The Aztecs

Aztecs (episode 1)
The Temple of Evil

 

There's the TARDIS toy taking off again.

And suddenly, a death mask! And the words "Written by John Lucarotti" which suggest high promise. The TARDIS has landed in a tomb which Barbara immediately recognises as an Aztec priest. They've landed in the time period of Barbara's favourite school subject! Although if the chap was buried in 1430 it's a bit late in the day to be "early Aztec".

SUSAN: The little I know about them doesn't impress me. Cutting out people's hearts.
BARBARA: Oh, that was only one side to their nature. The other side was highly civilised.
SUSAN: The Spanish didn't think so.
BARBARA: They only saw the acts of sacrifice. That was the tragedy of the Aztecs. The whole civilisation was completely destroyed, the good as well as the evil.

And just casually we get the whole set up of the plot in passing conversation. I've said it before but John Lucarotti was a fantastic writer. Susan opens a trapdoor and Barbara gleefully walks out into an Aztec landscape without even a worry. There she meets The High Priest Autloc who says she must be punished for walking into the tomb as a woman, until he sees the bracelet from the tomb and thinks she is the reincarnation of the old priest. This misunderstanding will keep the Doctors team alive for 4 episodes.

The Doctor shows up and is bloody annoyed Barbara waltzed off into 1400's Mexico, and to be fair, he does have a point. They open the swing trapdoor and go to look for Barbara.

"Look at this extraordinary city" says Ian looking at a painted backdrop. Then the door to the tomb closes and everyone is trapped on the other side of the door from the TARDIS.

SUSAN: There must be some way of opening it.
DOCTOR: Yes, you push from the other side. These tombs were designed to prevent grave robbers, not to aid and abet them.

Hah. Autloc says hi to the Doctor, Ian and Susan and I just suddenly twigged that Keith Pyott gives his line deliveries exactly like June Brown as later stage Dot Cotton. And now I can't un-hear that.

Then Tlotoxl (played by the great John Ringham, an ever present on UK TV back in the day) shows up with a jaunty leitmotif.

DOCTOR: You know who he is?
IAN: The local butcher by the look of him.
DOCTOR: Exactly.

If you are expecting some square sausage and black pudding from Tlotoxl, well, try him after the sacrifice, I guess...

Tlotoxl immediately speaks to folk as though he's in a Shakespearean play, and Ringham plays the role like Richard III.

TLOTOXL: At that moment shall I present her to the people. A vision is with us and shall stand before them. And I, in supplication to the Rain God, shall offer human blood. The rains will come. No more talk against us that the gods were against us and brought drought to the land. The rains will come and power shall again be ours.
AUTLOC: I tell you the rains will come with or without sacrifice.
TLOTOXL: Does the High Priest of Knowledge only worship him who has fallen, and not him who has made us strong?
AUTLOC: I worship the same god as you.
TLOTOXL: Then above all, honour him. He has made us rulers of the land. For this he demands blood. And he shall have it.

You could just sit and quote all of Tlotoxl's dialogue here. It's great. And Pyott ups his game in one on one scenes with Ringham, who is an early candidate for Great Actor Showing Up Here.

The Aztecs think Barbara is the reincarnation and have dressed up in colourful garb. The Doctor corrects Ian on his pronunciation of Autloc. Pot, kettle, black! The Doctor very quickly works out that if the High Priests twig Barbara is just a school teacher and not an immortal, all four of them are for the chop.

Tlotoxl and Autloc show up to tell them the sacrifice is due, and Ian and the Doctor are sent to mingle with the average Aztecs.

DOCTOR: A wonderful performance, my dear. Congratulations. We now have everything we want, exactly.
BARBARA: We do?
DOCTOR: Yes. You and Susan here in safety, and Ian and I outside finding out about the tomb.
IAN: Yes, it sounds all right, but I don't think we should take our eyes off those two for a second.
DOCTOR: Oh, I shouldn't mind them. They're far too bust timing their miracle.
SUSAN: What miracle?
DOCTOR: Presenting Barbara to the public one second before it rains.

Like in Marco Polo, Lucarotti refuses to treat his ancient peoples like fools, and has the Aztecs priests as intelligent tricksters. They know the sacrifice is show and tell, but time it so it keeps their power base.

Ian gets to meet Ixta, the jolly Aztec warrior guard, who is to be his rival. He is immediately wonderfully jealous at the sight of Ian. He shows off his skills by beating a red shirt in quick (but slowly choreographed) battle. The incidental music is quite interesting, all ratatat drumming like the building sounds of war.

