The Savages

The Savages takes on some harder sci-fi concepts and presents a story about an educated ruling class fueling their utopia through the systemic abuse of the savages who live outside their city. It's a theme commonly explored throughout the history of science fiction and, while not standing out from the crowd, does a decent job at tackling the subject.

Dodo might be her least useless in this story as she drives the action by stumbling across the abuses of the savages. It's refreshing to see her character used a little better before her short run ends. The plot isn't deep but is well paced. There's nothing to speak of for visual effects since the story is entirely missing but Loose Cannon's reconstruction has some nice touches to try to give you an idea of how it may have played out on screen.

As for Steven's exit, it's not the worst companion departure of the era (*cough* Dodo *cough*) but it is abrupt and doesn't make much sense for his character. Given the scripts he stayed on through I kind of wish he had left in the Massacre when he stormed out as that would have been a much better finish to his arc.

All in all, not a bad story but pretty forgettable aside from Steven leaving.

The idea of a utopian civilization with a dark secret wasn't exactly untilled sci-fi ground even back in 1966, but The Savages still manages to tell a gripping tale, reminiscent of the 1969 Star Trek episode, The Cloud Minders, with the added horrific twist that here, it's the underclass themselves who are being harvested by the privileged. This is Steven's goodbye story, and he's terrific in it. Surprisingly enough, so's Dodo, who'd get a less glamorous exit in the next story. Of all the lost episodes I wish I could see, these four are near the top of my list.

This very strong 4 part story is set on an apparently idyllic world where all is not as it seems.

The adventure brings the TARDIS crew into a moral stand against a system which exploits one group for the furtherment of the other. It is not the first or last time such issues arise in the long running series but the ideas are well enough written and presented here to make this a very successful and entertaining story overall.

It is not necessarily 100 percent perfect but the story is interesting and well scripted by Ian Stuart Black. There is action, intelligent themes, good dialogue and some fine acting. The leader of the Elders, Jano (Frederick Jaeger), is an especially good character. William Hartnell and Peter Purves deliver great performances as usual and the fact it is the last story for Peter Purves as Steven is very sad. He was one of the best companions in my opinion but at least he had a decent send-off.

I think this story perhaps is the first sign of producer Innes Lloyd and story editor Gerry Davis, who both took over their roles mid season, beginning to put their stamp on the show. They apparently wanted the show to be less whimsical and more 'gutsy' with more action and seriousness in the scientific themes. This ticks those boxes.

My Ratings: Episode 1 - 8/10, Episodes 2 to 4 - 8.5/10

Overall: 8.38/10

The final screen appearance for Steven Taylor and it's a surprising solid story. At the beginning, I thought we would get something akin to the, Caveman scenes of 100,000 BC Instead, the story takes a turn as we learn the nearby society has built it's prosperity on stealing the life force from "Savages," another race they argue are inferior.

There's a wonderful core story here and it's helped by a great final performance from Peter Purves as Steven is given a great chance to show his heroism one last time. The Doctor has a great speech to the council. The story is not without faults, hurt by a bit of padding in the early episodes and a contrived change that's key to the outcome of the story. Still, this is fitting send off for Steven.