Everybody Wants to Rule the World

The Enemy of the World was mostly lost for decades as only 1 of the 6 episodes was known to exist until about 12 years ago when copies of the other 5 were discovered. Aside from being known as a "lost story" for ages, it was also famous for featuring Patrick Troughton in 2 roles: the Doctor and the villain Salamander.

In addition to our hero looking exactly like the bad guy, security bad ass who carries a stick, Bruce, has more than a passing resemblance to Dick Cheney. I sat there waiting for him to say, "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Salamander now has weapons of mass destruction." I couldn't not see him as our former Vice President.

So the TARDIS crew lands on a beach and the Doctor goes for a brief swim. They are noticed by a trio of brutes in a hovercraft who mistake the Doctor for the megalomaniac dictator, Salamander. They are rescued by one Astrid Ferrier who takes them to her boss, Giles Kent. They are moving against Salamander while the dictator goes about consolidating his power.

For reasons unknown, the makers of this story chose to give Salamander an odd accent that came across as a blend of Mexican and French. While I can completely understand the need to differentiate him from the Doctor since they are played by the same actor and a part in Troughton's hair just wouldn't be enough, this goofy accent was an odd choice.

The Doctor is largely sidelined for the first 4 episodes as he demands proof of Salamander's ill intentions before he agrees to act against him as an impostor. He rejects the evidence put before him as circumstantial for quite a while. This allows Troughton to chew some fine scenery as the evil villain.

I noticed that there isn't much incidental music here and what there was is very straight ahead dramatic orchestral stuff and not the more pseudo-pop classical or weird early synth music I am used to. Maybe I just haven't paid strict attention to the scores lately. While on the subject of music, I still think of how much better the theme is here than it has been since the show returned nearly 20 years ago every time I watch one of these old stories. 

If memory serves, this story marks the first time someone gets sucked out of the TARDIS to die an agonizing death in the vortex. I think it's also the first appearance of a hovercraft.

I rather liked The Enemy of the World. I smiled whenever Cheney came onscreen and Salamander with his preposterous accent was just a lot of fun to watch. There are a lot of characters in this story so, while they're not totally sidelined, Jamie and Victoria don't get quite as much screentime as they might have. Plus, they're separated from the Doctor for a while so that character dynamic is truncated.

Whatever its faults, this story is a workout for Troughton and really fun for that alone.

And who thought Benik's haircut was a good idea? His smile made him weasely enough. They didn't have to torture us with that coif.