Doctor Who (1963) 8.04.05

Colony in Space - Part Five

The colonists gain the upper hand in the shootout with the IMC guards. The colonists take them prisoner and confiscate their weapons. The IMC guards are taken back to their ship and ordered to leave the planet immediately.

The Doctor tries to convince the colonists not to trust the Master. The Master turns it around on the Doctor and suggests that the colonists should ask the Doctor for his credentials. Ashe meets with the Master while the Doctor and Jo seek out the Master's TARDIS.

The IMC spaceship returns to the planet soon after it leaves, once Dent has proof that the Master is not really the Adjudicator. They land a few hours march from the colonists camp. They make plans to overpower the colonists once night falls.

The Doctor and Jo break into the Master's TARDIS. Jo accidentally triggers a trap left by the Master. The doors to the TARDIS close and it floods with knockout gas. The Master receives an alert on one of his devices and heads back to his TARDIS.

The IMC guards show up and surprise the colonists. They quickly take control of the colonists' camp. They disarm them and order the colonists to leave the planet ASAP. The colonists protest that their ship won't survive a trip back to Earth. Dent doesn't care about that.

The Master imprisons Jo and the Doctor in containment units within the TARDIS. He orders the Doctor to take him to the underground city or else he will kill Miss Grant. The Doctor reluctantly agrees. The Master explains that he can remotely trigger a canister of deadly gas that will overwhelm and kill Jo, if the Doctor doesn't do as he says.

Morgan and Caldwell are sent to find out what happened to the Master. They get into his TARDIS and find Jo trapped in a containment unit. They try to free her which triggers an alert that the Master receives. The Master is enraged and as the episode ends his finger hovers over the button that will release the deadly gas.

Thoughts

I don't understand the shootout that ended the previous episode and started this one. Only one person got killed. There should have been considerably more casualties.

This was much better than the previous episode. It wasn't great TV but it was brilliant for this season of Doctor Who. It seems like there is a lot to resolve in the final episode of this story.