"The Enemy of the World" - Episode 6

Doctor Who
Airdate: January 27, 1968
Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling
Written by David Whitaker
Produced by Innes Lloyd
Directed by Barry Letts

As Swann dies, Astrid follows the tunnel and discovers the underground complex. With difficulty, she convinces everyone that Salamander has lied to them. Astrid takes two of the people with her and leaves to find Salamander, promising to return for the others. Kent, on the other hand, has snuck into the Research Station, where he finds and confronts the Doctor posing as Salamander. Kent reveals that he was Salamander's old partner, and wishes not only to depose him but to replace him. The Doctor reveals his identity, stating he knew all along not to trust Kent. Astrid's new friends confirm Kent's involvement, but Kent escapes down the tunnels, planning to destroy the entire complex with a cache of explosives.He is stopped and killed by the real Salamander, who escapes to the beach where the TARDIS first arrived. Inside the TARDIS, Jamie and Victoria mistake him for the Doctor, but the real Doctor arrives just in time. Rather than face his punishment at the hands of Bruce, Salamander grasps at the TARDIS controls, initiating materialization with the doors still open. Unprepared, Salamander is pulled out of the TARDIS, while the Doctor and his friends desperately hang on for their lives...

One of the first things that struck me when I first saw Episode 3 of this story (the only episode that still exists) was how determined the Doctor was to get solid evidence against Salamander before he would agree to take any positive action. This is a very strange attitude for the Doctor to have, frankly. Normally, on as a little as a vague feeling or unformed suspicion, he's off gathering evidence himself. Here, despite some pretty clear evidence that Salamander is a bad guy, the Doctor does nothing at all for more than half the story.

Of course, the Doctor's hunches are almost always correct. So it shouldn't really come as much surprise to discover that Giles Kent, the man who was pleading for the Doctor to take action, is every bit as villainous as Salamander himself. I can't believe I didn't see it coming. In retospect, it's so obvious. There's no reason for the Doctor to be reluctant for four episodes only to finally become convinced. It only makes sense if the Doctor's reluctance is in some way justified. And so it is.

One last thing: I really appreciate that Salamander can't impersonate the Doctor. With these doppleganger episodes, it's standard procedure that each double will at some point try to impersonate the other. That sort of happens here, as Salamander gets into the TARDIS and tries to get Jamie to operate it for him. But we've established early on that the Doctor is very good at accents. It would be surprising, to say the least, if Salamander had the same talent.