Doctor Who - The Myth of The Macra: Looking Back On The Macra Terror By @Blackadder345

Doctor Who:

The Myth of The Macra: 

Looking Back On The Macra Terror
By Will Barber – Taylor

With the slow death of the omnirumour and no further new information of missing episodes coming out it seems that the buzz has finally died down. However that doesn’t mean that we cannot still speculate about missing episodes we would like to see back, one such story being The Macra Terror. The story, broadcast during Season 4 marked one of Patrick Troughton’s first outings as The Doctor. The story was written by Scotsman Ian Stuart Black, producer of Danger Man and father of actress Isobel Black. Black had previously written The Savages and The War Machine for the series. The Macra Terror went under several different titles such as The Spidermen, The Insect-Men and The Macras. 

Doctor Who - The Macra Terror Reviewed By @Paul_Bowler

Doctor Who:

The Macra Terror

Reviewed by Paul Bowler

Having seen the image of a giant claw on the TARDIS time scanner, the Doctor, Polly, Ben, and Jamie arrive on an unknown planet in the future where they visit a human colony. They encounter Medok a crazed colonist, who is quickly arrested by Ola, the Chief of Police. The colony seems to be a happy place and is run just like a giant holiday camp. However, the Doctor is uneasy, despite the assurances of the Colony Pilot and the message of greeting from the mysterious Colony Controller who appears on a screen to welcome them.

The colony has in fact been secretly taken over by grotesque crab-like creatures known as the Macra, who have brainwashed the citizens and forced them to mine a gas for them, one toxic to humans, but essential for the Macra’s survival. Ben also succumbs to Macra’s influence and turns against the Doctor and his friends. Fortunately he manages to recover in time and helps the Doctor destroy the gas pumping equipment to kill the Macra. The colonists want the Doctor to be their new Pilot. Appalled by such a prospect, the Doctor quickly guides his companions away, dancing past the celebrating colonists as they depart.