The Mutants

The Mutants has the Doctor being sent by the Time Lords to the planet Solos in the 30th century. The Earth Empire is in decline and subject planets are gradually being given their independence. However, there are colonial officials who wish to retain their authority on Solos, and some of the natives are exhibiting horrific mutations.

It is interesting to compare The Mutants with The Curse of Peladon. In the earlier story, a pre-industrial civilisation joins the Galactic Federation. Here, the Earth Empire has drained a planet of its natural resources and is granting it independence. However, the most interesting comparison is in the actual execution of the story. The Curse of Peladon is a very simple story. The Mutants is far more sophisticated and intelligent, taking in themes like colonialism, racism, xeno-biology, transhumanism and cultural development. However, The Curse of Peladon is a wonderful story, because its realisation is absolutely splendid. The Mutants…isn't.

The idea of a planet that has a year of 2000 Earth years and the notion that, although the Earth Empire has been there for centuries, it has only experienced one season is intriguing. The fact that this makes any civilisation on Solos subject to environmental factors that are cyclical but not predictable shows a true understanding by Bob Baker and Dave Martin of the conceptual audaciousness that can lead to good science fiction. However, they seem to lack any understanding about how to tell that story in 24 minute segments. Although I have never seen this story before, I knew what the plot was beforehand, and I realised at the end of episode 4 that there was precious little plot left and two episodes to go. Yet again, there is no need for this to be a 6-parter.

The acting is variable. Garrick Hagon gives a solid, dignified performance as Ky. Geoffrey Palmer is excellent- he is so ubiquitous, it is easy to forget that he has never given a performance that is less than first rate. However, he is killed off very early on. Paul Whitsun-Jones is a bit over the top as the Marshal, but he is an actor with great presence and personality and I have always enjoyed his performances as irascible blowhards. Then there is Rick James as Cotton. Cotton is the first black character in Doctor Who to be a major supporting player, so it is a crying shame that James provides one of the worst performances I have ever seen. Not only does he fail to properly depict the character, his line readings sound like he's reading from a badly-punctuated autocue and, most damningly of all, he misses a fair few cue lines from his fellow actors. Better, though still terrible, is James Mellor as Varan, constantly talking in the third person (although this manner of speaking has always annoyed me and, as far as I am concerned, only the Hulk and Curtly Ambrose can get away with it!)

Christopher Barry does his best with the mess of a script. Some scenes, such as Sondegaard appearing like an angel to rescue Jo, verge on the iconic. The location work for Solos is very effectively done but, although the design work is sound, many of the interior scenes are overlit. The most successful piece of design is that of the Mutants themselves, which are detailed and actually manage to break up the outline of the actor inside the costume.

This is a very thought-provoking story, but one thought that is provoked time and time again is 'this could have been so much better'. This story fails to make the grade because it has so much potential and wastes it completely. It really could have been one of the triumphs of the Pertwee era and Doctor Who in general.

NEXT: The Time Monster