The Daleks

Here it is, the serial that made Doctor Who a phenomenon, and kept Terry Nation in foie gras for life. Daleks are so much a part of the mental furniture of the British public that it seems hard to appreciate the impact of seeing one for the first time. However, just because this is their first appearance doesn’t mean that the operators are clumsy or the voices less harsh- they move over the smooth surface of their city with nary a wobble in sight, and their voices have changed little since then. They remain a classic of design and execution. However, there are differences from the Daleks we know and love. These Daleks are self-interested and, although they have a ‘dislike of the unlike’ they are not yet omnicidal maniacs. In fact their prime motivation is fear, rather than hate, which makes them more human- one scene fades out on them chattering rather than triumphally chanting. However they have no compunction about breaking promises made to the Thals and, indeed, to irradiate Skaro so they can be the only intelligent life form.

This story is called The Daleks on the DVD cover, and that’s what I’m putting as the title of this post, but it must be remembered that that is not the original title, and the story is just as much about the Thals as about the Daleks. The neutronic war between them has resulted in mutation in both races, resulting in the beautiful (in a very Home Counties way) Thals and the deformed Daleks (this is as good a place to point out that, in only its second story, Doctor Who has taken inspiration from H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine, with the Thals as the Eloi and the Daleks as the Morlocks). The Thals have become pacifist farmers and it is, of course, the job of the regulars to reawaken their fighting spirit. Nation is skilful (did I really just type that?) in not making the Thals into mere ciphers. When Temmosus, Alydon, and Ganatus appear, I was prepared for the old pacifist leader who would die and the headstrong one who would lead the Thals to war. However, there is actual characterisation here (although no character can actually be called complex). Although Temmosus dies in a way I could have predicted, there isn’t a headstrong and violent successor to take his place because pacifism has been a form of cultural conditioning, not something forced on the people. It takes Ian’s goading of more primal urges to get Alydon to punch him, and even then, Alydon feels shame. There is also no attempt to portray pacifism as being equivalent to cowardice- Antodus, Ganatus’s brother does come across as being a bit wet, but his ultimate fate shows that he was merely subject to the fear that we all possess. The performances by the Thal actors are actually rather good, although it is a bit odd seeing Virginia Wetherell in this, as the only other thing I have seen her in is A Clockwork Orange.

Lest we forget, this is also the series that really solidified the character of the Doctor as we know him. At the start, he is totally unwilling to take the feelings of his companions into consideration as he sabotages the TARDIS in order to explore. He has no interest in helping the Thals in their struggles. By the end of the story, his outrage at the Daleks’ plan of genocide makes him into the Thal’s ally- for the first time, this mysterious old man is not acting out of self interest, but out of a sense of moral duty. Hartnell’s skill as an actor makes this transformation totally believable. William Russell makes the stock figure of the square-jawed hero more interesting than it has any right to be, and Jaqueline Hill is utterly captivating. The growing attraction between Barbara and Alydon seems totally genuine amongst all this to-ing and fro-ing.

Which brings me onto Terry Nation. I will try to avoid reference to future stories, but sometimes it is unavoidable. To-ing and fro-ing is something Nation does often, and there is a fair bit of it here. There is also the old ‘now-we-have-the- McGuffin-we-can-get-back-oh-bugger-I-dropped-it’ which he would use again in Genesis of the Daleks (and possibly others- I’ll let you know). Maybe it’s because he wasn’t ‘Terry Nation: Creator of the Daleks’ yet that these scenes actually work in story terms. Nation’s dialogue makes me appreciate that there is a fine line between the archetypal and the clichéd- some of the pronouncements by the Thals come very close, but, again, it works as part of the drama, artless and clunky though it is. However, padding is still evident- I fail to see why showing the characters jumping over a (rather small) chasm needed to take up the best part of an episode. A bit of pruning could have made the story more effective.

As far as the execution of the script goes, Martin and Barry do very well with what they have. The cliff-hanger to “The Dead Planet” is justly famous and is aided by Hill being as marvellous as ever. Tristram Cary’s musique concrete score is very effective and the ‘cinematography’ make the very best of the small, yet very creative sets.

Overall? Not in the same league as the brilliant opening story, but a good story

NEXT: The Edge of Destruction