COMING exactly halfway through his final season, this four-part adventure, starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, was originally broadcast in December1968 to January 1969.

The Doctor, with Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) encounter the primitive Gonds who are ruled by the initially unseen Krotons.

The Krotons need mental energy to power their damaged spacecraft and they drain the minds of the two most intelligent Gonds through what is essentially a human sacrifice – although the Gonds are unaware of it.

In amongst a power struggle within the tribe, the Doctor and Zoe manage to infiltrate the Krotons in order to find a weakness.

Most of the surviving adventures from the Second Doctor’s era are from this final season and the remastering job here is excellent – the picture quality is superb.

Excellent performances abound, especially Philip Madoc, who gives his character Eelek the right amount of menace.

One slight blooper in the story is where the Doctor states that the planet might be very warm as it has two suns, yet you can see the actor’s breath!

But what warms the viewer up – well the male viewers anyway – is the fact that Zoe is wearing just about the shortest mini-skirt in television history.

A notable fact also is that this was the first Who adventure written by future Script Editor Robert Holmes.

The extras include The Doctor’s Strange Love – a fanboy discussion that I personally wish they would discontinue; an interview with Frazer Hines telling us some anecdotes from his time in the series; and instead of a ‘making of’ documentary, we have Second Time Around, which is an overview of the Patrick Troughton years with contributions from many of the stars and crew.

BBCDVD 3480.