‘The Keys of Marinus’ might not be at the top of some people’s watch lists, but perhaps it should be. This Terry Nation adventure is a solid contender for being one of the greatest First Doctor stories ever made…
Whilst some fans never tire of speaking about ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan‘ and ‘The Aztecs’ (which are both excellent adventures, by the way) there are some First Doctor stories which never seem to get a look in. How many threads does ‘The Sensorites’ have on Gallifrey Base? And where are all the posts about ‘The Space Museum’?
This may sound a little twisted, but ‘The Keys of Marinus’ might actually have benefited from being wiped; missing First Doctor stories acquire something of a mythos, like ‘The Massacre‘ and ‘The Myth Makers.’ When we have these adventures in their entirety, they lose something of their mystique.
And so, ‘regrettably’ we have all six episodes of ‘The Keys of Marinus’ to discuss, debate and devour, warts and all. People often forget that this penned by Dalek creator Terry Nation, and in fact it was his second-ever contribution to the series. It’s distinctly different in tone from its predecessor, but like ‘The Daleks,’ it has some great baddies – although it’s fair to say that the Voord didn’t have quite the same impact as the metal mutants from Skaro when they made their debut (no Voord playsuits doing the rounds in Christmas ’64.)
Perhaps these Doctor Who monsters were lost in the midst of everything else ‘The Keys of Marinus’ has to offer. And yet, the scale of the story is one of its. It’s bursting at the seams with fascinating ideas, and many, many characters. Whilst some First Doctor stories anchor themselves to a single location, ‘The Keys of Marinus’ spans the eponymous planet, with the regulars hopping from one location to another. So they’re not just fighting the Voord, but the Morphotons, and the mountain warriors, and the lawyers of Millennius to boot.
The premise is simple: the Doctor and his friends must retrieve the four keys to power the Conscience of Marinus – a machine that can eradicate all evil thoughts from the planet’s inhabitants. To do this, the travellers must teleport from place to place on something of a treasure hunt until all the keys are secure, and safe from the rubbery hands of the fearsome Voord.
It may sound like a lot to cram into a single adventure, but it’s worth remembering that this is actually a six part story – and in many ways, it’s more like a collection of shorter tales: the first episode takes place on a glass beach; the second in a creepy city, overseen by giant, talking brains in jars; the third in a ‘screaming jungle’ where evolution is running amok; the fourth on a snow-capped mountain; and the fifth and sixth in the ‘futuristic’ supercity of Millennius.
This is where ‘The Keys of Marinus’ really has the edge on its competitors; it never stays in one place for long enough to get dull. Typically, six part Doctor Who stories struggle in this regard, and have a tendency to tread water, and there’s no denying that other First Doctor stories such as ‘The Reign of Terror’ and ‘The Sensorites’ (great as they are) can be a little ‘sluggish’ at times, a bit like a cable car climbing a mountain – satisfying, but slow. ‘The Keys of Marinus,’ however, is no cable car; this is the Shinkansen of First Doctor stories, with lots of new and exciting things whipping past you at high speed.
At the same time, there is cohesion; the key ‘MacGuffins’ tie everything together neatly, and the mini adventures are self-contained. Morphoton is perhaps one of the most intriguing locations in ‘The Keys of Marinus’ – a city built on a lie, where nothing is quite as it seems due to the mind-bending influence of its overlords. Would this portion of ‘The Keys of Marinus’ have benefitted from more air time? Possibly – it’s a strong idea that could have been developed further, but it could also have been diluted, and lost its impact.
This is a common criticism of this adventure. Its fast-paced nature gives ‘The Keys of Marinus’ breadth, but not depth; there is little character development to be had as the regulars scramble for the all-important keys, but it depends what you want from a Doctor Who story; character development with no story is a bit like scouring the internet for inspirational quotes – you might be furnished with some profound insight into the human psyche, but you’ll miss the escapism of a ripping yarn. Simply put, you don’t need character development to enjoy a good story – after all, where is the character development in ‘City of Death,’ save for Duggan realising that punching people is sometimes good?
The best way to enjoy ‘The Keys of Marinus,’ therefore, is to allow yourself to be carried along as it takes its twists and turns, and enjoy the ride. Terry Nation has somehow managed to cram a whole season’s worth of ideas into six punchy and fast-paced instalments, and there really is no other First Doctor story like it (okay, ‘The Chase’ is a bit like it, but we’ll save that discussion for another day.) This is a masterclass in science fiction writing which truly stretches the imagination with its toy box of tantalising ideas – no grit, no gravitas, but crateloads of creativity. It’s like someone released the pressure valve in Nation’s brain.
So move aside ‘Marco Polo.’ Sayonara ‘The Smugglers.’ If any First Doctor story is going to win an Emmy, it’s this one. I will not hear a bad Voord spoken against it.
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