Galaxy 4 [TV/1965.9.11 ~ 10.2]

★★★☆☆

  You know, I've always wondered what caught young Peter Capaldi's fancy all those years ago when this first aired and kids all over the UK got to see the Chumblies in action. They're basically wordless robots, aren't they? I would actually understand someone being that passionate over the Rill -- they're at least visually arresting and they work within this serial as a subversion of the 'beauty and the beast' trope (meaning that the beautiful/humanlike are good while the monsters are bad) -- but the Chumblies? They're cute for what they are, but I never really had a deep fascination for them.

  Thankfully, the Chumblies aren't the only memorable element of Galaxy 4. Despite being practically all but forgotten by fans, it's a competent serial about conflicting stories and moral choices. There's an underlying message that's good for kids to learn, about not judging a book by its cover (there's a part where the Doctor and co. basically spell it out for the audience to hear), and it's something pretty well done by the serial, I reckon. What's most important to me is that Galaxy 4 doesn't outstay its welcome like some six-parters or seven-parters do; it knows its narrative would lose its focus if it's stretched too far and it's happy with its runtime -- and therefore, we the audience are happy. It's a shame only episode 3 remains in the archives, because from that surviving visual representation, it's clear that Derek Martinus had a vision for directing the serial. There are flashbacks, double exposures, things we see in the most experimental of classic-era serials. It's times like these I feel wise in my decision to revisit the entirety of the show, something I've watched so many times in the past, because I simply didn't have the knowledge to appreciate all the camera tricks and techniques on display. Galaxy 4 has surprisingly good direction and a steady plot that never gets too loose for my liking. The Drahvin are pretty much your stock humanoid morally questionable race, and I believe it was ultimately a good choice to make them an (almost) all-women race because it allowed Stephanie Bidmead to give such a wonderfully entertaining performance as Maaga. On top of that, her fate is quite bleak, bleaker than one would expect from a Hartnell serial; Galaxy 4 is full of pleasant surprises, it seems.