When I first saw the ridiculous helmets the security officers wore in The Savages, I thought they must have been recycled from the Robomen in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. But no, that other ridiculously large headgear was stupid in an entirely different configuration. I don't know why the security officers wear those helmets, they seem incredibly impractical to me, but what do I know? I'm not the one harvesting life force from the local natives like some kind of technocratic vampire.

Let's talk about that.

The Savages - Episodes 1 & 2

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

The basic plot here is that the TARDIS materializes on a new planet, in a location that totally does not look like an English rock quarry. There are some locals lurking about dressed in animal skins and carrying wooden clubs, but they are also fully capable of speech. Then two security officers arrive, wearing the most preposterous helmets, and they appear to know all about the Doctor and his travels. They bring him to their city, where he is welcomed by the Elders and regaled with gifts and honors. Shortly thereafter Steven and Dodo are brought along as well, and they tour the city while the Doctor continues to hold court and have his monumental ego stroked.

Ultimately it turns out that the people in the city are a very advanced culture technologically. They survive by kidnapping the "savages" from outside the city walls, and then using a giant Frankenstein laboratory to drain the life force of these "lower creatures". First Dodo stumbles across the lab when she wanders away from the tour, and then later she informs the Doctor about what is really going on. Of course he strenuously objects, to which the Elders respond by deciding to strap the Doctor down onto the gurney and to drain his life force. Roll credits.

The story so far is a definite improvement over the last two. It is perhaps a little simplistic, but generally well executed. More importantly, all of the lead characters are actually given things to do that advance the plot and alter the situation. It is a welcome change over the previous story.

At first I thought some of the writing was a little on-the-nose, and then I did a little research on the episode and discovered it could have been so much worse. Originally the story was titled The White Savages, and all of the city residents were supposed to be made up in black face. The intention was for the story to be a parable about apartheid in South Africa, which is certainly a noble goal, but holy cow that would have been painful to watch. Thank goodness that clearer heads prevailed.

STATS:

Doctor(s): First
Companion(s): Steven Taylor, Dodo Chaplet
Episode(s): Episode 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 6,822 today, 412,797 total
Distance Walked:  3.39 miles today, 192.49 miles total
Weight: 287.38 lbs (five day moving average), net change -19.92 lbs