The Smugglers
Story 28, Episodes 127-130, Season 4 Episodes 1-4
Doctor: The First Doctor
Companions: Polly Wright, Ben Jackson
In the beginning of Season 4, it is the First Doctor’s last adventure he survives. It is…an adventure.
The Review
I’ve got to admit it…I didn’t give The Smugglers the full attention it deserved. I am fitting this in with The Tenth Planet coming tomorrow and had to do it. The setting is actually intriguing. The Doctor, and a disbelieving Ben and Polly arrive in the ’17th century’, and become caught up in the search for dead Captain Avery’s treasure. Unfortunately for the timeline, Avery died in 1699, confirmed when he actually shows up in The Curse of the Black Spot. So let’s leave it to the Doctor’s technical mind that 1700 is in the 17th century I guess. It’s pretty interesting, and the final hoe-down in the crypt is pretty exciting. A very Last Crusade thing going on here. But there’s a problem.
I think this happened with The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve, the episodes being missing has really hurt this story. Not that I think The Smugglers would become a classic story if it was found, but once the squire and everyone it is introduced, it becomes pretty complex to follow with the cavalcade of historical characters. It also is about an episode too long, the second and third episodes could get all the characters to that graveyard pretty quickly. Again, I lost a bit of interest here because I’m just so excited to get to the Christmastime. Ben and Polly are working pretty well as characters, and despite his severe health difficulties, Hartnell really gives us his all. This story could be a lot better if we ever saw it. Bless their hearts at Loose Cannon though, they did the best they could.
Maybe this would be better if I paid more attention, or could be able to see it. A pirate adventure isn’t a bad idea, but feels wrongly placed in Hartnell’s timeline.
6.75/10 It’s a story!
Reviewing Doctor Who from Start to Finish 