2.06 The Crusade

[whatinthewho]

First Doctor with Ian, Barbara and Vicki
Follows on from Season One, Planet of Giants, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue, The Romans and The Web Planet

Comments

[jenny_wildcat]

Excellent recap and analysis! "The Crusades" is one of my absolute favorite stories and high on my wishlist of "Episodes That I Dearly Want To Be Found (or at least animated)." I appreciate that you look at it through the lens of a viewer in the 1960s and don't try to ascribe modern standards re: historical accuracy/appropriate depiction of characters. I find that trying to judge media from the past by today's rules is unfair to the production as it was made back then. It doesn't mean those things were right by any stretch of the imagination, but like you said, progress takes time. It would be a shame to totally ignore such a fantastic piece of television just because it was made before society in general learned to be more respectful.

Anyway - great story, great review (and yes, the novelization is so wonderfully shippy and I love it to bits!)

[whatinthewho]

Hi, sorry it's taken so long to reply to this. Yes and yes - there is a place for comparisons between past and present, obviously, but I'm primarily interested in the characters and stories and prefer to judge archive TV on its own terms rather than criticise it for not being made to modern standards that no one back then could have known would someday exist. I think The Crusade is a lovely story, highly character-centric, and I love it.

Growing up, I knew the First Doctor and his companions solely from the novelisations and always completely took it for granted that Ian and Barbara were a couple, because they were written as such by people like David Whitaker. It came as a bit of a surprise to return to the classic show as an adult and start watching those early adventures and realise that they weren't actually a couple on-screen!

[blogger_who]

I like to think of this story as the one where Ian realizes that he's in love with Barbara. The way that he's acting and the sheer desperation with which he acts is just so obvious. I can't believe that they can delude themselves any longer. I totally believe that it was the intention of the production team that they were in love. Yeah they hadn't gone on a date yet or kissed but when you spend these kinds of dangerous situations together, I'd say it's more informative about a potential partner than a hundred dates. The novelization of The Daleks Masterplan has the Doctor hoping that Ian and Barbara ended up having lots of annoying children and that's my dream as well of a blissfully happy Ian and Barbara enjoying their lives and each other to the fullest and I think that we see a lot of the seeds of that here

[whatinthewho]

Oh, I didn't mean that Bernard Kaye's performance as Tyler was any less excellent, I'm sorry if it reads that way - I just meant that the two characters are worlds apart!

I don't think there's much more I can say that wouldn't be repeating myself. This is a gorgeous story - such a nuanced insight into another place and time, different cultures and mores and outlooks. It's a snapshot of history, our protagonists merely there as the vehicle that allows us access to that snapshot, and it's such beautiful storytelling, it saddens me all over again that the historicals fell out of use.

[blogger_who]

Ah, I see how it can be read that way. You just complemented his performance as Saladin and then said "a far cry from his previous role" and I thought that you meant the performance but I should have paid attention to your exact language because you mean the role. I love Kaye. Every time he turns up on the show he plays a great character.

[shyfoxling]

DOCTOR: I almost wish I'd been knighted too.
VICKI: That'll be the day.

Well, it'll only take about ten more regenerations till it will be the day... ;)