Very underrated 6-parter, on the evils of empires
Upon seeing the old bearded man running towards the screen through the mist and bushes at the onset of the story, no, it isn't the "It's..." man from Monty Python's first season. Rather, it's a mutant native of Solos, derogatorily called "Mutts" by the Marshal of Solos.
The appearance of a small sphere resembling a cross between a basketball and a coconut is a three-line whip from the Time Lords to the Doctor, a task that's an emergency. The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Jo to a Skybase hovering over Solos in the 30th century Earth Empire. "Once [Earth] sacked the solar system, they moved on to pastures new. Solos is one of them, one of the last [to gain independence]. Did you ever read Gibbons' Decline and Fall?... Empires rise and empires fall."
They instantly fall in trouble. The Marshal, the blustering, stout colonial ruler of Solos with piggish eyes and expression, is stunned to hear that Earth is finally giving Solos its independence...
"MUUUTT!!!!!!!"
This is one of the Third Doctor's best episodes!
It is an action-packed 6-parter from Pertwee's golden period.
An empire is in decay and a world is left ravaged by the evils of colonialism. The Doctor goes against the ruthless Marshal of the planet Solos and works to uncover the mystery behind the monstrous mutation of the Solonian people. The Marshall rules Solos from his orbiting Skybase and will stop at nothing to prevent the weary Earth Empire from retracting and granting Solos its independence.
Those who liked Colony in Space and Frontier in Space will enjoy this epic Doctor Who socio-political thriller.
Un-people Doing Un-things Un-together
This is an enjoyable story from the middle of the Pertwee era. While it is not highly regarded by many fans, I have always liked this story. The story basics are the Doctor receives an odd object, and tells Jo that it is an important message that must be delivered. Jo follows the Doctor into the TARDIS and they end up on an Earth Sky Base orbiting the planet Solos quite far in the future. The Earth Empire is declining - they can no longer afford to keep far-flung colonies such as Solos going, so control of Solos is being returned to native populations. Mucking things up are warring factions among the native populations, apparent mutations among the native population, the murder of an Earth government official, members of the Earth force that don't want to give up control of Solos, and atmospheric experiments to make the atmosphere breathable by humans.
This was done in the middle of Pertwee's 5-year stay in the role, and it shows. John Pertwee is very comfortable and...
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