The Enemy of the World

Earth again. The future again. Only not as far flung as before. Once more though the Earth is threatened by natural disasters, but one man, a man named Salamander, is able to predict the disasters with amazing accuracy and had made great leaps in science to aid in the relief after the disasters strike. Through his benevolance, he has acquired great power and influence, and some suspect along with it he has become corrupt. When the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive on a beach in Australia, they are immediately enlisted by Salamander's enemies to help them bring him down and expose him. Jamie and Victoria are to infiltrate his headquarters and gather what information they can on his dealings, while the Doctor is asked to impersonate the man himself, for they are identical save for Salamander's Spanish accent. The ruse does not work as well as expected and Jamie and Victoria are exposed to the intregue of Salamander's inner court where assassination attempts and intregue are everyday events. But there is more going on than anyone can suspect, and it is revealed in time that Salamader is in effect behind the natural disasters with the help of a group of underground workers in a bunker duped into believing that the world has fallen under nuclear war and their efforts are to work against their enemies. When he is exposed, Salamander flees, but in a turnaround of events attempts to impersonate the Doctor and steal the TARDIS, which doesn't go so well for him.

The Enemy of the World tells a story of absolute power corrupting absolutely, bringing a harsh edge to the season. Here we have no obvious monsters towering over anyone and trying to exterminate people, but a man who is monsterous on the inside, working to perpetuate himself and add to his power over others. Salamander operates on many levels to get what he wants, either by blackmailing his political enemies, or by out and out having them killed. Despite the fact that the world loves him and is grateful to him for his aid, his own inner circle despise him for the most part, right down to his food taster, and those who are on his "side" merely seek to be there to bask in his power so they can indulge their own taste for bullying. Jamie and Victoria narrowly escape an interrogation from one of the worst, played oh so perfectly by Milton Johns at his snivelling scheming best (I actually want to hit this man every time he gets a role in Doctor Who).

In listening to the story (for only episode 3 exists, again on the brilliantly restored Lost in Time DVD collection, while the rest are on the BBC Radio Collection CD) one notices how minor the Doctor's role actually is this time. Patrick Troughton was playing both his regular role and that of Salamander, but the latter seems to see more screen time, with the emphasis on how the people around him are working to bring him down. The Doctor is cautious to get involved, wanting proper proof (how do you know a proof? a proof is something that is proven; it is a proof) before he interferes for a change, and sending Jamie and Victoria into the thick of it because they are the only ones he can trust to give him the proper information. His likeness to Salamander also means he cannot move very freely himself, or he will be mistaken for his doppleganger (and in episode 1 is almost shot in his place by extermists).

So with Salamander trying to operate the TARDIS, the ship is flung into the vortex with the doors open to the outside, and as we saw in Planet of Giants, that's a bad bad thing. Salamander is sucked out into the void, leaving the Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria desperately hanging on for dear life as the ship reels out of control...

NEXT EPISODE : THE WEB OF FEAR