Doctor Who: The Smugglers
(4 episodes, s04e01-e04, 1966)
It’s another new opening credits sequence on a nice cat-and-mouse game mixed with pirates and a mystery.
The Doctor seems surprised to see Ben and Polly, which puts a slight spin on my theory from The War Machines. That said, I don’t think he’s entirely upset about their arrival, as he gets over the anger quickly.
Polly is very bubbly and perky, and I like that Ben respectfully pokes at her by continuing to call her “Duchess” and “Ducks”. Their dynamic gets even more mixing as Polly gets mistaken for a boy during this story. It throws her further off her game while providing her a degree of power that she wouldn’t have as a woman in the era.
The reference to the Doctor as “Sawbones” (a slang term for a surgeon) is amusing, as is the play off of superstitions to break out of captivity. I can’t help but feel sorry for Tom and Jamaica for being so easily manipulated.
Rating: 3/5 – “Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.”
UP NEXT – Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.
Creative Criticality 
Ah it’s the first historical truly under the Lloyd/Davis team. We’re no longer concerned with educating, just telling an adventure in history. You’ll also start to see more racially diverse casts from here on out even if their parts aren’t great it is a step in the right direction.
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