T19 seems a perfect world for colonisation – but are those who seek to live there worthy of it?

There are some Doctor Who stories that, with a degree of tweaking, can be moulded to fit any incarnation and any set of companions, and chances are the outcomes will be the same. There are others – and I include An Ideal World in this – where the particular set of time travellers that arrives dictates the course of the story. Without wanting to spoil it in any way, this is a story that is predicated on certain aspects of the TARDIS crew who are present – and indeed on what we know of the Doctor himself at this stage.

Writer Ian Potter and script editor John Dorney have been very careful to ensure that there’s nothing in this story that couldn’t have been told at this point in the 1960s (unlike recent Companion Chronicles which have cleverly incorporated the continuity of the whole show), and there’s even a neat tip of the hat to actors getting a week off during the run. There’s quite a few places where you’ll think the story is heading in a very different direction from the way it eventually goes and although it means there’s a certain re-use of ideas from the period, it always feels like homage rather than rip-off.

Peter Purves gives strong performances as both Doctor and Steven Taylor, while Maureen O’Brien shows some steel as Vicki. Director Lisa Bowerman has brought together a very effective ensemble for the less-than-perfect crew of the Magellan as well as those they encounter on the surface, and Toby Hrycek-Robinson’s sound design and score fit the period well.

Verdict: A deliberately paced, well told and often surprising adventure. 8/10

Paul Simpson