The Mutants (1972) Review

And the winner for the least satisfying villain death ever goes to... THE MUTANTS!!

The Mutants is a clever tale, mixing a good political anti-racist message with a truly fascinating biology lesson. In some ways, it's Doctor Who at its finest. In others, not so much...

PLOT

The Time Lords send the Doctor and Jo to deliver a package to a native of the planet Solos in the far future. However, they are seriously undermined by a maniacal Marshal who is determined to keep the planet for himself, his scientific lackey and their arch-enemy, a warrior driven mad by his own hatred.

What really bugs me about The Mutants are the Solonians, who are treated like complete dolts. They look like a Roman-Gaul blend and refuse to listen to reason despite having little alternative. Well, there is Ky, but I can't take him seriously after his first scene(and I am so tired of all the speeches).

CHARACTERS

Seeing him in his prime, I can safely say now that Jon Pertwee will never be my favourite Doctor. He just doesn't hook me the way Hartnell and Troughton did, he's too normal in the role. I don't get that alien sensation with him at all. He's likable, for sure, but he doesn't really go beyond that. He's a bit thin on character.

Same goes for poor Jo Grant, whose antics have never amused me. I wish Liz could've traveled in the TARDIS, it would've been amazing.

The Marshal is fairly interesting. He doesn't have a very threatening appereance and he constantly shocked me with callousness. I kept expecting him to realise the error of his ways. He's a phantom menace.
Same goes for the scientific lackey, Dr. Jager(Jaeger?), who keeps resisting the Marshal in words, so I kept hoping for him to team up with the Doctor, but he never did.

The most interesting character of all was Dr. Sondergaard, who devoted his life to study the Solonian culture, despite the Marshal's attempts to kill him off. He barely explains his own past, but he doesn't have to - it's all over him.

NOTES

*Why do the Time Lords not tell the Doctor exactly what to do?

*Hey, it's Geoffrey Palmer! I really like him. He's got a very interesting face.

*Why do all the authority figures on this show insist on carrying around sticks? It drives me crazy.

*I absolutely love the contrast between the Administrator's(it would've been a very nice continuity reference had they called him "the Adjudicator") oxymask warning and Skybase's.

SKYBASE: "Have you got your oxymask?"
SHIP: "Oxymasks must be worn."

*Why is the evolution of a whole species controlled by a single obviously artificial crystal? Well, there may be more, but the question still stands.

CONCLUSION

A splendid adventure in space. I'm starting to miss UNIT, though.