N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
The Aztecs is a story I remember rather better than its predecessor, having seen it several times, although admittedly not since its original DVD release over ten years ago.
Watching the Remembering the Aztecs DVD extra, it’s interesting to hear John Ringham being so dismissive of his Olivier-inspired performance as Tlotoxl. As coincidence would have it, the night I watched first episode The Temple of Evil, I had also seen a documentary about Richard III, which included clips of Oliver’s celebrated movie so it was prevalent in my mind. There’s no denying the influence on Ringham of Lord Larry’s take on the last Plantagenet king, but in a story as Shakespearean as The Aztecs it seems only fitting we have a bit of slimy villainry!
But of course it’s not all about Tlotoxl: there’s plenty that’s great about The Aztecs.
“You can’t fight a whole way of life, Barbara.”
Ian, The Bride of Sacrifice
Once again, it’s striking how the script does not insult its audience’s intelligence in its handling of historical context. Barbara’s moral dilemma over the rights and wrongs of interfering with history and the beauty and barbarism of the Aztec civilisation is what ours would be given the circumstance and the exchanges with the Doctor have been rightly lauded by many commentators over the years.
There’s no telling the viewer what and how to think here.
But on this viewing I’ve realised what I love most about this story is the Doctor himself. Hartnell’s performance is joyous: in his unwitting but genuine romance with Cameca, not only in those discussions with Barbara, but how he gives her hope that she’s had some impact on the people they meet when she feels she’s failed, the way he can’t bear to part with Cameca’s brooch when he leaves …
Indeed, in this story, he is the most Doctor-ish we’ve seen yet in the series: intelligent, resourceful, charming, witty – many of the traits we’ve come to expect over the years from the Doctor. They’re all there in The Aztecs and, as I found with The Daleks, it’s a story that gets better with age.
