My partner and I have just finished watching the animated Galaxy 4. I was dreading it as I had previously seen a recon but not the animated version. I had mostly forgotten about it, other than thinking I didn’t like it. We both rather enjoyed it.
The plot was rather simple but enjoyable, but what intrigued us both was the world building of the two different races. The Drahvins almost Naziesque fanaticism and desire to kill, and the Rills Ghandiesque desire to help others.
I think that some elements of this were ahead of their time, especially in Doctor Who. The flashback to when Maaga killed one of the Drahvin was surprising, and effectively, cold and violent.
I’m not saying that this is a ‘best-of’ contender, but it does have its charms. We gave this a solid 3.5/5. I do think there is an untapped vein of story contained within this episode that I think Big Finish could take advantage of.
Definitely one of my favorite first doctor serials. My favorite thing is that it was considered extremely heavy-handed before a far-right political movement added “MAGA” to their list of slogans (ignore that it’s a british show and i’m talking about american politics shhhhhh).
Galaxy 4 is a weird one for me. From what can be seen from what does survive, it looks like one of the weaker productions of the era. Purves is left with dialogue meant for totally different characters, the plot is a fairly barebones “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” tale and O’Brien’s comments about the script are infamous and potentially why her contract wasn’t renewed after The Myth Makers.
You’d think all that combined with the fact it was seemingly written with misogynistic intent, out of fear that women would get ideas above their station, would make for a disaster. Yet it’s alright, I suppose.
While simple, the more positive messaging it goes for lands really well. The Chumblies are endearing little robots who make the most adorable little noises - being such a non-threatening presence adds to the story - and time has looped back around to make Maaga seem like a bit of a girlboss .
The animation is one of the better looking Big Finish Creative ones in my opinion too, I’ve seen grievances voiced about the 3D sets and I do think they’re a bit of a step back from Fury from the Deep, I felt the character animation and designs fared a bit better. Being able to have the Drahvins look identical suits the plot, the flashback is a nice bit of artistic licence and the ending is well realised.
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