Directed by Hugh David
Main Cast-
The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
Polly - Anneke Wills
Ben - Michael Craze
Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines (first appearance as regular)
Main Guest Cast-
The Laird of Clan McLaren - Donald Bisset
Kirsty - Hannah Gordon
Grey - David Garth
Trask - Dallas Cavell
Lt. Ffinch - Michael Elwyn
Perkins - Sydney Arnold
MacKay - Andrew Downie
Synopsis-
The Tardis arrives on Culloden moor in 1746, just after the battle where the government forces of the Duke of Cumberland defeated the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart, also known to history as Bonnie Prince Charlie.
For those unfamiliar with the history behind the battle of Culloden, the Jacobites goal was to overthrow George II, the current king of the United Kingdom, and make Charles Edward Stuart king, thus restoring the Stuart dynasty. The Jacobites rose in 1745, and many of Charles Edward Stuart's supporters were from the highland clans of Scotland. The battle of Culloden was the culmination of the Jacobite rising of 1745. The government forces of Cumberland soundly defeated the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart, thus ending the rebellion.
The Doctor, Ben and Polly leave the Tardis and run into a group of Jacobites. The Jacobites are led by the Laird of Clan McLaren. Also in the party are the Laird's daughter Kirsty, his son Alexander and his piper Jamie McCrimmon.
Alexander dies almost immediately in an attempt to hide the group's whereabouts from English soldiers. Despite Alexander's sacrifice, the English soldiers, led by Lt. Ffinch, discover their hiding place. Kirsty and Polly are able to evade capture, but everyone else is sentence to be hanged.
A solicitor by the name of Grey and his assistant Perkins arrive on the scene and take charge of the prisoners just prior to their hanging. The prisoners are to be taken to Inverness, where they will board a ship for the West Indes. Once there, the prisoners will become indentured servants on one of West Indes plantations.
Kirsty and Polly plan to spend the night in a cave. Polly, worried about her friends, decides to venture to Inverness in the dark. Polly falls into an animal pit, later to be followed by Kirsty who has come looking for her. Lt. Ffinch, who is camped nearby, investigates and falls into the pit as well. Kirsty and Polly blackmail Lt. Ffinch, since falling to a pit and being overpowered by two girls would look bad on his record.
The Doctor, meanwhile, has tricked Grey and Perkins and managed to escape prison. The Doctor meets up with Kirsty and Polly. Together they hatch a scheme to get the Scottish prisoners, who by now are on board the ship, firearms to resist their captors.
The crooked captain of the ship, Trask, who was in league with Grey and Perkins is killed by the real ship's captain Mackay. Grey manages to escape the battle, while Perkins changes sides. Mackay agrees to said the ship to safety in France, while Grey is arrested by Lt. Ffinch after Grey is unable to prove that the prisoners had signed the contract agreeing to being transported to the West Indes.
The Doctor, Ben and Polly return to the Tardis to resume their travels, along with Jamie McCrimmon who now joins the Tardis crew with a bit of encouragement from Polly.
Review-
If the only exposure one has had to the Jacobite rising of 1745-1746 and the battle of Culloden is this story, one can be forgiven if your perception of the battle is one of the Scots vs. English. While it is true that the English fought almost exclusively for the government side, there were a large percentage of Scotsmen that also fought for the government side against the Jacobites. One of the reasons why many Scotsmen fought on the government side involves religion, Charles Edward Stuart was a Catholic and there was a good deal of fear from the mostly Protestant population that if Charles was successful in overthrowing George II, that Charles would restore the Catholic religion.
The Highlanders mostly avoids the actual history behind the battle. I suspect part of the reason for this is it was much easier to write a simple Scots vs. English story than to write a story that would take in the real events behind the battle. This simplification of historical facts colored my enjoyment of the rest of the story. Someone who isn't a history buff, or isn't necessarily as bothered by this simplification of the actual historical event, would probably enjoy The Highlanders.
The story itself can be quite engaging and I especially enjoyed the scenes where Kirsty and Polly manipulate the English officer Ffinch into becoming their reluctant ally. The Second Doctor is coming into his own in this story, at one point he disguises himself as a woman, much like what Bonnie Prince Charlie is rumored to have done. Clearly, the humor that would eventually permeate the Second Doctor era and defuse the tension was beginning to show in this story.
The Highlanders also introduces us to the longest running male companion in the show's history, Jamie McCrimmon. Jamie would become a fixture of the Second Doctor era, appearing in every subsequent Second Doctor story and appearance (the lone exception being the 10th anniversary special The Three Doctors).
In the end, I simply couldn't put aside the historical inaccuracies present in the story, and I think that colored my enjoyment of the story overall. Given this, it's probably just as well that the show decided to stop using the historical format after this story, outside of the one-off Black Orchid during the Fifth Doctor era.
The Highlanders is completely missing from the BBC archives, in the case of the Highlanders I chose to listen to the audio soundtrack to experience the story. I'd probably make an attempt to seek out this story, much for the same reason that one should seek out The Tenth Planet. The Tenth Planet was a ground-breaking story for the show, with the introduction of the Cybermen and the first regeneration of The Doctor. The Highlanders is significant for being the last regular historical story and for the introduction of Jamie McCrimmon.
