Terry Nation’s final contribution to Doctor Who has a very simple premise. The Daleks are locked in a stalemate with another race, the Movellans and are looking for a way to break it- as are their enemies. To do this, they are looking for Davros, who has been in suspended animation since the events of Genesis of the Daleks. This is a good enough premise, which alone makes it more worthwhile than Planet of the Daleks. However, the problem is there is very little more to the script than its ‘high concept’ summary and it is mercilessly padded with repetition, captures and repetition. The only line of dialogue I can remember is ‘Oh look! Rocks!’ and the characterisation is practically non-existent. Douglas Adams puts in some jokes to liven the script, but they hardly raise a chuckle and sometimes work against the story- it is unwise to mock the apparent limitations of the Daleks in the script, for example. The guest performances are adequate, with the most memorable roles being the Movellans. Although they are a poorly thought out arch enemy for the Daleks (all one needs to do to immobilise one is to remove its power pack) the performers are striking to look at. Peter Straker as the Movellan commander might not be the most gifted actor, but he has incredible screen presence. It is odd that Tony Osoba is given such a minor role, however, and Suzanne Danielle has little to do except look nice (which she does extremely well, admittedly).
To compensate for this, Ken Grieve’s direction is very stylish, with Steadicam shots, long takes and interesting angles. The sets are atmospherically lit and the locations used are very evocative. The cliffhanger with Romana in a chamber with the nova device is made far better thanks to the expert camera work. The Movellens do look a bit ‘disco’, but the look is certainly memorable. In fact the only let down on the production side are the Daleks themselves, who look very shabby.
Then, of course there is Davros. David Gooderson is not exactly bad as Davros, but his performance is nothing like as good as Michael Wisher’s (as has been said by practically everyone reviewing this story). However, the fault is not entirely Gooderson’s- his voice has barely been treated with a ring modulator and he obviously has not been instructed in how to move a Dalek body- his trundling is very obvious and is quite distracting. Tom Baker is pretty much on autopilot throughout, but Lalla Ward does good work in her debut as Romana, despite the terrible regeneration scene at the beginning.
Is it worth watching? Not really, but it’s not a complete waste of time.
NEXT: City of Death
Showing posts with label terry nation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terry nation. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 May 2009
Monday, 16 March 2009
The Android Invasion
There are some impressive things about The Android Invasion. Barry Letts directs with great energy and the individual scenes work very well. The sequence where the android Sarah is unmasked and then sits up and shoots as the Doctor is very memorable. The design work is excellent, with the Kraals being successfully realised as a cross between a Sontaran and a Triceratops. There are also good guest performances, especially from Milton Johns as Crayford and the regulars put in good work- the chemistry between Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen is so successful that it manages to save some scenes that would otherwise be execrable.
However, the story suffers from having one of the stupidest, most poorly thought out scripts the programme has ever seen. This is Terry Nation at his worst, a script formed of set pieces that are clumsily stitched together. This is exemplified in the scene where Sarah twists her ankle for no good reason apart from adding ten minutes to the story time. There are ludicrous elements such as the robot detector and although enough has been written about the plot holes by others, it’s important to take note of how blatant they are- Guy Crayford’s eye, the fact that there is no real need to build the village in the first place, the fact that there is still an invasion fleet heading for earth at the end of the story etc. For this story to work, one would have to have the short-term memory of a cabbage. As soon as one thinks of the story as a whole, the whole thing falls apart. Instead of killing the Doctor Styggron ties him to a war memorial and blows up the fake village for no reason. This looks good and is exciting, but makes no sense in story terms. The opening is memorable- unfortunately it is exactly the same opening used in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. This story is an insult to the intelligence, with all the inherent narrative value of a screensaver.
NEXT: The Brain of Morbius
However, the story suffers from having one of the stupidest, most poorly thought out scripts the programme has ever seen. This is Terry Nation at his worst, a script formed of set pieces that are clumsily stitched together. This is exemplified in the scene where Sarah twists her ankle for no good reason apart from adding ten minutes to the story time. There are ludicrous elements such as the robot detector and although enough has been written about the plot holes by others, it’s important to take note of how blatant they are- Guy Crayford’s eye, the fact that there is no real need to build the village in the first place, the fact that there is still an invasion fleet heading for earth at the end of the story etc. For this story to work, one would have to have the short-term memory of a cabbage. As soon as one thinks of the story as a whole, the whole thing falls apart. Instead of killing the Doctor Styggron ties him to a war memorial and blows up the fake village for no reason. This looks good and is exciting, but makes no sense in story terms. The opening is memorable- unfortunately it is exactly the same opening used in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. This story is an insult to the intelligence, with all the inherent narrative value of a screensaver.
NEXT: The Brain of Morbius
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks has been an ‘all-time-classic’ since it was first broadcast and, like some other all-time-classics it has been re-evaluated and found wanting since then. I will, therefore, try to be as fair as I can to a story that I have, to be honest, seen more than once before.
It is impossible to talk about the merits of the story without talking of the merits of Terry Nation as a writer. He was great with the basic ideas but less successful at other things- such as plotting and dialogue. Consider the ‘one-line pitch’ for the story:
The Doctor is sent back in time to the moment of the Daleks’ creation on Skaro, which has a society very reminiscent of the Nazis and meets their creator, Davros, a crippled genius who, disturbingly, uses a wheelchair shaped like the lower half of a Dalek.
There are so many possibilities, so many ways that this storyline could be executed. Nation effectively makes the similarity between the Nazis and the Daleks more explicit than ever before- we are told that the Kaled race ‘must be kept pure’ and that the Daleks are, in fact the ultimate expression of eugenics. Unfortunately, Nation again makes the story one of captures, escapes, recaptures and a few cliffhangers with terrible conclusions. We have many poorly thought out details such as a 100 year long war of attrition between two cities that have secret passages to each other that both sides know about. Most critically, we are left unsure of what it is, exactly, the Doctor accomplished. Apart from Davros, characterisation is virtually non-existent and Nation’s dialogue ranges from the functional to the bloody awful (‘She is a Norm! She must be killed!’) Nation resorts to some really egregious padding to bulk the story to a six episode length especially towards the end, where the Doctor loses the Time Ring and then has to destroy the tape recording of Dalek defeats.
