The Curse Of Peladon

The opening shots, with all the trappings of the horror genre - sinister and dark model shots of castles on mountains, heavy thunder and lightning - give a slightly misleading impression of this story. Although it certainly has leanings toward horror, with the mysterious legendary beast Aggedor apparently on the prowl and carrying out strategic killings (The Hound Of The Baskervilles has been suggested as one possible inspiration), that's more of a means to an end here, with the intention being to tell a story about politics.

It's generally acknowledged that the theme of Peladon's potential entry into the Galactic Federation was partially inspired by the contemporary negotiations of Edward Heath's government for Britain to join the then-European Economic Community (EEC), now the European Union (EU). What is slightly bizarre, though, is the way that even now Hepesh's fear and distrust of the Federation still partly echoes modern-day anti-EU politics. In the light of the still ongoing political arguments about the proposed EU constitution, some of Hepesh's sentiments ("The Federation cannot overrule our laws!" "Because I'm afraid...I know the Federation's real intent...The face of Peladon will be changed, the past swept away, and everything that I know and value will have gone. I would rather be a cave-dweller and free.") might sound eerily familiar to British ears. It's not so much that the story has anything meaningful to tell us about those politics, or that anyone watching it would need to be aware of any possible parallels, but it is indicative of the kind of thought patterns the writer was aiming to explore.

The Doctor's later explanation of the plot between Arcturus and Hepesh suggests that the latter is acting not only out of fear for the planet's future but also to shore up his political powerbase. His relatively dignified death, where he accepts he may have been wrong and hopes he was, along with King Peladon's genuine tears, helps leave open the question of whether we should consider him malign or merely misguided. It's to the story's credit that, while the conclusion is obviously heavily loaded in favour of Peladon's beliefs, it does allow such a measure of ambiguity to Hepesh's motives.

Peladon's civilisation, the first alien society depicted in any great detail in this era, is clearly portrayed as backward, repressed and unfree. Governed by a sub-medieval courtly system, with its Kings, High Priests and Royal Champions, the entire society seems subject to ancient theocratic traditions and rigidly enforced restrictions. Even the King, much to his anguish, and despite Jo's tearful pleading, is a prisoner of them, apparently unable to spare or pardon the Doctor when the latter is charged with sacrilege. This is the order that Hepesh is determined to preserve, and it represents the values that the King and his supporters (eg Torbis) are struggling to develop from, hence the clash between them is ultimately inevitable.

Brought up by a governing elite of crusty old men, Peladon's own naivety and inexperience explain his ineptness when dealing with Jo. Clearly lonely as well as desiring an ally, he twice manages to provoke her into storming out furiously and he cannot understand why on either occasion. His assurance to Jo at the end that her not being a genuine royal "doesn't matter" is a possible hint that he is developing, and allowing himself to become more independent and flexible in his observation of ancient protocols.

The alien delegates are a very distinctive set. Alpha Centauri is mainly there as loveable comic relief, Arcturus is vaguely Dalek-like in concept (and has about as much charm) but Izlyr and Ssorg are especially notable. Belonging to a species that had previously only been seen as villains, the Doctor's instant distrust of them was probably mirrored by any viewers at the time who could remember the Ice Warriors. Yet, in actual fact, Izlyr eventually turns out to be rather more open-minded and magnanimous than the Doctor. Considering the highly damaging circumstantial evidence in Ep 2 (the Doctor found interfering with Arcturus when the latter has a seizure, Jo later found hiding in Izlyr's and Ssorg's room with the missing component before trying to escape outside when told to stay there) it's frankly amazing that he still elects to trust them. If it had been the other way round, I'm not sure the Doctor would have done...

The fact that the Doctor and Jo are actually impostors here puts them in an awkward position. How much does the Doctor really know (historically) about the Federation? Does he genuinely have any grounds for assuming he knows what the Federation's "real intent" is in his argument with Hepesh, or for assuming himself to be qualified to represent the organisation (for anything other than entirely pragmatic reasons at least)? We're never told, nor do we learn much about the Federation either, except that it's basically very powerful.

Production values are generally good, if not especially lavish. The citadel and catacombs are appropriately dark and moody, with serried flickering torches helping to create a relatively gloomy atmosphere. There's also some very fine studio filmwork, including the pit where the Doctor and Grun fight, and the windswept mountain (continuity quibbles about Jo's hair moving from tidy to unkempt and back notwithstanding). It's so good that I can't really understand why the Doctor and Jo would want to risk stepping out onto it. Wouldn't it have been safer to stay in the TARDIS and just take off again? There is also some pleasingly distinctive costume design, with the rich blues and purples of the Pels contrasting well with the greens and yellows of the Federation delegates.