14. Marco Polo, Part I: The Roof of the World

At this point in my re-watch, I had a decision to make. I’d seen all of the previous episodes, but I’d never attempted to watch any of the reconstructed versions of this lost story. I do actually have the “Doctor Who: The Beginning” DVD box set, which includes a compressed, 30-minute version of the seven-episode story – although I’ve never watched it. But I felt like I should give the whole story a chance. This Reddit thread suggested the Loose Cannon reconstruction, so I went that route for my first telesnap experience. (Here is a link to episode 1.) If I get really bored at some point during this story, I’ll skip the rest and watch the condensed DVD version.

When you can’t actually see Hartnell acting, it seems like his mannerisms are exaggerated. He sounded extra churlish when he couldn’t get the TARDIS to work, and nearly insane with giddy laughter when he hears Marco Polo’s plan to give the TARDIS to Kublai Khan.

In some ways, the telesnap version might be preferable. I have a very bad feeling about the way Asian cultures and characters were portrayed in this story. The Talons of Weng-Chiang was bad enough, and I have to assume it wasn’t any better 13 years earlier. Certainly, the music sounded like what I imagine a British person from the 1960s might think stereotypical Asian music would sound like. However, it’s hard to draw conclusions from telesnaps. Also, I looked up the actress who played Ping-Cho, and it said she was half Burmese, so maybe they got that part right.

At any rate, I was not bored watching this and will move on to episode two.

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