IXTA: What name did your mother give you?
IAN: Ian.
IXTA: Then I tell you, Ian, six warriors dwelt here. Only I remain. There is no fear of you in me. Rather I welcome you. For one day all men shall fear Ixta, the Aztec commander who killed the chosen servant of Yetaxa.

But rather brilliantly, Ian Cullen doesn't perform this as the bombast you'd expect but with an almost shrill anxiety. He's trying to reassure himself as much as boast to Ian, and William Russell's cool ice clearly cuts through him.

Incidentally, Ian Chesterton must be the chillest dude to ever teach science in 60s Britain ever? One day a school teacher, 5 mins of readjusting to time travel and he's bopping off Mongol bandits and staring down the best warrior the Aztecs have to offer.

Incidentally we are 12 minutes in, and we already have nearly all our dynamics set up: Autloc's science vs Tlotoxl's power and use of superstition he doesn't believe in, the need to get back to the TARDIS, Ian v Ixta, and the overall danger of Barbara's position. This is probably the best script so far for clear concise plotting and pacing.

And then Ixta tells Ian that they get to deliver the human sacrifice, and that's when Ian pales.

Autloc introduces the Doctor to the old folks garden and introduces him to Cameca, who the Doctor is quite clearly instantly smitten with. The Doctor then discovers that the man who built the temple is dead, but his son is...well, Ixta. Another thread reveals itself.

Ian then shows up in full Aztec warrior gear, and Cameca, proving she knows whats going on already, walks off to allow Ian and the Doctor to conspire together. Every character allowed their own little bits of dignity.

"Charming woman" smiles the Doctor. Like I said, smitten already.

Ian is worried.

IAN: Doctor, there is to be a human sacrifice today at the ceremony for the Rain God, and I have to
DOCTOR: Just a minute, what are you supposed to do?
IAN: I must escort the victim to the altar and hold him down. Doctor, I can't
DOCTOR: Do it, man! Do it but don't interfere.
IAN: But
DOCTOR: There's no buts about it. If human sacrifice is essential here and it's their tradition, then let them get on with it. But for our sakes, don't interfere. Now promise me, please. Promise. I'll go and tell Barbara.

And there we have it! The first "don't interfere with history!" moment. In Marco Polo, history was fluid and could go in many directions, but maybe Marco Polo did always travel with a companion of Nogai that he bumped off for the Kublai Khan, and just omitted that bit from his memoirs because it was too exciting. Here, none of the characters are known historical figures. Even Yetaxa is a type of historical figure rather than a specific one, giving John Lucarotti far greater freedom.And it's here he goes for the protection of history line.

Because it adds to the drama considerably.

Susan and Barbara are enjoying themselves until the Doctor ruins it by telling Barbara there's to be a human sacrifice.

DOCTOR: Yes, they've made him a warrior, and he's promised me not to interfere with the sacrifice.
BARBARA: Well, they've made me a goddess, and I forbid it.
DOCTOR: Barbara, no!
BARBARA: There will be no sacrifice this afternoon, Doctor. Or ever again. The reincarnation of Yetaxa will prove to the people that you don't need to sacrifice a human being in order to make it rain.
DOCTOR: Barbara, no.
BARBARA: It's no good, Doctor, my mind's made up. This is the beginning of the end of the Sun God.
DOCTOR: What are you talking about?
BARBARA: Don't you see? If I could start the destruction of everything that's evil here, then everything that is good would survive when Cortes lands.
DOCTOR: But you can't rewrite history! Not one line!
SUSAN: Barbara, the high priests are coming.
DOCTOR: Barbara, one last appeal. What you are trying to do is utterly impossible. I know, believe me, I know.
BARBARA: Not Barbara. Yetaxa!

¤¤¤¤ing magical stuff here. Barbara is so happy and idealistic and bloody naive, the joy in her voice as she thinks she can save the Aztecs from themselves. The Doctor, increased horror and sympathy and angry in equal measures reacting. William Hartnell and Jackie Hill are just bloody good here. And yes, there is a heavy dose of Barbara trying to be the white saviour, but that's pretty much her undoing, her subconscious bias that she knows better than they do condemns the entire TARDIS team. In a world which is examining its own treatment of history and peoples that's surprisingly nuanced a take. Basically, Barbara is doomed to fail because she can't see beyond her own privilege as a 20th century British person. She looks down on Tlotoxl as a butcher, when he's already showing signs of being the smartest guy in the room - bar the Doctor of course.