All this seems to irretrievably damn the story. However, the story has the advantage of practically every other aspect of its realisation being nothing less than first rate. The guest performances are never less than excellent- for example, Ronson and Gharman are, essentially the same character on paper, but the performances by James Garbutt and Dennis Chinnery more than compensate for this. Peter Miles is utterly compelling as Davros’s right hand man (or should that be left hand man?) Nyder. Then there is the stunning direction. David Maloney is one of the best directors ever to work in Doctor Who and his mastery of mise-en-scène is a joy to watch here- note the proto-steadicam shots that introduce Nyder. Then, of course, there is the excellent opening sequence with gas-masked soldiers gunning each other down in slow motion. The lighting by Duncan Brown is astonishingly effective, creating shadows and reflections on Dalek casings and having Davros in shadow, with only his cybernetic eye glowing.
The design is first rate, taking inspiration from the two world wars. The front line is reminiscent on the Western Front, but has a small underground rail network, similar to that at the Maginot line. The Kaleds, of course are Nazis in manner and dress, with Nyder even sporting an all-black analogue of the Iron Cross. However, if the story has one absolutely indisputable triumph, it is Davros himself. As an image, that of a half man, half Dalek, he is potent enough. However, most crucially, Michael Wisher portrays him as a man, not a monster, which is what makes the character so chilling in this story. The regulars are not as well served by the script as they should be, but Sladen, Marter and Baker put in some typically sterling work. The Doctor is seen as always being mindful of the physical and moral consequences of actions, something simply, yet brilliantly brought to light when the Doctor talks of the morality of the creation of a deadly disease with Davros. This sequence, together with the famous one where the Doctor questions his right to destroy the Daleks at their birth are excellently performed and written, although they are blatantly the work of Robert Holmes.
With Genesis of the Daleks, the whole is less than the sum of its parts, because the parts have been sloppily gummed together. But the story is so well-made that it is definitely worth watching- although perhaps not all in one sitting.
NEXT: Revenge of the Cybermen
It is impossible to talk about the merits of the story without talking of the merits of Terry Nation as a writer. He was great with the basic ideas but less successful at other things- such as plotting and dialogue. Consider the ‘one-line pitch’ for the story:
The Doctor is sent back in time to the moment of the Daleks’ creation on Skaro, which has a society very reminiscent of the Nazis and meets their creator, Davros, a crippled genius who, disturbingly, uses a wheelchair shaped like the lower half of a Dalek.
There are so many possibilities, so many ways that this storyline could be executed. Nation effectively makes the similarity between the Nazis and the Daleks more explicit than ever before- we are told that the Kaled race ‘must be kept pure’ and that the Daleks are, in fact the ultimate expression of eugenics. Unfortunately, Nation again makes the story one of captures, escapes, recaptures and a few cliffhangers with terrible conclusions. We have many poorly thought out details such as a 100 year long war of attrition between two cities that have secret passages to each other that both sides know about. Most critically, we are left unsure of what it is, exactly, the Doctor accomplished. Apart from Davros, characterisation is virtually non-existent and Nation’s dialogue ranges from the functional to the bloody awful (‘She is a Norm! She must be killed!’) Nation resorts to some really egregious padding to bulk the story to a six episode length especially towards the end, where the Doctor loses the Time Ring and then has to destroy the tape recording of Dalek defeats.
All this seems to irretrievably damn the story. However, the story has the advantage of practically every other aspect of its realisation being nothing less than first rate. The guest performances are never less than excellent- for example, Ronson and Gharman are, essentially the same character on paper, but the performances by James Garbutt and Dennis Chinnery more than compensate for this. Peter Miles is utterly compelling as Davros’s right hand man (or should that be left hand man?) Nyder. Then there is the stunning direction. David Maloney is one of the best directors ever to work in Doctor Who and his mastery of mise-en-scène is a joy to watch here- note the proto-steadicam shots that introduce Nyder. Then, of course, there is the excellent opening sequence with gas-masked soldiers gunning each other down in slow motion. The lighting by Duncan Brown is astonishingly effective, creating shadows and reflections on Dalek casings and having Davros in shadow, with only his cybernetic eye glowing.
The design is first rate, taking inspiration from the two world wars. The front line is reminiscent on the Western Front, but has a small underground rail network, similar to that at the Maginot line. The Kaleds, of course are Nazis in manner and dress, with Nyder even sporting an all-black analogue of the Iron Cross. However, if the story has one absolutely indisputable triumph, it is Davros himself. As an image, that of a half man, half Dalek, he is potent enough. However, most crucially, Michael Wisher portrays him as a man, not a monster, which is what makes the character so chilling in this story. The regulars are not as well served by the script as they should be, but Sladen, Marter and Baker put in some typically sterling work. The Doctor is seen as always being mindful of the physical and moral consequences of actions, something simply, yet brilliantly brought to light when the Doctor talks of the morality of the creation of a deadly disease with Davros. This sequence, together with the famous one where the Doctor questions his right to destroy the Daleks at their birth are excellently performed and written, although they are blatantly the work of Robert Holmes.
With Genesis of the Daleks, the whole is less than the sum of its parts, because the parts have been sloppily gummed together. But the story is so well-made that it is definitely worth watching- although perhaps not all in one sitting.
NEXT: Revenge of the Cybermen
Monday, 16 February 2009
Death to the Daleks
Terry Nation’s last story, Planet of the Daleks is one of the very few Doctor Who stories that I have absolutely no desire to ever see again. Thankfully, for his second Pertwee story, Nation produced a script that didn’t merely consist of the reheated scraps of previous, better stories. In Exxilon, Nation creates an interesting alien planet and the underlying scenario of the galactic plague forms an intriguing backdrop to the planet, which contains the mineral parrinium (stop it!) which can cure it. Nation again starts the story with a threat to the TARDIS, but it is part of the plot as a whole and is far more effective than the threat in his previous story. With all this plot, it might sometimes seem that the Daleks are superfluous to the story. However, for the first time we see the Daleks having to survive without their weapons and we see the Daleks as scheming geniuses, rather than merely killers, although there are two rather silly scenes of them committing suicide for no reason. It is, however, a joy to see them replacing their ray guns with traditional percussion instruments- and then using a model TARDIS for target practice. The busy plot means that there is very little padding, which is always welcome.
