4.01 The Smugglers
First Doctor with Ben and Polly
Follows on from Season One, Season Two and Season Three
POLLY: When are we going to land?
DOCTOR: I don't know. That's the cause of half my troubles through my journeys. I never know.
Overview
Season four of Doctor Who opens not with a bang but a whimper, as the four-part adventure The Smugglers is completely missing and can be experienced only as an audio soundtrack or fan-made reconstruction. This sets the tone for the season to follow, as, out of nine adventures, four are completely missing and five partially missing, with not a single complete story to leaven the mix. It is the hardest hit season of the show, in missing episodes terms.
The second-last pure historical of the 1960s, filmed as part of the third season block and then held over as the season four opener, a few Australian censor clips and telesnaps, along with the soundtrack, are all that survive of The Smugglers. Following on from the extensive location shooting around the street of London for The War Machines, The Smugglers was the first Doctor Who story to feature major location shooting outside of London, substantial portions of the story being filmed down in Cornwall, and a bit of amateur on-location colour film footage recorded behind-the-scenes during production at Trethewey Farm in Cornwall also survives.
It was during production of this serial that the decision was made not to renew William Hartnell's contract, after months of ill-health and behind-the-scenes turmoil.
The plot, in a nutshell, is this: landing on the Cornish coast in the 17th century, the Doctor and his new companions Ben and Polly find themselves enmeshed in the struggle between a local smuggling ring and a ruthless band of pirates on a quest for buried treasure.
Writer Brian Hayles
Director Julia Smith
Script editor Gerry Davis
Producer Innes Lloyd
Aired 10 September1 October 1966
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
Episode One
I found a Loose Cannon reconstruction of The Smugglers to watch for this review, and I love the creative choice to fade out of the title sequence and show the TARDIS dematerialising from Fitzroy Square in London, title music playing over it, before fading back into the last seconds of the title sequence.
Previously on Doctor Who: The War Machines ended with Ben and Polly letting themselves into the TARDIS in pursuit of the Doctor, using a key Dodo had asked them to return to him the door closing behind them just as the TARDIS dematerialised, placing the pair squarely in the category of inadvertent companions. The Smugglers picks up exactly where The War Machines left off Ben and Polly marvel at the TARDIS interior while the Doctor shouts at them angrily. This reaction is perfectly in character for him as Ian and Barbara discovered to their cost way back in An Unearthly Child, the First Doctor has a tendency to become angry and autocratic when he is startled, particularly where the sanctity of his TARDIS is concerned. Aware that the TARDIS is already taking off, taking these two young people with it, he rails at them, full of anger and affront that they should have followed him inside, but as viewers we know him well enough by now to know that this anger is a front for his panic, because they are here now and he can't take them back. Anger as a cover for alarm and concern is very characteristic of this gruff old Doctor.
Polly says that the Doctor dropped his key apparently she's already forgotten that the key they used came from Dodo. Or, in the real world, writer Brian Hayles was told approximately where to pick up Ben and Polly's story (blundered into the TARDIS as it took off) but didn't know the precise detail of how it came about. Such are the perils of having multiple writers working on sequential stories at the same time, it is easy for such minor details to fail to carry across from one story to the next such discrepancies still happen today.
Ben and Polly don't understand what has happened to them. Polly is contrite at having made the Doctor angry, while Ben is curious about the console and anxious to get back to his ship. That's another detail that hasn't carried across from one story to the other in The War Machines we were told that Ben was on a shore posting for six months and on his way back to barracks, not to his ship. The Doctor makes no bones about telling Ben he won't be seeing his ship again for a very long time and a confused Polly asks when they are going to land. She's grasped that the TARDIS is a spaceship in flight, but her question is about the length of the journey, rather than its temporal destination. The Doctor, however, is talking about the temporal destination when he says that he doesn't know, admitting he never knows where the TARDIS is going, he has no control over it, and that's the root of half his problems!
The Doctor is calming down now, accepting responsibility for these two young people, pointing them to the scanner screen to see where they've landed and performing various routine checks before opening the door. His manner is making Polly nervous as well she might be, since her entire life has just been forcibly uprooted but Ben still doesn't believe any of it at least until he steps outside the TARDIS and finds himself in a cave on the seashore. Then he becomes worried, anxious to be returned, but the Doctor high-handedly states that he will not be taking them back to London in the TARDIS. He means he can't, although why he doesn't reiterate that instead of putting their backs up like this I don't know. He seems amused by their indignation as they set off to find their own way back he'd expected to be alone after Dodo left him, and these two make quite the diversion, their reactions providing him interest and entertainment in this new locale!
Out on the beach, Polly falls in love with the beauty of the place and begins to enjoy herself that's the spirit! She reckons they're in Cornwall and turns out to be bang on the money. Ben, though, is worried about the time he's an able-seaman in the Royal Navy and doesn't want to be marked up as AWOL! Spotting a church, both reckon it's a sign that they are still in their own time after all the Doctor has to point out to them that churches like that have been standing for hundreds of years.
All three are startled when a long-haired man in 17th century garb darts out of the church brandishing an old flintlock pistol. This is church warden Joseph Longfoot, and his language is certainly antique, even if his attempt at a Cornish accent leaves something to be desired, and he takes Polly for a boy, despite her womanly figure, because she is wearing trousers and has her long hair tied up under a cap. The Doctor, taken as a gentleman by his dress and delighted to be able to prove Ben wrong just as he always liked to rub Ian's nose in being wrong spins a tale about being travellers who've got themselves lost, so the man invites them into the church for food and warmth.
Longfoot makes a cryptic reference to Avery a famous pirate who, of course, popped up on the show himself almost 50 years later in the 11th Doctor adventure The Curse of the Black Spot funny how the Doctor forgot to mention finding his treasure all these years ago Anyway, here, the legend is merely referenced. Longfoot is nervous, worried about something, and as the travellers leave to find shelter at an inn until the tide goes back out, Longfoot whispers a cryptic message to the Doctor. Dead Man's secret key: Smallwood, Ringwood, Gurney a secret worth remembering, he reckons.
A bald man, Cherub, has been spying on them and saw this conversation. He follows Longfoot into the church. They are old shipmates, but there's no love lost between them now. Cherub's accent is also pretty bad. He's come to try to talk Longfoot into spilling a secret the location of Avery's lost treasure, which his Captain Pike is most anxious to get hold of. Longfoot believes the treasure is cursed and won't give up the secret but Cherub is certain he passed it onto the Doctor, having seen them whispering. Deciding that he can press the Doctor for the secret instead, Cherub kills Longfoot, who curses him with his dying breath.
Meanwhile at the local inn, landlord Jacob Kewper sends stable boy Tom over to the church with a message for Longfoot: there is smuggling afoot, a new delivery due, and all of a sudden I feel as if I'm watching Poldark!
It is a stormy night, and the Doctor and his companions are soaked through by the time they reach the inn and meet an unfriendly welcome strangers are viewed with a great deal of suspicion in these parts. Kewper brightens, though, on learning that they are acquainted with Longfoot and makes them welcome. Polly is growing disgruntled at being called a lad by everyone she looks less like one than ever now she's lost her hat but the Doctor thinks it safer to continue the ruse for now. Ben is highly amused and teases her mercilessly, while she gives every bit as good as she gets. I enjoy little exchanges like that as they add so much to the characters and their developing relationships.