And of course, this works even better because it builds up to Dramatic Doctor Who.

So the sacrifice builds, and Barbara orders it to stop. Because of course she does. That's why folk love her as a companion. And Tlotoxl immediately orders the guy to kill himself, and he does, and it rains, thus keeping Tlotoxl's power secure.

But the entire incident is a net loss for the team, as Tloxtol now knows Barbara is a human, not an immortal Goddess. She made her move, and all its done is create a powerful new enemy for the Doctor's crew.

AUTLOC: The Great Spirit of Yetaxa has spoken.
TLOTOXL: No, no, this is not Yetaxa. This is a false goddess! And I shall destroy her.

And as the end credits flash over John Ringham's painted face as he does his 4th wall break on the last sentence, we end what can only be described as the single greatest episode of Doctor Who to this point in time. Because The Aztecs episode 1, is, to be put it bluntly, absolutely ¤¤¤¤ing amazing. 

Aztecs (episode 2)

Warriors of Death

Hang on, last week Barbara and Susan couldn't understand a culture that had a "learned man" (Autloc) and a "barbarous one" (Tlotoxl) side by side. Did they not pay attention at all to the bits of the 20th Century they experienced?

If I thought last episode was great, this starts with a corker of a two-hander scene between Billy and Jackie. Whereas last week, the director had us believe Tlotoxl was breaking the 4th wall, here the Doctor reveals everyone heard what he had to say about denouncing Barbara, which flips the entire cliffhanger on its hand and actually feels rather clever. This story not only makes you look twice at the characters of the past but at the artifices of drama used to tell the story too.

And so the Doctor and Barbara have a boiling row. The Doctor is absolutely furious with Barbara endangering everyone, and Barbara holds firm by her convictions and ideals. But when she breaks, the Doctor immediately melts and tries to comfort her. He does care for her and Ian, even if he doesn't really understand them yet. It's that shake of the head before he changes tact too, like a teacher trying to deal with one of his star pupils acting up. And so he immediately starts building Barbara up as the only person who can keep them safe,through drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, to set the brothers Autloc and Tlotoxl in deadly hate the one against the other. Well, I did say this was very Richard III. Ahem.

BARBARA: Look, I wanted it to rain without that man being killed. I wanted them to see that his death was unnecessary.
DOCTOR: Don't you realise he wanted to be offered to the gods? It made him feel one.
BARBARA: I just didn't think about it.
DOCTOR: No, that's just it. You didn't think.
BARBARA: Oh, go away. Leave me alone.
DOCTOR: I'm sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to be so harsh with you.
BARBARA: No, you had every right.
DOCTOR: However, what's done is done, and now it's up to you what happens next.

As an example of this scene, and then they end with the Doctor hugging Barbara. He wouldn't have done that in An Unearthly Child! Or in 2020 because Doctor Who would respect social distancing...

Tlotoxl waltzes in triumphantly, entering unannounced as "I proclaim myself only to my Gods", and the Doctor leaves, the scene continuing with a new dynamic.

TLOTOXL: I would ask you, how shall a man know his gods?
BARBARA: By the signs of their divinity.
TLOTOXL: And what if thieves walk among the gods?
BARBARA: Then indeed, how shall a man know?
TLOTOXL: By the secrets of the gods' minds.
BARBARA: It is true. Their knowledge will reveal them.
TLOTOXL: How many heavens are there?
BARBARA: Does Tlotoxl covet the mantle of the High Priest of Knowledge?
TLOTOXL: How many heavens?
BARBARA: Thirteen.
TLOTOXL: Name them.
BARBARA: If the truth of my divinity lies in my mind, let Autloc seek it.

John Ringham was already a formidable talent by 1964. A man who went into theatre straight from demob, and had to survive on peanut butter sandwiches early in his career so often he swore off them for life, Ringham had been a familiar face on TV Shakespeare adaptations in the late 50s and 60s. At one point, an actor missed his cue, leading to Ringham adlibbing "gibberish in iambic pentameter" for a minute during Henry VI. And throughout his long career (he died of cancer in 2008) he treated SF and sitcom with the same respect he'd given live Shakespeare. And so faced with two-hander dialogue scenes with this mighty actor, you can see the quality that Jacqueline Hill possessed. She more than holds her own in the scenes, giving as good as she gets. Sometimes she gets a bit forgotten in comparison to William Russell (as alas, she did die before the sudden revival in interest in the show and the rush to get every thought ever uttered on the show preserved) but then you see stories like this, when shes up against a great and proving equal.

