The Savages by Ian Stuart Black
28 May - 18 June 1966
I feel like there's a lot here to sink my teeth into! After the interminable Celestial Toymaker and somewhat insubstantial Gunfighters, this story feels like another noticeable shift, part of the sea change that is rapidly sweeping over the series in Hartnell's last few serials. The Savages feels not quite modern - but it does feel three years ahead of its time. Unless I'm mistaken, it is in this story that we are treated with our very first alien quarry, and one of the first stories to have a significant amount of on-location shooting as well. It's been said many times (here and elsewhere) that this story seems a lot like a preview of the Troughton era, and I can see what those reviewers mean. It really is astonishing just how rapidly this has all fallen into place. As recently as early in this season, I was questioning with some regularity about whether we were actually watching "Doctor Who" yet, as it felt at times as if the central essence of the show (as I would know it in its 21st century incarnation) was struggling to break out past a lot of strange dead ends and experiments. I've enjoyed a lot of these dead ends, obviously... It's just reassuring now and then to get a reminder of familiarity.
The central theme of this story is enjoyable, too, and it tickles my anti-authoritarian sensibilities. The ruling class of this society is literally sapping the talent and vitality of countless people who eke out a living without enjoying any of the fruits of their exploitation. The ending of the story where the machinery of the state is literally smashed to bits by the people it harmed had me grinning ear to ear. It's delightful when the Doctor remarks, "You know, my dear, there's something very satisfying in destroying something that's evil, don't you think?" I'm inclined to think that the titular "Savages" are implicitly meant to be the cruel Elders and their enforcers, not the poor outcasts living in the caves. Though the fact that the Elders were originally all meant to be in brown/blackface like Jano and that the story's working title was "The White Savages" throws a spanner into this idea. God, what a bullet we dodged.
The Doctor comes down strongly on the side of right in this story, particularly in a well-acted moment between the Doctor and Jano toward the end of Episode 2 where they get into a shouting match over the treatment of the Savages. This has to be one of my favorite Hartnell moments thus far, and Jano's petulant complaint that the Doctor's attitude is "most unscientific" really highlights the tragic reality that the notion of "progress" has been misused so many times in our own history to oppress and demean the downtrodden. Ultimately, an infusion of conscience from absorbing some of the Doctor's own life force turns Jano away from this idea, which is quite interesting. It really does feel all along like the Doctor knew this would happen and so manipulated events to this end. This isn't something he's done all that often in the program thus far (though I highlighted instances in both The Daleks' Master Plan and The Massacre which seemed to imply some sneaking around behind the scenes on his part) but it is something that will become more common over the tenure of his successor.
This is also, of course, the last outing for Steven Taylor. He's proved a surprisingly strong companion in my opinion, despite inconsistent characterization. Peter Purves is an underrated actor, for sure. I'll have more to say on the standing of the companions generally when I do my roundup for the Hartnell era, but suffice it to say he's grown into one of my favorites. It's a pity that his last story doesn't serve him as well as it might (though he does look smart in that turtleneck). His mean-spirited remarks to Dodo in the first two episodes are head-scratchers, for sure, though he calms down again later. He gets one last big hero moment when he and Dodo trick and capture Exorse in the Savages' cave before deciding to make a home among the people he saved to become their leader. It's far from an underwhelming departure, though it's only with the benefit of excerpts from The Perpetual Bond and Salvation and the like that his decision really makes sense. Just like the Doctor will, I'll surely miss him too.
Overall then, I came away from this story with a positive impression that surprised even me with its strength. I really do feel that The Savages would be a highly-regarded Hartnell story, maybe even a classic, had it survived. Even as a reconstruction it was great fun. Before we make it to The War Machines, we'll take a detour for our very last Hartnell audio, another trilogy starring Steven Taylor.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 5 May 2020.)
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