18) GALAXY 4

A derivative, slow-paced, long-winded story at the best of times, Galaxy 4 is nonetheless an intelligently written beauty and the beast tale whose duty is to entertain the viewer, but also to set the mind to think. The Drahvins are the personification of true beauty and feminism. The Drahvins are admirable villains, a species whose society is based on hierarchy where the biggest and boldest lead, and the smaller, home-grown soldiers sole purpose is to fight and ultimately die. The Drahvins under Maaga are the product of brainwashing and draconian upbringing, never questioning what they are told, and always relaying on Maaga, which said continually throughout a scene, ends up sounding suspiciously like ‘Mother’ for support, guidance, and survival. 
The story is laden with xenophobia, closemindedness and false perception imagery where the Drahvins, the femme fatales are exposed for their crimes, and left to face the consequences of their actions. It’s a bold move not to have The Doctor being fooled by the beautiful Drahvins, rather the plot allows him to form his own judgement which eventually leads him to the ultimate truth. The Rills, the ‘ugly’ villains of the piece, are honourable secondary monster characters, confined to their spaceship, and hidden away out-of-sight with nothing but a booming disembodied voice for viewers to form their own imaging of their ‘grotesque’ appearance. The production values and directorship are generally on-par with later First Doctor episodes, with several silent stilted scenes thrown in, and toss and catch dialogue at the best of the times, and some of the more interesting sound effects from the Radiophonic Workshop of all time. ***