Who Review #12 - the Rescue

The crew land on the planet Dido in the 25th Century. Here they meet two survivors from a crashed spaceship, called Bennett and Vicki. The mysterious Koquilion is protecting them from the Didonians who have supposedly killed the crew. However, it turns out that Bennett is Koquilion. He murdered someone and has murdered the others to cover this up. He falls to his death when he meets survivng Didonians. Vicki joins the crew.

This isn't that much of a story. Its main point was to introduce the cute looking and very young Maureen O'Brien to fill in the gap left with Susan's departure. (Rather touchingly shown when the Doctor asks Susan to operate the door.) Vicki is also the first of the companions to start wearing an above knee skirt; although it wasn't quite the Mary Quant style mini-skirt, it was short enough to show off Maureen O'Brien's bottom (tastefully decked by thick tights) when she bent over. The mini was to be the stock companion clothes of the Troughton and early Pertwee years.

Vicki is definately a better companion than Susan. Carole Ann was normally left screaming and shouting "Grandfather" all the time; there was no hint of being a girl from the future and any hint at her brilliance, which intrigued Ian and Barbara and brought them to the junkyard and the TARDIS in the first place, was simply absent. Vicki was a lot stronger.

Carole Ann can rest assured though - I thought she had her good parts as Susan and doesn't come close to my "worst companion award". That goes to the irritating git from the Baker/Davison era...but I am getting ahead of myself!

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