The Smugglers [3.5]

Horrified to discover Ben and Polly have stowed away on the TARDIS, the Doctor has trouble convincing them that they are now time-travellers. Even when they are accosted by a 17^th century pirate turned church warden, they decide he’s just an eccentric old man.

It’s only when they arrive at the local pub and find themselves under arrest for the murder of said church warden that the truth finally dawns – too late. Meanwhile, the Doctor has been kidnapped by pirates who are convinced he knows the secret to Avery’s buried treasure.

The Majesty

It’s “Pirates of the Carribean” meets “Dr Who” and the result is something both fun and original. We have a pleasantly complex array of characters with competing motives and alliances – the pirates, the smugglers, the taxmen, the ordinary village folk – which interplay in different ways as the story unfolds.

Nice also to see the Doctor with a clear “moral obligation” to help the village. Probably more than any other, the first Doctor goes through a major character change across the shift of his time in the role. The Doctor of the first season would never have spoken in these terms and would simply have left for the TARDIS the moment his curiosity had been satisfied.

The Misery

Although Ben and Polly both hold themselves fairly well, in comparison to previous companions, they lose something of the hippy vibe they had from “The War Machines”. Quickly they slot back into the same kind of roles that Ian and Barbara had already sketched out – the resourceful survivor and the caring strategist. It’s fine, but it’s not as ground-breaking as we might have hoped after the last story.

The idea of the TARDIS stuck under the sea during high tide is a reuse of an idea from “The Time Meddler”. They just about got away with it then as an elementary plot device to keep the travellers from leaving. Here it is one time too many.

Again, the whole story is missing, and a lot of viewing pleasure is thereby forfeited!

Magical Moments

• The Doctor: “You see that scanner? That is what I call a scanner!”
• In my rather imaginative recon version, the 17^th century pub is selling cans of coke, and there’s quite clearly something displayed with the price $9.95. Not exactly period! Meanwhile Polly keeps getting called “my lad” despite wearing a low cut dress with her hair loose...
• “By thunder, he’ll talk ter me, or my name ain’t Samuel Pyke!” The cast all clearly went to night classes in Pirate Language.
• A great little line from Ben in episode 2. “What you screaming for?” - “Nothing. Just happy, mate!”
• Polly’s idea of using local superstitions around witchcraft to escape the cell is very ingenious. Though it could have been developed a little more, perhaps.
• “We’re merchants! Honest merchants!” The smugglers proceed to all kill themselves laughing.
• Again, my idiosyncratic reconstruction comes up trumps as Avery’s buried treasure appears to come in a pair of Adidas sports bags.
• The climactic battle in episode four goes on for quite some time. A shame it’s missing as the soundtrack implies it would be worth the watch!

In Summary

“The Smugglers” is all missing, and that is sad. As a historical, it relies a lot on characters and sets and performances and a lot of that gets lost when dealing with reconstructions. Nevertheless the characters are great – Samuel Pyke is particularly good – and the story itself in the perfect balance between bring too convoluted and too simplistic. Ben and Polly make for very strong companions – definitely the strongest team since Ian and Barbara, and they are very easy to root for. The Doctor doesn’t get so much to do, I felt. And the central mystery – why Holy Joe Longfoot reveals the clue for the treasure to the Doctor in the first place – goes unanswered.

Overall: 3.5