Directed by Michael Ferguson
Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo - Katy Manning
The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney
Benton - John Levene
Yates - Richard Franklin
The Master - Roger Delgado
Main Guest Cast-
Chinn - Peter Bathurst
Roger Filer - Paul Grist
Synopsis-
During a visit to UNIT by Mr. Chinn from the ministry of defense, a UFO lands in the southeast of England just outside a critical power station. UNIT, along with Mr. Chinn travel to the power station to investigate. Roger Filer, an American observer attached to UNIT is able to arrive prior to everyone else and is taken captive and later duplicated.
After arriving at the power station, The Doctor, the Brigadier and Mr. Chinn board the spacecraft. Inside, they are met by the Axons who claim to have run out of fuel. The Axons offer to trade the organic compound known as Axonite for fuel. Mr. Chinn, impressed by the quailities of Axonite, readily agrees to the deal but The Doctor is much more skeptical.
Roger Filer's duplicate escapes and makes it way to the power station, followed by the real Roger Filer. Once there, the duplicate is destroyed after a fight between the two Roger Filer's. The real Roger informs UNIT that the Axons intend to feed off the organic material of Earth, and that the Axonite is the vehicle which will allow the Axons to do so.
The Master, who was captured by the Axons is able to escape, and reluctantly helps The Doctor and UNIT. The Doctor and the Master, who is tricked by The Doctor, trap the Axons in a time loop with the help of The Doctor's Tardis. The Doctor manages to escape the trap and return to Earth but The Doctor is unaware of The Master's fate.
Review-
What the Mind of Evil got wrong is what the Claws of Axos gets right. The Claws of Axos moves at a swift pace that never really lags, unlike the Mind of Evil. The story itself explores the whole "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"motif, which the hapless Mr. Chinn falls for in his greed for the Axonite compound. Mr Chinn's greed, of course, backfires on him as Axonite proves to be a Trojan Horse intended to destroy the Earth. At the very least, Mr. Chinn survives unlike the Trojans.
The most interesting aspect of the story takes place in the latter half. The Doctor joins forces with the Master in an attempt to defeat the Axons. Roger Filer is suspicious of this sudden alliance. The Doctor plays up this alliance with The Master to the upmost, even claiming that he'd rather leave Earth with The Master than remain and share the fate of Earth and its inhabitants. The ruse doesn't become clear until the Tardis lands inside the Axon's ship. The Master tries to warn the Axon's, to no avail.
What makes this plot point so interesting is that at the end of the story, it's never made quite clear that if The Doctor had been able to travel anywhere in the universe, would The Doctor have returned to Earth. The ending makes it quite clear that The Doctor's return to Earth is not necessarily by choice, but that he's now a "Yo-Yo" (which was a great line, by the way!). This exploration into The Doctor's character was quite interesting, and if I were the Brigadier I would have to wonder just how far I could trust The Doctor in the future.