Tlotoxl foiled here, casually mentions Ixta and Ian are going to fight to the death and there's the slightest smirk in his face as Barbara gets worried.

And so we move to Ian and Ixta, the odd couple. Ixta showing off his javelin skills, eager to get Ian to accept.
"I Have no fear of death" says Ixta.
"Yes. The dead fear nobody" says Ian.
Ixta then produces a flick knife at Ian's throat and Ian laughs at it. The man is ¤¤¤¤ing hardcore. Send your Rambos and your Dirty Harrys and Jack Carters home, Ian Chesterton is clearly the hard bastard in fiction.

He then proves this by toppling an Aztec warrior with a nerve hold. Much to Autloc and Tloxotl's shock. Ian even gets to finish it off with "I wont kill you this time". And William Russell is loving playing his steely determinator. Also, as I said about John Ringham being the master of his art - Tlotoxl reads the situation with barely concealed panic. It's not just the Doctors crew who view this tussle as life or death for themselves.

TLOTOXL: Could you not fight against it?
IXTA: I was powerless.

He's worried ¤¤¤¤less. Not to worry, The Perfect Victim (ie the next sacrifice) walks in to see Ixta. And immediately Tloxtol starts scheming his way back in, setting up a rematch between Ian and Ixta to get rid of one issue, and using the Perfect Victim for another scheme, and ordering the contest here. And all the while, Tonila, Tlotoxl's deputy, stands in the background, passively watching without any emotion. You know, if I were Tlotoxl, he's the guy I'd be worried about one day.

In the garden of old folk, the Doctor and Cameca flirt over some gardening. She arranges a meeting between the Doctor and the tomb's builders son.

CAMECA: An interested mind brooks no delay.
DOCTOR: Yes, and I'm sure that's true of you, too.
CAMECA: It was true. Now I am content to spend the time here like the others.
DOCTOR: Oh, but their minds are old, Cameca, and that's something I'm sure yours will never be.
CAMECA: Your heart is young too, Doctor.

And if you think I'm taking the piss still about courtship, just look at the contented "Ah" smile that Hartnell gives to end the scene. I've seen that one before, ABC had a hit in the 80s with it. "Shoot that poison arrow to my heart...." No wait, wrong one, sorry.

Wondering when Smokey sings, Tlotoxl enters the temple again and tells Barbara that Autloc shall be testing her divinity and that the rest of the TARDIS crew are banned from the temple.

And at this point I realise I have just written 1000 words on 8 minutes of Doctor Who.

So now Ixta is in a really bad mood, and Cameca comes to see him. And then because Ixta is smarter than your average hoodlum, he twigs he can see the Doctor, and use it to get information to destroy Ian.

Susan shows up, and hears the most worrying bit of dialogue you might hear in some time:

AUTLOC: You have studied the Code of the Good Housewife?

Although clean your dishes and don't get into bad debt is just good advice for everyone, surely?

Ixta meets The Doctor. Ixta says he will show the Doctor the plans for the temple if he wins his fight later, without naming Ian, and gets the Doctor to suggest a trick way to defeat Ian. None of these characters are treated as thick at all.

TLOTOXL: You are confident of victory?
IXTA: If you wish it, he shall die.
TLOTOXL: Let him die.

Everyone is plotting against everyone.

Barbara gets to have another key scene, this one with Autloc who was testing her divinity.

BARBARA: Do you question the value of such sacrifice?
AUTLOC: I accepted it. But we send messengers to the gods, why should the gods not send a messenger to us?
BARBARA: To say there shall be no more human sacrifice?
AUTLOC: I shall not oppose the gods if it is their will that such sacrifices cease.
BARBARA: The High Priest of Knowledge speaks with great wisdom.
AUTLOC: If your words are denied, shall we not be living in defiance of the gods?
BARBARA: Famine, drought and disaster will come, and more and more sacrifices will be made. I see a time when ten thousand will die in one day.
AUTLOC: Where will it end, Yetaxa?
BARBARA: In total destruction. Your civilisation will pass forever from the land.
AUTLOC: You prophesy our doom.

