Review of the Complete Story:
I'm not really a fan of the William Hartnell Dr Who stories, finding them incredibly dated and dull compared to the much more entertaining later adventures of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. THE AZTECS is a case in point, a cheap and distinctly un-cheerful story that's spoilt by boring characterisation and a badly-written story.
The tale sees Hartnell and his companions finding themselves caught up in some Aztec political plots when they accidentally arrive inside a temple complex. What could have been an exciting and exotic adventure quickly turns to stodge thanks to a lack of incident and a back-and-forth style of narrative that fails to really go anywhere. The characters are one-dimensional in the extreme and the story lacks the kind of danger and fear factor of the best Who stories.
It's not totally without merit, as despite the faults of his era, Hartnell was still a more than adequate Who, and the BBC writers deserve credit for delivering something out of the ordinary in setting at least. But when you think of classic era Who you want Cybermen and Daleks, not characters wandering aimlessly through cardboard sets as they do here.
I'm not really a fan of the William Hartnell Dr Who stories, finding them incredibly dated and dull compared to the much more entertaining later adventures of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. THE AZTECS is a case in point, a cheap and distinctly un-cheerful story that's spoilt by boring characterisation and a badly-written story.
The tale sees Hartnell and his companions finding themselves caught up in some Aztec political plots when they accidentally arrive inside a temple complex. What could have been an exciting and exotic adventure quickly turns to stodge thanks to a lack of incident and a back-and-forth style of narrative that fails to really go anywhere. The characters are one-dimensional in the extreme and the story lacks the kind of danger and fear factor of the best Who stories.
It's not totally without merit, as despite the faults of his era, Hartnell was still a more than adequate Who, and the BBC writers deserve credit for delivering something out of the ordinary in setting at least. But when you think of classic era Who you want Cybermen and Daleks, not characters wandering aimlessly through cardboard sets as they do here.