REVIEW: Doctor Who, Season 5 Serial Four 'The Enemy Of The World'

REVIEW: Doctor Who, Season 5 Serial Four 'The Enemy Of The World'

Originally written in 2016, here are my thoughts on the Doctor Who serial 'Enemy of the World', which starred Patrick Troughton in a dual role.

In 2013, two missing stories were recovered by a missing films hunter called Phil Morris; one was complete, the other missing only one episode out of six. The serial discovered in its entirety was 'The Enemy of the World', a story featuring Patrick Troughton playing two characters during the course of the adventure: the Doctor himself, currently in his second incarnation, and a ruthless dictator named Salamander.

The plot is a relatively simple one. The Doctor and his companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling) arrive in the near future (2018; NB: Not the near future anymore!), where the Doctor is mistaken for Salamander by a group of spies and is persuaded to use his uncanny resemblance to bring him down. Salamander plans to destroy the world through the creation of various natural disasters, and this is a plot point that feels weirdly quite relevant in today's society. With climate change such a prevalent threat, it wouldn't be too hard to imagine Salamander planning this threat today, and using global warming as a cover to eliminate all blame.

 The first thing to note is that this doesn't feel like a Doctor Who story; it is a strange entity as it feels more like a spy thriller rather than a traditional instalment in a family sci-fi/fantasy drama series. Salamander is more of a 'Bond villain' than the typical human antagonists Doctor Who usually opts for,  who are normally more likely to be the pawn in an extra-terrestrial entity's plans rather than trying to cause the world's destruction themselves. The story also takes a surprisingly dark turn when the TARDIS doors are opened and Salamander falls out into the time vortex, an ending for the character that surely ended in certain death (NB: Salamander later returned in the comic strip 'Heralds of Destruction'). It poses a nice break from Doctor Who's usual narrative choices overall but it never feels quite as engaging as a typical Doctor Who story.

The best thing to watch this serial for is Patrick Troughton in his dual role. He does a truly fantastic job as both the Doctor and Salamander; it's amazing how he manages to make both characters seem distinctly different from each other even though he is having to constantly juggle playing both those parts. He slips effortlessly back into playing the Doctor after taking a turn at Salamander and vice versa, and it feels like watching two different actors rather than just the one. I think it is a shame the new series didn't attempt this in Series 9 by having an episode set in Pompeii, so that we could have seen Peter Capaldi play both the Doctor and Caelicius. It would have been truly fascinating to have seen a new series take on this concept, with the Doctor who most questioned his identity thrown into the mix.

The settings and production work are also great. Previously I have been critical regarding the special effects in 'The Invisible Enemy'; here, however, the production values are truly impressive. The serial feels expensive, especially with the beach location filming and the production work regarding the underground lift, where Salamander greets the people who believe a nuclear war has devastated the Earth. Everything feels like it cost more than any other serial at the time and the vast amount of work and effort that the production team invested into this story really shows in the finished product.

Overall, 'The Enemy of the World' isn't quite as engaging as your average Doctor Who story but it's still a highly recommended watch. Patrick Troughton gives a fantastic dual performance as the Doctor and Salamander, and production values are hugely impressive.  'The Enemy Of The World' may not be your typical Doctor Who affair, but what it does offer is a light and fun piece of escapism that is sure to brighten your day.

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What are your thoughts on The Enemy Of The World? Let me know in the comments section.