And to be honest, Keith Pyott is not quite to the same standards as other guests in this show (although he did do a good impression of William Hartnell in Village of the Damned) but he does managed to give a slightly worried expression at the prophecy above. The sort of prophecy you get from a history book when you lived 500 years in the future. Incidentally, history? This is set circa 1450 (Topping and Cornell's best guess in the Discontinuity Guide based on Ixta's age and father's work when Yetaxa died), by which point Marco Polo? Dead for 126 years. Kublai and Noghai Khan? Over 150 years. For how short history is, its easy to forget how long it is on the day to day. 500-600 years ago feels similar in the mind, but there's as much as gap between Tlotoxl and Tegana as there is between me and Lord Byron. Sobering, isn't it? Now remember the great James Burke's prediction, that we'd have interstellar travel, but we now are as far away from that as King Canute was from the television. Time and universe is vast, but human lives, even the Olivia de Havillands among us, are finely small among that wonder. Incredible.

Anyhow, while I bore you all with philosophy, Keith Pyott is paused with an expression that looks more "uh, I smelt a fart" rather than "oh no, my theism is falling apart". Poor chap.

The Doctor is very proud at giving a herbal anesthetic to Ixta. Then the Doctor goes to see Barbara, while Tlotoxl and Autloc here. And Barbara reveals the warrior with the cat face (!) is Ixta.

"IXTA!" bellows Billy Hartnell in horror as if someone mentioned The Master, the Davros and Meglos were all hiding round the next corner.

He rushes off to warn Ian, right into the trap Tlotoxl set by not warning him he was banned from the temple. Yep, the Doctors been arrested. Wont be the last time. It also allows us a nice bit of Doctor rage as he is hauled off-screen.

Autloc then proves himself as Good Egg by twigging the Doctor didn't know of the rule change and waddling off to let him loose. But Autloc wont call off the fight because it is not a mortal combat - and with a better actor you might have just seen a figment of doubt there about Barbara.

So Ian and Ixta have a nice bit of choreographed fight, with Ian getting the upper hand because he is Ian Chesterton, Terminator. However, Ixta scratches Ian with the thorn and soon Ian passes out.

Tlotoxl orders Ixta to kill Ian, just as Barbara shows up. The Doctor says Ixta is using the magic the Doctor gave him and Tlotoxl adds "then you should rejoice for Ixta will win"!

AUTLOC: Yetaxa forbids it.
TLOTOXL: A false goddess forbids it. Destroy him.
BARBARA: Stop!
TLOTOXL: Your place is in the temple.
BARBARA: I am loyal to those who serve me.
TLOTOXL: If you are Yetaxa, save him.

And bang goes the cliffhanger as Tlotoxl demands Barbara prove her divinity by saving Ian's life.

If I said Part One was great, and it was, this was even better. We get to see the full run of emotions of our chief antagonist, and we find him a fully rounded and thinking character. Plus, Barbara sets the seeds in motion for Autloc's atheism, and Tlotoxl sets the seeds in motion to destroy the TARDIS team. Plots within plots within plots. Oh and the Doctor is totally into Cameca. Ixta's Mum has got it going on? (She's not actually confirmed as his mum but they do play their scenes as if close family...)

 

Aztecs (episode 3)

The Bride of Sacrifice

 

So last time the Doctor had accidentally cost Ian a fight with Ixta, and Tlotoxl was egging on Barbara in front of everyone, to save Ian by using her powers.

And Barbara solves the cliffhanger by grabbing a knife and holding to Tlotoxl's throat, getting Ixta to spare Ian as a result. And as Tlotoxl absolutely ¤¤¤¤s himself, you can only go "You Rock, Girl!" If the series has given Ian chance to shine so far, this is Barbara's coming out party of a story.

Incidentally the incidental music, forever seemingly on the edge of war, is fantastic. Richard Rodney Bennett went to work with Sidney Lumet and win a BAFTA for the memorable score for Murder on the Orient Express, and you can hear the promise in his work here.

AUTLOC: Tlotoxl was humiliated. He will not forget, nor will he forgive.
BARBARA: I did as he commanded.
AUTLOC: But not as he expected.
BARBARA: What did he want? A miracle?
AUTLOC: We all awaited it.
BARBARA: Why should I use divine powers when human ability will suffice?
AUTLOC: Yetaxa has spoken.

Autloc speaks like a proper politician. John Lucarotti just loves to give Jackie Hill nice bits of dialogue though.

Tlotoxl finds out from Ixta why the Doctor helped him and yet again the High Priest seems to be working out the story's plot one step ahead of the companions. He's the most danger threat yet, because he thinks his life is at risk. And John Ringham continues to play him expertly, reacting differently to each situation.

