The beginning of this episode is pretty much the grimmest Doctor Who ever got. ‘You animal,’ screams Steven as Kirksen drags Katarina into an airlock and demands that the Spar is diverted to Kembel to seek the help of the Daleks. Faced with this, even Vyon dithers, while the Doctor demands they go back to Kembel. The argument, the chaos, clear in the short surviving clips – Steven rushing desperately back and forth, a furious Doctor slapping the controls, Vyon hunched over, hatchet faced – show that the audience is thrown straight into the drama. But Katarina saves all their skins by sacrificing herself. It’s the most dramatic companion exit so far – although Katarina’s really only been a background character – and it sets the tone for an episode that raises the stakes both for this story, and for what Doctor Who can do. It’s also amusing that the Doctor mourns Katarina – who’s been with him for about a day – almost exactly as much as he later does Adric.
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