Alone in their chamber, the trio discuss their plans, which amount to waiting for low tide, returning to the TARDIS and trying for 1966, although the Doctor has no confidence whatsoever in his ability to get his companions back there. Ben is grumpily resigned to his fate, grouching that there probably won't even be a Navy any more by the time he gets home! Polly is more philosophical, feeling that there is nothing they can do about it now so they just have to get on with things. It's a nice little scene, an opportunity for the new and entirely unprepared TARDIS travellers to take stock and adjust to their situation. They are given clean clothes and head down to the bar for a meal but find the clientele both disreputable and unfriendly. Strangers are definitely not welcome here especially not with a smuggling consignment due!
Stable boy Tom bursts in with news of Longfoot's murder and, of course, the TARDIS trio were the last known to have seen him alive, so Kewper sends Tom for the squire, but takes care not to tip the suspects off just yet. The TARDIS travellers, all unsuspecting, are relaxing by the fire when Cherub further complicates matters by arriving with a few fellow sailors, come to take the Doctor away at knifepoint. He admits to killing Longfoot, but only the TARDIS crew hear this confession, and when Ben and Polly try to come to the Doctor's rescue, they are no match for Cherub's ruffians, who restrain Polly and knock Ben out. The Doctor is bound, concealed beneath hay on a wagon, and carried away.
Stranded in the 17th century with the Doctor abducted and Ben unconscious and bleeding, Polly cries for help, but Kewper, who suspects the trio of murder, is not particularly sympathetic and tells her to wait for the squire, who is the law in these parts. The Doctor, meanwhile, is taken by boat out to a waiting ship to see Captain Pike, a stereotypical pirate complete with a hook for a hand.
Got to love how Ben is the damsel in distress here, cradled in Polly's arms as he lies unconscious poor Polly is left to deal with everything by herself. She anxiously tells the squire that her 'master' has been kidnapped and must be saved, but the squire is less interested in the Doctor's predicament than he is in finding out who these strangers are and what they are doing here. Polly despairs. At length Ben wakes up, all groggy and confused, and she quickly brings him up to speed. But if Polly's nervousness and pleading for help didn't work on these suspicious locals, then Ben's belligerent impatience has no chance. As local magistrate, the squire promptly has them both arrested for the murder of Joseph Longfoot.
Episode Two
Captain Pike and Cherub, in their piratical language, explain to the Doctor that Longfoot was an old shipmate of theirs who knew the hiding place of the legendary Captain Avery's lost treasure they believe he gave this location to the Doctor before he died and mean to have it from him, by any means and Cherub is not subtle in his threats. The Doctor is fab in scenes like this, facing down his enemies with nothing but his wit and nerve and outfacing them both with ease, coolly telling the vicious Cherub that he is boring while offering flattery to Pike playing them like fiddles. He even angles for a share in the reward himself, should he divulge what he knows, knowing that this is an angle Pike will find far more convincing than further protestations of ignorance.
We meet another member of the crew, nicknamed 'Jamaica' because that's where he comes from it's good to see people of colour appearing in the show, but he's as stereotyped as all the other pirates.
Locked away in a cell, Ben is full of dismay and despair about the situation, worried about not being absent from duty, but Polly, now that Ben is awake and recovering, is finding it all rather exciting and focuses on the immediate problem: getting out of the cell. She's giving a good show of herself until she sees a rat in the corner of the cell and disintegrates into a puddle of nerves, because she hates them. I'm not going to criticise her for that, though. All the noise rouses stable boy Tom, who has been left on guard, and he comes to see what's going on. The ensuing conversation gives Polly an idea recalling that people in the 17th century tended to be highly superstitious, she wonders if they can't use those fears to their advantage
And so in a single scene we are shown multiple sides of Polly's personality: her imagination and enjoyment of the adventure, her qualm when faced with something that frightens her (a fear she owns, completely and unashamedly, good for her), and her ingenuity, devising a scheme to get out of trouble. They both put on a marvellous performance, Polly or 'Paul' pretending to be possessed while Ben sells the story wholeheartedly. He can act, when he must, but he'd never have thought of the scheme himself he doesn't have Polly's imagination. They claim the Doctor is a wizard and they his apprentices, and have even made a fake 'voodoo' doll with straw from their cell, with which they scare the life out of the boy, convincing him to let them go. Damn, but this must have been a fun scene to watch when the visuals still existed. Once free, they head for the church, hoping to find safety and clues as to what's going on.
The plot thickens when innkeeper Kewper pays a visit to the pirate ship he and Pike verbally dance around one another for a while, but it all amounts to Kewper trying to persuade Pike to do business with the local smuggling ring. It really isn't clear what Kewper's game is here, beyond moving the plot forward there's already supposed to be a smuggling consignment due, which we never hear of again, and the pirates aren't exactly subtle in their costume and the appearance of their ship, so I'm not sure how convincing it is that Kewper might have thought them honest merchants he could recruit. Anyway, he manages to indict the local squire as part of the ring, before belatedly realising that it was these pirates who killed Longfoot like that was so hard to figure out.
For a children's show, there is some pretty blatant talk about torture in this story!
Ben and Polly search the church, first the vestry and then the crypt. Ben takes great delight in teasing Polly, who is a very easy mark in her nervousness. She's a curious mix very nervous and afraid, yet enjoying the adventure anyway. Polly just wishes they knew where the Doctor was and then Ben thinks of going back to the TARDIS now the tide is out, to see if the old man has gone back there. But they've no sooner decided this than a secret passage in the crypt opens up and a man steps out Ben promptly knocks him out and they swiftly secure him. Polly, who can't abide the thought of being left alone in the dark, gloomy crypt, rushes off to tell the squire they've caught someone, possibly the murder, leaving Ben on guard.
It turns out that the man Ben has captured is neither a smuggler nor a pirate, but Josiah Blake, the King's revenue man he is furious both at being captured and at Ben's reluctance to take his word as a gentleman. Ben, not being a gentleman, is having none of it he's a down-to-earth sort of chap and knows only that he was accused of something he didn't do and now has an alternate suspect to offer. Blake explains that he is investigating smuggling in the district and has found the secret passage used by the smugglers, which leads down to the caves at the shore. Ha, and he doesn't understand Ben's Cockney idioms at all! Hearing that the passage leads to the beach, Ben rushes off to explore leaving a furious Blake behind.
Leaving the Doctor and Kewper prisoner on the ship, Pike and Cherub pay a visit to the squire, in the guise of honest merchants hoping to find out where the local smugglers' store is, so as to steal that as well as the lost treasure. Nothing if not ambitious, these pirates. They are just getting down to business when Polly is hauled in, protesting all the way. She is in the middle of telling the squire about the 'murder suspect' she and Ben captured when she spots Cherub and recognises him as the man who kidnapped the Doctor.
Alas, Pike and Cherub have got the squire wrapped around their little fingers, and Polly is unable to convince him of their guilt and her own innocence. She speaks up boldly in her own defence, however, fiercely accusing the villains and refusing to back down it's good, strong characterisation for her. All to no avail, however, as she quickly finds herself restrained once more.
Back on the ship, Kewper brings the Doctor up to speed on Ben and Polly's predicament, accused of the murder of the church warden. Hearing this, the Doctor is anxious to get back to shore to help them and Kewper agrees, claiming that the whole village is at stake because Pike is the bloodiest pirate alive. Perhaps he should have thought of that before he came to Pike looking to do business, then! Kewper is all impassioned and over-dramatic, with the Doctor wonderfully nonchalant in response as he begins to devise a plan of escape.