The production values are very impressive, with good costumes for the Exxilons and the impressive realisation of the Exxilon city. The Daleks have been repainted, which is very welcome, considering their shabby appearance in Planet of the Daleks. The ‘root probes’ for the city are very well done, with one very impressive scene where one rears out of a lake that almost makes one forget that you can see the string holding it up at some points. Michael E. Briant does some sterling work behind the camera, with some slow dissolves and atmospheric day-for-night photography and moody scenes in the caves. However, the daylight scenes are somewhat overlit, which makes the sterile city sets not as striking as they should be and Carey Blyton’s music saps some of the atmosphere- the jaunty Dalek theme is unintentionally comedic and his decision to use saxophones is almost as unfortunate as his decision to use crumhorns for Doctor Who and the Silurians.
The guest cast ranges for competent to pretty good. Joy Harrison and Julian Fox are unspectacular, but effective enough, with Duncan Lamont making Galloway quite interesting. Characterisation was never Nation’s strong point, but the better actors, with Briant’s help, are able to expand on the characters as written. The regulars work their usual magic with what they are given.
This is a rather underrated story. Nation plays to his strengths as a scriptwriter and the visualisation bolsters these strengths. It’s well worth a look.
NEXT: The Monster of Peladon
The production values are very impressive, with good costumes for the Exxilons and the impressive realisation of the Exxilon city. The Daleks have been repainted, which is very welcome, considering their shabby appearance in Planet of the Daleks. The ‘root probes’ for the city are very well done, with one very impressive scene where one rears out of a lake that almost makes one forget that you can see the string holding it up at some points. Michael E. Briant does some sterling work behind the camera, with some slow dissolves and atmospheric day-for-night photography and moody scenes in the caves. However, the daylight scenes are somewhat overlit, which makes the sterile city sets not as striking as they should be and Carey Blyton’s music saps some of the atmosphere- the jaunty Dalek theme is unintentionally comedic and his decision to use saxophones is almost as unfortunate as his decision to use crumhorns for Doctor Who and the Silurians.
The guest cast ranges for competent to pretty good. Joy Harrison and Julian Fox are unspectacular, but effective enough, with Duncan Lamont making Galloway quite interesting. Characterisation was never Nation’s strong point, but the better actors, with Briant’s help, are able to expand on the characters as written. The regulars work their usual magic with what they are given.
This is a rather underrated story. Nation plays to his strengths as a scriptwriter and the visualisation bolsters these strengths. It’s well worth a look.
NEXT: The Monster of Peladon
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Planet of the Daleks
…And we get this. The Doctor and Jo arrive on the planet Spiridon, where the invisible race of natives have been enslaved by the Daleks, who have hidden a huge army on the planet and seek to find the secret of invisibility. The Doctor and Jo join forces with a Thal expeditionary force to combat the Daleks.
In the 60s, Terry Nation was still a jobbing scriptwriter and had to prove to various production teams that he could be relied on to deliver the goods. Come the 70s, things were different and nowhere is this more obvious than in this phenomenally lazy script. Parts of previous Nation scripts are reused. Spiridon is a watered down version of Kembel, the Spiridonians obviously influenced by the Visians. The Jo/Latep attraction is a weak echo of the Barbara/Alydon attraction. The narrative is a weakly connected assortment of even weaker set pieces. The dialogue and characterisation never rises above the functional and the story could be described as padded if there was anything of substance to pad out.
The production values are competent at best. The squirting fungus pods and eye plants are quite imaginative, but the jungle set is otherwise unexceptional. However, cheap unimaginative design litters the rest of the production. Worst of all are the Daleks themselves, who wobble around continuously (explained, albeit inadequately. in the story) and seem in danger of literally flipping their lids (not explained in the story) The performances from the regulars are reliably good as usual, but only Bernard Horsfall stands out amongst the guest cast. It is a pity that this should appear on David Maloney’s CV, considering his outstanding record as a director in the programme.
I would like to know how contemporary viewers felt about this story. Frontier in Space promised an epic story with the Master joining forces with the Daleks. What we get is this. There is nothing really bad in the story, but there is nothing really good. It's just 150 minutes of- nothing. There are several Doctor Who stories worse than this one, but very few more boring- as far as I am concerned, boring is the worst thing a Doctor Who story can be. I was checking my watch half way through episode 2 and it says a lot when the greatest excitement was when episode 3 was in black and white, an effect that will be lost forever due to the very impressive re-colourisation used for the upcoming DVD. This is, quite simply, one of the most unappealing Doctor Who stories of all time.
NEXT: The Green Death
In the 60s, Terry Nation was still a jobbing scriptwriter and had to prove to various production teams that he could be relied on to deliver the goods. Come the 70s, things were different and nowhere is this more obvious than in this phenomenally lazy script. Parts of previous Nation scripts are reused. Spiridon is a watered down version of Kembel, the Spiridonians obviously influenced by the Visians. The Jo/Latep attraction is a weak echo of the Barbara/Alydon attraction. The narrative is a weakly connected assortment of even weaker set pieces. The dialogue and characterisation never rises above the functional and the story could be described as padded if there was anything of substance to pad out.
The production values are competent at best. The squirting fungus pods and eye plants are quite imaginative, but the jungle set is otherwise unexceptional. However, cheap unimaginative design litters the rest of the production. Worst of all are the Daleks themselves, who wobble around continuously (explained, albeit inadequately. in the story) and seem in danger of literally flipping their lids (not explained in the story) The performances from the regulars are reliably good as usual, but only Bernard Horsfall stands out amongst the guest cast. It is a pity that this should appear on David Maloney’s CV, considering his outstanding record as a director in the programme.
I would like to know how contemporary viewers felt about this story. Frontier in Space promised an epic story with the Master joining forces with the Daleks. What we get is this. There is nothing really bad in the story, but there is nothing really good. It's just 150 minutes of- nothing. There are several Doctor Who stories worse than this one, but very few more boring- as far as I am concerned, boring is the worst thing a Doctor Who story can be. I was checking my watch half way through episode 2 and it says a lot when the greatest excitement was when episode 3 was in black and white, an effect that will be lost forever due to the very impressive re-colourisation used for the upcoming DVD. This is, quite simply, one of the most unappealing Doctor Who stories of all time.
NEXT: The Green Death
Monday, 29 September 2008
The Daleks' Master Plan
Terry Nation had many faults as a writer, many of which were embarrassingly displayed in The Chase. At first glance, The Daleks’ Master Plan seems to have many of the same qualities. Both stories feature the Doctor being pursued by the Daleks throughout time and space. Both are filled with B-movie threats- in this story, we have invisible monsters, man-eating plants and prisoners taking over a ship, amongst other things. However, this story is so superior to The Chase that it makes one wonder how it could have come from the same mind. If any two stories prove ‘it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it’ it’s these two.
