"World's End" - Season 2, Episode 46

Written by Terry Nation | Directed by Richard Martin | Produced by Verity Lambert | Original air date 11/21/64

The return of Terry Nation for the second season also brings us the first recurring villain in the series. They return here in style - the episode takes its time explaining the nature of the world the TARDIS crew have landed in. They figure out fairly quickly that they're on Earth, particularly London, but something is wrong. We, the viewer, have seen a man with a strange head adornment willingly walk into a river and a sign that reads "It is Forbidden to Dump Bodies in the River," creepy as that is. Ian points out that if one wanted to dump a body, the location the TARDIS landed in, under a bridge next to the river, would be a good place do it (thought about that much, Ian?).

Speaking of the TARDIS, the writers are still grappling with the idea that the TARDIS crew don't want to explore. Nation has Susan cause a collapse of girders around the TARDIS so they can't get in, trapping them. She also hurts her ankle, and the Doctor is upset with her, telling her she needs a good spanking (not in a sexual way, of course, but still, weird). Susan is being infantilized, possibly because she's leaving at the end of this serial, to show the Doctor has learned she's an adult (though I don't remember this serial well, perhaps I'm wrong about this).

While Barbara takes care of Susan and her hurt ankle, the Doctor and Ian wander off to go look for something to get through the rubble to the TARDIS with. Along the way, they climb some stairs and Ian says to the Doctor "Be careful!" and he tetchily responds with "I'm not a half-wit," written for someone who knows Hartnell's strengths, it seems. While exploring a warehouse, they discover they're in the year 2164 and that Battersea Power Station has lost two of its chimneys. "Must have gone to nuclear power," Ian wonders. They find a body with a knife in it's back in a box nearby. What is going on, here? What has happened to future Earth to cause all this destruction?

The Daleks!

The creatures that debuted last season to such popularity here return with a cliffhanger ending where a Dalek rises out of the Thames. It's an iconic shot - it's as gonzo and daring as any shot ever gets in the classic series, and it's effective (never mind what the Dalek was doing down there, who knows) even today. This is after we've seen a flying saucer go over the London skyline, which is a strange enough shot for this series, considering we haven't been to England (other than wherever Planet of Giants took place) since the first serial, and seeing an alien ship fly past the London skyline is new.

The Doctor is becoming more and more fully formed, here. Ian just wants to leave as soon as possible, but the Doctor is curious. He even asks Ian why he's not curious to find out what's going on. The Doctor no longer wants to just observe, he wants to get involved, find out what is going on, and help. He's not fully cooked yet, but he's a lot closer than he was a year ago.

Susan gets a pretty good line in this episode, and it's played well by Carole Ann Ford. When David, one of the humans who finds Susan and Barbara and brings them to their safehouse, asks Barbara if she can cook, she replies she can. When he asks Susan what she does, she responds with a look of indignation, "I eat," which is about as smartassed as her character ever gets. It's a shame she'll be gone at the end of this serial - while the character is ill-conceived and usually not given anything worthwhile to do by the writers, Carole Ann Ford can act pretty well when given good material.

So far, Terry Nation is doing pretty well for himself. I've got issues with him as a writer (see the Keys of Marinus entries for plenty of examples), but he writes Hartnell stories pretty well. This episode is as engaging as the last several he'd written, and while he won't stick to being consistently good, he's nice to have back.

"Doctor Who" puns so far: 2 | Tomorrow: "The Daleks"