Exploring the hidden depths of Doctor Who’s most intriguing stories…
Marco Polo (Mark Eden) confers with Tegana (Derren Nesbitt).
We might call Marco Polo a road movie. The term wasn’t yet in use when the story was made, of course, but it would seem to fulfil the essential criteria: a long overland journey across wide, open, lawless spaces, with occasional stops at roadside diners (or rather, way stations) and the threat of violence following the characters all the way to their ultimate destination. True, schoolteachers Ian and Barbara aren’t exactly Bonnie and Clyde, let alone Thelma and Louise – but one day it’ll turn out that the Doctor and Susan are on the run…