OK, so I got a bit silly toward the end of my last entry. This is likely to happen now and again, particularly when reviewing things that don't impress me. I'll even apologise to both cavemen and regulars for doubting their intelligence, since we see here that the former have mastered the art of tying knots that are impossible to untie.
But enough with the snide comments already! On with episode 3, which is a cracking good adventure story. I was gripped, even though I've seen it several times before, and the time flew by. The opening momentarily confused me - I'd forgotten that recaps were often filmed at the beginning of the next episode, rather than reusing the cliffhanger. I imagine this was due to the limited number of edits allowed per episode, in turn because of the expense of video tape - something I'll probably talk about in more detail in a later entry. Anyhow, an interesting thing with this episode is that it appears at first glance to be a classic escape-recapture scenario, with the regulars starting off imprisoned, getting out, running around for a bit, and then being caught again - something to fill time rather than significantly advance the plot. I say "classic", but of course there is no Who formula yet; everything is new. And actually that first glance is misleading. If you look at the intangibles - the politics of the tribe, relationships between characters - there have been huge changes.
And that's what makes this action story entertaining - the characters and their interaction. For the cave people the primary focus is definitely on Hur, who proves herself to be the smartest of her tribe and pretty much tells Za what to do (as she did with her father last episode), while back at home Kal ruthlessly takes advantage of the events instigated by the Old Mother. The Doctor is frightened and out of his depth, to the extent that he considers smashing an injured man's skull to ease their escape. Ian is frightened too - there's a nice moment with him and Barbara where William Russell does an excellent job portraying a man who is scared and won't admit it - but he spots the Doctor's weakness and uses it to come off the back foot at last, trying to take charge. As usual, though, it's Barbara who makes the key decision.
Despite this, the sharp-eyed among you will notice that in all this talk of characterisation I've hardly mentioned Barbara's, and Susan's not at all. This is because I've saved that pleasure for the Thorny Topic of the Week, which this time around is
Sexism, Part 1: A Place for Everyone
I suppose it might seem odd to talk about sexism in an episode where the action is driven largely by the Old Mother, Hur and Barbara, with Kal the only male to significantly move events along. Even Susan remembers the way back to the ship better than the others, so this is obviously not the sort of sexism that says women can't do anything well; but let's take a look at the gender roles.
The tribe of Gum is certainly patriarchal, with the men making all the decisions (including who their daughters marry). Women's roles are not even mentioned - if this is a hunter-gatherer society the gatherers are pretty much invisible. The only way Hur can use her undoubted intelligence is to influence the men around her. The travellers are slightly different, but it is still Ian and the Doctor who clash over who is to lead, and it is they who take on the protective roles (one at the front, one at the back, the "girls" in between). Similarly, it is the men who try to handle the dangers in a calm way, leaving the screaming to Barbara and Susan. Barbara's hysterics are less OTT than Susan's last week - and even justifiable, given the situation she and Ian have been dropped into - but in context, they are reinforcing gender stereotypes; as is her decision to help Za (quickly supported by Susan), which emphasises the female caring role. The only one not fitting this pattern is the Old Mother, who is instead a stereotypical elder and could as easily have been an Old Father.
So, the impression we are given is that men are the rulers, decision-makers and fighters, ideally strong and fearless; women are supportive, nurturing and weak. This comes over so strongly in this episode that it made me wince quite a bit.
Hm, I was going to add some political theorising here as well as some comments about growing up in the 60s and 70s, but it's getting late and this entry is already quite long, so I'll stop there and just let the observation stand. I'm sure there will be other opportunities later. Which leaves me one more thing to discuss...
Monsters!, Part 1
This is the episode where we first encounter a non-human "monster". It's an animal rather than an alien, but the threat it represents is no less real for all that. The need for special effects is avoided by keeping it off-screen, but this is done in an effective way, and we certainly get to see the consequences of the encounter. Za's wounds are gruesome, saved from being truly sickening only by being filmed in black and white; and with some of the other violent moments in the story I wonder about attitudes to child-friendly programming at the time. Eric Saward would fit right in.
One more episode to go in this story, and I'm still writing twice as much as I expected. We'll just have to see if this continues...
Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 7th December 1963
Viewers: 6.9 million
Chart Position: 61
Appreciation Index: 56
Rating:
7/10. It loses a mark or two for the level of sexism displayed, but not more because the "product of its time" defence does (partially) work for me.
Next Time:
The Firemaker.
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