C028 The Smugglers

The Smugglers marks the first TARDIS adventure of companions Ben & Polly, and the next-to-last TARDIS adventure of the First Doctor, and all three are in fine form.

A companion’s first time or space travel adventure in the TARDIS is a favorite moment of mine throughout Doctor Who. While disbelieving at first, Ben & Polly are quick to realize that, yes, they have traveled in time and are just as quick to adapt. A far cry from their immediate predecessor, who spent much of HER first TARDIS trip thinking they were in a zoo. Polly, in particular, using the superstition of the day to help herself and Ben. Ben as well, when he’s confronted with the revenue man, is smart enough not to just take things at face value. Even if, in that case, the man was exactly as he claimed, Ben was being fairly sensible. The Doctor, as well, shows his wit in being able to escape Pike’s custody and later outmaneuver the pirates in keeping the treasure out of his reach for just long enough.

Just as in the Savages, you can see the Doctor’s development into a heroic character compared to how he started. Ben is right that they have no ties to that era. In fact, as the Doctor is the only one who knows the secret of Avery’s gold, leaving could even thwart Pike. However, the Doctor feels morally obligated to stay and prevent any death or destruction he can.

An enjoyable story, particularly in seeing this new Troupe in action. Ben & Polly made a good companion team alongside the Doctor. I’m sure there are some glaring plot holes or nonsensical moments, but listening to the audiobook nothing really caught my attention and I’m inclined to let things like that slide unless they do just that.

While a good story, I didn’t really feel it stood out enough to merit higher than 4, and a 3.5 feels too low, so I’m meeting in the middle and calling it 3.7 out of 5.

Finally, a little bit of trivia: Have you noticed that, with the exceptions of Dodo and Katarina, nearly every one of the First Doctor’s companions had their first adventure take place in the past? Ian and Barbara in prehistoric era, Vicki in Rome, Steven in the Middle Ages, and now Ben & Polly here. Even Sara Kingdom counts, if you consider the 20th Century a past era for her, had her first trip go to the past.

The second bit of trivia is that Pike was once a pirate under the pirate Avery. Assuming it’s the same man, we would go on to actually MEET Avery in the Eleventh Doctor’s “The Curse of the Black Spot”. Surprisingly, I don’t recall the episode making any reference to this past encounter with one of Avery’s former crew.