Doctor Who: Galaxy 4

The Whoathon returns! "Galaxy 4" is the first story of season 3. We're coming to an era of Doctor Who in which a lot of the episodes are missing. As has been mentioned before, the BBC used to wipe old tapes. Many episodes of Doctor Who are lost, although audio recordings exist. For this story, three out of the four parts are missing. I watched reconstructions- audio paired with photo stills.

There really isn't much to this story. The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven land on a planet that seems quiet. They encounter little machines that Vicki dubs "chumblies."

Chumbly!

The Drahvins rescue the TARDIS crew from the Chumblies, but it's soon obvious that the Drahvins are the real baddies. The Drahvins and the Rills are both trying to get off the planet, which is due to explode in a couple of days. The Drahvins attacked the Rills while they were both in space, and they all crash landed. The Chumblies are the Rills' machines.

Vicki talks to one of the Rills.

The Drahvins are kind of over-the-top evil, especially their leader, Maaga. The Rills won't come out from their little enclosure. They say it's because they don't want to upset everyone with how they look. I think it's because if the Rills are only seen through a window, Doctor Who gets to save money on making a creature prop. The Doctor helps the Rills get enough power to launch their ship, the good guys leave, and the baddies are stuck on the exploding planet.

Steven was a lot less irritating in this episode. A nice surprise! I liked this story, even though I think it doesn't come across from what I've written. It's just a very simplistic story. I wish we could've seen more of the Rills.

THE RUNDOWN

Doctor: First
Companions: Vicki, Steven
Episode: #18, "Galaxy 4," four parts- 'Four Hundred Dawns,' 'Trap of Steel,' 'Air Lock,' 'The Exploding Planet'
Adversary: the Drahvins
Classic Lines: the Doctor, to Maaga about the Drahvin ship: "My ship's not made of tin like this old trash."
Tuck This Away to Impress Your Friends: When a Chumbly is trying to blast its way into the TARDIS, the Doctor says the TARDIS is protected by a force barrier so it won't be damaged.
Next Up: "Mission to the Unknown"