Re-running through corridors: The Aztecs

4 episodes
Aired between 23rd May 1964 and 13th June 1964

Written by John Lucarotti
Produced by Verity Lambert
Directed by John Crockett

Synopsis

The TARDIS leaves Marinus and arrives in an old tomb. Barbara and Susan explore jewels and trinkets surrounding the mummified remains of within the tomb; and Barbara casually slips a snake bangle onto her upper arm. Barbara is educated enough to know that this is an Aztec tomb and that whilst their society was very dangerous and they did some evil things (like human sacrifices), there was also a lot of good to be found in their society too.

Susan finds a large stone door that lifts up from the floor, and Barbara wanders through it into an Aztec temple whilst Susan goes back and waits for the Doctor and Ian. Whilst alone, Barbara is found by a high priest of knowledge called Autloc who believes Barbara is trespassing. He summons guards to his side, intending to punish her, but soon recognises the snake bangle and comes to believe that she is the reincarnation of their high priest, Yetaxa, and thus being one of the gods.

The Doctor, Ian and Susan come out of the TARDIS shortly after and cannot find Barbara. They soon go through the stone door which unexpectedly closes, leaving them stranded in the temple, naturally as gods are expected to leave, but no one should go in. They are shortly after met by Autloc, proclaiming them as servants of Yetaxa, and takes them to her.

Whilst alone, the Doctor explains that Barbara must keep up the charade of being a goddess until the group can find a way of opening the tomb door and getting back to the TARDIS, otherwise, if the Aztecs find out they are not gods, they will be killed for sure.

Autloc introduces the group to Tlotoxl (clo-toc-sil), the high priest of sacrifice.

Tlotoxl suggests that Yetaxa has been sent to them to end the many months of drought and asks permission for Barbara to be shown to the people in the great ceremony to summon the rain. Barbara agrees and suggests that her servants (Ian, and the Doctor) go among the people.

Tlotoxl takes Ian to join the ranks of the most famous warriors and introduces him to Ixta (Ic-star) who quickly shows his might by battling one of their best warriors and proclaims that Ian is a chief rival and will therefore eventually be killed by Ixta himself. Tlotoxl orders that Ian be dressed with clothes befitting his rank.

Meanwhile, Autloc takes the Doctor to the peace garden where he is introduced to the Aztec elders, especially to a lady called Cameca. The Doctor talks to her about the temple and gets her to agree to arranging a meeting with the son of the man who built it, as the builder himself is dead.

The group soon find out that the ceremony to summon rain involves a human sacrifice, and The Doctor warns them that whatever happens, they must keep up the charade and not interfere with the sacrifice.

But Barbara has other plans. She believes that this is an opportunity to use her divine status to stop the sacrificing of humans, and get rid of all the evil of Aztec culture, leaving only the good. The Doctor is angry and says that she cannot rewrite history, not even one line, but she doesn't listen.

Autloc and Tlotoxl arrive and announce the ceremony. As promised, they introduce the resurrected Yetaxa to the people and prepare the sacrifice.

As Tlotoxl raises the blade, Susan rushes out and stops Tlotoxl killing the man. Barbara backs her up and forbids the man's death. Rather than being grateful however, the victim complains that he has been denied his honour and throws himself off the side of the temple to his death. Seconds after, the thunderstorm starts and Tlotoxl believes that it's a result of the death, but he begins to doubt that Babara is Yetaxa and vows to uncover the fact. For her interference, Susan is sent away to be taught the laws of the Aztecs.

After the ceremony, the Doctor berates Barbara for her stubborn interference, and instructs her to keep Autloc on her side, or else Tlotoxl will make sure they are uncovered as false gods and killed.

Back with the soldiers, Ian listens to Ixta's arrogance about being the best and decides to teach him a lesson by knocking him out cold using just his thumb (which he applies to Ixta's pressure points).

Autloc and Tlotoxl cannot believe it but seeing as Autloc witnessed it, there is no contest that Ian is the rightful commander of the Aztec armies. That is, until the next person to be sacrificed turns up. He is known as the perfect victim and has all his requests and wishes granted so that when he meets the gods, he can speak favourably of the Aztecs. He is to be sacrificed on an imminent eclipse, in order to bring back the sun.

The perfect victim is told of Ian's incredible feat and Tlotoxl manages to convince the perfect victim into calling for a rematch. As the perfect victim leaves, Tlotoxl agrees with Ixta that Ian should be killed in the fight.