Ben rushes back to the church crypt full of joy, having determined that the secret tunnel leads directly to the very spot where the TARDIS awaits. He's exuberant and unguarded, heedless of being out of his own time, babbling about things revenue man Blake has no hope of understanding. Ben is a talkative man, open and straightforward, and wears his heart on his sleeve always either very excited or very gloomy, no half measures. He's still gabbling with glee when the squire, Pike and Cherub walk in, a bound and gagged Polly with them, and capture him at gunpoint.
So Ben and Polly are putting up a decent show of themselves on their first TARDIS trip but they aren't getting very far!
Episode Three
As episode three opens, the squire wonders what to do about the revenue man, Blake, not wanting to blow his cover as an honest parish squire so, to get them all out of the way, suggests the man take Ben and Polly off to prison for the murder of the church warden. Blake doesn't much like being made use of in this way, being revenue not sheriff, but agrees, all protestations to no avail, so takes the pair back to the inn where he left his horse.
On the ship, like Ben and Polly before him, the Doctor uses the superstitions of these 17th century folk against them, playing at taking card readings to foretell the future thus lulling Jamaica into a false sense of security, which Kewper then takes advantage of to overpower the man. The Doctor is good at striking up temporary alliances with the people he encounters along his travels. They sneak past the other pirates, into Kewper's boat and away.
Pike and Cherub have got the squire eating out of the palms of their hand by now. He shows them the secret smuggler stash, beneath a tomb in the crypt although he keeps other smuggler secrets from them, to their annoyance. They make arrangements for landing of good, secret signals and payment.
Ben and Polly are surprised when Blake sets them free as soon as they are safely away from the others he has chosen to trust their word over the squire, who he already suspects of being a ringleader in the smuggling ring. They are only thankful that someone believes them at last. Blake is anxious to raise troops to catch the gang red-handed, believing that another drop is imminent. Ben and Polly don't see how the Doctor fits into all this, which leads to an amusing little exchange wherein Blake asks if the Doctor is a learned man, and upon being told that he is, is mightily disappointed, because he'd prefer a soldier! At that moment, the Doctor himself walks in, much to everyone's delight. Kewper isn't far behind but Blake is already known to him, so Kewper believes he has been led into a trap, pulls out a gun to hold them off and runs for it.
On the ship, Jamaica faces the wrath of Pike for letting the prisoners escape. Pike now believes that the squire is trying to lead him into a trap, so instead plans a daylight raid to plunder the entire village in search of Avery's gold. The unfortunate Jamaica is killed, a harsh punishment for his folly, and very unfortunate to see the one black character of the story killed off although he isn't the first to die. This isn't a very good story for representation all round, given that Polly is the only woman we see in all four episodes.
With bloodshed on the horizon, pirates and smugglers likely to be at each other's throats at any time with the villagers caught in the middle, Blake hurries off to raise troops, leaving Ben and Polly to tell the Doctor all about the secret tunnel leading to the cave where they left the TARDIS. They are anxious to be away, feeling that the people here are best left to their own devices, this entire mess nothing to do with them but the Doctor is having none of it and tells them he is under a moral obligation to help the villagers. How far he has come since we first met him! Once upon a time he'd have been the first to suggest making an early getaway, but now takes the opposite stance, actively taking on responsibility for the people and situations he encounters along the way.
Ben and Polly protest that they wouldn't stand a chance against Pike, but the Doctor is confident he's met Pike, and knows that he knows something Pike doesn't: the clue to the treasure, which he hopes to use as a bargaining tool with which to buy time for Blake to bring back his troops. Put like that, Polly is on board with the plan at once Ben is less enthusiastic and less confident, but will go along with it because she is. For such a chirpy Cockney sparrow, he can be very pessimistic!
While Cherub threatens stable boy Tom to find out where the Doctor and his companions have gone, Kewper makes it to the squire, who realises that Pike has tricked him and frets that he has delivered their plans into the pirate's evil hands! Kewper is bold and belligerent knowing Pike is after Avery's gold, and that it may be hidden beneath the church, he plans to take it from them. Of all the characters in this story, Kewper is the one I really struggle to get a handle on his motivations are never really clear, such as why he went to Pike's ship in the first place. He's a plot device character and his purpose here is to get the squire fired up over the treasure and the pirates.
In the churchyard, the Doctor struggles to decipher Longfoot's code while Ben and Polly amuse themselves among the gravestones, reading out the names and inscriptions and laughing at them. I really enjoy this light-hearted characterisation for them, the easy, affectionate rapport they share, enjoying one another's company. Their silly game also gives the Doctor the clue he needed to figure out the code dead man's secret: the cryptic words are names on tombstones down in the crypt. They hurry down to search, and Ben shows the Doctor the secret passage. Among the tombs, they find the three names in the rhyme Longfoot told the Doctor but don't see how this helps. And then the squire and Kewper burst in.
Kewper threatens Ben and Polly to get the Doctor to talk but the squire is rather perturbed by this, having no stomach for bloodshed. He just wants the money, not violence. While they argue, Cherub sneaks in to settle the debate by knifing Kewper and shooting at the squire. Polly screams and I refuse to criticise her for that. After being hypnotised for most of her experience in The War Machines, this is her first time up close and personal with guns and violence and murder. It's only natural for her to be alarmed!
Episode Four
Kewper is dead and the squire injured as episode four opens, Cherub smugly certain that he is now in control of the situation. He wants to know where the treasure is. The Doctor rails at him, dignified but furious, and tells the belligerent Ben to leave this to him, while Polly fusses over the injured squire who was her enemy just a moment ago. She is very forgiving, but her mercy gets her nowhere, as Cherub grabs her and holds the gun to her head. Typical that the woman gets held to ransom as leverage over the men come on, show, you can do better than that. The Doctor mutters to Ben that they must play for time, so discusses the riddle with Cherub, playing dumb. Cherub recognises the names as old pirates, crewmen of Avery and adds a fourth: Deadman. The final clue, perhaps. But the squire reminds us that the treasure is said to be cursed, and points to his own injury as proof.
Pike and his other pirates come ashore and make for the church, which looks deserted. The crew set about unloading the smugglers' loot from the stash, while Pike goes searching for Cherub. Blake, meanwhile, is on his way back to the village with a platoon of troopers.
Pike heads down to the crypt, where he finds Cherub holding Polly and the others at gunpoint he knows Cherub is after the treasure for himself, and they fight it out. Polly remarks that this is Avery's curse she's right in a sense, the curse being that the hope of treasure turns men against one another, just like the squire and Kewper.
While the pirates fight, the Doctor tells Ben to take Polly back to the TARDIS but doesn't want to leave himself until he is sure the village is safe. Ben gives him 15 minutes then he's coming back. I like that they are worried about leaving the Doctor, who breezes that he's done this before. He certainly has!
Pike kills Cherub and there's a snippet of moving footage here, a censor cut, only a few seconds. I can see why it was censored it's quite graphic, really, as Pike pulls his blade from Cherub's body! The Doctor tells Pike he always intended to give him the secret of the treasure, he only had to ensure the safety of his friends first. He keeps Pike's attention on himself, anxious to save the life of the wounded squire, little though the man deserves it. He also sets new terms he will give Pike the secret of the gold as long as he promises to keep his men out of the village. The squire seconds this request he owns his own villainy honestly enough, but insists that he has never shed blood and wishes to spare his people. Pike paints a gory picture of the bloodthirsty nature of his men, so they goad him can't he control his crew? Is he afraid to test their obedience? Piqued, he agrees to the deal and demands to be shown the gold.
