Doctor Who: The Rocket Men

A First Doctor story told from the perspective of Ian.

Of course, it's really a story about Ian, and in particular, about his relationship to Barbara. The Doctor is mostly active off-stage, rightly allowing the narrator to take the spotlight. The story starts in media res, and then takes the unusual step of cutting back and forth between the central action scenes and the more sedate lead-up to them. There's also a particularly effective cliffhanger at the half-way point, making a good use of the narrative structure to spring a surprise on the listener.

The villains of the story are jet pack wearing pirates bringing to mind similar-looking characters from the movie serials of the '40s and '50s (most obviously King of the Rocket Men). It's not quite the right decade, but it absolutely feels like something that Doctor Who could have done at this time in its history, if only they'd had the budget. Indeed, filming this today would require a lot of CGI work, and it's a tribute to the story that this doesn't take away from the Hartnell-era feel.

Ian is especially well written here, allowing not only his unspoken love for Barbara to shine through, but combining both his science teacher background and the ‘action hero' role that he largely took in the show. The other characters are less effective, with Barbara in particular mainly playing the damsel-in-distress, and Vicki little more than window dressing. However, while this isn't ideal, I think it's forgiveable in the monologue format of the Companion Chronicles, where the narrator's perspective is paramount. In fact, here, the second actor (playing the leader of the Rocket Men) is essentially redundant and has only a few lines anyway.

These weaknesses do prevent me giving this a solid five stars. But, with a good mix of pathos, action, and vivid imagery of an alien world, along with the retro feel of the ‘rocket man' concept, this is to my mind one of the stronger Companion Chronicles. It's worth noting that the story is entirely self-contained, even though the villains were later brought back for an encore.