Doctor Who: ‘The Chase: Flight Through Eternity’ REVISITED

We’ve already reviewed parts one and two of the classic Doctor Who serial, ‘The Chase.’ Here we are with part three, ‘Flight Through Eternity.’ By this episode, the serial has gone full camp.

We open with an introduction of yet another of the Doctor’s gizmos, the time path detector. It detects another time machine on their timey wimey route. It is revealed to the audience that it is the Daleks tracking them through time. One of them has a bit of a hard time with numbers for some reason, even uttering “er.”

When it cuts back to the TARDIS, they somehow also know that it is the Daleks chasing them. Using Time Lord tech, I guess… ? They are not able to elude them, so where and when do they materialize? The top of the Empire State Building, 1966!

Before the TARDIS materializes, we are presented with a couple of basic stereotypical characters, showing the perceived cultural dichotomy between the North and the South in the United States. A local tour guide makes a morbid joke about the trip down the building being much faster than the trip up. He also gets tripped up in his speech at the sight of an attractive woman. A simple tourist from Alabama, wearing a cowboy hat, does not understand the word “obsolescence.” He ogles the same woman as everyone but he exits.

The tourist sees them emerge from the TARDIS and is puzzled by the TARDIS’s sudden appearance and the size of the interior. He suspects that they are making a movie. He goes to get his camera and is quite astonished to find that the TARDIS has disappeared. Well, most people would be, so we won’t blame that on his yokel status. Before they leave, Barbara discusses with Vicki how New York is destroyed by the Daleks in the future.

Suddenly, Dalek time machine (which is also bigger on the inside)! The tourist makes fun of the Dalek that comes out, even grabbing its “egg beater.” I could sense the Dalek rolling its eyes inside the casing. Amazingly, the tourist is not exterminated, even after revealing all that he knew about the TARDIS crew. Exeunt Dalek time machine. Tourist: Alone again, naturally. He becomes unraveled and the returning tour group has no idea what he has just seen.

The chase continues. The TARDIS materializes on the deck of a sailing ship in 1872. This is the show’s first appearance of the Mary Celeste. Barbara exits first and is roughly apprehended by Mr. Richardson. He does not see the TARDIS and mistakes her for a stowaway. He threatens her with rape and Vicki sneaks up and knocks him out. She then mistakenly does the same to Ian. (If he gets hit on the head one more time this serial, I’m calling it a theme.)