at night. Pissed again.

The "cosmic hobo" is nails here. "Now I'm going to put you outside..."

The scene of Salamander and the Doctor in shot together is brilliant.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland It's brilliantly done. We are so lucky to be able to see this great moment.

Salamander is sucked out into the time vortex as the TARDIS takes off!

The story ends with the TARDIS spinning out of control!
TTFN! K.
Coming Next... The Web of Fear

1 comment:

  1. I loved "Enemy of the World" even before it was rediscovered -- you could absolutely hear how brilliant Troughton was -- so I was thrilled it was one of the rediscovered serials. Now that I can see it, I consider it one of the top 5 Classic Who's. And this blog entry is insanely entertaining -- just amazing. And @50dw50's remark about Barry Letts being so good before he was done in by CSO is spot-on; thinking about it, did he ever direct anything this well again?

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