The Doctor thinks that life has nothing left to chance

This.

This was a strange one.

As the story begins, the Tardis, described as "the most complex and marvellous conveyance ever constructed by mankind" - is amidst an invasion fleet from the star Arcturus(?!) or a planet in its orbit. The Doctor has turned off all electric and electronic devices aboard his ship and the Tardis is sitting quietly like a movie submarine where the captain turns everything but the red lights off so as to avoid detection (and depth charges).

The Doctor comes across more as William Hartnell than Patrick Troughton here. He calls Ben and Polly "my child" and "dear children" instead of using their names. Plus, he gets really testy at one point and tells Ben, "Oh, shut up, my boy!"

And then there's his spiel about Destiny wherein he gives the revelation, "Now I know that every movement, every curve and every sweep is inexorably controlled by some previous set of circumstances. Destiny governs all, my children."

The fleet is heading towards Earth so our heroes take action. They discover that it's not an invasion fleet but rather one of refugees that are unarmed and complete pacifists. Realizing they'd get murdalized by the not always so peaceful denizens of Earth, the Doctor helps them divert course to a more friendly destination.

I liked the misdirection but the characterization of the Doctor was just bad.