Ben and Polly struggle along the dark secret tunnel, worried about the Doctor. At length, Polly sends Ben back to get the Doctor while she continues alone. Out on the beach, the pirates are loading their boats just as Blake and his men arrive. And Polly arrives back at the TARDIS just in time to be confronted by two pirates, who've just discovered it. She fights them off, but is captured one pirate holds her while the other heads up the tunnel only to be knocked out by Ben, who heard him coming. He rushes to help Polly, and between them they fight the other pirate and let us note that Polly is just as active in this fight as Ben is. She might be a girly girl, but given half a chance, she's a wildcat, biting and scratching, jumping on the man's back. You go, girl.
In the crypt, the Doctor decodes the riddle at last to reveal Avery's secret stash why Longfoot didn't make off with it long ago is anyone's guess, since he knew the secret. Maybe he feared the curse. Pike is still celebrating the treasure when the sounds of fighting come on his ears his pirates, drunk on the squire's bootleg brandy, are fighting the militia just outside. Blake meanwhile, having subdued the pirates on the beach, takes his troops up the secret tunnel meaning that Pike and his remaining men are surrounded, with militia front and back.
The militia prevail; Pike and his pirates are defeated. Avery's curse, indeed. The Doctor and his companions sneak away in the aftermath. Back in the TARDIS, Polly wonders where they are going now, forward or backward, but the Doctor reminds her that he can't control the TARDIS. Ben is still worried about going AWOL from his barracks, but feels that anywhere would be better than where they just were. The Doctor chuckles and warns that it could be a great deal worse. He announces that they have arrived at the coldest place in the world, and that's our cliffhanger ending to take us into the First Doctor's final adventure.
Quotable Quotes
POLLY: Good heavens!
BEN: Blimey, where did all this come from? Well, it was a police box, wasn't it?
DOCTOR: What are you both doing in here?
POLLY: You dropped your key.
DOCTOR: How dare you follow me into the TARDIS!
BEN: The what?
DOCTOR: The TARDIS, sir! This is a vessel for travelling through time and space! Why did you follow me?
POLLY: I'm terribly sorry if we've annoyed you, Doctor. It was my fault, I'm afraid.
BEN: Well, what's all this then.
DOCTOR: And stand back from those controls. Those controls are used for dematerialising.
BEN: Dematerialising? What does that mean?
DOCTOR: You and this young lady are experiencing it. You are now travelling through time and space.
BEN: Yeah, well, make sure that I get back by teatime, Doctor. I've got to get back to my ship by tonight.
DOCTOR: Young man, it's going to be a long time before you see your ship again.
POLLY: Why? When are we going to land?
DOCTOR: I don't know. That's the cause of half my troubles through my journeys. I never know.
POLLY: Why not?
DOCTOR: I have no control over where I land. Neither can I choose the period in which I land in.
DOCTOR: Oh dear, all this distraction. And I really thought I was going to be alone again.
DOCTOR: Well, I suppose I shall have to chase after them. Quite incapable of looking after themselves.
POLLY: I don't believe it. Hey, isn't it exciting!
BEN: Well, it might be if I wasn't so pushed for time.
DOCTOR: And you are expecting this Avery?
LONGFOOT: Him? Why, he's been buried these long years past. Ah, but his spirit rides. Aye, in the dark souls of those who follow in his wake.
BEN: Well, my lad?
POLLY: Ha, ha, very funny. I do wish everyone would stop calling me lad. It does make me feel very odd.
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I think it better at the moment, my dear. What would they say to a maiden in trousers?
BEN: Probably die laughing.
POLLY: You would think it funny, You and your bell-bottom sense of humour.
BEN: Oh, listen to our little dolly-rocker Duchess, then.
BEN: Look, Doctor, what I want to know is, how are you going to get us out of here?
DOCTOR: Oh, we shall return to the TARDIS, my boy, when the tide recedes and let's hope that we materialize in nineteen sixty six.
POLLY: You don't sound very certain, Doctor.
DOCTOR: No, I'm afraid I'm not, my dear. More likely we shall probably land in the far distant future.
BEN: Oh great! The way things are going there probably won't be a navy when I get back.
BEN: Here, I've seen a few shady customers in my time, but this crowd beats the lot.
POLLY: They're fantastic, aren't they?
PIKE: Old man, are ye truly a sawbones?
DOCTOR: I would prefer you to use the correct term, sir. I am a doctor.
PIKE: Well, Doctor? Will ye loosen your tongue or lose it altogether?
BEN: Oh, of all the bloomin' fixes to be in.
POLLY: I don't know. I find it pretty exciting.
BEN: Oh, you would. But I don't go a bomb on this tune, and I can't very well report back to a seventeenth century navy.
POLLY: Ah, you've got no imagination, that's your trouble. It's great.
BEN: Oh, great. Stuck in jail for murder. Oh, honest. Who'd have our luck?
BLAKE: This friend of yours, the one you call the Doctor, is he a learned man?
BEN: Oh, not half.
BLAKE: Oh, more's the pity. A soldier or a mercenary at this point would be mighty advantageous.
BEN: What's the trouble, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Well, I'm afraid, my boy, we can't leave at the moment.
POLLY: What? But why not?
DOCTOR: Yes, well I know it's really difficult for both you to understand, but I'm under moral obligation.
BEN: Well, about what? We've got no ties here.
DOCTOR: No, but it's this village. I feel that I might be responsible for its destruction, and therefore I must at least try and avoid this danger.
BEN: Hey, this [gravestone's] a laugh. Henry Hawksworth, he did die, of drinking too much small beer when he was dry.
DOCTOR: There is no need for innocent people to suffer.
SQUIRE: Oh, I've been a rogue, I frankly admit it. The generosity of this stranger has shamed me. But I never spilled blood in my villainy. I beg you as a fellow rogue, if you must, spare my poor villagers.
PIKE: When the fever is in the lads' bones, nothing but blood will slake it.
DOCTOR: Senseless destruction.
PIKE: Tis by way of being a pastime with us gentlemen of fortune. Why should I stop them?
SQUIRE: So, you admit it to be difficult, at? You'd rather let them run mad than test their obedience, ay, Captain?
PIKE: No man defies me and lives to speak of it.
SQUIRE: No, but you'll not give that one order, ay? A highly disciplined crew, in truth.
PIKE: They'll do as I bid or die of it.
SQUIRE: Would they?
PIKE: Aye, they would.
DOCTOR: Prove it!
DOCTOR: Superstition is a strange thing, my dear, but sometimes it tells the truth.
The Verdict
Overall and taken as a whole, The Smugglers is a story that many people tend to overlook, and I can see why. Although engaging enough, with what sound like spirited performances by both regulars and guest cast, it's a very slight story, really. As a pure historical, it lacks an iconic monster or villain to capture the imagination, and it also sort of falls between two stools, in pure historical terms, lacking either the outright comedy of The Romans and The Myth Makers or the pseudo-Shakespearean quality that makes stories like Marco Polo and The Crusade so special. It's a decent story, full of subtle jokes and humorous dialogue, with an interesting historical setting and plenty going on, but it doesn't stand out in the way that some adventures do. That, really, is its only crime, however, and perhaps if the visuals still existed it would be better regarded. As an introduction to Ben and Polly as full-blown companions, it does its job well, giving both plenty to do so that we get to know them a little better. I enjoyed it a solid start to the fourth season of the show.
