Doctor Who: The Rescue

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The Rescue is the third serial of Season 2 of the classic Doctor Who television series, first broadcast in January 1965. It was written by David Whitaker and directed by Christopher Barry. It stars William Hartnell as the Doctor, William Russell as Ian Chesterton, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, and Maureen O’Brien as Vicki.

This short, two-part serial follows directly after Susan’s farewell. It was designed to heal the team’s loss and to introduce a new companion. The TARDIS lands on the planet Dido, a quiet world the Doctor has visited before. Long ago he knew its people as peaceful, private, and wise.

Now, a small Earth ship has crashed here, and only two survivors remain: a teenage girl named Vicki and a man called Bennett. They live in fear of a masked figure named Koquillion, who claims to speak for the Dido natives and keeps them trapped until an official rescue ship arrives.

Across two episodes, the travellers uncover a cruel trick, face grief and misunderstanding, and offer Vicki a new life among the stars.

Episode 1: The Powerful Enemy

The TARDIS lands on the quiet planet Dido. The Doctor says he has visited before and remembers kind people. A human rescue ship has not yet arrived, but a crashed vessel lies nearby. Inside it live two survivors: Bennett, who is injured and secretive, and Vicki, a brave teenage girl. They fear a masked native called Koquillion, who visits often and claims the Dido people are violent. He warns them never to trust strangers.

The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara explore the cliffs and tunnels. Signals from the crashed ship draw Barbara and Ian toward the wreck. Outside, a large sand creature crawls from the rocks. It moves toward them and Vicki. Barbara fires a distress flare to protect everyone. The creature dies. Vicki cries out in anger and grief, because the “monster,” Sandy, was her tame pet.

Koquillion appears and threatens Vicki again, saying the strangers bring danger. He leaves with a promise to punish any disobedience. Barbara tries to explain, but Vicki will not listen.

The Doctor studies the caves leading to the old Dido city. He suspects a trap. He and Ian take a narrow passage. Stone doors slam, and a wall of spikes starts to slide toward them. The Doctor stares at the device and whispers that someone powerful wants them dead.

Episode 2: Desperate Measures

Ian and the Doctor escape the spiked trap in the caves and climb toward the ruined city of Dido. The Doctor studies carvings and tools and says the people here were peaceful. He suspects the masked “Koquillion” is a fake. In the crashed ship, Barbara tries to make peace with Vicki after killing her pet. Vicki wants to trust her but fears Bennett’s anger. Bennett, who claims to be injured, orders Vicki to obey Koquillion and keep the strangers away.

The Doctor reaches a great chamber, a Hall of Justice. Koquillion steps from the shadows to threaten him. The Doctor challenges him with Dido customs and proves he knows this place. He tears at the disguise and names him: Bennett. Bennett had been accused of murder on the Earth ship, sabotaged the vessel, and then killed the Dido people at a “welcome” meeting to hide his crime. He kept Vicki trapped by posing as a monster.

Two silent Dido survivors appear in their robes. Bennett panics, stumbles, and falls to his death. The elders let the Doctor go and promise to remain unseen. The Doctor returns to Vicki and tells her the truth. Grieving but free, she accepts Barbara’s apology. With a rescue ship on the way, the Doctor invites Vicki to travel in the TARDIS. She smiles and says yes.

Themes

As a compact two-parter following the seismic farewell of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue is modest in scale but quietly vital. It won’t trouble the grand craft of The Aztecs or the menace of The Daleks.

Yet its gentle mystery, the Koquillion reveal, and the Doctor’s softened, grandfatherly poise give it a warmth that earns a mid-tier rating for storytelling: and even an upper-tier rating for significance. Above all, it proves the series can pivot from epic stakes to intimate stakes without losing heart.

Its threads bind eras together. Vicki’s introduction heals the gap left by Susan, reshaping the crew dynamic with Ian and Barbara and setting an immediate glide path into the lighter, character-rich caper of The Romans. The Doctor’s protective compassion here foreshadows the mentor-guardian notes he’ll strike through Vicki’s run and into later companions.

The ethical sting (man as monster behind the mask) echoes earlier moral parables and anticipates future identity twists. As a chapter closer, it’s a gentle reset with long resonance: not the loudest story, but a hinge the season turns on.

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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

Doctor Who Episode Guides for Sale on Amazon

Step aboard the TARDIS and journey across the universe with every incarnation of The Doctor in this series of unofficial Doctor Who episode companions.

This collection of twelve books explores every televised adventure of the Time Lord’s lives.

Each volume in the series delves into a different Doctor’s era, offering detailed episode guides, behind-the-scenes insights, character profiles, and story synopses.

Once you have clicked the link, choose which book you want, and then whether you want to buy the Kindle (eBook) or Paperback versions.

Previews are available before you buy.

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