The first thing that strikes the viewer about this story is its length. This is a colossal 12-episode epic, nearly 5 hours of television. This obviously begs the question of whether or not the story is padded or not and indeed, I could easily reduce this story to a 3-parter: The taranium is an obvious McGuffin, with most of the story being centred round it. If the Doctor doesn’t steal the taranium, there is no need for episodes 2-10. However, this story is well named, as this story has a sense of scale that dwarfs the stories that come before it. The Doctor is, for the first time, battling a threat to the whole universe, with the fates of whole galaxies at stake. Such a story is epic in nature and demands an epic length. The threats confronted transcend B-movie cliché- the Varga plants make sense plotwise and are a genuinely horrific threat and the Visians are also brought to life very effectively through very simple special visual and audio effects. The detour to Desperus might seem a bit pointless, but it ends in the most shocking scene in Doctor Who yet, the death of Katarina. This scene is excellently scripted, acted and directed and the story is all the better for it. The detour to ancient Egypt is very well acted and directed and contains the very welcome return of Peter Butterworth as the Meddling Monk. Unlike in The Chase, although the story takes us to many locations in time and space, it is rooted in one place- the nightmarish planet of Kembel.
Apart from the TARDIS crew and the Daleks, the other main player in the story is Mavic Chen, brought to life in a powerhouse performance by Kevin Stoney. Chen is a man who is already the most powerful human being ever and yet wants more. He is depicted as a man of wit, intelligence and charisma, but with an egotism that increases as the story goes on and eventually drives him to madness, believing himself to be a god who rules the Daleks. The only issue I have is with Chen’s make-up. He is meant to be ‘part-Oriental’, which the make-up team interpreted by darkening Stoney’s skin and taping back his eyes. This makes him look like a grotesque, caricatured ‘Chinaman’ which is unfortunate, as Chen’s ethnicity is not mentioned at all in the story, and he is not a Fu Manchu takeoff.
The guest cast is, perhaps, the strongest the programme has had since Marco Polo, and I cannot think of a single poor performance. Nicholas Courtney is memorable as Bret Vyon and it is easy to see why he returned to the programme a couple of times. Even a minor character like Karlton is well brought to life by Maurice Browning It is clear that good deal of thought has gone into characterisation and, importantly, character interplay. For example, Steven is a character from our future, but Sara Kingdom’s past, so that something that Steven would consider contemporary would seem futuristic to us and antediluvian to Sara. This is something which is actually a factor in the way these two characters interact.
The Daleks are totally rehabilitated from the fiasco of The Chase. Here they are scheming, ruthless and efficient. Their voices are brilliant here, after the limp vocal stylings of the previous two stories. As in The Chase Nation throws other monsters against them, but here the Daleks triumph. Their plan is a truly diabolical one and they would not come up with a plan as masterful until 2008.
Hartnell puts in one of his finest performances in this story. The Doctor rages against those who hurt his friends and takes no nonsense from the Daleks, dictating terms to them even when he is at a disadvantage. He also joyfully wraps the Monk up in bandages and whacks Visians with his stick. The length of the story is ably matched by Hartnell’s range. Purves continues to work wonders as Steven- it is mainly due to his performance that Katarina’s death works as well as it does. Adrienne Hill, it must be said, is no more than adequate as Katarina and it is, perhaps, good that the character died before she got too annoying. Jean Marsh as Sara puts in an excellent performance making the character both as tough as nails without making her unsympathetic.
Even though only a quarter of the episodes exist, it is clear that this is where Douglas Camfield got his reputation as one of the programme’s finest directors. As said before, the performances from the guest cast are strong across the board, and Camfield’s choice of camera angles and movement are sublime as is his supervision of editing- there is a great cut from an image of the sun in sky to a glint on the dome of a Dalek.
The Daleks’ Master Plan was the first story to have an episode broadcast on Christmas Day, "The Feast of Steven" and this episode takes a break from the Daleks to give us some light relief for the festive season. The first setting is a charming skit where the doctor is arrested by a policeman after being seen coming out of the TARDIS and the second is set in Hollywood in the Mack Sennet era. It is less successful, but still worthwhile. Then there is the famous scene where the Doctor toasts the viewer at home, which I found to be very well done- as the Doctor says, the TARDIS crew rarely get a chance to celebrate. The inclusion of this interlude is not as random as it looks, as it occurs in a natural break in the story and, although it is business as usual in the next episode, there is still a hilarious interlude at the Oval cricket ground to ease the transition back.
I must also make special mention of the last episode. The previous Dalek stories were resolved with a battle or an explosion. Here we are treated to something truly spectacular. The Time Destructor is turned on and it causes the surface of the Kembel to age. Unfortunately, it has the same effect on Sara and the Doctor and Sara ages to death and decays. Steven manages to turn the machine into reverse, rejuvenating the Doctor and eventually destroying the pursuing Daleks by regressing them into embryos. Kembel is reduced to a desert planet by the time the machine is exhausted. In the midst of this, Steven and the Doctor are left alone to ponder the cost of their victory. It is a truly epic ending to an epic story.
Next: The Massacre
The first thing that strikes the viewer about this story is its length. This is a colossal 12-episode epic, nearly 5 hours of television. This obviously begs the question of whether or not the story is padded or not and indeed, I could easily reduce this story to a 3-parter: The taranium is an obvious McGuffin, with most of the story being centred round it. If the Doctor doesn’t steal the taranium, there is no need for episodes 2-10. However, this story is well named, as this story has a sense of scale that dwarfs the stories that come before it. The Doctor is, for the first time, battling a threat to the whole universe, with the fates of whole galaxies at stake. Such a story is epic in nature and demands an epic length. The threats confronted transcend B-movie cliché- the Varga plants make sense plotwise and are a genuinely horrific threat and the Visians are also brought to life very effectively through very simple special visual and audio effects. The detour to Desperus might seem a bit pointless, but it ends in the most shocking scene in Doctor Who yet, the death of Katarina. This scene is excellently scripted, acted and directed and the story is all the better for it. The detour to ancient Egypt is very well acted and directed and contains the very welcome return of Peter Butterworth as the Meddling Monk. Unlike in The Chase, although the story takes us to many locations in time and space, it is rooted in one place- the nightmarish planet of Kembel.
