S4.E27

The Macra Terror: Episode 1

Episode aired Mar 11, 1967
TV-PG
24m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Michael Craze, Patrick Troughton, and Anneke Wills in Docteur Who (1963)

The TARDIS arrives at a holiday camp company with the crew worried by a prediction of giant crabs and the Doctor becomes interested in the apparent madman Medok's stories of creatures that r... Read allThe TARDIS arrives at a holiday camp company with the crew worried by a prediction of giant crabs and the Doctor becomes interested in the apparent madman Medok's stories of creatures that roam the colony at night.The TARDIS arrives at a holiday camp company with the crew worried by a prediction of giant crabs and the Doctor becomes interested in the apparent madman Medok's stories of creatures that roam the colony at night.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

510

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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9:57

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The Macra were originally giant insects. It was thought that they would be too similar to The Zarbi from The Web Planet. However, some dialogue comparing them to insects remains.

Quotes
[first lines]
Pilot: Oh, splendid! Splendid! You've got a very good band there, Barney.
Barney: Thank you, Pilot.
Pilot: Mind you, I don't say you'll come first at the festival, but never say die, hmm, what? Nothing succeeds like success, if at first you don't succeed...
All: ...Try, try, try again!
Pilot: That's right.

Connections
Referenced in Second Time Around: The Troughton Years (2012)

User reviews3

Featured review

8/10

Big Brother is watching you .... and he is a crab!

Review for all 4 parts:

I have been able to reassess this story having seen the nice new animated reconstruction which allows me to find greater appreciation for the story and edit my earlier review.

This 4 part 'futuristic' story is set in an apparently idyllic world which has dark secrets underlying the society. It is enjoyable and interesting with strong ideas of a 'Big Brother is watching you' type society and political underlying themes about manipulation and control. The Macra creatures, often referred to as 'giant crabs' due to their claws and crustacean like forms are quite an unusual and interesting idea too, though obviously the low budget and age of this story limited their original realisation on screen. The animated version makes the Macra a good monster visually as well as conceptually.

Part 1 features the ultra cheesy musical number which I found slightly irritating along with the music throughout but to be fair it was meant to be irritating, as it represents the unthinking, unquestioning happiness of brainwashed people. All 4 parts are well written, well acted, fun and have deeper themes that add quality. The animation provides sufficiently good visuals to allow the story to be really appreciated. I always enjoyed parts 2 and 3 just as much as I did watching the animation but parts 1 and 4 went up in my estimation as the visuals enabled me to enjoy them better. Reviewing by judging an animated version which gives a fair idea of how it was intended (albeit adding colour which was unavailable to the makers in the first place but if it had been available I am sure they would have used it). I therefore think it only fair that I use the animation to help judge the original story.

Overall an entertaining if slightly unexceptional adventure with some interesting elements and some great scenes. The animated version has beautifully vibrant colour visuals.

My Ratings: Episodes 1 to 4 - 8/10.