Doctor Who - The Smugglers Reviews

Rating		Votes
10	4%	2
9	2%	1
8	12%	6
7	20%	10
6	26%	13
5	16%	8
4	18%	9
3	2%	1
2	0%	0
1	0%	0
Average Rating 6.1
Votes 50

Synopsis

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide:

The TARDIS arrives on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall - much to the astonishment of Polly and Ben. Pirates led by Captain Samuel Pike and his henchman Cherub are searching for a hidden treasure, while a smuggling ring masterminded by the local Squire is trying to off-load contraband.

The Doctor is kidnapped by Pike's men after inadvertently learning, from churchwarden Joseph Longfoot (who is subsequently murdered), a cryptic rhyme that holds the key to the treasure's whereabouts.

Although he manages to escape, the Doctor is eventually forced to tell Pike the rhyme's meaning - it refers to names on tombstones in the church crypt - and the treasure is uncovered. At this point, however, the militia arrive, having been summoned by Revenue officer Josiah Blake. A fight ensues in which Pike and many of his men are killed and the rest taken prisoner. The Doctor and his companions meanwhile slip back to the TARDIS.

Has Prerequisite Story

1 out of 11 (9.1%) raters say this story requires a previous story.

Extended Ratings

Plot

6.3

(16)

Acting

7.6

(15)

Effects

6.5

(12)

Replay

5.8

(15)

1st Doctor

Ben Jackson

Polly Wright

Samuel Pike

Historical

Cast

The Doctor - William Hartnell

Polly - Anneke Wills

Ben Jackson - Michael Craze

Jacob Kewper - David Blake Kelly

Churchwarden - Terence de Marney

Cherub - George A Cooper

Blake - John Ringham

Captain Pike - Michael Godfrey

Tom - Mike Lucas

Squire - Paul Whitsun-Jones

Spaniard - Derek Ware

Jamaica - Elroy Josephs

Gaptooth - Jack Bligh

Director:

Julia Smith

Writer:

Brian Hayles

Reviews

My Rating/Review

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Doctor Who

Classic TV Series

The Smugglers

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Unsure

Reviewed By: MercuryReview Date: 11/23/18 11:08 am

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

This 4 part adventure on the coast of 17th Century Cornwall takes Doctor Who into a Jamaica Inn type world with a tale of smuggling and hidden treasure.

It could easily be a decent quality BBC production of that kind of period drama but with the interesting addition of the Doctor and his new companions. These new companions (Ben and Polly) perform well providing exactly what is required from companions creating added drama, action scenes and nice dialogue between them and the Doctor. William Hartnell, in his penultimate story before being retired off and replaced with Patrick Troughton, is still on good form.

All the acting, the direction and the general values on show from Brian Hayles' story and its presentation are of a fair standard and it is just an entertaining romp with some colourful characters. A solid, if unexceptional, adventure.

My Ratings: Episode 1 - 8/10, Episode 2 - 7/10, Episode 3 - 8/10, Episode 4 - 7/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Doctor Who

Classic TV Series

The Smugglers

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Reviewed By: adamelijahReview Date: 5/18/16 8:48 pm

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

The first story of Season 4, it the episode in which Ben and Polly take their first trip in the TARDIS, as well as the penultimate story for William. It’s a quite enjoyable historical adventure and Ben Jackson is great in a story that calls on him to be an action hero. The story has a great period feel with pirate treasure, mysterious crypts, and a corrupt town full of smugglers.

The supporting cast is strong, which allowed an ailing William Hartnell to perform well as the Doctor comes off as very cunning. Also his efforts to save the squire shows how far the character had come since, “An Unearthly Child.” The only fault I found is that at a couple points, writer Brian Hayles seemed to forget that Ben and Polly had just joined the Doctor and wrote dialogue that didn’t make sense in that context. Overall, the story is an underrated delight and it’s a pity that this is only exists in audio form.

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Reviewed By: komodoReview Date: 5/14/13 11:03 pm

0 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Not much to this at all. The doctor vs pirates. No aliens, barely even a historical.
I picked the soundtrack up from AudioGo so I could listen to it before the Tenth Planet.
Annette Wills narrates it quite well, but there isn't enough of a story to care about.
One particular moment I found rather interesting was when the Doctor and companions could have fled in the TARDIS, but the Doctor explained to Ben why they had to stay and fix things.