N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about The Krotons is that it is the first contribution to the show by the writer who arguably became Doctor Who‘s greatest – Robert Holmes. It’s surprising because, given what Holmes would go on to achieve, The Krotons is desperately underwhelming.
“You’re meddling with things you don’t understand.”
The Doctor, The Krotons:
Episode Four
Even the great Philip Madoc can’t lift our sympathy for the Gonds (not that he’s trying to, mind), whereas, once they turn up, the Krotons look like giant cheese graters (with one of them sounding as though he could do with a Cup-a- Soup!).
Of course, it being Robert Holmes, there’s the odd cracking line of dialogue: the Doctor’s “Great jumping gobstoppers” and Zoe’s “The Doctor’s almost as clever as I am” spring to mind. I also liked how in Episode Three, when Jamie explains to the Krotons that the TARDIS travels in time and space, there’s a swirling, whirling time tunnel on the next screen.
Aside from that from that it’s really only Brian Hodgson’s spooky sounds and score that stops The Krotons being utterly forgettable. I’d go as far as to say it’s worth investing in Silva Screen’s soundtrack release so as to enjoy the sound effects in isolation from the rest of the story.
“Nobody has seen the Krotons, not for thousands of years”, says the Custodian in Episode One. Sadly, it’s not surprising: it isn’t a story I’ll be revisiting any time soon.
That last statement proved to be incorrect as I did end up re-visiting The Krotons as part of my re-creation of The Five Faces of Doctor Who repeat season; surprisingly I ended up enjoying it a lot more than three years previously!