Apart from the TARDIS crew and the Daleks, the other main player in the story is Mavic Chen, brought to life in a powerhouse performance by Kevin Stoney. Chen is a man who is already the most powerful human being ever and yet wants more. He is depicted as a man of wit, intelligence and charisma, but with an egotism that increases as the story goes on and eventually drives him to madness, believing himself to be a god who rules the Daleks. The only issue I have is with Chen’s make-up. He is meant to be ‘part-Oriental’, which the make-up team interpreted by darkening Stoney’s skin and taping back his eyes. This makes him look like a grotesque, caricatured ‘Chinaman’ which is unfortunate, as Chen’s ethnicity is not mentioned at all in the story, and he is not a Fu Manchu takeoff.
The guest cast is, perhaps, the strongest the programme has had since Marco Polo, and I cannot think of a single poor performance. Nicholas Courtney is memorable as Bret Vyon and it is easy to see why he returned to the programme a couple of times. Even a minor character like Karlton is well brought to life by Maurice Browning It is clear that good deal of thought has gone into characterisation and, importantly, character interplay. For example, Steven is a character from our future, but Sara Kingdom’s past, so that something that Steven would consider contemporary would seem futuristic to us and antediluvian to Sara. This is something which is actually a factor in the way these two characters interact.
The Daleks are totally rehabilitated from the fiasco of The Chase. Here they are scheming, ruthless and efficient. Their voices are brilliant here, after the limp vocal stylings of the previous two stories. As in The Chase Nation throws other monsters against them, but here the Daleks triumph. Their plan is a truly diabolical one and they would not come up with a plan as masterful until 2008.
Hartnell puts in one of his finest performances in this story. The Doctor rages against those who hurt his friends and takes no nonsense from the Daleks, dictating terms to them even when he is at a disadvantage. He also joyfully wraps the Monk up in bandages and whacks Visians with his stick. The length of the story is ably matched by Hartnell’s range. Purves continues to work wonders as Steven- it is mainly due to his performance that Katarina’s death works as well as it does. Adrienne Hill, it must be said, is no more than adequate as Katarina and it is, perhaps, good that the character died before she got too annoying. Jean Marsh as Sara puts in an excellent performance making the character both as tough as nails without making her unsympathetic.
Even though only a quarter of the episodes exist, it is clear that this is where Douglas Camfield got his reputation as one of the programme’s finest directors. As said before, the performances from the guest cast are strong across the board, and Camfield’s choice of camera angles and movement are sublime as is his supervision of editing- there is a great cut from an image of the sun in sky to a glint on the dome of a Dalek.
The Daleks’ Master Plan was the first story to have an episode broadcast on Christmas Day, "The Feast of Steven" and this episode takes a break from the Daleks to give us some light relief for the festive season. The first setting is a charming skit where the doctor is arrested by a policeman after being seen coming out of the TARDIS and the second is set in Hollywood in the Mack Sennet era. It is less successful, but still worthwhile. Then there is the famous scene where the Doctor toasts the viewer at home, which I found to be very well done- as the Doctor says, the TARDIS crew rarely get a chance to celebrate. The inclusion of this interlude is not as random as it looks, as it occurs in a natural break in the story and, although it is business as usual in the next episode, there is still a hilarious interlude at the Oval cricket ground to ease the transition back.
I must also make special mention of the last episode. The previous Dalek stories were resolved with a battle or an explosion. Here we are treated to something truly spectacular. The Time Destructor is turned on and it causes the surface of the Kembel to age. Unfortunately, it has the same effect on Sara and the Doctor and Sara ages to death and decays. Steven manages to turn the machine into reverse, rejuvenating the Doctor and eventually destroying the pursuing Daleks by regressing them into embryos. Kembel is reduced to a desert planet by the time the machine is exhausted. In the midst of this, Steven and the Doctor are left alone to ponder the cost of their victory. It is a truly epic ending to an epic story.
Next: The Massacre
Thursday, 25 September 2008
"Mission to the Unknown"
Space Security Agent Marc Cory has discovered that the Daleks are planning the conquest of the Milky Way with the help of other hostile extra-galactic powers. They are on the nightmarish planet of Kembel where they have arranged a conference. Meanwhile, Cory and Gordon Lowery must send a message warning of the attack to the Solar System before they are killed by the Daleks or the horrors they have brought with them.
This is the hors d'œuvre to the epic that is to come, and is extremely satisfying. The absence of the TARDIS crew means that we do not have their reassuring presence and the outcome is by no means certain. Indeed, the sheer urgency of the episode wipes all memories of the clumsy farce of The Chase from the mind. The Daleks’ sense of menace is very much restored the stakes are much higher- it is no longer the fate of mere planets that are in question, but galaxies. Edward de Souza plays Marc Cory very well and Jeremy Young puts real humanity into Gordon Lowery, and there is a fascinating array of aliens at the conference. The Varga plants are truly terrifying monsters and the appetite is piqued for the main course…
Next: The Myth Makers
This is the hors d'œuvre to the epic that is to come, and is extremely satisfying. The absence of the TARDIS crew means that we do not have their reassuring presence and the outcome is by no means certain. Indeed, the sheer urgency of the episode wipes all memories of the clumsy farce of The Chase from the mind. The Daleks’ sense of menace is very much restored the stakes are much higher- it is no longer the fate of mere planets that are in question, but galaxies. Edward de Souza plays Marc Cory very well and Jeremy Young puts real humanity into Gordon Lowery, and there is a fascinating array of aliens at the conference. The Varga plants are truly terrifying monsters and the appetite is piqued for the main course…
Next: The Myth Makers
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
The Chase
The Daleks are back pursuing the Doctor and his companions throughout eternity, or at least as much of eternity that can be depicted on a Doctor Who budget, stopping at the Empire State Building, the Mary Celeste and Ghana amongst other places. The Daleks pursue in a vehicle with the same dimensionally transcendental properties as the TARDIS and gain on the Doctor with every step.
The first episode, "The Executioners" is reasonably good. The scenes from history that are displayed on the Time-Space Visualiser are well done, particularly the charming Elizabethan one (we also get a vintage performance of "Ticket to Ride" from The Beatles). However, I must say that the Time-Space Visualiser is a bit of pseudo-science I cannot quite suspend my disbelief for, especially when it tunes into the Daleks that are on the TARDIS’s trail, rather than any other event that has ever happened or will happen. However, the story dips in quality once episode 2 starts. The Aridians are sketchily written and only adequately acted. Hywel Bennett would eventually become a great actor, but here, he is no better than any other young actor making their start in the profession. The Mire beasts are merely pathetic and immobile octopus models and hardly the stuff of nightmares.