Barbara asks Autloc to support her anti-sacrifice stance, and we get this pitiful (in character bit):

BARBARA: Am I not a god? Support me. Tlotoxl won't dare defy us both.
AUTLOC: If I take that course, there is no way back for me. In all humility, I beg you, do not deceive me or prove false to me.

Poor guy is doomed.

Then we get a delightful Doctor moment where he tells Tlotoxl to go away, before wrapping the conversation around so that he gets Tloxtol to try and help him by claiming it'll help his own aims.

IXTA: Do not be afraid of me, Ian. Now that I can defeat you openly, I have no need to destroy you in secret.
IAN: Whatever it was you scratched me with beat me, not you, Ixta.
IXTA: Did you yourself not say use stealth, surprise your enemy?
IAN: True.
IXTA: Did I not do those things?

Meanwhile, Ixta is so wonderfully try hard. He really wants Ian to respect his might abilities. If only Ian could have taught Ixta the benefits of rejecting the toxic masculinity in society he is so clearly struggling with, they need not have had to fight to the death. Or something like that.

Tlotoxl shows up, and gives a brilliantly withering look when Ian says "Dont tell me your my friend too now..."

Tlotoxl then tries to get Tonila on side to defeat Barbara:


TONILA: I cannot do this. No, I will not. Destroy the gods and we destroy ourselves.
TLOTOXL: The gods are immortal, are they not?
TONILA: Yes.
TLOTOXL: Then how can we, mere flesh and blood, destroy them?
TONILA: But did you not suggest the use of knowledge of poisons against Yetaxa?
TLOTOXL: I say that such a test would prove the woman. If she dies, she is mortal. If she lives, then she is indeed the spirit of Yetaxa returned. Now, would you deny yourself the glory, Tonila, of seeing the gods proved before your eyes?
TONILA: I shall prepare the mixture, then you and I and Autloc will test Yetaxa.

See? Most Dangerous Enemy Yet.

And John Ringham clearly loves the line "for once the High Priest of knowledge shall be in ignorance". Hell, the entire cast clearly love the dialogue they are being given here.

But then comes the scene where, after getting her blessing from Autloc, Cameca goes about getting the Doctor to propose to her, by making a mug of cocoa. The Doctor seems absolutely delighted by Cameca's company. He might need her help but he seems pained not to want to use her...

He completely misses the double meaning in her words about cocoa.

DOCTOR: Yes, yes, quite. Now, give me some beans and I'll prepare them.
CAMECA: You insist upon this?
DOCTOR: I do. I insist absolutely. As a token of my esteem.
CAMECA: The gods are smiling favour through your eyes. May it always be so. My dear Doctor, I accept with all my heart.

Oh that Doctor....

Because Ian eavesdropped on Tlotoxl, he is able to warn Barbara something is up, but she doesn't believe him that the entire society supports their High Priest of Sacrifice.

BARBARA: Well you're not helping. Tlotoxl's evil and he'll make everyone else the same.
IAN: They are the same, Barbara. That's the whole point. You keep on insisting that Tlotoxl's the odd man out, but he isn't.
BARBARA: I don't believe it.
IAN: Well, you must. If only you could stand away from this thing, you'd see it clearly. Autloc's the extraordinary man here. He's the reasonable one, the civilised one, the one that's prepared to listen to advice. But he's one man, Barbara. One man.

We're sketching in the skeleton of the TV show with every scene here.

Then Tonila and Tlotoxl arrive with mysterious drink of poison. Barbara twigs this is poison and smashes it against the wall, after Tlotoxl will not drink of it first.

TLOTOXL: I only meant to test you.
BARBARA: With poison?
TLOTOXL: Yetaxa would have lived. The gods are immortal.
BARBARA: Well I would have died. I am not Yetaxa.
TLOTOXL: False. False! I knew.
BARBARA: And who will believe you? I warn you, Tlotoxl, you say one word against me to the people and I'll have them destroy you. Destroy you!

So Tloxtol knows he's right but has no proof, and Barbara knows shes fecked but can't get away. It's a stale mate and even in his triumph Tlotoxl is stuck.

Meanwhile, Cameca tells the Doctor they are now engaged, producing one of the greatest looks of bewildered horror William Hartnell's face is capable of making. Nearly chokes on the damned cocoa too.

Tonila tells Autloc and Tlotoxl that Susan is "intelligent but self-willed", which as we know is clearly a problem. Tloxtol sets her up with aid of the next sacrifice victim. Susan turns down his Tlotoxl inspired offer of marriage, which sets her up for punishment. Tlotoxl works out the best way to snap Barbara is by attacking her friends.

