The Krotons are one of the most bizarre monsters in the history of Doctor Who. The Krotons are crystalline lifeforms that have enslaved the Gonds and are creaming off the most intelligent of their race in order to reactivate their Dynatrope spaceship. Thankfully the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrived and freed the Gonds from the evil Krotons.

The Krotons

★★☆☆☆

TX: 28/12/1968 – 18/1/1969

Written by Robert Holmes    Directed by David Maloney

The Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on the unnamed planet of the Gonds. The Gonds are enslaved by the Krotons, mythical beings that live inside a giant spherical spaceship called the Dynatrope. The Krotons cream off the most intelligent Gonds through logic tests and drain their mental powers in order to activate the drive mechanism of the Dynatrope. Unfortunately, the Gonds have no high brains and so the Krotons have been killing off Gonds for centuries by dispersing them with gas. The Doctor and Zoe take the Krotons’ test and enter the Dynatrope, where their high level of intelligence revives the Krotons. Being clever is a wonderful thing! Although I have seen for myself (from others’ behaviour) that if you go through life thinking that you are more intelligent than people around you then people don’t like you. The Krotons are crystalline life forms and they carry guns. Jamie enters the Dynatrope in pursuit of the Doctor and Zoe, but he is captured by the Krotons. One of the Krotons leaves the Dynatrope in order to recapture the Doctor and Zoe. The Doctor collects a solution from the TARDIS. The Kroton attacks the TARDIS but it relocates because the Hostile Action Dispersal Systems (H.A.D.S) are activated. The Gond scientists help the Doctor to synthesise a solution, which is handed to the Doctor and Zoe moments before they are recaptured by the Krotons inside the Dynatrope. The Krotons want the Doctor and Zoe to use their mental powers to activate the drive mechanism of the Dynatrope so that they can leave. However, Zoe sneaks the solution into the feeding tank connected to the Krotons, which kills them. The Doctor and Zoe escape because the Gonds have synthesised a sulphuric acid solution which they use to dissolve the Dynatrope. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe leave the Gonds in harmony, liberated from the Krotons. This may not be popular writer Robert Holmes’s finest hour in Doctor Who, but The Krotons is a fun story for a plethora of reasons. I have always loved the Krotons themselves for some bizarre reason. Roy Skelton and Patrick Tull evoke a South African feel in the Krotons’ accents. The design of the Krotons is also quite unique. I love the chunky look of the crystalline creatures as they emerge from the Dynatrope. The dispersion unit is a neat effects trick and also thereby introduces us to another notable feature of the TARDIS in this story: the Hostile Action Displacement Systems (H.A.D.S), most recently used in Cold War and The Witch’s Familiar. The Krotons is worth a rewatch if you have some doubts. Just look at the dimly lit corridors of the Dynatrope that Jamie creeps around. The approaching Kroton behind Jamie on the metal door is referenced much later in Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways with the Dalek being reflected behind the kidnapped controller of Satellite Five shortly before she is exterminated.