Doctor Who: The Face of Evil (1977)

I recently watched Planet of Evil and one of the things I most disliked about the story was how much of the plot was propelled by the Doctor simply already knowing everything and slowly explaining it to Sarah over the course of four episodes. In only one instance does the Doctor learn anything new… and it happens off-camera when he falls into the planet’s black pit and has a conversation with the monster and strikes a bargain, none of which we get to see. Very unsatisfying.

So watching Face of Evil was a lot more enjoyable in that respect as there is a mystery for the first couple of episodes that we get to figure out alongside the Doctor. This has the effect of making us the de facto companion in a story that begins without one. I wish I could go back and experience this story for the first time, because it’s such an intriguing premise. We all now know the hook, but it’s fun watching it unfold. The small group of hunter-gatherers who nevertheless have pieces of advanced technology scattered throughout their village. As Calib wonders later in the story, “Are we their captors or their children?”

The Doctor may know the sequence for checking the seals on a Starfall Seven spacesuit, but we in the audience can certainly spot the futuristic technology lurking in this society (in this case, the Doctor’s greater knowledge of spacesuits doesn’t seem like an unfair…