doctor who : the aztecs

Episode One : Right out the gate Barbara and Susan are dicking around with Aztec stuff in some kind of temple. Then they’re rumbled! We didn’t see that coming did we, boy and girls?

As Susan runs back to the TARDIS to get the lads, Barbara is marched off! But it’s not long before our intrepid threesome are picked up by the same Aztecs (with incredibly historically accurate BBC English accents) and are shown some kindness?

Babs, is that you? A reincarnation of the priest in the tomb? That’s handy.

“Reincarnations can come out but human beings can’t go in!” I love you, Doc. I really do. Your chat is awesome.

There’s a point to be made here. This TARDIS crew – The Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian – are brilliant. They work so well together.

Also, the character of the High Priest of Sacrifice is magnificent.

Back in the temple… It had better rain, Barbara.

Bloody hell, Chesterton. What have you got yourself into this time.

And the Doctor is chilling with the other high priest, who has the best hat ever, and the local retirees.

And a moral quandary for the Gang. To sacrifice or not to sacrifice?

Ep 2 : An interrupted sacrifice and an angry High Priest of the same. That can’t end well.

Ian. The man with greatest thumb in history! I feel sorry for Ixta, though.

And The Doctor is quite the charming old rogue in this episode, if easily conned.

Ep 3 : Can Barbara stop Ian from being scrobbled?

Can Ian stop Barbara from being scrobbled?

Where the hell is Susan in all this?

And let’s count this as The Doctor’s first romance. “Yes, I made some cocoa and got engaged.”

Ep 4 : It’s all to play for. Will Ian escape the tunnel? Will The Doctor escape his fiancee? Will Susan escape her punishment? Will Barbara survive the eclipse?

And here comes the final battle between Ian and Ixta.

Verdict : The Aztecs is an example of Doctor Who at it’s very best. Everyone shines and the script is perfect. The story is funny, tragic, thrilling and, at the end, very sad.

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