Follows on from Season One, Season Two and Season Three
POLLY: When are we going to land?
DOCTOR: I don't know. That's the cause of half my troubles through my journeys. I never know.
Overview
Season four of Doctor Who opens not with a bang but a whimper, as the four-part adventure The Smugglers is completely missing and can be experienced only as an audio soundtrack or fan-made reconstruction. This sets the tone for the season to follow, as, out of nine adventures, four are completely missing and five partially missing, with not a single complete story to leaven the mix. It is the hardest hit season of the show, in missing episodes terms.
The second-last pure historical of the 1960s, filmed as part of the third season block and then held over as the season four opener, a few Australian censor clips and telesnaps, along with the soundtrack, are all that survive of The Smugglers. Following on from the extensive location shooting around the street of London for The War Machines, The Smugglers was the first Doctor Who story to feature major location shooting outside of London, substantial portions of the story being filmed down in Cornwall, and a bit of amateur on-location colour film footage recorded behind-the-scenes during production at Trethewey Farm in Cornwall also survives.
It was during production of this serial that the decision was made not to renew William Hartnell's contract, after months of ill-health and behind-the-scenes turmoil.
The plot, in a nutshell, is this: landing on the Cornish coast in the 17th century, the Doctor and his new companions Ben and Polly find themselves enmeshed in the struggle between a local smuggling ring and a ruthless band of pirates on a quest for buried treasure.
Writer Brian Hayles
Director Julia Smith
Script editor Gerry Davis
Producer Innes Lloyd
Aired 10 September1 October 1966
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
Episode One
I found a Loose Cannon reconstruction of The Smugglers to watch for this review, and I love the creative choice to fade out of the title sequence and show the TARDIS dematerialising from Fitzroy Square in London, title music playing over it, before fading back into the last seconds of the title sequence.
Previously on Doctor Who: The War Machines ended with Ben and Polly letting themselves into the TARDIS in pursuit of the Doctor, using a key Dodo had asked them to return to him the door closing behind them just as the TARDIS dematerialised, placing the pair squarely in the category of inadvertent companions. The Smugglers picks up exactly where The War Machines left off Ben and Polly marvel at the TARDIS interior while the Doctor shouts at them angrily. This reaction is perfectly in character for him as Ian and Barbara discovered to their cost way back in An Unearthly Child, the First Doctor has a tendency to become angry and autocratic when he is startled, particularly where the sanctity of his TARDIS is concerned. Aware that the TARDIS is already taking off, taking these two young people with it, he rails at them, full of anger and affront that they should have followed him inside, but as viewers we know him well enough by now to know that this anger is a front for his panic, because they are here now and he can't take them back. Anger as a cover for alarm and concern is very characteristic of this gruff old Doctor.
Polly says that the Doctor dropped his key apparently she's already forgotten that the key they used came from Dodo. Or, in the real world, writer Brian Hayles was told approximately where to pick up Ben and Polly's story (blundered into the TARDIS as it took off) but didn't know the precise detail of how it came about. Such are the perils of having multiple writers working on sequential stories at the same time, it is easy for such minor details to fail to carry across from one story to the next such discrepancies still happen today.
Ben and Polly don't understand what has happened to them. Polly is contrite at having made the Doctor angry, while Ben is curious about the console and anxious to get back to his ship. That's another detail that hasn't carried across from one story to the other in The War Machines we were told that Ben was on a shore posting for six months and on his way back to barracks, not to his ship. The Doctor makes no bones about telling Ben he won't be seeing his ship again for a very long time and a confused Polly asks when they are going to land. She's grasped that the TARDIS is a spaceship in flight, but her question is about the length of the journey, rather than its temporal destination. The Doctor, however, is talking about the temporal destination when he says that he doesn't know, admitting he never knows where the TARDIS is going, he has no control over it, and that's the root of half his problems!
The Doctor is calming down now, accepting responsibility for these two young people, pointing them to the scanner screen to see where they've landed and performing various routine checks before opening the door. His manner is making Polly nervous as well she might be, since her entire life has just been forcibly uprooted but Ben still doesn't believe any of it at least until he steps outside the TARDIS and finds himself in a cave on the seashore. Then he becomes worried, anxious to be returned, but the Doctor high-handedly states that he will not be taking them back to London in the TARDIS. He means he can't, although why he doesn't reiterate that instead of putting their backs up like this I don't know. He seems amused by their indignation as they set off to find their own way back he'd expected to be alone after Dodo left him, and these two make quite the diversion, their reactions providing him interest and entertainment in this new locale!
Out on the beach, Polly falls in love with the beauty of the place and begins to enjoy herself that's the spirit! She reckons they're in Cornwall and turns out to be bang on the money. Ben, though, is worried about the time he's an able-seaman in the Royal Navy and doesn't want to be marked up as AWOL! Spotting a church, both reckon it's a sign that they are still in their own time after all the Doctor has to point out to them that churches like that have been standing for hundreds of years.
All three are startled when a long-haired man in 17th century garb darts out of the church brandishing an old flintlock pistol. This is church warden Joseph Longfoot, and his language is certainly antique, even if his attempt at a Cornish accent leaves something to be desired, and he takes Polly for a boy, despite her womanly figure, because she is wearing trousers and has her long hair tied up under a cap. The Doctor, taken as a gentleman by his dress and delighted to be able to prove Ben wrong just as he always liked to rub Ian's nose in being wrong spins a tale about being travellers who've got themselves lost, so the man invites them into the church for food and warmth.
Longfoot makes a cryptic reference to Avery a famous pirate who, of course, popped up on the show himself almost 50 years later in the 11th Doctor adventure The Curse of the Black Spot funny how the Doctor forgot to mention finding his treasure all these years ago Anyway, here, the legend is merely referenced. Longfoot is nervous, worried about something, and as the travellers leave to find shelter at an inn until the tide goes back out, Longfoot whispers a cryptic message to the Doctor. Dead Man's secret key: Smallwood, Ringwood, Gurney a secret worth remembering, he reckons.
A bald man, Cherub, has been spying on them and saw this conversation. He follows Longfoot into the church. They are old shipmates, but there's no love lost between them now. Cherub's accent is also pretty bad. He's come to try to talk Longfoot into spilling a secret the location of Avery's lost treasure, which his Captain Pike is most anxious to get hold of. Longfoot believes the treasure is cursed and won't give up the secret but Cherub is certain he passed it onto the Doctor, having seen them whispering. Deciding that he can press the Doctor for the secret instead, Cherub kills Longfoot, who curses him with his dying breath.
Meanwhile at the local inn, landlord Jacob Kewper sends stable boy Tom over to the church with a message for Longfoot: there is smuggling afoot, a new delivery due, and all of a sudden I feel as if I'm watching Poldark!
It is a stormy night, and the Doctor and his companions are soaked through by the time they reach the inn and meet an unfriendly welcome strangers are viewed with a great deal of suspicion in these parts. Kewper brightens, though, on learning that they are acquainted with Longfoot and makes them welcome. Polly is growing disgruntled at being called a lad by everyone she looks less like one than ever now she's lost her hat but the Doctor thinks it safer to continue the ruse for now. Ben is highly amused and teases her mercilessly, while she gives every bit as good as she gets. I enjoy little exchanges like that as they add so much to the characters and their developing relationships.