This is nothing, however, compared to the abortions that are episodes 3-5. The Empire State Building at least has an amusing performance by an actor whom we will hear more of later. However, the Mary Celeste sequence is utterly amateurish and the haunted house segment plays like The Munsters but is even less funny. We are then given the atrocious ‘robot double’ of the Doctor which is, in actuality, poor Edmund Warwick who is taller than Hartnell and is dubbed very poorly. This episode is, very rightly, called "The Death of Doctor Who".
Then, miraculously, episode 6, "The Planet of Decision" manages to be excellent. The Mechanoids are excellently realised, with their incomprehensible alphanumeric dialogue, and the battle between them and the Daleks is excellently rendered with a well-constructed montage. The design of the Mechanoid city is great, and even the Michael Bentinesque miniatures actually work. We are also introduced to Steven Taylor, who is brilliantly brought to life from the start, by Peter Purves- speaking as a fan of all three characters, it is a real joy to have Ian, Barbara and Steven sharing scenes. There is also the ending of the story, which I shall return to later.
By all accounts, The Chase was written in a hurry at the last minute, and it really shows. Terry Nation would often resort to cliché, but this is actually worse. The middle episodes consist of ‘sketches’ that are clumsily tied together in order to boost the running time. The robot double segment is wholly unnecessary dramatically and, honestly, could not have been realised more poorly. Richard Martin’s excellent direction in "The Planet of Decision" is all the more astonishing because the preceding episodes have seen some of the sloppiest visual direction the programme has ever seen. The editing, too, is atrocious- look at the scene where Ian tricks the Dalek into a trap on Aridius (imaginative name there, Terry. Was it the planet Soakedus when it had an ocean?)
The portrayal of the Daleks is more comedic, but this approach is a failure. There is one Dalek who is a bit thick, but he is so underused that it does not work comedically and just looks like a mistake. The Daleks also fall into the sea for no reason and are beaten up by an amusement park Frankenstein(‘s monster). Even in the strong final episode, a fatally wounded Dalek screams ‘Am Exterminated! Am Exterminated!’.
The regulars make the best of what they are given and make this mess watchable, but it is the end of the story where they are shown at their best. This is, of course, Ian and Barbara’s final story and their leaving scene is utterly gorgeous. Ian states firmly to the doctor that he misses the ordinary things in life, the sense of belonging. The Doctor is furious that they would risk their lives in the Dalek machine, but programs the machine to take them back. We are treated to a joyous photo montage of them in 1965 and the Doctor watching them on the Time-Space Visualiser. He is visibly upset at their leaving, as am I. Ian and Barbara have become two of my favourite companions of all time. William Russell’s portrayal always made Ian interesting, always avoiding being just the square jawed hero by injecting playfulness and humour into the role. And Jacqueline Hill as Barbara- brave, intelligent, creative, funny and very, very sexy. Yes, she screamed at times when a lot of people would, but she also held a knife to Tlotoxl’s throat. She confused the Daleks with pseudo history. And she looks really good in a Roman stola. I shall miss them too.
It is a good thing that the last episode was so good, because this story contains some of the worst episodes of Doctor Who I have ever seen. It is not quite enough to save it.
NEXT: The Time Meddler
The first episode, "The Executioners" is reasonably good. The scenes from history that are displayed on the Time-Space Visualiser are well done, particularly the charming Elizabethan one (we also get a vintage performance of "Ticket to Ride" from The Beatles). However, I must say that the Time-Space Visualiser is a bit of pseudo-science I cannot quite suspend my disbelief for, especially when it tunes into the Daleks that are on the TARDIS’s trail, rather than any other event that has ever happened or will happen. However, the story dips in quality once episode 2 starts. The Aridians are sketchily written and only adequately acted. Hywel Bennett would eventually become a great actor, but here, he is no better than any other young actor making their start in the profession. The Mire beasts are merely pathetic and immobile octopus models and hardly the stuff of nightmares.
This is nothing, however, compared to the abortions that are episodes 3-5. The Empire State Building at least has an amusing performance by an actor whom we will hear more of later. However, the Mary Celeste sequence is utterly amateurish and the haunted house segment plays like The Munsters but is even less funny. We are then given the atrocious ‘robot double’ of the Doctor which is, in actuality, poor Edmund Warwick who is taller than Hartnell and is dubbed very poorly. This episode is, very rightly, called "The Death of Doctor Who".
Then, miraculously, episode 6, "The Planet of Decision" manages to be excellent. The Mechanoids are excellently realised, with their incomprehensible alphanumeric dialogue, and the battle between them and the Daleks is excellently rendered with a well-constructed montage. The design of the Mechanoid city is great, and even the Michael Bentinesque miniatures actually work. We are also introduced to Steven Taylor, who is brilliantly brought to life from the start, by Peter Purves- speaking as a fan of all three characters, it is a real joy to have Ian, Barbara and Steven sharing scenes. There is also the ending of the story, which I shall return to later.
By all accounts, The Chase was written in a hurry at the last minute, and it really shows. Terry Nation would often resort to cliché, but this is actually worse. The middle episodes consist of ‘sketches’ that are clumsily tied together in order to boost the running time. The robot double segment is wholly unnecessary dramatically and, honestly, could not have been realised more poorly. Richard Martin’s excellent direction in "The Planet of Decision" is all the more astonishing because the preceding episodes have seen some of the sloppiest visual direction the programme has ever seen. The editing, too, is atrocious- look at the scene where Ian tricks the Dalek into a trap on Aridius (imaginative name there, Terry. Was it the planet Soakedus when it had an ocean?)
The portrayal of the Daleks is more comedic, but this approach is a failure. There is one Dalek who is a bit thick, but he is so underused that it does not work comedically and just looks like a mistake. The Daleks also fall into the sea for no reason and are beaten up by an amusement park Frankenstein(‘s monster). Even in the strong final episode, a fatally wounded Dalek screams ‘Am Exterminated! Am Exterminated!’.
