The Enemy of the World

The Enemy of the World is a bit of an oddity in Season Five. For one thing, it’s the only story in the season without a traditional monster. Instead of Ice Warriors, robots, or alien threats, the danger here is purely human: politics, ambition, and manipulation on a global scale. It’s a very different flavour of Doctor Who, leaning more toward espionage thriller than science-fiction adventure.

It also sits at an interesting point in the show’s history. This was the last serial produced while Sydney Newman was still overseeing drama at the BBC before his contract ended in late 1967. On top of that, it marked the first time Barry Letts directed the programme—someone who would later become hugely important as the producer during Jon Pertwee’s era. In hindsight, that makes this serial feel like a quiet turning point behind the scenes.

The premise is great fun. The TARDIS lands on an Australian beach near Cape Arid in the year 2018, where the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria quickly find themselves under fire from a hovercraft full of armed men. The reason becomes clear soon enough: the Doctor looks exactly like Salamander, a powerful political leader hailed as the “shopkeeper of the world” for supposedly solving global famine. The catch, of course, is that Salamander might actually be a tyrant in the making, and people who oppose him tend to disappear. Before long the Doctor is persuaded—somewhat reluctantly—to impersonate Salamander and infiltrate his operation.

From there the story becomes a web of intrigue. Salamander appears to have an almost supernatural ability to predict natural disasters, strengthening his grip on world power. Meanwhile Jamie and Victoria infiltrate his inner circle while the Doctor plays a dangerous double game. The eventual reveal—that Salamander has been secretly manipulating a group of underground scientists, into causing those disasters—adds a suitably sinister twist.

What really makes the serial memorable, though, is Patrick Troughton. Playing both the Doctor and Salamander, he gives two sharply different performances. His Doctor remains the scruffy, clever cosmic hobo audiences love, while Salamander is a completely different creature: charming on the surface but sly, ruthless and megalomaniacal underneath. The exaggerated accent and body language make the villain feel distinct enough that you rarely forget which character you’re watching. It’s a showcase for just how strong a character actor Troughton was.

The supporting cast holds up well too. Characters like Astrid Ferrier (Mary Peach), Giles Kent (Bill Kerr) and  Donald Bruce (Colin Douglas), the World Security Chief, add layers to the political intrigue, though Kent’s own motives eventually prove less noble than they first appear. The one weak link might be Benik (Milton Johns), Salamander’s suspicious deputy, who constantly seems on the verge of uncovering the Doctor’s impersonation but somehow never quite manages it.

The climax delivers a classic Doctor Who twist. When Salamander tries to escape by impersonating the Doctor himself, the confrontation ends with the villain being pulled out of the TARDIS into the time vortex as the ship dematerialises—a dramatic and fittingly bizarre end.

Historically, the story has an interesting legacy as well. For decades, it was mostly missing from the BBC archives; only episode three survived. That changed in 2013 when the rest of the episodes were discovered in a relay station in Jos, Nigeria, alongside missing instalments of The Web of Fear. Suddenly the serial could be seen in full again after more than forty years.

All that said, The Enemy of the World does feel a bit pedestrian compared with the surrounding stories in Season Five, particularly when placed between The Ice Warriors and The Web of Fear. It lacks the immediate visual excitement of monsters or invading forces, and some of the pacing drags slightly across six episodes.

Still, the serial is saved by its performances—especially Troughton’s dual role—and its intriguing political premise. It also continues a small tradition within the series of the lead actor playing two roles, something first seen when William Hartnell portrayed both the Doctor and the Abbot of Amboise in The Massacre.

In the end, The Enemy of the World might not be the most thrilling story of the season, but it’s a fascinating curiosity: a monster-free political thriller that gave Patrick Troughton the chance to show just how versatile he really was.