Alone in their chamber, the trio discuss their plans, which amount to waiting for low tide, returning to the TARDIS and trying for 1966, although the Doctor has no confidence whatsoever in his ability to get his companions back there. Ben is grumpily resigned to his fate, grouching that there probably won't even be a Navy any more by the time he gets home! Polly is more philosophical, feeling that there is nothing they can do about it now so they just have to get on with things. It's a nice little scene, an opportunity for the new and entirely unprepared TARDIS travellers to take stock and adjust to their situation. They are given clean clothes and head down to the bar for a meal but find the clientele both disreputable and unfriendly. Strangers are definitely not welcome here especially not with a smuggling consignment due!
Stable boy Tom bursts in with news of Longfoot's murder and, of course, the TARDIS trio were the last known to have seen him alive, so Kewper sends Tom for the squire, but takes care not to tip the suspects off just yet. The TARDIS travellers, all unsuspecting, are relaxing by the fire when Cherub further complicates matters by arriving with a few fellow sailors, come to take the Doctor away at knifepoint. He admits to killing Longfoot, but only the TARDIS crew hear this confession, and when Ben and Polly try to come to the Doctor's rescue, they are no match for Cherub's ruffians, who restrain Polly and knock Ben out. The Doctor is bound, concealed beneath hay on a wagon, and carried away.
Stranded in the 17th century with the Doctor abducted and Ben unconscious and bleeding, Polly cries for help, but Kewper, who suspects the trio of murder, is not particularly sympathetic and tells her to wait for the squire, who is the law in these parts. The Doctor, meanwhile, is taken by boat out to a waiting ship to see Captain Pike, a stereotypical pirate complete with a hook for a hand.
Got to love how Ben is the damsel in distress here, cradled in Polly's arms as he lies unconscious poor Polly is left to deal with everything by herself. She anxiously tells the squire that her 'master' has been kidnapped and must be saved, but the squire is less interested in the Doctor's predicament than he is in finding out who these strangers are and what they are doing here. Polly despairs. At length Ben wakes up, all groggy and confused, and she quickly brings him up to speed. But if Polly's nervousness and pleading for help didn't work on these suspicious locals, then Ben's belligerent impatience has no chance. As local magistrate, the squire promptly has them both arrested for the murder of Joseph Longfoot.
Episode Two
Captain Pike and Cherub, in their piratical language, explain to the Doctor that Longfoot was an old shipmate of theirs who knew the hiding place of the legendary Captain Avery's lost treasure they believe he gave this location to the Doctor before he died and mean to have it from him, by any means and Cherub is not subtle in his threats. The Doctor is fab in scenes like this, facing down his enemies with nothing but his wit and nerve and outfacing them both with ease, coolly telling the vicious Cherub that he is boring while offering flattery to Pike playing them like fiddles. He even angles for a share in the reward himself, should he divulge what he knows, knowing that this is an angle Pike will find far more convincing than further protestations of ignorance.
We meet another member of the crew, nicknamed 'Jamaica' because that's where he comes from it's good to see people of colour appearing in the show, but he's as stereotyped as all the other pirates.
Locked away in a cell, Ben is full of dismay and despair about the situation, worried about not being absent from duty, but Polly, now that Ben is awake and recovering, is finding it all rather exciting and focuses on the immediate problem: getting out of the cell. She's giving a good show of herself until she sees a rat in the corner of the cell and disintegrates into a puddle of nerves, because she hates them. I'm not going to criticise her for that, though. All the noise rouses stable boy Tom, who has been left on guard, and he comes to see what's going on. The ensuing conversation gives Polly an idea recalling that people in the 17th century tended to be highly superstitious, she wonders if they can't use those fears to their advantage
And so in a single scene we are shown multiple sides of Polly's personality: her imagination and enjoyment of the adventure, her qualm when faced with something that frightens her (a fear she owns, completely and unashamedly, good for her), and her ingenuity, devising a scheme to get out of trouble. They both put on a marvellous performance, Polly or 'Paul' pretending to be possessed while Ben sells the story wholeheartedly. He can act, when he must, but he'd never have thought of the scheme himself he doesn't have Polly's imagination. They claim the Doctor is a wizard and they his apprentices, and have even made a fake 'voodoo' doll with straw from their cell, with which they scare the life out of the boy, convincing him to let them go. Damn, but this must have been a fun scene to watch when the visuals still existed. Once free, they head for the church, hoping to find safety and clues as to what's going on.
The plot thickens when innkeeper Kewper pays a visit to the pirate ship he and Pike verbally dance around one another for a while, but it all amounts to Kewper trying to persuade Pike to do business with the local smuggling ring. It really isn't clear what Kewper's game is here, beyond moving the plot forward there's already supposed to be a smuggling consignment due, which we never hear of again, and the pirates aren't exactly subtle in their costume and the appearance of their ship, so I'm not sure how convincing it is that Kewper might have thought them honest merchants he could recruit. Anyway, he manages to indict the local squire as part of the ring, before belatedly realising that it was these pirates who killed Longfoot like that was so hard to figure out.
For a children's show, there is some pretty blatant talk about torture in this story!
Ben and Polly search the church, first the vestry and then the crypt. Ben takes great delight in teasing Polly, who is a very easy mark in her nervousness. She's a curious mix very nervous and afraid, yet enjoying the adventure anyway. Polly just wishes they knew where the Doctor was and then Ben thinks of going back to the TARDIS now the tide is out, to see if the old man has gone back there. But they've no sooner decided this than a secret passage in the crypt opens up and a man steps out Ben promptly knocks him out and they swiftly secure him. Polly, who can't abide the thought of being left alone in the dark, gloomy crypt, rushes off to tell the squire they've caught someone, possibly the murder, leaving Ben on guard.
It turns out that the man Ben has captured is neither a smuggler nor a pirate, but Josiah Blake, the King's revenue man he is furious both at being captured and at Ben's reluctance to take his word as a gentleman. Ben, not being a gentleman, is having none of it he's a down-to-earth sort of chap and knows only that he was accused of something he didn't do and now has an alternate suspect to offer. Blake explains that he is investigating smuggling in the district and has found the secret passage used by the smugglers, which leads down to the caves at the shore. Ha, and he doesn't understand Ben's Cockney idioms at all! Hearing that the passage leads to the beach, Ben rushes off to explore leaving a furious Blake behind.
Leaving the Doctor and Kewper prisoner on the ship, Pike and Cherub pay a visit to the squire, in the guise of honest merchants hoping to find out where the local smugglers' store is, so as to steal that as well as the lost treasure. Nothing if not ambitious, these pirates. They are just getting down to business when Polly is hauled in, protesting all the way. She is in the middle of telling the squire about the 'murder suspect' she and Ben captured when she spots Cherub and recognises him as the man who kidnapped the Doctor.
Alas, Pike and Cherub have got the squire wrapped around their little fingers, and Polly is unable to convince him of their guilt and her own innocence. She speaks up boldly in her own defence, however, fiercely accusing the villains and refusing to back down it's good, strong characterisation for her. All to no avail, however, as she quickly finds herself restrained once more.
Back on the ship, Kewper brings the Doctor up to speed on Ben and Polly's predicament, accused of the murder of the church warden. Hearing this, the Doctor is anxious to get back to shore to help them and Kewper agrees, claiming that the whole village is at stake because Pike is the bloodiest pirate alive. Perhaps he should have thought of that before he came to Pike looking to do business, then! Kewper is all impassioned and over-dramatic, with the Doctor wonderfully nonchalant in response as he begins to devise a plan of escape.
