Marco Polo (1964)

Review
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More about this serial

Review

This was a seven-part serial, first broadcast between 22nd February - 4th April 1964. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: the Doctor and his companions find themselves travelling with Marco Polo to the court of Kubla Khan. What they don't know is that Marco intends to give the Tardis to the Khan as a gift, in exchange for permission to go home, to Venice. What they also don't know is that there's a traitor in their midst.

What I've seen:

A 30-minute reconstruction, using still images and sections of the soundtrack. This version is included on the 'The edge of destruction' DVD in the 'The beginning' boxed set. The entire story has been lost, though I understand the soundtrack for all seven episodes still exists.

The good bits:

the reconstruction is very well done, convincingly using still images to give us an impression of what the serial must have looked like
the story, as presented here, is compelling, and what we see of the sets and costumes looks great

The not so good bits:

from the reviews that I've read of this serial (which appear to be based on the sound tracks that have been published by the BBC and / or an earlier reconstruction by Loose Cannon) the story is relatively low on action and high on character development and interaction. Inevitably, a great deal of that is lost in a 30-minute condensed version
for someone who isn't familiar with the story, it's occasionally unclear what, exactly, is going on. For instance, I found it confusing to see Tegana, the villain of the piece, poison Marco's water supplies in one scene and pouring them out into the sands of the Gobi desert in the next, as the two actions seem to cancel each other out

My verdict:

Interesting.

As a reconstruction, this is great. However, the target audience for this kind of reconstruction is bound to be limited to Doctor Who fans with an interest in the programme's history.

More about Doctor Who

An introduction:
Doctor Who reviews: introduction

More "interesting" Doctor Who:
Doctor Who reviews: interesting

More from the William Hartnell years:
Doctor Who reviews: 1963 - 1966

Similar stories:
Doctor Who reviews: time travel

Original version of this review:
06/10/22

More about this serial

Episode guides:
BBC Cult

Serial reviews:
Outpost Gallifrey

DVD reviews (of the 'The beginning' boxed set):
Outpost Gallifrey

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