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The Aztecs

22ND MAY 1964 - 13TH JUNE 1964

(4 EPISODES)

  1. THE TEMPLE OF EVIL      2. THE WARRIORS OF DEATH

3. THE BRIDE OF SACRIFICE      4. THE DAY OF DARKNESS

The Aztecs is a great place to begin in releasing William Hartnell’s era on DVD.

I’m especially glad that the Restoration Team opted for a historical release rather than one

of the early science fiction serials as for me, these historical pieces define the Hartnell era

as they are almost exclusive to it. Watching this four-part tale it’s evident that to educate as well as to entertain was a critical part of the show’s early mandate, and this story succeeds in doing both.

Above: The DVD's menu screen (NB the background is animated on the actual DVD; this is just a still)

Watching it in such good quality - it really does look as if it was just filmed yesterday, only in monochrome - I was astonished at how well it stood up, and how well it held my attention. In fact, the four individually-titled (a much more interesting and imaginative policy, in my view) episodes flew by. Indeed, The Aztecs is an absolutely enthralling and even quite challenging story.

With the stunning DVD release, I popped the disc straight in the player and watched all four episodes straight through with the production subtitles on. Not being much of an expert on the Hartnell era, the first thing that struck me was that it had all been recorded in the studio, yet the scenes filmed ‘outside’ looked surprisingly good, the limitations of the monochrome film helping Barry Newbery’s ambitious cloth paintings to look more realistic.

"You can't rewrite history! Not one line!"

And John Lucarotti’s script is exceptionally compelling. The Aztecs mistake Barbara for the reincarnation of one of their gods – Yetaxa – as she is wearing a bracelet that she picked

up when the TARDIS materialised in Yetaxa’s tomb. The story explores Barbara’s desire to change history “for the better” – i.e. to save the Aztec race – and her patent inability to do so. The Doctor tries to explain to her that she cannot interfere, but it is a lesson she has to learn painfully for herself, and as a result her three companions are placed in all kinds of dangers by the Priest of Sacrifice, Tlotoxl, who wants to prove her a fraud. John Ringham as Tlotoxl

is easily as terrifying as any alien.

Susan is manipulated into an arranged marriage with ‘the Perfect Victim’ (who is to be sacrificed at the upcoming eclipse, and as such his every wish must be granted until that time); Ian is appointed Chief of the Aztec Warriors, and thus has to do battle with his rival

Ixta; and the Doctor becomes engaged to the lady Cameca! What is so clever about the writing here is that in following each character on their own separate adventure, we learn something different about Aztec culture without even realising it.

Lucarotti even cleverly intertwines these individual stories so that, for instance, as the Doctor is trying to find out how to back get into the tomb where the TARDIS materialised, he needs to get information from Ixta who has great knowledge of them. In exchange for information, the Doctor helps Ixta win a fight by using a poisoned thorn… little does the Doctor know that Ixta’s opponent is Ian. That is what I like the most about these early adventures – there is far less emphasis on saving the world; more on surviving and escaping from wherever they end up materialising, and half of the time they dig themselves into bigger holes than they were in to start with!

The DVD’s special features are of varying length and quality, Remembering The Aztecs quite easily being the pick of the bunch as it features interviews with the aforementioned John Ringham, Ian Cullen (Ixta), and Walter Randall (Tonila). However, I’m unsure as to why Carole Ann Ford and William Russell didn’t participate in the documentary given that they recorded the commentary with Verity Lambert.

Above: John Ringham (Tlotoxl) remembers The Aztecs

Restoring The Aztecs was also of great interest to me as I watched the story wondering how they had managed to get such clear and vivid pictures from such poor quality film recordings. The rest of the extras aren’t nearly as impressive though - Designing the Aztecs is basically just an interview with designer Barry Newbery; a Blue Peter clip tells the story of Cortez and Montezuma; there is a light-hearted Making Cocoa featurette; and there is also an Arabic soundtrack for The Day of Darkness,

evidently lifted from the 16mm print that

was returned. The final special feature I

thought was quite ironic in that it marks such a contrast with The Aztecs itself – the latest TARDIS-cam, a spectacular CG sequence from BBCi.

Some may be put off by The Aztecs being such an old production, shot in monochrome, and completely devoid of alien menaces or other such trappings. All I can say is do not be – this DVD is just as impressive as most of the releases so far, if not a little more so.

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

A very interesting thought struck me whilst I was watching The Aztecs on my spankingly-restored DVD. Barbara is actually the villain of the piece. Let’s take a look at

the evidence… she is the monster that is trying to destroy the traditions of this civilisation, she is an impostor, she holds a knife to Tltoxol’s neck and has great, power mad lines like

“If you reveal me to the people I’ll have them destroy you! DESTROY YOU!” She even has a telling moment with the Doctor (“Human sacrifice is their tradition, their religion!”) I fear the evidence against her is condemning indeed.

It’s the first (and probably the last) time a companion is used so effectively in this manner and so prominently, and I can’t think of anyone better than Jacqueline Hill to be spoilt with such powerful material. Reading through documentary material such as About Time and

The First Doctor Handbook, it becomes abundantly clear that Hill and Ford were paid far less than Hartnell and Russell, and yet over the first five stories they have been given the toughest material to work with. Go figure.