Ben rushes back to the church crypt full of joy, having determined that the secret tunnel leads directly to the very spot where the TARDIS awaits. He's exuberant and unguarded, heedless of being out of his own time, babbling about things revenue man Blake has no hope of understanding. Ben is a talkative man, open and straightforward, and wears his heart on his sleeve always either very excited or very gloomy, no half measures. He's still gabbling with glee when the squire, Pike and Cherub walk in, a bound and gagged Polly with them, and capture him at gunpoint.
So Ben and Polly are putting up a decent show of themselves on their first TARDIS trip but they aren't getting very far!
Episode Three
As episode three opens, the squire wonders what to do about the revenue man, Blake, not wanting to blow his cover as an honest parish squire so, to get them all out of the way, suggests the man take Ben and Polly off to prison for the murder of the church warden. Blake doesn't much like being made use of in this way, being revenue not sheriff, but agrees, all protestations to no avail, so takes the pair back to the inn where he left his horse.
On the ship, like Ben and Polly before him, the Doctor uses the superstitions of these 17th century folk against them, playing at taking card readings to foretell the future thus lulling Jamaica into a false sense of security, which Kewper then takes advantage of to overpower the man. The Doctor is good at striking up temporary alliances with the people he encounters along his travels. They sneak past the other pirates, into Kewper's boat and away.
Pike and Cherub have got the squire eating out of the palms of their hand by now. He shows them the secret smuggler stash, beneath a tomb in the crypt although he keeps other smuggler secrets from them, to their annoyance. They make arrangements for landing of good, secret signals and payment.
Ben and Polly are surprised when Blake sets them free as soon as they are safely away from the others he has chosen to trust their word over the squire, who he already suspects of being a ringleader in the smuggling ring. They are only thankful that someone believes them at last. Blake is anxious to raise troops to catch the gang red-handed, believing that another drop is imminent. Ben and Polly don't see how the Doctor fits into all this, which leads to an amusing little exchange wherein Blake asks if the Doctor is a learned man, and upon being told that he is, is mightily disappointed, because he'd prefer a soldier! At that moment, the Doctor himself walks in, much to everyone's delight. Kewper isn't far behind but Blake is already known to him, so Kewper believes he has been led into a trap, pulls out a gun to hold them off and runs for it.
On the ship, Jamaica faces the wrath of Pike for letting the prisoners escape. Pike now believes that the squire is trying to lead him into a trap, so instead plans a daylight raid to plunder the entire village in search of Avery's gold. The unfortunate Jamaica is killed, a harsh punishment for his folly, and very unfortunate to see the one black character of the story killed off although he isn't the first to die. This isn't a very good story for representation all round, given that Polly is the only woman we see in all four episodes.
With bloodshed on the horizon, pirates and smugglers likely to be at each other's throats at any time with the villagers caught in the middle, Blake hurries off to raise troops, leaving Ben and Polly to tell the Doctor all about the secret tunnel leading to the cave where they left the TARDIS. They are anxious to be away, feeling that the people here are best left to their own devices, this entire mess nothing to do with them but the Doctor is having none of it and tells them he is under a moral obligation to help the villagers. How far he has come since we first met him! Once upon a time he'd have been the first to suggest making an early getaway, but now takes the opposite stance, actively taking on responsibility for the people and situations he encounters along the way.
Ben and Polly protest that they wouldn't stand a chance against Pike, but the Doctor is confident he's met Pike, and knows that he knows something Pike doesn't: the clue to the treasure, which he hopes to use as a bargaining tool with which to buy time for Blake to bring back his troops. Put like that, Polly is on board with the plan at once Ben is less enthusiastic and less confident, but will go along with it because she is. For such a chirpy Cockney sparrow, he can be very pessimistic!
While Cherub threatens stable boy Tom to find out where the Doctor and his companions have gone, Kewper makes it to the squire, who realises that Pike has tricked him and frets that he has delivered their plans into the pirate's evil hands! Kewper is bold and belligerent knowing Pike is after Avery's gold, and that it may be hidden beneath the church, he plans to take it from them. Of all the characters in this story, Kewper is the one I really struggle to get a handle on his motivations are never really clear, such as why he went to Pike's ship in the first place. He's a plot device character and his purpose here is to get the squire fired up over the treasure and the pirates.
In the churchyard, the Doctor struggles to decipher Longfoot's code while Ben and Polly amuse themselves among the gravestones, reading out the names and inscriptions and laughing at them. I really enjoy this light-hearted characterisation for them, the easy, affectionate rapport they share, enjoying one another's company. Their silly game also gives the Doctor the clue he needed to figure out the code dead man's secret: the cryptic words are names on tombstones down in the crypt. They hurry down to search, and Ben shows the Doctor the secret passage. Among the tombs, they find the three names in the rhyme Longfoot told the Doctor but don't see how this helps. And then the squire and Kewper burst in.
Kewper threatens Ben and Polly to get the Doctor to talk but the squire is rather perturbed by this, having no stomach for bloodshed. He just wants the money, not violence. While they argue, Cherub sneaks in to settle the debate by knifing Kewper and shooting at the squire. Polly screams and I refuse to criticise her for that. After being hypnotised for most of her experience in The War Machines, this is her first time up close and personal with guns and violence and murder. It's only natural for her to be alarmed!
Episode Four
Kewper is dead and the squire injured as episode four opens, Cherub smugly certain that he is now in control of the situation. He wants to know where the treasure is. The Doctor rails at him, dignified but furious, and tells the belligerent Ben to leave this to him, while Polly fusses over the injured squire who was her enemy just a moment ago. She is very forgiving, but her mercy gets her nowhere, as Cherub grabs her and holds the gun to her head. Typical that the woman gets held to ransom as leverage over the men come on, show, you can do better than that. The Doctor mutters to Ben that they must play for time, so discusses the riddle with Cherub, playing dumb. Cherub recognises the names as old pirates, crewmen of Avery and adds a fourth: Deadman. The final clue, perhaps. But the squire reminds us that the treasure is said to be cursed, and points to his own injury as proof.
Pike and his other pirates come ashore and make for the church, which looks deserted. The crew set about unloading the smugglers' loot from the stash, while Pike goes searching for Cherub. Blake, meanwhile, is on his way back to the village with a platoon of troopers.
Pike heads down to the crypt, where he finds Cherub holding Polly and the others at gunpoint he knows Cherub is after the treasure for himself, and they fight it out. Polly remarks that this is Avery's curse she's right in a sense, the curse being that the hope of treasure turns men against one another, just like the squire and Kewper.
While the pirates fight, the Doctor tells Ben to take Polly back to the TARDIS but doesn't want to leave himself until he is sure the village is safe. Ben gives him 15 minutes then he's coming back. I like that they are worried about leaving the Doctor, who breezes that he's done this before. He certainly has!
Pike kills Cherub and there's a snippet of moving footage here, a censor cut, only a few seconds. I can see why it was censored it's quite graphic, really, as Pike pulls his blade from Cherub's body! The Doctor tells Pike he always intended to give him the secret of the treasure, he only had to ensure the safety of his friends first. He keeps Pike's attention on himself, anxious to save the life of the wounded squire, little though the man deserves it. He also sets new terms he will give Pike the secret of the gold as long as he promises to keep his men out of the village. The squire seconds this request he owns his own villainy honestly enough, but insists that he has never shed blood and wishes to spare his people. Pike paints a gory picture of the bloodthirsty nature of his men, so they goad him can't he control his crew? Is he afraid to test their obedience? Piqued, he agrees to the deal and demands to be shown the gold.
