Doctor Who/Recap/S2/E03 The Rescue

"You're sorry for me aren't you? I'm perfectly all right, you know. I don't care if nobody ever comes. I'm fine. I'm perfectly all right!"

- Vicki, who is not all right

The Doctor, with Ian and Barbara still in tow, arrives on the planet Dido some time in the 25th century and find a crashed Earth spaceship with two survivors on board: the paralysed Bennett and young Vicki. Both are fearful of a native monster called Koquillion, who has apparently killed the other members of the expedition.

In a short two-part story, the Doctor figures out that Koquilion is in fact Bennett in disguise (he's not really paralysed, of course), and he has killed the other crew members in order to conceal a murder he committed earlier. He has also been killing the native Didonians, and believes he has in fact wiped them out - but a confrontation with two Didonians causes him to fall to his death from a high cliff and the Doctor decides to take Vicki with him.

Watch it here.

Tropes

 * Artistic License Gun Safety: Vicki checks the load on her flare pistol, and readies it while pointing it directly at Barbara's face
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me: See the page quote.
 * Exposition Victim: the Doctor foolishly does this with Bennett and comes very close to getting killed.
 * Hands Off My Fluffy: Barbara shoots Vicki's pet monster because she thinks it's attacking her.
 * : Bennett
 * Properly Paranoid: Vicki
 * Shout Out: To avoid revealing that Koquilion was another character in disguise, the first episode credits showed him as being played by "Sydney Wilson". This was a joint Shout Out to the two BBC executives responsible for Doctor Who, Donald Wilson, the Head of Series and Serials, and Sydney Newman, the Head of Drama.
 * Space Clothes