Broadcast and Reception
| Episode | Broadcast date | Run time | Viewers |
Archive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Space Museum" | 24 April 1965 (1965-04-24) | 23:38 | 10.5 | 16mm t/r |
| "The Dimensions of Time" | 1 May 1965 (1965-05-01) | 22:00 | 9.2 | 16mm t/r |
| "The Search" | 8 May 1965 (1965-05-08) | 23:33 | 8.5 | 16mm t/r |
| "The Final Phase" | 15 May 1965 (1965-05-15) | 22:15 | 8.5 | 16mm t/r |
In 2009, Mark Braxton of Radio Times noted that The Space Museum "kicks off so well", but did not take the opportunity to discuss ideas such as predestination and also boasted a predictable, "poorly acted" conflict and many implausibilities. However, he felt that the serial showcased Vicki's "vibrant" character and the Dalek joke was "one of the few elements that make this rather tedious traipse memorable". Reviewing the DVD release, SFX's Nick Setchfield described The Space Museum as offering a "killingly dull environment in which to stage an unengaging take on Who's eternal 'rebels vs despots' formula", despite the "lovely fourth-dimensional weirdness" of the first episode and the "refreshing" Moroks who were reminiscent of Douglas Adams' work. Jonathan Wilkins of Dreamwatch also called the first episode "great" and the rest "dull, bog-standard Who" which were "not terrible but ... not terribly exciting either, as it plods rather than races towards a deeply unsatisfactory climax".
Graham Kibble-White, writing for Doctor Who Magazine, said that the first episode falsely set the audience up for "three more weeks of high-concept plotting", when in fact the Doctor dismissed the time travel problems and the rest was "dreary" except for some of Hartnell's charm. DVD Talk's John Sinnott was more positive towards the story, writing, "there were a lot of great plot points that served to keep viewers guessing, and some subtle comedy that really added a lot to the whole show". He also complemented the light touches of humour. In 2010, io9's Charlie Jane Anders listed the cliffhanger of the first episode as among the best in the programme.
Read more about this topic: The Space Museum
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