His Robot Friday

The Tardis lands in a tropical paradise with a blue lagoon so I immediately started having warm memories of Brooke Shields in her finest role ever. So far, so good.

This paradise is on an island on the Planet Delffo in Galaxy G which is one of the single dullest yet corniest location names in all of Doctor Who. It's almost like the author used those names as placeholders meaning to come up with something more interesting later but never bothered.

For reasons hopefully lost in the mists of time, Jamie's catchphrase here is the appalling alliteration "Sizzling satellites!"

The Doctor has been there before and wants to hook up with his old pals, the Creels. Our heroes retreat to the TARDIS library which holds an extensive microfilm collection that helpfully catalogues all of the Doctor's adventures in time and space. Really? Was microfilm actually considered high tech in 1969? Does the TARDIS library have a card catalogue? Well, after perusing the microfilm, they discover that they've landed on ominously named Island of the Devils. Jamie bemoans the fact that it doesn't sound like quite the place for him to get some R&R which really pisses off the Doctor.

"Sometimes I wonder why I ever chose you as a companion for my journeys."

Harsh! Wasn't it just a couple stories ago that Zoe was all pissy and told him to shut up? What's with all of this intra-TARDIS conflict?

Jamie storms out of the ship in a huff.

Eventually Zoe and the Doctor go out in search of him despite the Time Lord thinking, "...why should I bother, I really don't know." This is real First Doctor testiness!

They stumble upon a single giant footprint in the sand and a message scrawled next to it by Jamie, presumably: "GONE WITH MAN FRIDAY TO MEET DEVILS IN MOUNTAIN". The Doctor and Zoe promptly go in search of their missing friend.

After a while, they happen upon a Creel. Though not normally found on the Island of the Devils, this one, Goruf, is doing some scientific research and tells the Doctor that one of the Devil's giant one-legged robots, a Blikk, has taken Jamie. Goruf gives them directions to find their wayward Scotsman which turns out to be a nano Odyssey involving soporific flowers and a tunnel with an unknown guard.

They eventually find the subterranean lair of the Devils where Jamie is hanging out. As it turns out the Devils, a.k.a. - the Lava People, are really nice folks who just want to live in peace with the Creel.

I liked that the Devils turned out to be good, peaceful folk. And I agree that Zoe has a pulchritudinous brow. But the Doctor getting really irritated with Jamie for no good reason and then going off on him like that was just ridiculous. And just like the previous tale, the ostensible villains here have "slanting eyes". Same author? This must be a racist trope.