Tlotoxl returns to Barbara and begins questioning her on the Aztec ways, stating that she should know of them. Barbara says she will only explain herself to Autloc, the high priest of knowledge. Tlotoxl states that whilst she is under question, her servants are to keep away from her.

In the meantime, the Doctor arranges with Cameca to ask the son of the builder to meet with him. She goes to the son, who is none other than Ixta! He agrees to the meeting and decides to dupe the Doctor. When he meets with the Doctor, Ixta agrees to exchange the old plans for the temple for knowledge on how to defeat a rival that he is to face in non-lethal combat. Not realising that the rival is Ian, the Doctor shows Ixta how to use the sap from a plant on a cactus spine that will make his opponent drowsy. Ixta leaves with a smile on his face, saying he will bring the plans back the next day.

Autloc interrogates Barbara as instructed, and she prophesies the Aztec's doom as a result of their butchery. This knowledge affects Autloc, and he tells her of the coming contest between Ixta and Ian.

Pleased with himself, the Doctor goes to see Barbara to tell her of his meeting with Ixta. When she reveals that Ixta is against Ian, the Doctor rushes to warn him, but Tlotoxl has him arrested for transgressing the law and seeing Yetaxa whilst she is under dispute. The Doctor is taken prisoner and lead away despite Barbara's protests.

Knowing about Ixta's plans, Barbara orders Autloc to make sure that the contest remains non-lethal and Autloc agrees.

The fight between Ixta and Ian begins, with Ian gaining the upper hand until Ixta uses the needle on him. As Ian grows drowsy, Tlotoxl calls for his death and Ixta begins to strangle him despite Autloc's pleas. Barbara turns up and commands them to stop. Tlotoxl smiles and challenges Yetaxa to save her servant with her great powers if she indeed is the real deal, to which, Barbara does as he commands...sort of, by putting a knife to Tlotoxl's throat and demanding Ian's release.

Tlotoxl has little choice and agrees. Everyone retires to their homes, leaving Tlotoxl to go see the Doctor in the peace garden. He asks him why he helped Ixta, and the Doctor says that he wanted the plans to the tomb, and if Tlotoxl really wants to find out if Yetaxa is a real god, then he should open the tomb. Tlotoxl thinks it's logical and goes to see Ixta who laughs and tells him it was just a trick and there are no plans.

Back to square one, Tlotoxl talks to Tonila, and convinces him to make a cup of poison for Yetaxa to drink with the logic of the fact that if she dies, she was obviously mortal. Neither are aware that a now fully recovered Ian overhears their plan. Undetected, he goes to tell Barbara.

In the peace garden, Cameca tells Autloc that she is in Love with the Doctor and gathers cocoa beans for him. When he sees them, he is delighted to drink some cocoa with her, unaware that it is a symbol of engagement. When he finds out, he makes a face like this:

As they talk, she shows the Doctor a brooch that once belonged to Ixta's father, whom she loved until he died. She intends to give it him when they're married as a symbol of her love.

Tlotoxl approaches Barbara and apologises for all his harsh words and disbelief, offering her a drink for peace. Fortunately, Ian had arrived before hand and was able to warn her as the cup was offered.
Barbara asks Tonila and Tlotoxl to drink first as a sign of trust. When they will not, she throws the cup away and yells at Tonila to get out. Once alone, she furiously tells Tlotoxl that she IS mortal and warns him that if he ever reveals it, she will use the trust people have in her to turn them against him.

Realising that Barbara is too smart to fall for any of his tricks, Tlotoxl uses Tonila to go after the Servants of Yetaxa instead. Obediently, Tonila goes to check upon Susan's progress with her lessons and takes the perfect victim. The victim sees Susan and declares that he is taking her as his bride. Susan point blank refuses and angers Tonila and the perfect victim. Autloc tries to convince her otherwise, but she's having none of it.

Tonila states that she has willingly and knowingly transgressed the laws by not granting the perfect victim's request and as such she will be punished. Autloc doesn't like it, but the law is the law.

Back at the peace garden, the Doctor tells Ian about the brooch Cameca showed him, and points out its similarities with a curious stone on the wall. They believe it to be a secret entrance to the tomb.

Tlotoxl happily goes to see Barbara and tells her there is someone who broke the law. He explains that they will be punished at the eclipse ceremony and she should be there to watch it. Not wanting to cause more trouble for herself by casting more doubt to the people, she reluctantly agrees.

