Doctor Who goes all out space opera in this Cold War allegory, which features the final appearance of the Delgado Master.
Story: 8
Frontier in Space could be called Doctor Who's take on Star Wars - three years before Star Wars premiered! It's war, peace and politics in space. From the very first episode, it feels intense and pretty big-budget, as seen by the extensive model work and the majestic incidental music. It has that Cold War vibe over it as well.
The main problem of the story is its slow pace. The political situation is noticeably tense and restrained but nothing truly seems to develop on either side of the frontier. It does capture the Cold War allegory and the difficult politics of war pretty well, though.
What I love about this story is that the script constantly drops hints of what is to come a few episodes later, in the next story. Knowing that in advance makes all those hints blatantly obvious. Frontier in Space feels like a huge build-up for the next six-parter.
The Daleks appearing at the end of the last episode and revealed to be behind everything is not only one of the most shocking twists of Classic Who but also leads directly to the next story.
Acting: 7
It's great to see a woman as The President of Earth, played by Vera Fusek. She's pretty good. Michael Hawkins is the Benik/Nyder/another slimy assistant of this story and isn't quite as good at conveying that sliminess, but still performs well.
The guest cast doesn't leave any lasting impressions, apart from Fusek and Hawkins, who are terribly underused in the second half. This story is Pertwee's, Manning's and Delgado's show to run, and they do it well, as always.
The Doctor: 6
I love these small moments during which the Doctor shares stories with Jo while they sit in captivity. There is plenty of those kinds of scenes in the later Pertwee stories and they're all so lovely. Their escape plan in Episode 4 is the best one I've ever seen.
The confidence and stubborn manners of the Doctor in this story are admirable. A lesser man would have lost his temper with the stupidity of both the Earth people and the Draconians.
There is something odd about having the Doctor sent to prison and planning his escape with his inmates. It feels a bit too much even for Doctor Who.
The Companions: 8
Jo might not be the most useful of companions this time around but at least she gets to spend her time in captivity together with the Doctor. And her way of resisting the Master's attempt to hypnotize her is bad-ass.
The Monster/Villain: 6
The Draconians might not be the scariest or most menacing of the alien species appearing on the show, but they're an intelligent and noble warrior species. It's a pity they haven't been used after this story. But that might be because the Sontarans, introduced in Season 11, are pretty similar. The Draconians are also pretty humane, which might make them too boring to be used again.
Having the Master suddenly appear without warning midway through the third is a great move that puts a new spin on the rest of the serial, as Roger Delgado always does. And having his final story see him ally himself with the Daleks is a fitting end to this incarnation. He is noticeably the Doctor's best enemy here, and it's heartbreaking to know that Roger Delgado only had a few more months to live.
Production: 10
I've always thought the Draconians among the best-designed aliens in Classic Who. They do look really good, even 50 years later. There's something very Star Trek-y about them.
There are some nice shots and editing quips used during the serial, once again overseen by Paul Bernard. He's good at keeping these type of serials nicely going. That being said, the ending has been oddly edited to pretty much be over the same second it started.
Pacing: 5
Here we have yet another slow-paced and sluggish six-parter. This is one of the worst offenders though since the story doesn't move along at all and the Doctor and Jo spend half of it being imprisoned, together or separately. The story doesn't even get a kick after the Master arrives-
Atmosphere: 6
While the beginning of the serial feels exciting and intense like the best parts of Star Trek or Star Wars do, everything quickly turns stale and dull. Even Roger Delgado's presence in the second half doesn't help much.
Impact: 5
Despite its high production values, the appearance of the Master and the strong allegory of real-world political tensions, Frontier in Space hasn't had a particularly huge impact on the series as a whole. People tend to view the story as one of Pertwee's best or something closer to average.
Replay Value: 5
Even though I think the story is quite fine and the Draconians are awesome, this serial is just too long and too slow to warrant any rewatches anytime soon.
Random Observations:
This is the final story to feature Roger Delgado as the Master. His exit is rather sudden since it was planned for him to be written out properly in a story in Season 11. Roger Delgado died in a car accident in Turkey sometime after Frontier in Space was broadcast, though, so the plans were scrapped. The Master wouldn't return until 176 and the story The Deadly Assassin, played by Peter Pratt.
Episode 6 of this serial is the exact halfway point of Classic Who (in terms of episode count), episode 351 of 702.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-06-16T10:15:18Z
Doctor Who goes all out space opera in this Cold War allegory, which features the final appearance of the Delgado Master.
