Doctor Who “Colony In Space Part 3”

Well, Jo did something this time.

And hey, it was mostly helpful!

So, good news:  for the second episode in a row, the Doctor is not killed by a mining robot.  Heck, he gets away rather easily by pointing out the technician running the robot can’t shoot him without making people suspicious, and then it’s a simple matter to use that Venusian martial arts he does all the time to karate chop his way to freedom.  Then it’s back to the colony in time to fix the power system, and seeing how it was botched so badly, now the Doctor is suspicious of Norton.

With good reason!  Norton is a spy for the mining company, so when he overhears Jo and another colonist named Winton planning to bust into the mining ship, he just tells his superiors on the other side and they get caught.  Captain Dent’s plan is brilliant from there:  threaten to blow Jo and Winton to kingdom come if the Doctor and the colonists don’t surrender.

But here’s where Jo does something.  See, she actually knows how to escape, and she and Winton work together to free themselves.  Down side:  mining company guards show up to capture them.  Jo is caught (again) but Winton gets away with a little help from the conscientious Caldwell.

The Doctor recognizes that Caldwell may be useful in getting Jo back if he acts as a go-between with the mining company.  Besides, given the sticky situation, an Adjucator is on the way to decide who gets to stay on the planet.

But then Jo disappears.  The Doctor ain’t happy, and Winton has a bright idea to capture the mining ship by force.  That means first not telling Norton, and second, sneaking in using mining corp uniforms.  That may be piracy, especially since it works, but that isn’t the problem.

No, the problem is the natives grabbed Jo.  Apparently, Norton’s killing one pissed them all off.  So, after killing the guard watching Jo, they take her off to their hidden city.

Hopefully, it also where they parked the TARDIS.  Jo and the Doctor will probably need that later.