Of the 97 seven currently missing episodes of Doctor Who, some are more disappointing than others. I mean, I don't find it particularly galling that three out of the four episodes of The Celestial Toymaker are missing, but it is particularly sad that we have lost William Hartnel's final episode, and all of Marco Polo and The Highlanders. Today's viewing provided another sharp disappointment: The very first appearance of Then-Colonel-and-Eventually-Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart happens in episode 3 of The Web of Fear, and is the only episode missing from that story. Lethbridge-Stewart is a towering figure in Doctor Who history, with appearances spanning from The Web of Fear in 1968 all the way up through to an episode of The Sarah Jane Chronicles in 2008, always played brilliantly by Nicholas Courtney. His calm unflappability in the face of any danger, no matter how bizarre, marks him as a staunch ally and personal friend of the Doctor, and one of the very few who spanned multiple regenerations. I was so excited to finally meet him on the show today, and so sad that his initial appearance was just a series of still photos set against a cleaned-up audio track. There is no question that as soon as he steps into the story, the quality goes up immediately.

Let's talk about that.

The Web of Fear - Episodes 3 & 4

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

The third episode opens with Jamie and Evans (the quirky soldier traveling with him) defeating their current yeti attack by destroying the pyramid one of the yetis is holding. Meanwhile, in another tunnel Victoria finds the Doctor who is also walking with Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart -- who has been sent to take over command of the current situation. Soon enough everyone is back at the base, while he fungus has spread through the tunnels and cut off the entire base from the outside world. Similarly above ground a strange mist has cut off that portion of London. There is clearly some person at the base who is controlling the yeti, with suspicion cast around in every direction. At the climax of episode 3 Professor Travers is kidnapped and dragged away by the yeti. Much of episode four consists of a massive battle above ground between Lethbridge-Stewart and his troops versus dozens of yeti. By the end of the fourth episode, virtually all of the soldiers have been killed in one battle or another, leaving only the Doctor, Jamie, Victoria, Lethbridge-Stewart, Evans, and Anne Travers trapped in the underground to face off against the yeti and the Great Intelligence. Even worse, the Great Intelligence now seems to have Professor Travers under his control. London is doomed!

There is just so much great stuff going on in this story, and so many great secondary characters. There is the reporter, who is either shady as hell or just a coward. There is Evans, who is either the world's most pathetic soldier, or possibly a pawn of the Great Intelligence. Of course Lethbridge-Stewart is amazing, readily reading and adapting to an increasingly bizarre situation and even willing to accept the possibility of a time machine shaped like a police box if it provides a tactical advantage. Four episodes in, and so far the Great Intelligence has not shown itself directly, but that is about to change.

Tomorrow, the big finish. After that, I am back to nearly a full week (and two stories) of Loose Canon recons.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Second
Companion(s): Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield
Episode(s): The Web of Fear - Episodes 3 & 4
Steps Walked: 7,044 today, 668,760 total
Distance Walked: 3.58 miles today, 320.31 miles total
Weight: 278.08 lbs (five day moving average), net change -29.22 lbs