Galaxy Four This story is not known to exist in its complete original format (4 black-and-white 25-minute TV episodes). Paperback Novelization (hardcover) CD Audio - 2 discs

(Doctor Who Story No. 18, starring William Hartnell) written by William Emms directed by Derek Martinus produced by Verity Lambert featuring library music tracks 4 episodes @ 25 minutes each, all missing: 1. Four Hundred Dawns 2. Trap of Steel 3. Airlock 4. The Exploding Planet Story: Materializing on a desolate alien planet, the Doctor, Steven, and Vicki are soon rescued from enigmatic robots by a race of young female soldiers called Drahvins. The Drahvins have been in a fight for survival against the hideous Rills and their "Chumbley" machines ever since each side crashed here, and the Drahvins are desperate to find a way off the planet before its decaying orbital conditions cause it to explode. Will the Doctor and his friends be able to help the Drahvins without getting caught in the cross-fire? How much are the Drahvins willing to say about what the Rills are really after?

As written, this is a very excellent and exceptional story, having all the elements I like to see in a Doctor Who adventure. Its production is a good distance from being perfect, but all things considered, season three can boast opening with a decent sci-fi story that is more interesting, serious, and climactic than anything season two put out. Verity Lambert's last real story as producer is something of a triumph.

The distinctive library music tracks build a light but nevertheless alien atmosphere for the lonely dying planet on which this adventure takes place. The music is okay for the most part, successfully alien and even brilliant in some places, and generally works. Knowing these particular tracks as well as I do, I don't think the team always managed to find the most appropriate sections to back every scene, often selecting bits that were too serene instead of some of the more suspenseful or action oriented sections that were available, but this doesn't detract much from the story.

The TARDIS seems to have made a good materialization on television, although the novelization is unfortunately deprived of that. The rest of its essential features and those of the main characters are well demonstrated in the opening sequence. One couldn't ask for anything better. Fear of the unknown has no power to stop the three regular characters from exploring outside the ship and beyond as well, as they eagerly jump into danger and first contact situations. They'll also tackle heroics in satisfying fashion before they're finished with this place. All the right stuff, in the right order, starting the season off to boot.

The major theme of the story works as an objective observation, but subjectively are all the right things demonstrated by dialogue and performances? In this area, the novel is more polished than the televised version. There is much more to be said about this, but to avoid spoilers, I'll save all that for the in-depth analysis version of this review.

Judging by sound alone, the Drahvins themselves seem to act a little stiffly, which is not altogether out of character for them. The existing 5-minute film clip reveals additional visual nuances that make the performances significantly more believable. However, they are meant to be emotional beings, and the fear and gut-level response to the Rills that motivates them is still not quite all that it should be.

One of the things that really helps sustain this story is the mystery surrounding the Rills and their robots, something that is executed with exceptional levels of audio/visual atmosphere. The sounds you will almost certainly remember long after hearing this story are those of the Chumbleys. Brian Hodgson has assembled one of his most effective montages to date, effectively bringing to life these creations, alien, mysterious, somewhat threatening, somewhat reassuringly ordered and patterned. And even with certain bits of information held back for later, the characters are allowed to present themselves true to form throughout the story, no elaborate manoeuvres required, and there is much gripping conflict all the way through for all concerned. Thus the story seems to be much better written than "The Rescue" (story no. 11) and "The Sensorites" (story no. 7), and drives its own point home better.

Galaxy Four generally has better written action as well, and the Doctor's your man in this one as the central, heroic character. Though Steven and Vicki have excellent contributions to make as well, the Doctor is much more of the habitual, reasonable, lead problem-solver in this one, and it's a vast improvement over his usual season two antics. This story delivers well, keeping the level of drama high, interesting and logical all throughout as the final episode builds to a satisfying climax.

Sound effects for laser blasts are particularly lame this time around, a quiet and dull bit of white noise that is practically inaudible whenever something else is going on. Improvement here could have lifted the excitement level of the drama's conclusion considerably.

All things considered, "Galaxy Four" is a top notch season three story, and a great example of the Hartnell era at its best. I'm still secretly hoping this one gets rediscovered on film earlier than many other missing Hartnell stories. Had this story been a part of season two, it would have easily have come out on top as the best story, no contest. However, as a part of the more turbulent season three, there are a number of other excellent stories ready to give it a good run for its money.....

Doctor Who: Lost in Time - William Hartnell 1 DVD disc (also included in Lost in Time Boxed Sets)

Coverage on Galaxy Four includes:

• 8mm off-screen clip from Episode 1 with full sound (TARDIS interior, approx. 10 seconds)

Audio CD - Doctor Who - Galaxy Four. (2 discs)

• The CD Audio version features narration by actor Peter Purves (who also played Steven Taylor) to help listeners follow what used to be visual aspects of the story. This version spans both discs and is playable in any normal audio CD player.

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