TV Review: Doctor Who: The Macra Terror (1967 and 2019)

Doctor Who: The Macra Terror (1967 and 2019) written by Ian Stuart Black and directed by John Davies (1967) and Charles Norton (2019)

The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) arrives at a futuristic Earth colony somewhere in space. The colony is idyllic in appearance. The workers are happy and well-fed with celebrations almost every night. Cheery music announces work shift changes. The only problem is the occasional worker who claims he sees creatures crawling around at night. A worker named Medok is just such a fellow. He's been assigned for "re-education" but flees imprisonment. When the TARDIS lands just outside the colony, Medok bumps into it. The Doctor and his companions (Jamie (Frazer Hines), Polly (Anneke Wills), and Ben (Michael Craze)) subdue Medok. His pursuers thank the Doctor for capturing the insane criminal. The Doctor isn't so sure Medok is crazy. They all go back to the colony where the strangers are feted by the locals. The Doctor is still curious about Medok and the overly Utopian nature of the colony. His investigation reveals some darker secrets.

This series of episodes is another case where the video has been lost but the audio survives. The BBC created animation based on production photos to pair with the audio. Since the animation is not interwoven with leftover footage from the Troughton series (which was filmed in black and white), this series is in color (or colour, I suppose). The animation isn't great but it gets the job done and the Macra creatures probably look better than they did in the original broadcast.

The story is a little slow, a reflection of the pacing back then. It's a standard Doctor Who plot and well executed. Troughton is delightful as always, even in animated form.

Recommended for classic Doctor Who fans, if you are okay with the animation replacement.