It’s a well-known fact of Doctor Who today that the Doctor cannot interfere in the affairs of history. The Doctor has a greater sense of duty when travelling through time and space to retain the timeline. It was the Aztecs in 1964 written by John Lucarotti that set this in place and is in my view to this day the best historical Doctor Who story. It’s had a massive influence on the history of the show and today I’m going to explore why.
The central plot of the Aztecs involves the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara landing in 15th Century Mexico in the time of the Aztecs. Barbara, as an expert on the subject, is rather excited by this. Wearing the bracelet of the ancient god of Yetaxa, Barbara is mistaken for a reincarnation of the god and takes the fate of the Aztecs into her hands. She attempts to put a stop to the vicious and evil sacrifices whilst trying to retain the valuable parts of their culture and preserve their way of life. She soon comes under the attack of the High Priest of Sacrifice who seeks to expose Barbara as a false goddess.
John Lucarroti had spent some time in Mexico and therefore had a great fascination with the Aztecs and their habit of human sacrifice, and it comes across in the writing. You get a great sense of respect, admiration and interest in the Aztecs in the script. At this point, a big part of Doctor Who’s intent was educating children on history. John Lucarroti does this incredibly naturally within the Aztecs as you get little educational nuggets across the story. You learn a little about Cortes and the end of the Aztecs and learn about the customs and aspects of Aztec culture through exploring their society and way of life. I think this is a good way of doing things as it feels authentic to the natural progression of the story. There is a driven dialogue and sense of movement to the main plotline, which works to push it forward.
What I like about the pure historical stories is that they show humanity can be just as cruel and dangerous as any alien threat, exposing the horror we are capable of. John Lucarotti does a good job of taking the educational component and creating a threat and fulfilling story around it. He did this brilliantly before in Marco Polo by putting a spotlight on the suspicion and danger the main characters are constantly in as outsiders in a historical environment. John Lucarotti does this effectively by centering things on a main villain.
By accusing Barbara of being a false goddess, the plot is centred around a key concept and a sense of danger is created. It does not spoon-feed the education we receive; it comes organically through the story. I don’t think I can go on much further without talking about Tlotoxl, who is the threat the story surrounds. It should be mentioned that unfortunately in this story, most of the cast comprises of British actors playing Mexican characters. Obviously, this is a very outdated and racist practice and any positivity towards the actors does not mean I support the practice itself.
Tlotoxl, the High Priest of Sacrifice, played by John Ringham, is the main villain of the story. A central theme of the Aztecs is that the culture has two sides to their society that conflict with one another. You have the side which Autloc represents: a civilised society with education and a valuable set of customs and values. Then you have Tlotoxl, which represents the evil side of them. I think it was wise to use two different characters to represent the opposing sides to understand both of them in the simplest of terms, which does also create interesting conflict. I like Tlotoxl’s very vicious and unsettling character, he has a barbaric and cruel force of nature which is fearful. John Ringham does a solid job playing him as an unlikeable and bloodthirsty figure. There is a Shakespearian quality to the performance, with a powerful level of believability and conviction. Tlotoxl's actions come from a firm belief and duty to his society, which you can understand even if you find them despicable. There is a chilling sense of danger about Tlotoxl that sends a cold shiver down your spine. A villain often defines a story, and the Aztecs is well remembered through the cunning nature of Tlotoxl.
I like the way Tlotoxl is always shifting pieces which keeps you on the edge of your seat. He has an understanding of people and what motivates them and as such is able to control them to his advantage which is well played by John Ringham and makes him a formiddable villain. Tlotoxl’s actions are irredeemably evil, like the way he attempts to poison Barbara, but he is in his mind justified because he is doing the work of the gods. He is doing what he thinks is the right thing for the good of his community and there is a logic that tracks for his character. His survival at the end also says a lot about the statement of the story, that it is history’s place for the evil of the Aztecs to survive, and I think that’s very poignant.
You do have Ixta as a secondary villain, played by Ian Cullen. He plays the role convincingly as a headstrong leader of the Aztec army. I like his sense of jealousy and envy towards Ian as his competitor. Ixta has a sympathetic sense of shame at having been training for months but having been defeated by Ian. His powerless and angered sense of doubt is something you can understand, and he and Tlotoxl make good allies. Yet what I like is that Ixta also has the power to be devious. I like the way he manipulates the Doctor to help him defeat Ian without him knowing. It’s a clever and rather unexpected twist that keeps the story interesting.
Barbara, played by Jacqueline Hill, is a central figure in this story. The Aztecs offers a properly character centric story that gives Barbara a lot to do and a real story to tell. What I like about Barbara in the Aztecs is that everything in her motivations stems from a fascination with Aztec culture, a sense of care about history and a desire to improve things. Barbara knows she has been given a heightened position where she has the power and ability to change history, the ability to better things. She feels it would be wrong and immoral to not use her power to make a difference and you can understand that reasoning. You can understand as someone who admires the culture and customs of the Aztecs and detests the sacrifices and horrid waste of life for no reason why she would want to make the Aztecs see a better way. I like the thoughtlessness of her actions and the naïve nature of her character. Barbara, out of a strong morality, feels she cannot stand by and let such evil take place and you can relate to that. It makes sense and questions powerfully if standing by makes you responsible for upholding that way of life.
