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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786303145907 Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, NTSC ISBN: 6303145906 Label: 20th Century Fox Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: 20th Century Fox Release Date: August 24, 1994 Running Time: 91 minutes Studio: 20th Century Fox Theatrical Release Date: September 29, 1975 Sales Rank: 30859
Rating: - Welcome to the Machine.
Season Six
After leaving Earth and the defeated Cyber-army behind, the Tardis deposits the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe onto the twin sunned planet of the Gonds, into an area called, the wasteland.
An area of Gond legend, in which no one ever visits because of death befalling all who enter it. (That would put me off!)
The Tardis crew witness the death of a young man, seen emerging from a domed crystalline structure. After going round the other side of the structure, they are only just in time to save a young woman from succumbing to the same fate. It later transpires that the structure is home to a crystalline life form called Krotons, whom for centuries have been educating the Gonds, via their teaching machines.(For purely selfish reasons.)
Every year the top two Gond students are, "invited" to enter the Kroton dome and live with them. But the Tardis crew have witnessed what really happens to the hapless students.
(Once drained of their mental energies they are vaporized).
Zoe, out of a mixture of boredom and curiosity, picks up the headphones and starts to answer the questions set to her by the teaching machine. The Doctor is too late to stop her, and soon a booming voice calls out that Zoe enter the Krotons home. The Doctor tries to reason with the chief Gond Selris that she doesn't have to enter, but Selris tells the Doctor in no uncertain terms, that she must enter or the Krotons will punish all the Gonds. The Doctor refuses to let Zoe enter alone so he takes the test too, and soon the booming voice calls out, the Doctor must enter too!
The FIGHT to save the Gonds is on....
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An interesting point I'd like to mention is that in ALL his re-incarnations the Doctor has deplored the use of violence as a means to an end, but he has NEVER been a complete pacifist.
Even he realizes that sometimes, there is just no other way.
This is another story that's always bashed by Who fans, mainly because of the rather comical appearance of the Krotons themselves. Their LOOK was due to an even smaller budget then normal, and because of the last minute substituting by this story of one that didn't work out, which didn't leave much time to improve their visual impact.
This happened a lot during season six, which had the knock on effect of making this season, a rather nervous and disappointed Troughton's last. This was originally not even a Doctor Who story it was sent in to the BEEB by Robert Holmes as an "Out of the Unknown" episode. But when the other Who story fell through Terrance Dicks had ... Read More
Rating: - Another man against machine Who story
The ying-yang like halves opening in the wall of the Gond people's teaching hall foreshadows a fight between good and bad. Two students, Abu and Vana, have been given the highest honour, to become companions of the Krotons. Yet Thara, the hot-headed son of Council leader Selris, adamantly tries to stop his girlfriend from going. "Why do we take their orders? We don't even know if they exist."
Landing on a rocky planet that "looks dead, smells dead," the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe, encounter a machine and rescue Vana from certain death from it. Companions of the Krotons, huh?
When Selris learns the truth, the enormity of it sinks in. "The Krotons have been our benefactors. ... Our two best students join the Krotons. They can't all have been murdered!" He also fears that if other Gonds learn the truth, they will rise up against the Krotons, only to be slaughtered. That is being planned under Selris's deputy Eelek. Yet the Gonds' main problem is that they are dependent on the Krotons, especially the teaching machines. Consider this exchange:
Doctor: And everyone uses these machines? Selris: When they are young, yes. That is the law. Doctor: Whose law, Selris? Selris: Our laws--the Gonds'. Doctor: But I thought you said all your law was given to you by the Krotons? Selris: Yes, all our science, all our culture, everything we have has come from the machines. Doctor: I see. A sort of self-perpetuating slavery.
Things heat up, when in the course of their investigation, Zoe unwittingly submits herself to a Kroton teaching machine, reaches one of the highest scores ever, and is selected to become a companion for the Krotons. The Doctor also takes the test to be with her. There's humorous mention about Zoe's intelligence: "Yes, well, Zoe is something of a genius, of course. It can be very irritating at times," to which she shows her cute smile and lets out a small laugh. In other words, a Hermione Granger nearly thirty years before Harry Potter. Zoe later says cheekily, "The Doctor is almost as clever as I am." Almost? Well, actually, Zoe... But this is a great story for Zoe, showing off her math skills as well as a cute miniskirt. Jamie has a good hand-to-hand combat moment in Episode 1.
Beta the controller of Science, like Selris, wants to be free, but is rational about it. "We only know what the Krotons tell us. We don't think. We obey.", and "I'm tired of being fed information like a dog like scraps." The key though, as the Doctor and Zoe notice, are certain ... Read More
Rating: - Another Great Troughton Who episode
I've been buying loads of Doctor Who videos and DVDs recently, most of which I have never seen. Being a fan of the series, I knew who Patrick Troughton was, but never saw any of his episodes. His appearance in The Five Doctors was just a glimps into what the second Doctor was like and "Who" he was. Needless to say I wanted more. Tomb of the Cybermen was my first Troughton episode...I'm convinced he is one of the best Doctors ever. The Krotons is another excellent episode. An interesting story, cold, creepy and truly alien aliens with bizarre technology and a solid cast. The Kroton's accent made me laugh a few times (don't always sound so bright) but somehow that just added to the charm of this episode. Is it just me, or does black and white seem more believable? I pity the latter generations who may never see anything broadcasted black and white on the TV... Another quality episode recommended for any fan of Dr Who or Sci-fi.
Rating: - It's all in the mind
This is a clever Doctor Who story ostensibly about crystalline aliens who are dissolved in solvent and who can be restored by brainpower which can also drive their spaceship. The indigenous population are reared like sheep and educated in the learning halls to develop the intellect that the Krotons need whereupon they will leave the p;anet. Of course, the Doctor and his companions arrive and upset the applecart in their usual manner.
Why is this a clever story? Well the thrust of the plot is about the technologically superior aliens, crystalline based and susceptible to acid attack. However, the sub-plot revolves around the servile and passive Gonds who serve up their best and their brightest to be dispersed by the Krotons after they have been tested for brainpower. The interest lies in the revolutionary feelings of some of the younger members of the group, the staid conservatism of the leader and the almost complete disinterest in intellectual advancement. What occurs leads into revolt and betrayal, of the whole group and of the Doctor . There is a further side to this story of the intellectual arrogance of the Doctor and Zoe and the observation of the lack of common sense attached to high academic and intellectual ability.
All in all a very deep and complex story which operates on many levels. There is a comic side too of the many travels like a merry-go-round when the humanoids pass in, through and out of the Krotons ship and the surreal moment when the Kroton, travelling outside of the spaceship gets lost and cannot locate his position.
Lots of meat in this one originally broadcast 28 December 1968 through 18 January 1969.
Rating: - Enjoyable for Troughton fans
The existing Troughton episodes pose a dilemma for Troughton fans. Some of the surviving Troughton serials (such as The Krotons) are below par; but we have to make do with what's available. Much of PT's work as Dr. Who was destroyed in the BBC's "housecleaning" of its video vaults in the 1970s. Anything that still survives has to be treasured accordingly. Thus, Troughton completists will want to acquire "The Krotons"; but my sense is that "The Tomb of the Cybermen" is still the best memorial for Troughton. "Tomb" is a little gem of a serial -- Dr. Who's dialogue with Victoria (in one of the quieter scenes) is especially memorable. "Tomb" was also very nearly destroyed.
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