Retro ‘Doctor Who’ Review – ‘The Krotons’

Breaking out of the chronological series of reviews we’ve been running thanks to the ever expanding Doctor Who DVD library to zip back in time (an easy feat when the Doctor is involved) and revisit the Second Doctor. ‘The Krotons’ has recently completed the restoration process and is now available for modern viewers.

Taking place in between ‘The Invasion’ and ‘The Seeds of Death’ (reviewed here) this adventure begins with The Doctor, Zoe and Jamie arriving under the twin suns of a desolate alien world. Here they meet the Gonds, a rather hapless race of humanoids who exist under the eyes of the Krotons. These unseen overloads control the information provided to the Gonds and prevent them from roaming the surface of the world. The brightest youths of the Gonds are selected to become ‘companions’ to the Krotons, although The Doctor soon reveals that this “honour” is in reality a sacrifice. The Krotons are actually aliens to the planet, having crashed generations before and are converting mental power into pure energy. When the younger Gonds begin to rebel against tradition and the Krotons in a position to destroy the entire race the Doctor is left with the task of finding a solution.

With Science!

Although ‘The Krotons’ doesn’t carry any of the classic Doctor Who villains it is plenty enjoyable. The concept showcases the top writing that the long running series has featured over the decades and Patrick Troughton is also on form as the clownish time traveler. As far as a Doctor Who story goes it is a rather routine adventure for this particular generation. It doesn’t quite sit among the best, but there’s certainly nothing bad about it. For fans of the out school Doctor adventures this will be a welcome addition to their collection.