Season Five has earned the name "the Season of Monsters", as it featured the established Cybermen, and introduced the Ice Warriors, the Yeti, and of course the Weed Creature. The Enemy of the World was the only story in the Season of Monsters not to feature any monsters, well none in rubber suits at least.

The trio of the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive on Earth in the near future. They find themselves on a beach somewhere in the Australian Zone, where the Doctor has no more important task on his mind than going for a paddle, to the annoyance of Jamie and Victoria. His recreational activities are brought to an abrupt halt within minutes, as firstly someone tries to kill him, and just as rapidly he and his companions are rescued.

It seems that the Doctor bears an uncanny resemblance to the real villain of the story, Salamander. A hero to many people, Salamander is attempting to establish himself as world dictator by various means including natural disasters that seem to occur just as he predicts. Salamander's enemies see the Doctor's likeness as a means to furthering their cause, and Jamie and Victoria are swept up in the espionage too.

In fact Jamie even wears some trews instead of his trademark kilt, a rare occurrence indeed!

Patrick Troughton played both the Doctor and Salamander, of course. Just to make things even more complicated, the Doctor and Salamander at times impersonate each other. In the scripts, we have credited the relevant lines to whoever the rest of the cast think they are talking to.

Of the six episodes of Enemy of the World, five episodes are lost. The sole survivor, episode three, is available on the BBC compilation "The Troughton Years". No other material is known to exist.

Introduction by GARY ZIMMER (ZIMMER@bandicoot.me.rmit.edu.au).