Ben and Polly struggle along the dark secret tunnel, worried about the Doctor. At length, Polly sends Ben back to get the Doctor while she continues alone. Out on the beach, the pirates are loading their boats just as Blake and his men arrive. And Polly arrives back at the TARDIS just in time to be confronted by two pirates, who've just discovered it. She fights them off, but is captured one pirate holds her while the other heads up the tunnel only to be knocked out by Ben, who heard him coming. He rushes to help Polly, and between them they fight the other pirate and let us note that Polly is just as active in this fight as Ben is. She might be a girly girl, but given half a chance, she's a wildcat, biting and scratching, jumping on the man's back. You go, girl.
In the crypt, the Doctor decodes the riddle at last to reveal Avery's secret stash why Longfoot didn't make off with it long ago is anyone's guess, since he knew the secret. Maybe he feared the curse. Pike is still celebrating the treasure when the sounds of fighting come on his ears his pirates, drunk on the squire's bootleg brandy, are fighting the militia just outside. Blake meanwhile, having subdued the pirates on the beach, takes his troops up the secret tunnel meaning that Pike and his remaining men are surrounded, with militia front and back.
The militia prevail; Pike and his pirates are defeated. Avery's curse, indeed. The Doctor and his companions sneak away in the aftermath. Back in the TARDIS, Polly wonders where they are going now, forward or backward, but the Doctor reminds her that he can't control the TARDIS. Ben is still worried about going AWOL from his barracks, but feels that anywhere would be better than where they just were. The Doctor chuckles and warns that it could be a great deal worse. He announces that they have arrived at the coldest place in the world, and that's our cliffhanger ending to take us into the First Doctor's final adventure.
Quotable Quotes
POLLY: Good heavens!
BEN: Blimey, where did all this come from? Well, it was a police box, wasn't it?
DOCTOR: What are you both doing in here?
POLLY: You dropped your key.
DOCTOR: How dare you follow me into the TARDIS!
BEN: The what?
DOCTOR: The TARDIS, sir! This is a vessel for travelling through time and space! Why did you follow me?
POLLY: I'm terribly sorry if we've annoyed you, Doctor. It was my fault, I'm afraid.
BEN: Well, what's all this then.
DOCTOR: And stand back from those controls. Those controls are used for dematerialising.
BEN: Dematerialising? What does that mean?
DOCTOR: You and this young lady are experiencing it. You are now travelling through time and space.
BEN: Yeah, well, make sure that I get back by teatime, Doctor. I've got to get back to my ship by tonight.
DOCTOR: Young man, it's going to be a long time before you see your ship again.
POLLY: Why? When are we going to land?
DOCTOR: I don't know. That's the cause of half my troubles through my journeys. I never know.
POLLY: Why not?
DOCTOR: I have no control over where I land. Neither can I choose the period in which I land in.
DOCTOR: Oh dear, all this distraction. And I really thought I was going to be alone again.
DOCTOR: Well, I suppose I shall have to chase after them. Quite incapable of looking after themselves.
POLLY: I don't believe it. Hey, isn't it exciting!
BEN: Well, it might be if I wasn't so pushed for time.
DOCTOR: And you are expecting this Avery?
LONGFOOT: Him? Why, he's been buried these long years past. Ah, but his spirit rides. Aye, in the dark souls of those who follow in his wake.
BEN: Well, my lad?
POLLY: Ha, ha, very funny. I do wish everyone would stop calling me lad. It does make me feel very odd.
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I think it better at the moment, my dear. What would they say to a maiden in trousers?
BEN: Probably die laughing.
POLLY: You would think it funny, You and your bell-bottom sense of humour.
BEN: Oh, listen to our little dolly-rocker Duchess, then.
BEN: Look, Doctor, what I want to know is, how are you going to get us out of here?
DOCTOR: Oh, we shall return to the TARDIS, my boy, when the tide recedes and let's hope that we materialize in nineteen sixty six.
POLLY: You don't sound very certain, Doctor.
DOCTOR: No, I'm afraid I'm not, my dear. More likely we shall probably land in the far distant future.
BEN: Oh great! The way things are going there probably won't be a navy when I get back.
BEN: Here, I've seen a few shady customers in my time, but this crowd beats the lot.
POLLY: They're fantastic, aren't they?
PIKE: Old man, are ye truly a sawbones?
DOCTOR: I would prefer you to use the correct term, sir. I am a doctor.
PIKE: Well, Doctor? Will ye loosen your tongue or lose it altogether?
BEN: Oh, of all the bloomin' fixes to be in.
POLLY: I don't know. I find it pretty exciting.
BEN: Oh, you would. But I don't go a bomb on this tune, and I can't very well report back to a seventeenth century navy.
POLLY: Ah, you've got no imagination, that's your trouble. It's great.
BEN: Oh, great. Stuck in jail for murder. Oh, honest. Who'd have our luck?
BLAKE: This friend of yours, the one you call the Doctor, is he a learned man?
BEN: Oh, not half.
BLAKE: Oh, more's the pity. A soldier or a mercenary at this point would be mighty advantageous.
BEN: What's the trouble, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Well, I'm afraid, my boy, we can't leave at the moment.
POLLY: What? But why not?
DOCTOR: Yes, well I know it's really difficult for both you to understand, but I'm under moral obligation.
BEN: Well, about what? We've got no ties here.
DOCTOR: No, but it's this village. I feel that I might be responsible for its destruction, and therefore I must at least try and avoid this danger.
BEN: Hey, this [gravestone's] a laugh. Henry Hawksworth, he did die, of drinking too much small beer when he was dry.
DOCTOR: There is no need for innocent people to suffer.
SQUIRE: Oh, I've been a rogue, I frankly admit it. The generosity of this stranger has shamed me. But I never spilled blood in my villainy. I beg you as a fellow rogue, if you must, spare my poor villagers.
PIKE: When the fever is in the lads' bones, nothing but blood will slake it.
DOCTOR: Senseless destruction.
PIKE: Tis by way of being a pastime with us gentlemen of fortune. Why should I stop them?
SQUIRE: So, you admit it to be difficult, at? You'd rather let them run mad than test their obedience, ay, Captain?
PIKE: No man defies me and lives to speak of it.
SQUIRE: No, but you'll not give that one order, ay? A highly disciplined crew, in truth.
PIKE: They'll do as I bid or die of it.
SQUIRE: Would they?
PIKE: Aye, they would.
DOCTOR: Prove it!
DOCTOR: Superstition is a strange thing, my dear, but sometimes it tells the truth.
The Verdict
Overall and taken as a whole, The Smugglers is a story that many people tend to overlook, and I can see why. Although engaging enough, with what sound like spirited performances by both regulars and guest cast, it's a very slight story, really. As a pure historical, it lacks an iconic monster or villain to capture the imagination, and it also sort of falls between two stools, in pure historical terms, lacking either the outright comedy of The Romans and The Myth Makers or the pseudo-Shakespearean quality that makes stories like Marco Polo and The Crusade so special. It's a decent story, full of subtle jokes and humorous dialogue, with an interesting historical setting and plenty going on, but it doesn't stand out in the way that some adventures do. That, really, is its only crime, however, and perhaps if the visuals still existed it would be better regarded. As an introduction to Ben and Polly as full-blown companions, it does its job well, giving both plenty to do so that we get to know them a little better. I enjoyed it a solid start to the fourth season of the show.