The Ark

Dear Gary—

“Why are you dressed in these stupid clothes?” Such is the introduction of Dodo to TARDIS life. To give the Doctor credit, they are rather stupid. “What do you think you’re playing at, crusade?” Apparently Dodo has been getting at the Doctor’s wardrobe.

Her clothes aren’t the only thing that bothers the Doctor. “My dear child, if you’re going to be with us for any length of time, you’ll have to do something about that English of yours. . . . It’s terrible, child, oh, it’s most irritating.”

Dodo does not offer the same comfortable companionship that Vicki and Susan provided. She’s rather like a big floppy sheepdog that has bounded on board and gets under foot. Loveable but exasperating. And in The Ark, our first story with Dodo, she unwittingly sows disaster in her wake.

“I’ve been taking a look at my instruments in there and it’s really very strange.” Strange indeed. The TARDIS has landed in what appears to be a jungle, but with the oddest combination of animal and plant life. They have landed in a zoo/arboretum within a spacecraft making its escape from a doomed Earth and journey bound to the planet Refusis II, some 700 years away.

Just a side note again, Gary. I’m not sure why they need this zoo of animals to transport. After all, the majority of the Earth’s population has been miniaturized and put in storage awaiting the arrival on Refusis II when they will be restored to full size. Can’t the same be done to the animals? Perhaps the remaining humans (Guardians) just want the zoo for their own sentimental reasons. And another side note, the Guardians refer to the TARDIS as a black box—are they color blind as well?

But back to our story and our travelers arrival. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of this Ark, as they dub it, Dodo has a cold. The common cold has been wiped out long ago and therefore people no longer have any resistance. But I don’t know, Gary. It seems to me that there is more to it than just a cold. After all, Steven comes down with the same ‘fever’ that is killing the rest, but shouldn’t this only affect him as a cold and not the deadly disease that is wreaking havoc on the Ark? I tend to think that Dodo is getting a bum rap.

Fortunately the Doctor knows how to make the vaccine (from certain animal membranes) and all is put right again. And this is where the story takes a most interesting turn. The Doctor and company have stepped on the proverbial butterfly.

As they make their farewells, the Doctor tells the Refusis II bound travelers that they “must travel with understanding as well as hope.” The TARDIS then dematerializes, but within a few seconds it rematerializes in the exact same spot, except, as we come to learn, 700 years in the future. Not only has the cast changed in those 700 years, but so too has the script.

On their previous visit the human Guardians were in charge and the alien Monoids their servants. The Monoids had come from their own dying planet and offered up their services to the humans during the long journey to Refusis II. However, now, 700 years in the future, the roles are reversed. The Monoids have taken control of the ship and keep the surviving humans enslaved. Apparently there was a mutation of the fever introduced by Dodo that sapped the will of the Guardians allowing for the takeover.

And so begins part two of The Ark. While the first half dealt with the fever and its cure, we are now dealing with plots against the Monoids by the humans to gain their freedom and the arrival on the planet Refusis II and the invisible inhabitants thereof. Not to mention the bomb hidden somewhere on the Ark that is due to explode at any moment.

Steven remains on the Ark to deal with the Monoids and the bomb; the Doctor and Dodo are taken by the Monoid elite to the planet’s surface. Now we begin to see how ineffectual these Monoids really are. We should have known from the names they give themselves—One, Two, Three . . .

An observation, Gary. We are beginning to see a shift in the underlying philosophy of Doctor Who and our merry band of travelers. Previously the Doctor was all about maintaining the historical integrity; about not interfering; about not actively aiding and abetting. When the Doctor did end up helping revolutionists, the revolution was already in full swing. But now, as in the previous story The Space Museum, the Doctor and company actually instigate insurgency.

Throughout human history there are countless examples of indigenous peoples rising up against their tyrants. In Doctor Who, however, in all his travels through the myriad galaxies and universes, he meets up with scores of peoples who need the Doctor to spur them on to rebellion.

Despite the Monoids disadvantages as oppressors, the Guardians do nothing to regain the upper hand.  The Monoids have weapons, yes, but they are so slow moving and easily overcome. I find it hard to believe that not one Guardian ever took it into his head to jump one, grab his weapon, and take charge. No, it takes Steven to think of that.

The Doctor, on the other hand, uses his wits against these dimwitted Monoids to turn them against one another. Then with a little help from our invisible Refusian friends (actually, friend, since only one Refusian ever makes himself known) the day is won and the Doctor once again finds himself admonishing these Guardians that they must “travel with understanding as well as hope.” The Guardians and Monoids must work together, along with the Refusians, to build a new life on this new planet.

To travel with understanding and hope. Echoing back to The Sensorites “Isn’t it a better thing to travel hopefully than arrive?” Echoing back . . .

Here’s hoping, Gary.