Hill was the star of Doctor Who for the four weeks that The Aztecs aired. Her performance was opulent and grand and never faltered. Her moral arguments with the Doctor (“If I could begin the destruction of all that is good then all that’s good will survive when Cortez lands!”); her ‘test’ of knowledge (“If the truth of my divinity lies in my knowledge, let Autloc seek it!”); and her rejection of the poison drink (“For as I must proof my loyalty to you, so must you to me...”) see Barbara at her finest and she plays such scenes with absolute conviction. There is never any doubt that she is in this unlikely situation, trapped and threatened with murder for all her good intentions. Barbara is one of my all-time favourite companions because the writers allowed her to be complex and reactive and because of the energy Hill that brought

to the role.

The script is faultless and everybody gets great lines. It feels remarkably fast paced for 1960s television because it doesn’t have the increased length of Marco Polo, and it feels more exceptional than stories like The Reign of Terror and The Crusade because it is a period of history that you probably touched upon briefly at school (and Blue Peter) but didn’t really examine in any great detail. We are told so much about the Aztecs and their culture within the narrative; their social and military structure, their traditions and punishments that I felt I had learnt a great deal about a fascinating period of history. I use this phrase too much but the culture shock that each of the regulars face – the Doctor offers to make a drink and gets married, Barbara tries to save a life and almost crushes history, Ian is forced to fight

Ixta to rival his command of the army and Susan is forced into marriage with the next victim to the slaughter - sees writer John Lucarotti dramatising this culture in very interesting ways. Don’t you just love it when you are watching a show that you enjoy and a piece of dialogue makes you want to run up and kiss the telly? The theatrical nature of this story gives the actors some blinding dialogue to relish and every scene has a moment where I wanted to drag someone in of the street and shove them in front of this creaky 1960s drama.

Despite the best efforts of Barry Newbery, the scale of such a civilisation can’t be recreated in a BBC studio but his visually stunning sets, in tandem with Lucarotti’s dialogue, conjure up the past effortlessly. “How shall a man know his Gods?” / “By the signs of their divinity,” and “And what if thieves walk amongst the Gods?” / “Well indeed how shall a man know?” stand out in particular. The only other historical adventure that I can think of with a script brimming with such quotable lines is The Crusade.

Despite some competition from the regulars (the first Doctor is the bad guy in the first story, Susan in Edge of Destruction) Tltoxol is technically the first true human villain that the series encountered. He’s such an insidious and nasty piece of work that you can’t help but love him. Barbara represents everything that he fears and her portents of destruction force him to act against her. I love how he desperately tries to drag her down in numerous different ways; first through her knowledge (fortunately she is a history teacher!), then through her body (he offers her a cup of poison with such charm that it had to be a trick), and finally through her servants (what a shame he didn’t succeed in piercing Susan’s tongue with thorns. We wouldn’t have to listen to her whining any more!) The story twists Tltoxol into the most compelling character because you know he has to succeed, Barbara’s attempts to change the Aztec culture are futile and waiting for her downfall at the hands of this loathsome man adds an extra element of danger to events. John Ringham is on truly fine form delivering a devastating, theatrical portrayal of a desperate man.

Despite how much I love Barbara’s plot there is another I watch with even more interest and that is the sweet and charming scenes between the Doctor and Cameca. Whether played

for comedy or drama, these gentle courtship moments give a rare glimpse into the gentler side of the Doctor. William Hartnell’s Doctor was afforded some real development over the first season and this is the warmest we ever saw him, indulging in an exploitative friendship that affects him far more than he reveals to his friends. I love how Lucarotti has Cameca flirt so outrageously with the Doctor, whilst he remains blissfully unaware of her intentions. The proposal scene makes me howl with laughter; Hartnell’s face when he realises what he has got himself into is a delight, and yet subsequent scenes see the Doctor very relaxed in her company and you can see how the old man in him would like to spend his time enjoying their garden and sharing their insights. The last scene is the clincher where he rushes back out

of the TARDIS and grabs the brooch she gave him; a little piece of her that he doesn’t want to leave behind.

There are some very impressive set pieces and visuals to enjoy in this story too. Whilst the painted backdrops are clearly not fully erected Aztec buildings, they are stunningly depicted with some painstaking detail. I love the huge looming tomb next to the garden and the desert backdrop suggesting the scale on which these events are playing out on. Even better are the tomb and temple sets which are crafted with real care and lit to generate an atmosphere of foreboding. Ian and Ixta share two fights as we build towards the unforgettable climax of The Day of Darkness, and efforts are made to make their final fight as lavish as possible with backdrops that suggest multi-layered sets and some fearsome animal masks. The serial’s

cliffhangers are all great, pivotal, “oh

shit” moments, especially at the end

of The Warriors of Death where you

are left wondering how the hell Babs

is going to improvise her way out of

saving Ian’s life. Her knife wielding

skills would give Leela a run for her

money, and Tltoxol never looks more

like he is going to cack himself!

I learnt a great deal when I first watched this story. I was apprehensive about watching some tatty old piece of history created in a sweltering and cramped BBC studio, but what played before me was a window to another time; a humbling experience that made me appreciate the strengths of the historical genre and how stylish black and white television can be. The formula of the Hartnell years was that there was no formula, and Barbara’s scene stealing exposes more layers of the vastly unwinding tapestry that is Doctor Who.

In short, The Aztecs is a masterpiece. It grips, thrills and it entertains. It teaches and makes you laugh. It rocks.

Copyright © Joe Ford 2010

Joe Ford has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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