AUTLOC: Whatever's in my power, I shall do.
SUSAN: You're monsters. All of you, monsters.

Poor sod. Everyone is being a right ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ to Autloc this week.

Tlotoxl then gets Barbara to agree to the punishment of Susan by not saying how it effected. They keep falling for this trick of his.

More Doctor and Cameca loveliness. Awww...

And if the Tlotoxl/Barbara greatness isn't good enough for you, here's this scene with Ian:

DOCTOR: That came out of the tomb. And the man who discovered it later disappeared in the garden. And on the wall is a stone with Yetaxa's sign on it.
IAN: You mean there's a tunnel from there to the tomb?
DOCTOR: Yes, that's what I suspect.
IAN: Where did you get hold of this?
DOCTOR: My fiance.
IAN: I see. Your what?
DOCTOR: Yes, I made some cocoa and got engaged. Don't giggle, my boy, It's neither here nor there. We must find that tunnel tonight.
IAN: Yes, all right.
DOCTOR: Now, I'll wait for you in the garden, and when Ixta's asleep, you come out.
IAN: Yes, I will. All right. Oh, by the way, Doctor. Congratulations.

William Russell struggles to keep a straight face throughout.

Autloc says he will support Barbara's anti-sacrifice plan, but when she finds out Susan is to be punished she wants to stop it. "Will you sacrifice us over your handmaiden?" asks Autloc sadly.

The Doctor and Ian get the opening to the tomb in the garden open, but after Ian gets inside, Ixta shows up and puts the stone back as the tunnel is an aqueduct which fills up with water. Ian is trapped as the water levels begin to rise.

Another solid episode.

 

 

Aztecs (episode 4)

Day of Darkness

 

Where were we again?

Oh yes, Ian's about to get drowned inside the temple's aqueduct. Luckily Ian brought his trusty torch with him and opens up an exit into the main temple. Outside the Doctor is worried, but Ian has climbed up into the mausoleum. Using ropes that were useful placed there, and builds a pulley system to open the door from the outside. Action Man.

He immediately bumps into Barbara and The Doctor. But they can't escape because Susan is still captured.

Tlotoxl demands Ixta guards Susan.

IXTA: Now seven warriors have challenged my right to command and only I survive.
IAN: Good commanders don't jump to conclusions, Ixta.

Ian KO's Ixta and rescues Susan. He even sneaks up on Ixta mid boast like a horror movie character.

All four TARDIS regulars arrive at the tomb entrance but in trying to push the door open, the rope snaps. Note how at this point, none of them care about shifting views in the community anymore and just want to get out of dodge ASAP.

Meanwhile, Tlotoxl gets Ixta to attack Autloc, as this will break Autloc's faith in Yetaxa. This is such an odd plan that it works perfectly. Autloc's not really the sharpest written character in this, you can see John Lucarotti enjoys writing antagonists more. "This time, Ixta, do not fail me", says Tlotoxl, channeling the Vaughn/Packer relationship.

TLOTOXL: She is a false goddess, and now Autloc has proclaimed it. Yet we cannot destroy her, Tonila, until the time is ripe.
TONILA: The people would not understand.
TLOTOXL: The day of darkness is the perfect time. As the Perfect Victim leaves this land, so shall the woman who calls herself Yetaxa also depart.
TONILA: How shall it be done?
TLOTOXL: As the gods appear, may they not also disappear just as suddenly? I shall arrange it. I had a vision, Tonila, of a room with three walls. The false Yetaxa shall be placed in that room and the fourth wall added. Then order shall be restored.

He's back to full smug mode, is our High Priest of sacrifice. But even as he boasts, you can see Tonila's unmoving reactions. Watch out for that guy, Tlotoxl.

Meanwhile, the Doctor invents the wheel, and convinces Cameca to go talk to Autloc.

BARBARA: My servant did not strike you, Autloc.
AUTLOC: The evidence we have proves he did.
BARBARA: If that is true, then I am unworthy of your trust. Of all people, Autloc, why should I harm you? No, there's some plan here. Who would benefit most by breaking up our friendship? Tlotoxl.
AUTLOC: Tlotoxl hates you, I know that, and Ixta does his bidding. And I am bewildered by the things that happen. I have many doubts, but in this matter I must believe you. As for the others, I do not know if you are Yetaxa. I do not know what you are.

