I have frequently said that I love the pure historical stories of the First Doctor era. While it may well be true that The Daleks saved the show from early cancellation, it is stories like Marco Polo, The Aztecs, The Reign of Terror, and The Massacre where Doctor Who really stood out. The entire original remit for the show was to alternate between science fiction stories to hook young viewers, and then historical stories to teach them. By the time the Second Doctor came along, however, that concept was completely abandoned. After The Highlanders in 1966 there has only ever been one other story in which the plot did not revolve around some science-fictional element. It might be set in a historical time period, but there is always some kind of alien menace to contend with. Today's viewing, then, contains the very last Pure Historical story - even including the modern era.

So let's talk about that.

Black Orchid - Parts 1 & 2

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

Set in the English countryside in 1925, the gist of this story is that the Doctor is mistaken for an expected guest at a cricket match at the Cranliegh estate. Coincidentally, Nyssa is the spitting image of a young woman engaged to Lord Cranliegh. There are also some mysterious goings-on with someone (or something?) being held prisoner in a secret room within the estate, and then a series of murders for which the Doctor is blamed. The whole thing feels like a bit of an Agatha Christie pastiche, with British aristocracy, a mysterious Brazilian Amazonian tribesman, and the exotic titular Black Orchid discovered by Lord Cranliegh's missing and presumed dead brother. 

At only two episodes, there is not a great deal of depth or suspense in the story. It is leapingly clear by the end of the first episode that the mysterious stranger wreaking havoc is, for some reason, the missing brother. What it lacks in surprises, however, the story makes up in character and setting. The writing clearly demonstrates that there doesn't need to be an alien threat in order to create drama or to challenge the Doctor.  Simply arriving into a situation and then dealing with it is plenty to keep an interesting plot, no great world-ending threat required. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even with Wesley Crusher Adric mucking up the works by generally being an ass at the party.

Speaking of world-ending threats, that is exactly what tomorrow's story is all about. Bonus point: it's the last Adric story. Yay!

STATS:

Doctor(s): Fifth
Companion(s): Adric, Tegan, Nyssa
Episode(s): Black Orchid - Parts 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 7,679 today, 1,996,083 total
Distance Walked: 4.29 miles today, 1,018.13 miles total
Weight: 248.04 lbs (five day moving average), net change -59.26 lbs