The Enemy of the World [4.7]

Emerging from the TARDIS onto an Australian beach, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria find themselves the target of an assassination attempt. Chased by hovercraft and escaping by helicopter, the trio realise that it's a case of mistaken identity. The Doctor is the spitting image for Salamander – the most controversial and powerful man in the world.

Is he the saviour of the world or the greatest criminal mastermind the human race has ever produced? Before he agrees to bring him down, the Doctor needs proof, and so Jamie and Victoria head to Hungary to gather evidence against him. But who can be trusted? And who is betraying whom?

The Majesty

After a trio of pretty contained stories, following the base-under-siege formula, there's something gloriously riotous about the scale of this story. We leap about from Australasia to Central Europe, from underground caverns to majestic mansions. The first seven minutes of episode one are action packed: a hovercraft, a helicopter, guns, explosions and intrigue – it's Dr Who's answer to James Bond!

The characters are great as well. Patrick Troughton is superb as Salamander (if we allow some leniency on his wandering Mexican accent) but even leaving him to one side, we have Astrid, Fariah, Bruce and Benik (the perfect double act) and the unforgettable Cook.

The Misery

The budget is stretched to its limits here, though you have to admire the audacious way they scripted it. “Why is this prisoner being kept in the corridor?” - “It's easier to guard him that way”. (Real answer: we can't afford to build another set.) Or again “You don't think I only came here with one guard do you?” (Well we only see one, but let's imagine another ten extras standing just offscreen.)

Magical Moments

• Seeing the beach, the Doctor immediately wants to build sandcastles, and goes rushing straight into the sea like a little child.
• In the helicopter, the license expires on 31st December 2018. It's always funny to think that the far future for the actors has become the recent past for the audience.
• Astrid, cool as a cucumber, calmly informs her passengers on the helicopter that “They've blown a hole in the fuel tank. We might blow up any minute.”
• There's a lot of great one-liners peppered throughout this story from beginning to end: “It might cost you your life... but it will be worth it.”
• The wonderfully gloomy cook has at least ten such: “I'm going out for a walk. It'll probably rain”
• “You must have been a nasty little child” growls Bruce. “Oh I was” Benik says in reply. “But I had a very enjoyable childhood.”
• Fariah gets a feisty final line also: “I can only die once, Benik. And someone's beaten you to it.”
• There's a lovely little cutaway where Salamander sits smoking a cigar, feet up on the table. He's not doing much, just reading the paper. But he's so clearly NOT the Doctor in this moment.
• The twist with Giles Kent is neither 100% unexpected, not 100% clear, but is a very satisfying reveal in the final episode.
• Salamander gets the perfect come-uppance: sucked into the time vortex to be vaporised through all the four dimensions.

In Summary

I actually love this story. I have a special fondness for it, because it is at least partly set in my adopted home of Hungary, and it rattles along in a highly entertaining fashion. Troughton's doppelganger Salamander is vastly more convincing that Hartnell's in The Massacre, and the other characters are great fun to watch. It's brilliant to see all the footage recovered after being missing for so long.

Overall: 4.7