Colony in Space by: Malcolm Hulke and directed by: Michael Briant

 

Colony in Space stars Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, Katy Manning as Jo Grant, and Roger Delgado as the Master.  It was written by: Malcolm Hulke and directed by: Michael Briant with Terrance Dicks as Script Editor and Barry Letts as Producer.  It was originally broadcast on Saturdays from 10 April to 15 May 1971 on BBC1.

 

Every classic Doctor Who fan has heard the quote usually attributed to writer Malcolm Hulke, about moving to an Earthbound format leaves only alien invasion and mas scientist stories.  Barry Letts agreed with Hulke, and with Season 8 was determined to have at least one story be set in outer space, and given to Hulke to write.  By the end of June 1970, Hulke was commissioned for “Colony” which would be inspired by the Wild West, but instead in space, taking the Doctor and Jo away from the Earth while leaving the Brigadier and UNIT behind on Earth.  Very little of Hulke’s original brief would actually be changed in the scriptwriting process, except the title being amended to Colony in Space.  Interestingly it would be novelized under Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon, a much more interesting title that was never perceived of.  Like any script by Malcolm Hulke, Colony in Space is incredibly politically charged with three major factions all vying for power on this planet, Uxareius, where there is a seemingly primitive race of telepathic aliens guarding a doomsday weapon which the Master eventually wishes to take control of.  A group of colonists from Earth are attempting to start a new, communal life, away from the hyper capitalist and corporatist throws of companies like IMC, using some of the primitives to help establish themselves, but never as outright slaves (though the subtext is kind of there).  By the time the Doctor and Jo are sent there, with the Time Lords taking control of the TARDIS, the Interplanetary Mining Corporation has already bought the mineral rights to the planet and are terrorizing the colonists.

 

Readers will notice that this story is incredibly politically charged, and the colonialism and capitalism critiques shine through, with the capitalism critique in particular shining through.  The colonialism critique suffers quite a bit with the primitives being presented as mute and only their leader being able to speak.  They are here to fulfill the role of the Doctor Who monster and unlike the Silurians their society is much more one note which is a shame as Hulke is known for doing much better with those sorts of things.  Slavery of the primitives isn’t outright stated, but the colonists do use them to help with menial tasks and farming, though it isn’t presented as outright subjugating them and is implied the primitives working with the colonists might want to be helping them out.  It’s also surprising as this is a six episode story, something which should have had enough time to have the primitives rise up, but as the story progresses they are used simply to be an alien threat to the Master, guarding the doomsday weapon, and being an outright villain.  It isn’t quite the good look.  The more interesting villain, of course, isn’t the primitive leader or even the Master, but Morris Perry’s Captain Dent.  Dent is the perfect example of an evil and cruel capitalist, he is ruthless and driven only by profit and Perry plays it deliciously evil.  Interestingly, the character was originally to be played by Susan Jameson, until the higher ups at the BBC told director Michael Briant and producer Barry Letts that that would be inappropriate to show a woman as such a ruthless villain.

 

The pace of Colony in Space is perhaps what works the most against it, being far too long with the ideas not lending themselves to six episodes.  If this were a four episode serial it would be nearly perfect and a classic, but as it stands despite some brilliant performances and a very nice directorial debut from Michael Briant, it cannot meet those heights.  The Master appearing as an Adjudicator is an interesting idea, something Hulke will return to later and do better in Frontier in Space, and this sets up quite a bit about Hulke’s vision of the future which will be the future that the Pertwee era almost always goes to.  While the three previous serials of Season 8 have been good enough for Jo Grant, it’s actually Colony in Space where she is a highlight.  As this is the first time she travels in the TARDIS, Episode One’s first twelve minutes are dedicated to exploring how Jo feels about space and time travel, which she doesn’t immediately like.  Katy Manning puts such emotion into the role and all the subtleties of the performance are there.  Manning and Pertwee play off each other wonderfully, the Doctor being played as excited to finally getting off the Earth, though annoyed once again that he is forced back to Earth by the end while Jo is just happy to be getting out alive (especially after being nearly killed by the Master in the Master’s TARDIS).

 

Overall, while the fan consensus on Colony in Space places it amongst the weaker Jon Pertwee serials is most definitely undeserved for the script that Hulke provides with plenty of intrigue, it is still a story with quite a few problems that present themselves.  The performances are a highlight though the best way to get through it would be an episode or two a night instead of marathoning it all at once, but it’s at the very least a good story.  6/10.