Doctor Who (1963) 15.04.02

The Sun Makers - Part Two

The Doctor is knocked out by the gas that fills the booth. Cordo takes off running but he sticks around long enough to see the Doctor taken away by a security team.

Gatherer Hade goes to the Collector to request a security detail to help round up the revolutionaries. It takes some convincing but the Collector finally gives Hade what he needs.

The Doctor is taken to the correction center for correcting. He is in a straightjacket when he wakes up. There he meets Bisham who is there because he was curious. The Doctor messes with some of the machinery as best he can. It buys them some time.

Gatherer Hade returns to his office where he learn from Marn, his assistant, that the Doctor has been picked up and is in the correction center. Hade sends Marn to retrieve the Doctor.

Time runs out for Leela. Mandrel is ready to kill her when Cordo comes running in and tells them what happened. Leela insists that they need to rescue the Doctor but Cordo is the only one willing to go with her.

The Doctor meets with Gatherer Hade, who is very pleasant to him. He gives him the money he was trying to take out of the machine when he got gassed and apologizes to him. The Doctor takes the money and leaves and heads to the undercity to find Leela and the others.

Leela, Cordo, and K-9 make their way to the correction center. The Doctor is gone. They liberate Bisham and take him with them. Word is out by the time they leave the correction center and there are guards everywhere.

Thoughts

Leela and the Doctor don't share the screen in this episode. That's probably a good thing. Louise Jameson says as much on the commentary track. She does get to do stuff, like lead the rescue team (that only succeeds in liberating Bisham) and get ready to fight Mandrel.

The supporting cast in this story is better than in many other stories. They each seem to have their own personality and to have invested time in figuring out who they are. They do much more than stand around and read their lines.

Tom Baker, Louis Jameson, and Michael Keating (Goudry) are on the commentary track for this episode.

The quality of this episode lives up to the standard set in the first installment. That isn't always the case. I am pleasantly surprised and very happy to see that it is this time around.