The Smugglers (1966) Review

This is the equivalent of 1080p when it comes to recons of this story.

The Smugglers is a pretty dull affair. Leaving aside the hideous recons(basically blurry images and vague dialogue), the story's nothing but people discussing things and occasionally doing something small-ish. It does pick up at the end with a sword-fight and a battle, but that's not enough to make up for... well, nothing really. While the concept is great actually(Pirates and smugglers team up to find a treasure and the TARDIS crew get mixed up in their little politics), it doesn't answer for what was presented on-screen. Pirates Of The Caribbean it ain't.

To give him credit, Hartnell was on fine form as ever and hardly looked ill. He also had a sizeable chunk of the story and got to manipulate Captain Pike(i.e. Hook) into letting him live, which was darn impressive.

I'm positive towards the new companions. Ben is likable enough and Polly is very attractive and rather funny(on the other hand, the horror of RATS returns...)

The guest stars are also very good. There's the guy who played Tlotoxl(though he gets underused for most of the story), then there's the fat Squire who works with the baddies, but surprisingly turns out to have a conscience after all. The pirates themselves are cool too. Pike/Hook is a generic captain, but we haven't had one on Doctor Who so far so, yeah. I thought Cherub(I'd love to know the thought process behind that name) and Jamaica were both memorable. As far as characters go, it was really good.

NOTES

*The very first "Polly, put a kettle on" was in this story.

*My favourite Hartnell fluff: "Do you see that scanner up there? That's what I call a scanner!"

*How on earth do they mistake Polly for a lad?

*In at least two instances, the Doctor loudly talks in echo-filled caves and the pirates don't overhear him even though they're only a few steps away.

*The Doctor and his companions separately escape, both using remarkably contrived devices to convince their guards to let them go.

*A few seconds of the recon was in color. I'd like to know more about that.

*I know the Doctor is a good guy now, but why does he think himself responsible if Pike burns down the village?

*Out of the three sword duels in the Hartnell era, two are in reconstruction. So annoying.

*When they arrive in the Antarctic, why is it cold inside the TARDIS?

*Shouldn't this story be called "The Pirates"?

CONCLUSION

Like with Galaxy 4, the worst crime is that it's a recon. While the implications are awesome(pirates being pirates, outdoor shooting, sword fights and battles, a puzzle to solve, realistic characters), it's all let down by not being able to see and barely able to hear anything that's happening. As a result, it just comes down to people muttering in studio sets.