Yet what Barbara does not bear in mind is the sheer arrogance of her attempt and the impossibility of her actions. Barbara takes on the role of Yetaxa and I love the emotional performance from Jacqueline Hill as you can see a strong and resilient god on the outside, but you have an insecure morality on the inside, which brings a very sympathetic side to her character. I enjoy the complex morality of what is explored. Barbara's character is shaped effectively by having to do immoral things for survival while discovering the impossibility of changing a whole way of life. She has to manipulate a man she respects and bring him to her side based on a truth she knows is false, which brings an effective and vulnerable sense of shame to her as a person. There are challenging and emotional themes on the right Barbara has to intervene in another culture and the morality of her false position of hierarchy and respect. Through great implications, Barbara learns of the complicated morality of changing history and the great bitter sadness she feels at the end is well handled. She learns about the right of tampering with history which feels like an important lesson.
You have William Hartnell playing the first incarnation of the Doctor who defined the part for everyone else going forward. What makes William Hartnell so special as the Doctor is the brilliant contrast and emotional ability within his performance. He can flip so easily between a harsh and ruthless character and the comforting nature of a grandfather. I like the strict adherence to maintaining the flow of time and retaining the timeline. His sense of duty and moral adherence makes total sense and feels believable and true for the character. The Doctor's anger towards Barbara is genuine due to his strong sense of duty as a time traveller, which is expertly portrayed by William Hartnell. Yet the manipulation of the Doctor and the way he slowly engineers a way to get back inside the tomb to the Tardis is very clever and makes the Doctor entertaining to watch.
As time goes on, the First Doctor becomes more of a soft and caring figure and that demonstrates itself across the Aztecs well. The First Doctor has an enjoyment and enthusiasm for the universe. His fascination and love of science and engineering when looking into the tomb brings out a childish joy in him, which I like. William Hartnell does have a very comforting warmth to his character though, especially in the emotional connection which he develops with Cameca, which is very believable. It’s rather humorous seeing the Doctor getting accidentally engaged and unconventional for Doctor Who in this period, but he clearly does have a fondness for Cameca with romantic implications in a fittingly unclear way which does bring some emotional weight. William Hartnell’s Doctor can be devious and harsh, but also a very warm character of delight, which makes him magic.
Barbara might take a central role in the story, but that does not mean that Ian doesn’t have a role to play. He is the main competitor to Ixta in the ability to lead the Aztec army. If I have a complaint, I do think it is far fetched that Ian as a schoolteacher would have what it takes to rival and go up against a trained warrior. That being said, I think the calm sense of maturity and heroic confidence of William Russell in the role does make it an interesting and entertaining conflict to watch. The way Ian talks to Barbara and makes her see the truth of the situation also makes his blunt morality stand out.
Carole Ann Ford playing Susan Foreman was on holiday for a sizeable chunk of the story and therefore does not get much to do. I enjoy the morality of her character when she stands up to Autloc and to Aztec society, and the upfront nature of her independence in being able to stand up for her rights. However, it does feel like a minimal part of the story, and she feels like a character who isn’t done much justice as Susan is largely shoved to the side and forgotten about. The lack of her presence and the lack of a role for Susan as a character is felt badly across the story.
Autloc, played by Keith Pyott, is a highlight of the story with a very central role. The themes and idea of representing both the good and evil of the Aztecs in their society is represented very well, with Autloc representing the good that exists within Aztec culture. Keith Pyott manages to give the character a level-headed likeability and a nuanced and sensitive intelligence. He has a very tragic and believable arc, and you can see his disillusionment in the beliefs and methods of the Aztecs develop and hit hard across the story. There is a powerful tragedy to his character losing his beliefs. There is also a tragedy for the Aztecs having a part of the good of their society stripped as the evil through Tlotoxl gains more power which feels crushing. Yet there is a meaningful emotional message in how Barbara, through this, helps Autloc to find a better way of life.
Cameca, played by Margot Van der Burgh, is also a good representation of the good that exists within Aztec society. Her wisdom, affection, vulnerability, and calm quality really enhances the story. Margot der Burgh has strong chemistry with William Hartnell as the Doctor, and she proves to be rather a wonderful ally for the main characters.
The story is directed by John Crockett, who had previously directed Episode 4 of Marco Polo. The character introductions are well-done, especially the reveal of the Tardis when Barbara and Susan step out. It creates a great atmosphere and makes you feel like you're in that time period. The framing and introductions of both Tlotoxl and Ixta from the start presents them visually in a villainous way which just fits them excellently. The scenes feel intimately placed to let the actors lead things which feels natural, but certain moments are well enhanced like the way the frame converges on the characters for dramatic and emotional moments. I think the first battle between Ian and Ixta feels very poor though. It feels incredibly staged and unconvincing in how it is directed. How the last fight is presented however, feels much more fittingly dramatic.
So overall, how do I feel about the Aztecs? It’s simply a terrific story from John Lucarotti which has defined what a historical story should be. It cemented the rules of travelling through history and time, and the great dangers it presents very well. Yet it does not just do this through logistical threats, but through the great moral complications it explores. The right to intervene in a different culture and the impossibility of changing an entire way of life creates interesting and compelling themes.
It’s not only my favourite First Doctor story but my favourite historical story of all time!!!
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