The regulars make the best of what they are given and make this mess watchable, but it is the end of the story where they are shown at their best. This is, of course, Ian and Barbara’s final story and their leaving scene is utterly gorgeous. Ian states firmly to the doctor that he misses the ordinary things in life, the sense of belonging. The Doctor is furious that they would risk their lives in the Dalek machine, but programs the machine to take them back. We are treated to a joyous photo montage of them in 1965 and the Doctor watching them on the Time-Space Visualiser. He is visibly upset at their leaving, as am I. Ian and Barbara have become two of my favourite companions of all time. William Russell’s portrayal always made Ian interesting, always avoiding being just the square jawed hero by injecting playfulness and humour into the role. And Jacqueline Hill as Barbara- brave, intelligent, creative, funny and very, very sexy. Yes, she screamed at times when a lot of people would, but she also held a knife to Tlotoxl’s throat. She confused the Daleks with pseudo history. And she looks really good in a Roman stola. I shall miss them too.
It is a good thing that the last episode was so good, because this story contains some of the worst episodes of Doctor Who I have ever seen. It is not quite enough to save it.
NEXT: The Time Meddler
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
For the first time, Doctor Who looks to its past, but this does not mean that the production team were treading water. On the contrary, all the stops were pulled out for the return of the Daleks, taking the programme into new areas. We are taken into a world where everyone’s favourite ‘motorised dustbins’ have taken over, and the TARDIS crew find themselves caught in the London of the 22nd century, where the Daleks have the few surviving humans by the throat, while their ultimate plan for Earth comes closer to fulfilment.
It is, perhaps, in this serial that the concept of Daleks as Nazis first becomes absolutely blatant. This is a world of black marketeers and blitzed buildings, but it is also a place with labour camps and summary executions, where the worst of the Blitz is combined with the occupation of Czechoslovakia and a vague hint of the horrors of Poland. One of the Daleks’ chanting sessions is chilling- upon the order to exterminate all humans, one chants ‘kill… kill… kill…’ and another chants ‘final solution…’ Off screen, we hear the extermination of a man who, in the midst of his terror, rages at them about the murder of his wife and brother. The first appearance of a Dalek, rising out of the Thames is justly famous and they are far from the pathetic creatures confined to their city that they were in their first appearance. Here they race along bridges and are shown at the Albert Memorial- meaning, of course that they can climb stairs. However, their voices are nothing like as effective as in their first story, the ring modulator barely affecting the actors’ voices.
The supporting cast are sound, without being spectacular, yet, again it is the regulars who make it work. Hartnell’s performance is astounding- this story providers the most proactive role for him yet, and he fires on all cylinders to fulfil that. This is Carole Ann Ford’s last story and, happily, her best. This could be because she is given so much more to do, and it is a real shame when she goes. More on that later.
Visually, this story is unlike any of the others that preceded it. There are extensive scenes filmed on location, and the direction, editing and cinematography are all first rate. The highlight, of course, is Barbara, Dortmun and Jenny being chased across a desolate London by the Daleks, a fantastic montage with frenetic camera work and razor sharp editing. There are some great design work with the Dalek sets and I love the Dalek lettering painted on streets and famous landmarks.
The first Dalek story contained quite a few longueurs (boring bits of padding, as less pretentious people call them) but in this story, the episode length is more justified. Events are kept interesting by splitting the travellers into groups, all of which work against the Daleks as well as trying to find each other. There are some genuinely surprising plot twists- I was not expecting the Doctor’s rescuer to get exterminated a minute afterwards. At this point, however, I must mention the last episode. The pacing is atrocious, but it contains some fantastic material- Barbara’s history lesson to the Daleks (resulting in the funniest Dalek line of the 20th Century 'Daleks are the Masters of India') and, of course the ending. David and Susan’s attraction is built up gradually as is the Doctor’s knowledge and acceptance of it. Despite some atrocious dialogue in the story, the Doctor’s farewell to Susan is utterly gorgeous and utterly convincing.
Of course there are numerous plot holes and some horrific scientific errors. I’m not usually bothered too much by scientific errors, but they are really bad here. The Earth does not have a magnetic core, it has a magnetic field, caused by the movement of the liquid outer core. Also, it is by no means the only planet with a magnetic field. I must also mention the flying saucer effects. They’re really, really, really bad and actually do look like hubcaps held up by string. Watch it on DVD with the CGI replacements if you don’t want to be totally dragged out of the story.
However, this story comes very highly recommended- good stuff!
NEXT: The Rescue
It is, perhaps, in this serial that the concept of Daleks as Nazis first becomes absolutely blatant. This is a world of black marketeers and blitzed buildings, but it is also a place with labour camps and summary executions, where the worst of the Blitz is combined with the occupation of Czechoslovakia and a vague hint of the horrors of Poland. One of the Daleks’ chanting sessions is chilling- upon the order to exterminate all humans, one chants ‘kill… kill… kill…’ and another chants ‘final solution…’ Off screen, we hear the extermination of a man who, in the midst of his terror, rages at them about the murder of his wife and brother. The first appearance of a Dalek, rising out of the Thames is justly famous and they are far from the pathetic creatures confined to their city that they were in their first appearance. Here they race along bridges and are shown at the Albert Memorial- meaning, of course that they can climb stairs. However, their voices are nothing like as effective as in their first story, the ring modulator barely affecting the actors’ voices.
The supporting cast are sound, without being spectacular, yet, again it is the regulars who make it work. Hartnell’s performance is astounding- this story providers the most proactive role for him yet, and he fires on all cylinders to fulfil that. This is Carole Ann Ford’s last story and, happily, her best. This could be because she is given so much more to do, and it is a real shame when she goes. More on that later.
Visually, this story is unlike any of the others that preceded it. There are extensive scenes filmed on location, and the direction, editing and cinematography are all first rate. The highlight, of course, is Barbara, Dortmun and Jenny being chased across a desolate London by the Daleks, a fantastic montage with frenetic camera work and razor sharp editing. There are some great design work with the Dalek sets and I love the Dalek lettering painted on streets and famous landmarks.
The first Dalek story contained quite a few longueurs (boring bits of padding, as less pretentious people call them) but in this story, the episode length is more justified. Events are kept interesting by splitting the travellers into groups, all of which work against the Daleks as well as trying to find each other. There are some genuinely surprising plot twists- I was not expecting the Doctor’s rescuer to get exterminated a minute afterwards. At this point, however, I must mention the last episode. The pacing is atrocious, but it contains some fantastic material- Barbara’s history lesson to the Daleks (resulting in the funniest Dalek line of the 20th Century 'Daleks are the Masters of India') and, of course the ending. David and Susan’s attraction is built up gradually as is the Doctor’s knowledge and acceptance of it. Despite some atrocious dialogue in the story, the Doctor’s farewell to Susan is utterly gorgeous and utterly convincing.