Later, Autloc arrives and announces that he will stand by Yetaxa in denouncing the upcoming sacrifice of the perfect victim. He also tells her that the person to be punished is Susan. Barbara asks him to help release her, but Autloc doesn't agree, questioning why she would risk destroying their civilisation for the sake of one girl.

As darkness falls, the Doctor and Ian sneak out to the peace garden and look at the stone. Indeed it is the entrance to a tunnel that leads to the tomb, and Ian goes inside,

What Ian and the Doctor don't know is that Ixta heard Ian leave and followed him to the garden. He brazenly greets the Doctor and sarcastically points out that the stone is loose and offers to put it back as it forms part of a dam, and he doesn't want the garden to be flooded. As he replaces the stone, Ian is trapped in the darkness and water begins to fill the tunnel. However, as you might expect, Ian doesn't drown but instead finds a movable slab above his head that leads him directly to the tomb.

Ian cleverly uses old bandage (or leather, not sure which) to tie to the top of the door, so that when he pushes it open again and takes the rope through the other side, there is a way of opening it from the temple.

Once in the temple, he reassures Barbara and the Doctor who has rushed to tell Barbara that Ian's dead. They just need Susan in order to escape and leave, but Susan is under guard awaiting punishment.

Ixta goes and tells Tlotoxl that he has succeeded in killing Ian, and Tlotoxl is happy, placing Susan under Ixta's care. Whilst the arrogant Ixta gloats to Susan about his victory, Ian sneaks up behind him and knocks him out, allowing him to free Susan and bring her back to the temple.

All is set for them to go, but for one small problem, the rope / bandage snaps as they pull on it! Ian and Susan volunteer to go back in the tunnel and open it up from the other side.

As the group are trying to get back into the tomb, Ixta comes back around and tells Tlotoxl who is furious because he knows that Autloc will see Ian's resurrection as a true sign of his divinity. He therefore comes up with an elaborate plan for Ixta to attack Autloc from behind and leave Ian's weapon there to frame him.

As Ian and Susan get to the tunnel entrance, they find Autloc unconscious on the floor with Ian's weapon next to him. Ian figures out they are being framed, but it's too late as Ixta turns up with guards and has them both arrested, with Ian scheduled for death at the forthcoming eclipse, at precisely the same time as the perfect victim. With both Ian and Susan imprisoned, The Doctor and Barbara have little choice but to go back to square one and pretend to be gods for another day.

The following day, Autloc speaks with Barbara and she convinces him that Ian is innocent, but he says it doesn't matter because the matter is out of his hands. Barbara pleads with Autloc to help her at least free Susan. He goes to the peace garden confused and questioning his faith. He gives his badge of office to Cameca and tells her to bribe the guard with it so they can free Susan, and then he wanders off into the wilderness to seek answers.

Tlotoxl begins preparing the sacrifices and gloats to Barbara that time is almost upon them, and Autloc, her only ally, has left forever.

Cameca does as Autloc suggests and bribes the guard, but Ian knocks him out as he's deciding whether to accept it or not. Cameca takes Susan with her to the temple, whilst Ian steals the guards head dress as a disguise. Once at the temple, Cameca asks to stay by the Doctors side, but he refuses, and she leaves, giving him the seal of Ixta's father to remember her by.

As the group try to open the tomb door with the help of a pulley that the Doctor made, the guards and Tlotoxl arrive. The Doctor and Susan manage to hid just in time as Tlotoxl summons Yetaxa and her guard for the eclipse ceremony. They take their place, and the guards leave, thinking they are going to collect Susan from the prison. When they find out about the treachery, Tlotoxl tries to stab Barbara, but Ian manages to disarm him.

Tlotoxl rushes off to get the guards, leaving the group to try and open the door once more, but Ixta sees the struggle between Ian and Tlotoxl and approaches.

Ian has an epic final battle with Ixta, eventually throwing him down the temple steps and killing him, leaving the group finally free to get the tomb door open.

Tlotoxl rushes back to the temple with the guards, Tonila and the perfect victim just in time to see the tomb door close, sealing Yetaxa and her servants in there forever. Satisfied that they're not coming back, he just has enough time to complete the ceremony and cut out the perfect victims heart (we suppose).

Inside the tomb, Barbara is down on the fact that despite her efforts, she couldn't change the Aztecs. The Doctor comforts her by saying at least she helped one man see the truth: Autloc.

