Day 4: The Firemaker

As recently seen in An Adventure In Space And Time, the early years of Doctor Who were not the easiest to film. With tiny studios and little chance of a retake, it means that when watching the programme, it's easier to see when things go wrong. But it also develops an appreciation for things going right, as can be seen in the fight scene between Kal and Za. It comes across as exciting, and at times shocking, with plenty of thanks to the stunt arranger Derek Ware, and Waris Hussein's direction. The direction in particular is worthy of note. The use of quick cuts keeps things active, and the cuts to the shocked reactions of The Doctor and his companions is similarly effective,mas well as being able to show reactions to awful things rather than actually show them, allowing for things to both not go over budget and not get attraction from the censors. The Doctor interestngly expresses distaste at Kal getting his brains bashed out which, given that he almost did the same thing to Za in the last episode, shows that his character is developing. And yet as they run back to the TARDIS at the end of the episode and Barbara falls over, the Doctor runs past her and Ian picks her up. The Doctor's still got some way to go before we can trust him.