The Chase (Doctor Who) - Broadcast and Reception

Broadcast and Reception

According to the BBC's Audience Research Report, contemporary reception of this serial was mostly positive. Though a significant minority found the "haunted house" action of the episode "Journey into Terror" ludicrous, most reported finding the episode very entertaining. The battle between the Daleks and Mechonoids in the final episode of the serial, "The Planet of Decision", was particularly well-received, with viewers describing it as "dramatic" and "full of adventure".

In 2009, Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern described The Chase as "unashamedly childish and comic-strip in tone and pace", finding that the various contents of the episode was a mixed bag. He praised the Daleks and the first, second, and sixth episodes, but felt middle episodes were mixed, with "Journey into Terror" particularly disappointing. Nick Setchfield of SFX was critical of the serial, finding it better than The Space Museum "only because it's powered by a demented, ramshackle energy that never allows for boredom... or much in the way of logic or good taste". He acknowledged the "tacky entertainment" but wrote that "it's crushing to realise that this is the show that gave us the masterly "An Unearthly Child" a mere two years before. Writing for Doctor Who Magazine, Graham Kibble-White disagreed with Mulkern's opinion of the Daleks, believing that the comedy undermined them. He also wrote that the serial "suffers from structural oddities", as well as the unconvincing double Doctor. However, Kibble-White praised the Mechanoids and the TARDIS crew, feeling that Ian and Barbara's departure "positively negates the preceding six episodes of tom-guffery". Both the premise of "Journey into Terror" and the Doctor duplicate were listed in SFX's "Doctor Who's 25 Silliest Moments".

The Chase has received some positive reviews. DVD Talk's John Sinnott praised the serial, writing that the story's unusual structure was to its benefit. Jonathan Wilkins of Dreamwatch likened the serial to pop art and felt that "only an utter grouch could dislike a Doctor Who story as zany and iconic as The Chase". He highlighted the character work concerning Ian and Barbara and the "sense of epic science fiction that is only slightly betrayed by the ever-present problems of budget". In 2012, SFX's Will Salmon listed the departure of Ian and Barbara as the eighth best companion departure.