Of course there are numerous plot holes and some horrific scientific errors. I’m not usually bothered too much by scientific errors, but they are really bad here. The Earth does not have a magnetic core, it has a magnetic field, caused by the movement of the liquid outer core. Also, it is by no means the only planet with a magnetic field. I must also mention the flying saucer effects. They’re really, really, really bad and actually do look like hubcaps held up by string. Watch it on DVD with the CGI replacements if you don’t want to be totally dragged out of the story.
However, this story comes very highly recommended- good stuff!
NEXT: The Rescue
Sunday, 17 August 2008
The Keys of Marinus
Throughout most of the Hartnell era, each episode was given its own unique title, rather than the umbrella name grouping serials together. This was particularly appropriate to this story, as each of the middle four episodes has its own setting, and a new supporting cast. Upon landing on the planet Marinus, the regulars are compelled to go on a quest to find the titular keys by George Coulouris’s Arbitan (The quest idea would, of course, be returned to by the programme years later). This leads them to various locations around the planet (it is refreshing to have an alien planet that is not monocultural). However, some parts work better than others. "The Velvet Web" depicts a place where the perception of reality is controlled by the sinister Morpho Brains. The regulars believe they are living in the lap of luxury when they are in fact hallucinating. The Doctor picks up a tin mug and admires it, believing it to be a piece of scientific equipment. Susan’s beautiful new dress is a collection of rags. The direction in this episode is excellent- Gorrie’s use of shots effectively shows the contrast between reality and illusion without special effects.
"The Screaming Jungle" has some quite interesting concepts behind it, especially the scary idea of the jungle itself. However, the episode is almost an exercise in how not to plot a drama, and the episode teeters on the balance between success and failure.
"The Snows of Terror" is entirely forgettable. As in The Daleks, there’s a very small chasm to be traversed (indeed it could well be the same set redressed). Even in a plot this simple, there are holes- why didn’t Ian take the keys and the transporter bracelets when he went to get the girls from the cave. A jarring aspect of the plot is that there is the real feeling that Barbara is in danger of being raped by the trapper- a danger that no companion would be subjected to nowadays.
"Sentence of Death" consists mainly of Ian’s trial on a false charge of murder. Courtroom drama is probably the most constricting genre of all, as there can be little variation as to dramatic structure and the layout of the set. It is performance, cinematography and direction that decide success, and this episode managed it, a success that continues to the final episode.
The Voords are usually billed as the ‘monsters’ of the story, but they only appear in the first and last episodes. These too are weak. George Coulouris (who was in Citizen Kane for God’s sake!) is very flat in this and Arbitan’s death is one of the worst directed scenes I have ever seen. It is as if John Gorrie simply said ‘Go in and stab him in a half hearted manner’! The Voords themselves are well designed (even though their ‘aerials’ make them look like evil Teletubbies’!) but the special effects for their submarines bring to mind the fleas of Michael Bentine’s It’s a Square World.
It is also notable that this is the first story where the TARDIS crew act as friends, not co-travellers. The bonds between them were seen to increase over the course of Marco Polo, but are finally established here- The Doctor waiting outside Ian’s cell after the verdict has been passed is truly touching. Jacqueline Hill deserves special mention for her work in ‘The Velvet Web’- Barbara is the real hero here, and we are with her all the way. The only supporting player who really stands out is Fiona Walker. The rest are good but not exceptional (although I now have a crush on Katherine Schofield!)
The story also illustrated Terry Nation’s strengths and weaknesses as a writer. He is good at ideas and basic storylines, but constantly resorts to cliché in the finer plot details. There is also some very weak dialogue and indeed, no quotable lines of dialogue until the very end. With scripts like this, it’s no wonder Gorrie’s work as director is so variable.
So it is with a cliché that I shall conclude: The whole is considerably less than the sum of its parts.
NEXT: The Aztecs
"The Screaming Jungle" has some quite interesting concepts behind it, especially the scary idea of the jungle itself. However, the episode is almost an exercise in how not to plot a drama, and the episode teeters on the balance between success and failure.
"The Snows of Terror" is entirely forgettable. As in The Daleks, there’s a very small chasm to be traversed (indeed it could well be the same set redressed). Even in a plot this simple, there are holes- why didn’t Ian take the keys and the transporter bracelets when he went to get the girls from the cave. A jarring aspect of the plot is that there is the real feeling that Barbara is in danger of being raped by the trapper- a danger that no companion would be subjected to nowadays.
"Sentence of Death" consists mainly of Ian’s trial on a false charge of murder. Courtroom drama is probably the most constricting genre of all, as there can be little variation as to dramatic structure and the layout of the set. It is performance, cinematography and direction that decide success, and this episode managed it, a success that continues to the final episode.
The Voords are usually billed as the ‘monsters’ of the story, but they only appear in the first and last episodes. These too are weak. George Coulouris (who was in Citizen Kane for God’s sake!) is very flat in this and Arbitan’s death is one of the worst directed scenes I have ever seen. It is as if John Gorrie simply said ‘Go in and stab him in a half hearted manner’! The Voords themselves are well designed (even though their ‘aerials’ make them look like evil Teletubbies’!) but the special effects for their submarines bring to mind the fleas of Michael Bentine’s It’s a Square World.
It is also notable that this is the first story where the TARDIS crew act as friends, not co-travellers. The bonds between them were seen to increase over the course of Marco Polo, but are finally established here- The Doctor waiting outside Ian’s cell after the verdict has been passed is truly touching. Jacqueline Hill deserves special mention for her work in ‘The Velvet Web’- Barbara is the real hero here, and we are with her all the way. The only supporting player who really stands out is Fiona Walker. The rest are good but not exceptional (although I now have a crush on Katherine Schofield!)
The story also illustrated Terry Nation’s strengths and weaknesses as a writer. He is good at ideas and basic storylines, but constantly resorts to cliché in the finer plot details. There is also some very weak dialogue and indeed, no quotable lines of dialogue until the very end. With scripts like this, it’s no wonder Gorrie’s work as director is so variable.
So it is with a cliché that I shall conclude: The whole is considerably less than the sum of its parts.
NEXT: The Aztecs
Friday, 8 August 2008
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
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
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