The Space Museum(1965) Review

          

The Space Museum is an average Doctor Who story. It's far from bad and it's far from good.
Episode 1 baffles me. It features the psyches of the TARDIS crew going into the future and discovering that they've been made exhibits of the titular Space Museum. It's hard to get first time watching(I just realised how that actually worked whilst writing this review) and I still have one question: at what point in time did the crew actually change out from their Crusader clothes?

Plus, why did that glass break and then reappear in Vicki's hands? It hadn't happened yet? Well, it did fall down. THAT happened. It just made no sense whatsoever to me.
I did like how they recycled The Edge Of Destruction with the conclusion that another piece of TARDIS hardware just got stuck again.

Episodes 2-4 play out without any further surprises as just your everyday rebellion vs empire story. The only added twist is the foreknowledge that the Doctor and his companions have. I think this is also the first time we learn that in minor ways, time can be rewritten.
MINOR WAYS, STEVEN MOFFAT. MINOR WAYS.

William Hartnell seems to have more fun with this scientific than the other ones. He gets a nice big laugh from hiding inside a Dalek casing and we learn that his Time Lord brain can apparently protect itself from being frozen(an interesting tidbit of data).

William Russell's Sir Ian(Badass of Jaffa) finally seems to reach the peak of his character. Despite wearing an awful costume, Sir Ian goes around the whole serial as a battle-hardened mercenary, determined to find his friends at any cost. He's even grown to appreciate his life a little.

BAD GUY: Killing me will achieve nothing.
SIR IAN: But it may be enjoyable.

Oh yeah. He actually said that. Sir Ian is officially the Boba Fett of Doctor Who(and yes, I know Jeremy Bulloch is in this story).

Vicki I still don't like. I think it's her doe-like cutie face. It's simply annoying to watch. Susan I remember being mysterious and sensual(in the pilot anyway). Vicki is just a hyperactive brat.

And Barbara gets to have a moment when Sir Ian decides to tear up her cardigan without her permission. Is there any question why I love that guy?

The cliffhanger was absolutely riveting. The Daleks have a time machine? I bet the kids were ecstatic back in the day.