The Crash of The UK-201

 



The Crash of The UK-201 by Jonathan Morris

First off, stop right there! This is not a first Doctor story. Going into it as I did, you could in fact, be deceived, and I was looking forward to seeing the Doctor, Steven and Vicki step onto the UK-201. But this isn't a first doctor story, this is a Vicki story, plain and certain, and for better or worse, Peter Purves (both as Steven and The Doctor) is utterly superfluous, and so, I think that at times, Crash is less a Early Adventure and more of a 2 hour companion chronicle with a few more guest actors than usual.
Nonetheless, what Crash does very well, it does very well, being very clearly a really fresh and excellent vehicle for Maureen O'Brien that does away with the usual Doctor Who format in a unique and audacious manner. As a matter of fact, Crash of The UK-201 as a story could be defined as a subversion of Doctor Who expectations, but it never really flies it's flag under experimental stories that push what formats like this can do, as Crash nears greatness, but at times is too predictable at what it's going to do. There have been many stories like this before. Go back and change time and you lose something for whatever you've gained. It's a nearly classic sci-fi parable, and although it's well written and Maureen O'Brien as Vicki is beyond phenomenal, it does feel to me like a tale that's been told before, even if it's done in a really unique way for Doctor Who, with Vicki bouncing all over her unlived life. For every choice that Crash makes, I feel it's justified, but it's so close to greatness that at some times it nears the frustrating. 8/10 

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