The Barbarians and the Samurai

First Doctor Adventures #2.2

Released: 25 July 2018

Listened: 1/13/20

Keeping with the pattern of these box sets, we’ve had a sci-fi story first, then a pure historical. The TARDIS crew arrives in 19th Century Japan, during the isolation, and for once realize that they need to just get back in the ship and leave. But of course that doesn’t work out. The crew ends up separated, the Doctor blusters a lot at the local lord, who wants Barbara as a concubine (of course), while Ian and Susan meet a local ronin who has not only extraordinary fighting skills, but also knowledge of the lord’s castle, and is in love with the lord’s daughter. It follows pretty much the path of a typical 1964 historical, with escapes, recaptures, more escapes, and noble sacrifices. According to the extras, they cast Japanese actors to play the appropriate roles, but they still sound rather badly stereotypical. I have this feeling, probably unjustified, that American stories handle Japanese culture better than British ones. It’s a perfectly acceptable story, but not a stand-out.