Two in a row, damn.
The Invasion is just about the furthest you can get from The Mind Robber, tonally as well as in structure. This story has two obvious antecedents, namely the obvious predecessor, The Web of Fear, and that early false start three seasons ago, The War Machines. With the benefit of foreknowledge, it becomes obvious even from the perspective of the viewer that something big is going on behind the scenes of Doctor Who. Since Innes Lloyd's departure as producer, we've seen some rather quick changeovers of producers and script editors, a trend which will continue until next season. It's not quite like the similar period we saw toward the end of Hartnell's tenure, however, where it felt like the show was at times coming apart at the seams. Rather, here there appears to be a coordinated effort of some kind to revitalize the program.
In this particular instance, anyway, it succeeds at what it's trying to do. It's not hard to see why this one has endured as a fan favorite for so many years. It's energetic enough to entertain for all eight of its episodes, and this cast is absolutely unparalleled. Since this is our very first encounter with UNIT, we of course encounter Nicholas Courtney as Lethbridge-Stewart again, this time with a promotion and a reassignment. He's immediately recognizable to me as the same character from the Pertwee stories, rather than the new acquaintance (and potential threat) that he's presented as in The Web of Fear. Benton, notably, also makes an appearance, but in a more marginal role than he'll come to assume later on.
It's impossible to ignore Vaughn and Packer, of course. They're the most memorable villainous double act that we've run into so far. Vaughn is an urbane, cultured and almost genial fellow whose mask hides the complete sadist underneath. I'm so glad to have Kevin Stoney back for another whirl; his performance this time isn't nearly as affected by missing episodes, and he seems to do a lot better without that awful makeup limiting his facial expressions. Packer is basically the perfect henchman for this villain, a violent, unimaginative thug who is posed as Vaughn's foil and right hand. Every second they're onscreen together is an entertaining one. As of this writing, I still find myself occasionally drawling out "Packerrrr" in my most plummy voice. Classic.
I was also generally charmed by Isobel Watkins, who feels like a very trendy character for the time. I found her outburst at the Brigadier when he forbids her from going into the sewers a little unedifying. The whole episode is brought down a bit by the fact that two people die because of Isobel's insistence on going. As far as the show's first explicit mention of feminism goes, this could most certainly have gone better.
Perhaps some of my favorite parts of the story are the ones where Patrick Troughton's Doctor gets to chinwag with Vaughn. Their banter, at first civil, grows into a tug-of-war for control of the situation, the Doctor desperately trying to convince Vaughn to think of the fate of humanity rather than his own ambitions. The Doctor, of course, wins, although Vaughn refuses to listen to the Doctor's appeals to morality right to the end. The bitter, twisted man only switches sides out of revenge, and receives his just desserts before the story is over.
The reliable Douglas Camfield returns once again to direct this one, and it turns out well. We get a number of excellent action scenes, including our first proper UNIT dust-up as the Cybermen swarm the streets of an invaded London. Despite the length of the story, our second longest so far, The Invasion never fails to entertain, with perhaps the mild exception of Episode Seven, which feels very much like it's holding its breath and waiting for all the exciting bits to happen next week.
Although it is a simpler and more straightforward story than the last one, I positively loved this one, too. For all that I just wrote about how the curious magic of the 1960s iteration of the show is what I love the most about it, this story makes a pretty reassuring case for how the show can still succeed when things are pared down in the next season. As far as previews go, it's a pretty tantalizing one.
We will take another quick diversion next, for The Rosemariners.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 14 March 2021.)
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