As the leave, the Doctor places Cameca's brooch beside the body of the true Yetaxa, but after a moments hesitation, he takes it with him.

Without further incident, the TARDIS leaves the tomb, but as they dematerialise, the Doctor says that he has a puzzling problem: the readouts (and time rotor) suggest that they have landed, but another panel suggests that they're still moving...

Trivia

It's Carole Ann Ford's turn for a holiday, hence the reason why she's sent for education. The sequences in episodes 2 and 3 were filmed before she went away, and are on "film" rather than standard TV camera footage.
This was the first ever Doctor Who story to be allowed to use the studio's at BBC Television Centre for some of the filming, rather than the poky horrible ones at Lime Grove. This would have been fantastic, except for the fact that the sets were designed for the smaller studio, so the Director couldn't capitalise on the occasion.

What Worked

One of the most iconic lines in Doctor who is uttered here.. "You cannot rewrite history, not even one line"
The fact that again, the show is a family show but here we are on a Saturday teatime asking the protagonists to participate in human sacrifices. They didn't shy away from this and that's a really good thing, because it ramps up the tension and for at least the first two episodes, you get the feeling that these people really are going to be killed if they get found out.
The story focuses around Barbara's moral standpoint, and this gives her some great character development that just wont be there in future companions
The Doctor isn't overlooked either. Although it's weird now, back in 1964 when nobody knew that the Doctor wasn't just a human from another planet, the development of his relationship with Cameca is brilliant, to the point where it shows he genuinely did care for her.
Tlotoxl is so over the top evil and sinister, it's brilliant. And that weird grimace he does whilst killing the perfect victim, what's that about?!

What Didn't Work

As the camera closes in for the first sacrifice, the cameraman trips and the shot judders
Everything flows perfectly up to where Barbara reveals to Tlotoxl that she's jut human. Beyond that, his plots get more and more crazy until he ends up looking like a bond villain, designing elabourate ways in which to discredit Yetaxa and her crew, instead of just killing them and saying "you see, I told you they were mortal".
Some of the closeups in the final fight with Ian and Ixta show the sets in less favourable ligthing. E.g. when one of them teeters on the edge of the temple, just look at the stone steps - they're quite obviously painted on.

Overall Feelings

Perhaps it was wrong of me, but I went into this story with preconceptions from the last time I watched it. I was going to say that the story drags and is chock full of unbelievable villainous plots, but I think now that I did this story a big disservice.

As I said that Marco Polo was one of the best Hartnell stories out there, then the Aztecs surely hits around that same mark, and rightly so because it's got a lot in common with it. The TARDIS is out of action, the group are dealing with primitive cultures and must pretend in order to get along in that culture until they can deceive everyone and get to the TARDIS once more. However, this time, Lucarotti goes and takes it to the next level.

Firstly, he (for the most part) fixes the tenuous plots that the villain engages in. Tlotoxl's actions seem quite reasonable for the most part. The only glaring failure of this is when Ian and Susan escape in episode 4 and Tlotoxl instead of calling the guards and hunting them down, instead decides to come up with an elabourate plot to attack Autloc instead. Despite this, the suspense of the group bluffing their way through society is always close by and is helped along by some really great acting. Even Susan doesn't overreact and scream the temple down (for once).

The second improvement is the inclusion of Barbara's sub plot. It's very easy to approach this story from another angle and say that it's all fundamentally about her, and her attempts to change time and help a culture that she has a lot of respect and admiration for. Ultimately, through her attempts, we sort of see values that we can live by. Sometimes, it's ok not to save the world, helping just one person is enough to be proud of.

Rating

9 out of 10

The detail on the sets is nicely done and the acting is pretty good, even the number of episodes is shorter. We get the same problem with villain having numerous plots foiled, but the justifications feel better in this one.

The only thing saving it from a score of 10 is that we don't get much of a sense of a full civilisation in this place, as the sets were just too claustrophobic, and there wouldn't be enough money in 1964 to pay for the extra's to give us it.

Rewatchability Factor

5 out of 10

The first time you watch this story, you find a lot to like. After that, the plot line just becomes tedious (especially if you watch it shortly after watching Marco Polo) and seems to overbear all the good things in this story.

It's definitely as story that I have a new found fondness of, and it's a story I will return to, but I need some time to forget the ins and outs of the plot so that I can be pleasently surprised the next time around.

Watch this if you liked...