The Tour closes a bit of a loop with the latest venture into Classic Capitology with caps for The Mutants. As centered as a story could be in the Pertwee in almost every conceivable way, temporally, emotionally, and in the style of production, The Mutants had it all, studio recording, generous location filming, and even a dollop of CSO when needed, this was a technicolour marvel of the period, from Ky’s rainbow shimmering at the end to the splashes of hues on the cave walls of Solos.
What it couldn’t raise however was any interest in this viewer. As a reconstituted variation of British colonialism it just comes across as deadly dull, about as forgettable a story as Pertwee ever had. Even the parade of memorable British character actors for this Anglophile, from Geoffrey Palmer (2nd of 3 Doctor Who appearances) to Paul Whitsun-Jones (2nd of 2 Doctor Who appearances) to George Pravda (2nd of 3) couldn’t really liven the proceedings.
Still the caps for The Mutants represent a pure add for the Tour. Now every Pertwee story has some caps attached to it. Modern Recap-itulation returns next time.
