Doctor Who: The Aztecs

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The Aztecs is the sixth serial of the classic Doctor Who television series. It was first broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 23 May to 13 June 1964. It was written by John Lucarotti and directed by John Crockett. It stars William Hartnell as the Doctor, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, William Russell as Ian Chesterton, and Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright.

It is set in 15th-century Mexico during the height of the Aztec civilisation. The story explores themes of time travel ethics, cultural relativism, and the struggle between science and superstition. Barbara takes centre stage as she is mistaken for an Aztec goddess, leading to a profound moral and cultural conflict.

Episode 1: The Temple of Evil

The TARDIS lands in a sealed stone tomb. The four travellers find carved walls, a mummy, and a hidden door. Barbara examines jewellery on the body and puts on a bracelet and headdress. When the door opens, guards and priests enter a bright temple above the tomb.

Seeing Barbara’s dress and calm, they kneel and hail her as Yetaxa, a divine figure returned. Autloc, the High Priest of Knowledge, welcomes her with respect. Tlotoxl, the High Priest of Sacrifice, watches with hard eyes and doubts. The Doctor warns Barbara to play along until they can reach the TARDIS again.

Autloc gives them shelter and roles in the city. Ian is asked to serve as a commander of warriors and soon must face the champion Ixta. Susan is sent to a school for noble maidens. The Doctor explores the gardens, searching for a way back into the sealed tomb.

Barbara decides to use her new status to stop human sacrifice. The Doctor argues that history cannot be changed; she insists she must try. Tlotoxl sets traps to expose her as a false goddess and to keep the sacrifices going. The first test will be the coming ceremony. If Barbara forbids it and fails, they may all die.

Episode 2: The Warriors of Death

The Aztec city tightens around the travellers. Tlotoxl, High Priest of Sacrifice, decides Barbara (honoured as the goddess Yetaxa) is a fraud. At the next ceremony she halts the ritual and spares the victim, declaring there will be no more deaths. Autloc, High Priest of Knowledge, backs her, but Tlotoxl swears to expose her and restore the sacrifices.

Ian is made commander of warriors and must face the champion, Ixta. The Doctor searches for a way back into the sealed tomb where the TARDIS stands. In the gardens he meets Cameca, a kind noblewoman, and, by sharing cocoa under local custom, accidentally becomes betrothed to her. Through Cameca he is introduced to Ixta, son of the tomb’s builder, who holds the secret of a hidden entrance. Ixta offers the plan only if the Doctor helps him win the duel.

Not knowing Ian is Ixta’s opponent, the Doctor shows a trick using a poisonous plant thorn that numbs the arm. During the fight Ixta scratches Ian and overpowers him. Barbara forbids the kill, revealing the cheating. Realising his mistake, the Doctor loses Ixta’s help. Tlotoxl seizes on the confusion and sets a new test to break Barbara’s authority and condemn the strangers.

Episode 3: The Bride of Sacrifice

Tlotoxl moves to break Barbara’s rule as Yetaxa. He whispers that a true goddess would welcome sacrifice, not forbid it. Autloc still supports Barbara, but his trust is tested. Susan returns from the seminary and is told she must become the “bride” in a coming ritual linked to the Perfect Victim. She refuses. Tlotoxl seizes on this disobedience as proof the strangers are false and orders that Susan be punished after the ceremony.

The Doctor continues searching for a way back into the sealed tomb. With Cameca’s help, he learns of a hidden passage and begins making a simple pulley to lift the stone cover. Ian, now a commander, is lured into another trap by Ixta, but he outthinks him and escapes, keeping their enemies away from the garden.

Tlotoxl sets a more direct test. He tries to poison Barbara to prove she can die, but the plot fails, and he turns to bribery and threats. Barbara tells Autloc she wants to change the future by ending sacrifices; Autloc wavers, torn between faith and compassion. As night falls, Tlotoxl prepares the city for the great ritual. Susan faces punishment, Ian faces ambush, and the Doctor races to open the tomb before Tlotoxl destroys them all.

Episode 4: The Day of Darkness

The Aztec city turns tense as Tlotoxl moves to destroy the strangers. Susan is still under threat for refusing the “bride” ritual. The Doctor and Ian build a pulley to lift the tomb stone. The Doctor shares a farewell with Cameca, taking her token as a keepsake. Barbara pleads with Autloc to see that sacrifice is wrong. Shaken, he resigns his sacred post and chooses exile, removing the one voice that restrained Tlotoxl. Before he goes, Autloc leaves aid and vanishes into the wilderness.

Tlotoxl declares Barbara a false goddess and orders her death after the coming ceremony. He elevates Tonila to back him. Ixta ambushes Ian at the temple. Their fight climbs the pyramid. Ixta falls to his death, ending Tlotoxl’s champion. The Doctor and Ian open the tomb door. They free Susan and race below. Above, Tlotoxl prepares the altar under the darkening sky.

Barbara makes one last attempt to stop the sacrifice, but the guards hold her. The Perfect Victim dies, and the eclipse passes. History has not changed. The four retreat through the tomb into the TARDIS. As they depart, Barbara accepts the lesson: history cannot be rewritten, but people like Autloc can still be helped.

Themes

As drama, The Aztecs is one of the finest stories of Season 1. Its pace is measured, but the writing is sharp, the politics are clear, and the characters feel real. Barbara’s dilemma (change evil customs or respect history) gives the serial its pulse, and the Doctor’s warmth with Cameca softens his earlier prickliness.

The sets and costumes sell the setting, and the duel between Ian and Ixta adds action without overwhelming the moral debate. Many viewers and critics rate it above most early historicals, often placing it beside The Daleks as a defining achievement of the first year.

It also threads the programme’s past and future. Coming after the anthology quest of The Keys of Marinus, it returns to a single culture and asks what the TARDIS crew should or should not do. Barbara’s attempt to end sacrifice anticipates later stories about “fixed points” and the ethics of interference, while Autloc’s private change shows that influence can be personal even when history stands firm.

The Doctor’s admission that history cannot be rewritten marks a turning point in his relationship with the teachers: they are no longer captives, but partners who argue, learn, and compromise. And the final image, leaving a world they could not save, flows directly into the eerie quiet of the next adventure, where reason and caution will be needed again.

As a chapter in the season’s arc, The Aztecs balances heart and intellect. It does not offer easy answers, but it deepens the characters and sharpens the show’s purpose: to explore, to understand, and to accept limits while still choosing kindness. Its legacy echoes through many eras of Doctor Who, reminding us that history is not a toy, that cultures are complex, and that courage sometimes means stepping back. Then comes the wheeze-groan, and the doors open on the unknown once more.

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This is a chapter from Craig Hill’s book “Doctor Who – The First Doctor”, chronicling every episode featuring the First Doctor. It is available on Amazon.

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To view the list of other Doctor Who serials, please click this link

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