sentence of death

Sentence of Death, that’s Ian in trouble then
‘My name is Tarron. I'm an investigator in the Guardian Division.’ 
Are we missing part of the story here? 
‘No, there isn't a sight or sound of him anywhere.’ Barbara. He's literally gone off on a jolly, hasn’t he? 
Oh there he is, hello Doctor 
Why does it feel so odd to have the Doctor back, feels like we don’t know him anymore 
Nice hats

So the mystery of Eprin is solved, the Doctor had arranged to meet him and then -  something happened to him. Could have broken the news a bit more gently.  
‘Yes, what can I do, Doctor?’ Ian ‘Trust me.’ Doctor. Well, that’s asking for a lot. 
So Eprin was the murdered person, that Ian has been framed for his murder. Am I slow or was that just very oddly explained? 
A reconstruction of the murder scene. William Hartnell is great in this scene. ‘Ah! My dear child, this was only a theory.’ Doctor ‘We must have proof.’
Aydan, so that isn't Tarron? Who’s Aydan? The relief guard? 
Susan and Barbara’s approach wasn’t very subtle. Susan gave far too much away. -2 for the amateur detective.
‘That sounds like an improvement over fingerprints.’ Barbara. It doesn't really.
It’s the prosecutor you want to keep your eyes on, he's been having private phone calls with somebody 
So all that and Ian is still going to be executed
And Susan has been kidnapped. ‘They’re going to kill me.’ That's some cliffhanger.

the keys of marinus

When the pointer reaches the star, with an annoying bleep to it. What an unbearable way to spend the remaining few hours of your life ‘Will I be allowed to see my friends?’ Ian. That's a very definite shake of the head there from the guard. 
‘My husband was very secretive.’ Kala. Aydan’s wife shut that line of enquiry down quickly. 
‘Read? What are you talking about? I met the man.’ Doctor
To be fair though, Ian may well have taken that key. He might have gone to find the others, but equally he might have thought to take the key, then go find the others. So he could have gotten into trouble for theft. If he'd been caught. 
They don’t know Arbitan is dead yet 
I do like the jokey conversations between the Doctor and Ian and Barbara. It seems as if they all feel comfortable with each other now.
‘Why are you so stubborn? What purpose does it serve?’ Yartek. That's an amusing line. 
The suits the Voord wear, is the shape of their head part of it? Trying to imagine getting stretchy rubber over it. 
And then there's the Voord who trips over his feet 
Again, Ian, Susan and Barbara give the Doctor a scare. I can't imagine they would have dared to do that before. 
 ‘Is the TARDIS alright?’ Susan ‘Yes, the force field’s been lifted.’ Doctor
‘My dear Chesterton, sometimes you drive me round the bend.’ Doctor. Oh bless them. 
So neither Sabetha or Altos are there to greet them and they aren't prepared to wait around, just jump straight back into the TARDIS? 
Don’t fall for it Ian. Surely he won't, there's been a lot of stuff going on since they first met Arbitan but surely they don't remember his head being so elongated? Or his voice so deep? 
‘I am suffering from a deadly disease.’ Yartek. This Yartek is a smart one, isn't he? 
‘And my power is ab-so-lute.’ Yartek. Really powerful pronunciation there.

thoughts

I like a serialised Doctor Who story. I think there needs to be more of them made now. For that reason, The Keys of Marinus and The Chase are 2 of my favourite stories from the 60’s era of Who. I would add The Daleks Masterplan to that list too but I haven’t seen that story. I’ve read the books and listened to the audio. I like that Keys’ overarching story is set on Marinus and we get to see more of its inhabitants because of the changing setting in every episode. Keys’ has plenty of atmosphere to it and even with the Doctor missing a couple of episodes, it doesn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. The first 3 episodes are excellent. Acid waters, brains, killer plants and knights. It’s fun. Yartek is a great villain too. I enjoy watching his scenes in the final episode.