#NowWatching “The Enemy of the World.”

Although it’s late, I’m tired, and I’ll probably only get through one episode this evening.

But what a delightful discovery this was, famously recovered for the show’s fiftieth anniversary forty-five years after airing.

A lot of the Troughton era is lost, and its loss has polished its reputation. It’s notable that many Troughton era stories have had their reputations damaged after they were recovered - stories like “The Tomb of the Cybermen” or “The Web of Fear.”

The reality cannot measure up.

“The Enemy of the World” is a rare case of the opposite working out.

The story was nobody’s favourite lost serial, and unlikely to be at the top of any fan’s recovery wish list.

However, once fans actually got to see it, it was quickly and fairly reclaimed as a lost classic.

“Perhaps we've landed in a world of mad men.”
“They're human beings, if that's what you mean, indulging their favourite past time. Trying to destroy each other.”

There are a few reasons why “The Enemy of the World” was such an exceptional case in terms of the Troughton era.

Most obviously, as a gigantic and loving homage to James Bond, “The Enemy of the World” is a dynamic and visual story.

A not-insignificant portion of the first part consists of characters yelling variations of “run!” at each other as they are chased by hovercraft & helicopters.

The second thing is that “The Enemy of the World” is an exceptional story in terms of genre.

It’s a political thriller, which is a departure from a show that had gone all-in on the classic monster and “base under siege” template.

Variety is the spice of life, after all.

There are no monsters or aliens in “The Enemy of the World.”

Indeed, that detail would arguably make the story exceptional in an subsequent era of the series, even within the political thrillers of the Pertwee era.

“He's one of the most popular men on the planet. Many people call him the shopkeeper of the world. The saviour, in fact, some of them.”

There’s a sense of sixties paranoia to “The Enemy of the World”, a mistrust of establishment and authority that reflected the mood of the time.

One of the interesting aspects of revisiting the Troughton era is watching the push and pull of sixties idealism.

Much like “Star Trek” at the same time, the show’s outlook varies radically and dynamically from one story to the next.

Like a lot of sixties pop culture, the Troughton era of “Doctor Who” is interesting to revisit in a modern context, as the modern mood so closely mirrors that of the late sixties.

There are certain strong resonances that keep this era of the show relevant and sharp.

In particular, there’s something very astute about the vision of the early twenty-first century in “The Enemy of the World” where real global power is rooted in business men like Salamander rather than the conventional political classes.

“I was under the impression you were in the Central European Zone, Leader.”
“That's what you were meant to believe.”

Of course, “The Enemy of the World” doesn’t have a monster, but it does have a double.

Patrick Troughton plays both the Doctor and Salamander.

This is part of a rich tradition of having the lead actor play alternate roles, effectively contrasts to the Doctor.

It began with William Hartnell in “The Massacre”, but continued with Tom Baker in “Meglos”, David Tennant in “Journey’s End”, Matt Smith in “Nightmare in Silver.”

There are points where this trend gets interesting, such as when Peter Davison played defective duplicates in both “The Arc of Infinity” and “Resurrection of the Daleks.”

Or when Colin Baker popped up in “The Arc of Infinity”, a year before being cast in the lead role.

Most notably, the Capaldi era very pointedly gave its “duplicate Doctor” story to Jenna Louise Coleman in “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion.”

Which contributes to the sense that Clara was moving into a narrative space traditionally reserved for the Doctor.

Troughton’s doubling in “The Enemy of the World” has its own complications, such as the weird choice to make Salamander (the Doctor’s exact double) Mexican.

It’s... not a choice that has aged well. Although, let’s face it, it’s not the most racist thing the show has done.

“But which side is good? Which side is bad? And why should I interfere?”
“Well, you're the only man who can help save the world.”
“But isn't that what Salamander's trying to do?”

“The Enemy of the World” is not really “ambiguous” or “subtle.”

Salamander is not a good guy.

At the same time, given that “The Enemy of the World” arrived at the point where “Doctor Who” was becoming the “monster” show, doing an episode with only humans - and casting the Doctor as the villain - was still a sharp departure from the norm.

With the black costumes and military aesthetic, it’s very clear that - even if Salamander isn’t a world leader - the villains are inherently fascistic. Salamander wants to rule the world.

Which makes him a suitable foil to the Doctor, who is more of an anarchist trickster.

“Years ago, Doctor, when one country wanted to invade another it set about attacking the confidence of that country, throwing it into confusion, making it weak. Then it was ripe for takeover.”

“The Enemy of the World” has a cynical late sixties view of international politics.

After all, this sort of tactic was a significant part of American foreign policy after the Second World War - in countries like Iran, Cuba, Guatemala, Iraq and so forth.

“The Enemy of the World” hints that Salamander has accumulated a different sort of political power.

“I'll expose him, ruin him, have him arrested, but I won't be his executioner.”

There’s an interesting codification of the Doctor’s moral compass in “The Enemy of the World.”

He’s very, very careful to demand proof that Salamander is evil before acting against him.

This seems like an obvious effort to extend the story to six episodes by having the Doctor stay out of the story for longer than usual.

However, it also does complicate the Doctor’s usually cavalier attitude towards regime change. He’s careful to figure out the world he’s in.

This is interesting because it really sets up a lot of what the audience comes to think of as the Doctor’s core morality.

He’ll load the gun, point it at you, but he won’t pull the trigger. You have to do that yourself, for his conscience to be clear.

It’s interesting, by the way, to compare the very rigorous and careful Second Doctor to the more indifferent Thirteenth Doctor.

In “The Enemy of the World”, the Doctor mucks around with the course of human history after careful consideration.

There are no aliens, no monsters.

It’s hard to imagine the Second Doctor shrugging off structural racism in Alabama in “Rosa”, letting Jack Robertson walk away in “Arachnids in the U.K.”, not doing anything about Daniel Barton in “Spyfall.”

None of the usual external factors are present in “Enemy of the World.”

Of course, the First Doctor had meddled in Earth history before, but none of those stories had the scale of “Enemy of the World”, and it was arguably the Second Doctor who first truly defined the Doctor as the man who fights monsters as a core part of what he does.