Who Review: The Curse of Peladon
The Doctor thinks he might have fixed the TARDIS when he and Jo find themselves transported to the somewhat barbaric kingdom of Peladon. They arrive just as delegates from the Galactic Federation are convening to consider Peladon’s petition to join. The young king believes this to be their way out of the dark ages. Peladon is rich in minerals, and the Federation will open doors to trade, and new cultures and ideas. But not everyone is convinced the king has Peladon’s best interests at heart, least of all those who see joining the Federation as an abandonment of the old traditions. Councellor Torbis encourages the king in his ambitions for Peladon, but the High Priest Hepesh warns that the king will bring the ancient curse of Aggedor upon them if he turns his back on the old ways. When Torbis winds up dead, there is fear that Hepesh was right. The Doctor and Jo, passing themselves off as the delegation from Earth, can’t leave without trying to help. After all, they might well be Aggedor’s next victims…
SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen this serial. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!
Script Editor Terrance Dicks and Producer Barry Letts were clearly very anxious to get the Doctor roaming time and space again. The Doctor’s Earth exile was a burden handed to them from the end of the Second Doctor era, and while it was good for a few episodes, they found it too limiting. With all of time and space to explore, confining the Doctor to fighting alien visitations with U.N.I.T. gets old very quickly. One way out was to have the Time Lords send the Doctor on errands, returning him to Earth afterwards. We saw this in “Colony in Space,” and we see it again in “The Curse of Peladon.”
Brian Hayles, creator of the Ice Warriors (which feature prominently in this story) wrote “The Curse of Peladon,” and a good job of it he did too, I think. It’s a neat four-parter, with a credible story and plenty of intrigue and action. At the time of writing, Britain was considering entering the European Economic Community, or the “Common Market”–the forerunner to the E.U. The political arguments of the day seem to be reflected in Hayles’s story. That’s not a criticism, but a point of interest, and it goes to show how universal themes are often at the heart of some of our most controversial issues. Tradition versus progress. Individualism versus globalization. The old tried-and-true ways versus the new and risky.
This is a great story for Jo Grant. She takes charge of the situation, concocting the story that she’s a princess, and the Doctor is her underling. She’s shows strength dealing with King Peladon (played by Patrick Troughton’s son, David), especially since the king appears to be spinally challenged. He starts off unsure, dependent on his advisers with no confidence in his own ability to make wise decisions. By the end of the story, he proves himself a worthy king and leader of his people. And I’m sure Jo had no small role in that. She also takes the initiative in trying to figure out who is behind the attempts to kill delegate members.
Perhaps the biggest fail of the story is the Aggedor costume. Aggedor is supposed to be a mighty, fearsome beast. But when we see him, he’s hardly very large and imposing. I wouldn’t expect anything like what they could do today, with modern technology and budgets, but I think it falls short, even by 1972 standards. Alpha Centuri’s costume is also a bit dodgy (its multiple arms are clearly strung together to give the impression of movement), but on the other hand quite creative. I’d like to see Alpha Centuri return in the New Series; it’d be interesting to see what a better budget could do for him… her… whatever.
Also, subtly hinted at throughout is the idea that “religion” and “superstition” hold back progress. Certainly, the religion of Aggedor, with its primitive rituals and barbaric punishments, is a good caricature of such “religion.” As far as I could tell, though, the problem wasn’t Hepesh’s intransigent adherence to the old faith, but the lack of tolerance on both sides for each other’s perspective. There was no allowing for the possibility that the Cult of Aggedor could continue under the new king without imposing itself on everyone, giving the king freedom to make decisions without having to get the High Priest’s blessing.
All in all, “The Curse of Peladon” is worthy of your time. Not must-see Who, but there aren’t many stories that are, though most are good enough to warrant the Whovian’s attention. This one is certainly good enough.
What are your thoughts regarding “The Curse of Peladon”?
