Doctor Who: The Aztecs

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Doctor Who: The Aztecs
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
Written by John Lucarotti

Read by William Russell

Based on his script for this first season historical, John Lucarotti’s 1984 Target novelisation is here given an unabridged reading by Ian Chesterton himself. The story sees the First Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian land in 16th Century Mexico.

With the Tardis trapped inside an Aztec pyramid, Barbara mistaken for a reincarnated god, and Ian set a variety of tests to prove his worth among the Aztec warriors, this is a tale with plenty of incident. All of which helps to sugar the pill of a history lesson for children, in much the same way Horrible Histories does today. The Doctor’s warning to Barbara that history cannot be changed still resonates strongly in the show today.

William Russell’s reading is leisurely but clear, and there is some terrific sound design which really helps in the action scenes. Russell captures the essence of Hartnell’s delivery, and gets his tongue around the various awkward Aztec names (far better than he and the cast did in the original serial).

All in all, an entertaining dip into the show’s early history, and another solid release from AudioGo.

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