This guy is so easily manipulated, how the hell did he become a leader? Going on Tenochtitlan's Got Talent?

Then we have a very sad scene, as the Doctor admires his pulley wheel and Cameca admits she knows the full score, because she's intelligent:


DOCTOR: There you are, my dear, it's nearly finished.
CAMECA: As is our time together. I do not know what its purpose is, but I've always known it would take you from me.
DOCTOR: Yes. I'm sorry, my dear.
CAMECA: Tomorrow will truly be a day of darkness.
DOCTOR: For both of us.
CAMECA: Tlotoxl is determined to destroy Yetaxa?
DOCTOR: He must do to safeguard his own beliefs.
CAMECA: We are a doomed people, my dear. There's no turning back for us.
DOCTOR: You're a very fine woman, Cameca, and you'll always be very, very dear to me.

And Hartnell plays it for real, so you know the Doctor, even as he tries to cover it, does genuinely care for this Aztec grandmother, even as he has used her to help Ian and Barbara. The continuing thawing out of the Doctor gets a healthy dose of sped up microwaving here.

Cameca walks into a scene with Autloc, who says farewell... He's lost his faith in the Aztec system, but as he speaks to Cameca he says:

You could say I lost my faith in science and progress
You could say I lost my belief in the holy Church
You could say I lost my sense of direction
You could say all of this and worse, but
If I ever lose my faith in you
There'd be nothing left for me to do


No, wait, wrong lyrics. The gist is the same, though.

The Perfect Victim overacts for a bit while Ixta gloats. He's so happy. People are always happy right before the fall.

TLOTOXL: The procession has started. Are you ready to attend the ceremony?
BARBARA: Where's Autloc?
TLOTOXL: He will not be present.
BARBARA: Why not? What have you done with him?
TLOTOXL: I? Nothing. He has gone into the wilderness.
BARBARA: When will he return?
TLOTOXL: Never.

In other words, Autloc is a dead character walking.

Cameca tricks the guard into Ian and Susan escaping, thus dooming herself under Tonila's future reign of terror. Ixta finds the guard and straight out kills the guy. Cameca then straight up asks to join the TARDIS crew

DOCTOR: That was a very brave thing for you to do, Cameca, but you can't stay here.
CAMECA: I'd hoped I might stay by your side. Then think of me. Think of me.

The Doctor looks conflicted as she leaves.

Tlotoxl ruses up to the temple to kill Barbara but Ian stops him. Tlotoxl calls for help from Ixta who rushes up the steps in slow motion and has a choreographed battle scene with Ian, ending in Ixta falling to his death off the top of the temple. It's a shame that the last of the Ian/Ixta fights is their least successful.

Also Ian just coldly waits for Ixta and then beats him. For all we know that completely changed history.

The TARDIS crew open the tomb door with the pulley wheel, and rush in. Tlotoxl sees them go but lets them as he knows they will no longer be a threat to his own power. And then, as the eclipse happens, he rushes out and kills the Perfect Victim.

TLOTOXL: Great God of the Sun and the Warriors, I, Tlotoxl, thank you for this victory. In your honour, let Perfect Sacrifice be made.

And, yes, he was won completely over all of his foes. For the first time in Who history, the antagonist achieves all of their aims.

Well, until Tonila stabs him in the back.

BARBARA: We failed.
DOCTOR: Yes, we did. We had to.
BARBARA: What's the point of travelling through time and space if we can't change anything? Nothing. Tlotoxl had to win.
DOCTOR: Yes.
BARBARA: And the one man I had respect for, I deceived. Poor Autloc. I gave him false hope and in the end he lost his faith.
DOCTOR: He found another faith, a better, and that's the good you've done. You failed to save a civilisation, but at least you helped one man.

The Doctor sums up a sort of happy ending for everyone but then has his moment. He goes to put Cameca's bracelet with the rest of the tomb stuff, but changes is mind, and pockets it instead. He does want to remember her...

Later the TARDIS appears to have landed inside something.

So, yes, the Aztecs is obviously great, backed up by a solid guest role from John Ringham as Tlotoxl. He's such a strong character - by far the best one off since the show started - that you almost cant begrudge his success, and yet the writer carefully hints that those who rise by machination are doomed to be undone by them, and even as Tlotoxl gloats, you see Tonila in the background, silently watching for his time. John Lucarotti produces another fine script of dialogue, the Doctor develops his character, Ian gets to look heroic and strong, Barbara saves a soul, and Susan doesn't do anything stupid for once.