Story: 8
Frontier in Space could be called Doctor Who's take on Star Wars - three years before Star Wars premiered! It's war, peace and politics in space. From the very first episode, it feels intense and pretty big-budget, as seen by the extensive model work and the majestic incidental music. It has that Cold War vibe over it as well.
The main problem of the story is its slow pace. The political situation is noticeably tense and restrained but nothing truly seems to develop on either side of the frontier. It does capture the Cold War allegory and the difficult politics of war pretty well, though.
What I love about this story is that the script constantly drops hints of what is to come a few episodes later, in the next story. Knowing that in advance makes all those hints blatantly obvious. Frontier in Space feels like a huge build-up for the next six-parter.
The Daleks appearing at the end of the last episode and revealed to be behind everything is not only one of the most shocking twists of Classic Who but also leads directly to the next story.
Acting: 7
It's great to see a woman as The President of Earth, played by Vera Fusek. She's pretty good. Michael Hawkins is the Benik/Nyder/another slimy assistant of this story and isn't quite as good at conveying that sliminess, but still performs well.
The guest cast doesn't leave any lasting impressions, apart from Fusek and Hawkins, who are terribly underused in the second half. This story is Pertwee's, Manning's and Delgado's show to run, and they do it well, as always.
The Doctor: 6
I love these small moments during which the Doctor shares stories with Jo while they sit in captivity. There is plenty of those kinds of scenes in the later Pertwee stories and they're all so lovely. Their escape plan in Episode 4 is the best one I've ever seen.
The confidence and stubborn manners of the Doctor in this story are admirable. A lesser man would have lost his temper with the stupidity of both the Earth people and the Draconians.
There is something odd about having the Doctor sent to prison and planning his escape with his inmates. It feels a bit too much even for Doctor Who.
The Companions: 8
Jo might not be the most useful of companions this time around but at least she gets to spend her time in captivity together with the Doctor. And her way of resisting the Master's attempt to hypnotize her is bad-ass.
The Monster/Villain: 6
The Draconians might not be the scariest or most menacing of the alien species appearing on the show, but they're an intelligent and noble warrior species. It's a pity they haven't been used after this story. But that might be because the Sontarans, introduced in Season 11, are pretty similar. The Draconians are also pretty humane, which might make them too boring to be used again.
Having the Master suddenly appear without warning midway through the third is a great move that puts a new spin on the rest of the serial, as Roger Delgado always does. And having his final story see him ally himself with the Daleks is a fitting end to this incarnation. He is noticeably the Doctor's best enemy here, and it's heartbreaking to know that Roger Delgado only had a few more months to live.
Production: 10
I've always thought the Draconians among the best-designed aliens in Classic Who. They do look really good, even 50 years later. There's something very Star Trek-y about them.
There are some nice shots and editing quips used during the serial, once again overseen by Paul Bernard. He's good at keeping these type of serials nicely going. That being said, the ending has been oddly edited to pretty much be over the same second it started.
Pacing: 5
Here we have yet another slow-paced and sluggish six-parter. This is one of the worst offenders though since the story doesn't move along at all and the Doctor and Jo spend half of it being imprisoned, together or separately. The story doesn't even get a kick after the Master arrives-
Atmosphere: 6
While the beginning of the serial feels exciting and intense like the best parts of Star Trek or Star Wars do, everything quickly turns stale and dull. Even Roger Delgado's presence in the second half doesn't help much.
Impact: 5
Despite its high production values, the appearance of the Master and the strong allegory of real-world political tensions, Frontier in Space hasn't had a particularly huge impact on the series as a whole. People tend to view the story as one of Pertwee's best or something closer to average.
Replay Value: 5
Even though I think the story is quite fine and the Draconians are awesome, this serial is just too long and too slow to warrant any rewatches anytime soon.
Random Observations:
This is the final story to feature Roger Delgado as the Master. His exit is rather sudden since it was planned for him to be written out properly in a story in Season 11. Roger Delgado died in a car accident in Turkey sometime after Frontier in Space was broadcast, though, so the plans were scrapped. The Master wouldn't return until 176 and the story The Deadly Assassin, played by Peter Pratt.
Episode 6 of this serial is the exact halfway point of Classic Who (in terms of episode count), episode 351 of 702.
Score: 66/120