Doctor Who "Doctor Who and the Silurians - Episode 7" (1970)

We come to conclusion of the serial and I'm sorry to say it was a bit of a disappointment aside from the ending after the build-up we've seen over the course of the previous episodes. The cliffhanger is immediately resolved with Liz discovering the Doctor's formula and relaying it so it can be mass-produced. The fact that the plague had already begun to appear outside of Great Britain in the last episode is never addressed and the fact remains that it can continue to spread faster than the cure be distributed. The plot line seems to have served its purpose and is then dropped. The Silurians move onto their plan B, making Earth uninhabitable for humans but a perfect environment for reptiles. The Doctor agrees to help as it is his best chance to find a way of stopping the Silurians. When they wish to kill the Brigadier and Liz, he threatens to not aide them with the deployment of their weapon if there is any more killing. He tells the Silurians he needs to build up power in the nuclear reactor while secretly plotting with Liz to overload the reactor instead. Liz being a scientist is well aware of the danger of this plan however her trust in the Doctor is superior to her doubts and she follows his plan without hesitation. The Brigadier also goes along and makes no trouble as he also has faith that the Doctor will not allow the Silurians to succeed in their plan. He is successful in overloading the reactor and after the Silurians have fled to their base to return to hibernation he is able to cross some wires and prevent an overload.

The Silurians decide to set the hibernation units to awaken them after the radiation has dispersed however one must remain behind to set the units and will meet most certain death. The Young Silurian accepts the responsibility of the role he has taken and offers to sacrifice his life for the sake of the survival of his people. After catching the Doctor in the base and realizing they have been tricked he is gunned down by the Brigadier while attempting to attack the Doctor. Thanking the Brigadier for saving his life, the Doctor announces his intention to slowly revive the Silurians one at a time so he can reason with them and fulfill the pact he had previously made with the Old Silurian. The Doctor firmly believes that peace is still possible between the two races and given time it will become a reality. The Brigadier however is visibly shaken by the Doctor's intention and the rest is described below.

Overall this serial was both adventurous and thought-provoking, The dynamics of the three regulars are still in flux as they continue to learn more about one another but have nevertheless formed an efficient team. The Doctor and Liz continue to grow close as friends while the Doctor and the Brigadier's working relationship is being continually challenged by their conflicting methods despite the fact they have known one another longer. The conflict provides the writers with the opportunity to highlight two justified sides to an argument and provide more captivating storytelling. How boring would it be if everyone simply got along? Despite the length of the serial it is never plodding and no episodes serve as overt filler. Aside from some quick fixes in the finale, it was a satisfying experience marked with high production values and an impressive guest cast (particular note goes again to Fulton Mackay, Geoffrey Palmer and Peter Miles). The Pertwee era has a solid start and bright future indeed.

Favorite moment: Even with the issues regarding some of the elements, the ending of this serial more than makes up for those inadequacies. After the Doctor and Liz have departed the power station to return to UNIT headquarters, the Brigadier has the Silurian caves sealed with explosive charges. The Doctor's assertion that this was murder and that as a civilized race they had an equal claim to survival is a tragic one in light of the fact that humans did not want to take the chance of the Silurians once again threatening humanity. It is a controversial move on the part of the Brigadier and even though his concerns were justified it looks like we'll be seeing a bit more conflict in that working relationship for some time. The Doctor may believe that ideally there could have been peaceful coexistence in the long run, but the truth of the matter remains that the relationship between the two species was irreparably damaged through the fault of parties on both sides.