"Why do human beings kill human beings?"
TECHNICAL SPECS: Missing from the archives except for a few brief clips. I have thus used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Dec.3 1966.
IN THIS ONE... The rebels and the Daleks both make their moves.
REVIEW: If you've been waiting for the Daleks to go crazy and start overrunning the colony, this is the episode for you. The Daleks have multiplied and hold an insane, cacophonous rally, pumping themselves full of hate before putting their plan into action. When Lesterson tries to block the capsule door with a file cabinet, it's pathetic, but it's so ridiculous as to be funny too. He's terrified, and teeters on the edge of madness, but who could blame him? Every time he tries to speak up, somebody (Janley, the Dalek) lie about what he may have told them before to make him doubt himself. It's an incredibly cruel and well-executed smear campaign. Before this story, you could at least count on the Daleks to shoot you without resorting to destroying your reputation and dignity.
THESE Daleks are manipulative bastards! "Why do human beings kill human beings?" What's with the guilt trip? Skipping over the fact that it was the Dalek who actually shot the Governor even if Bragen gave the order, the Daleks are planning on exterminating the whole colony, capitalizing on the rebellion that's about to start. In their world view, though they are killers, they are better than humans because they don't kill their own kind. Well, they DO, but it's usually a mercy killing (also, see Theories). Seeing the way Bragen and Janley act, we might be inclined to agree, but we soon remember that not everyone is a Janley or a Bragen, while all Daleks are Daleks. Their purity is their greatest pride, and the one we condemn them for. But even in the rebel camp, humanity's not all bad. Just look at the minor character of Valmar who almost responds to Polly's arguments (this week, it's Michael Craze who's on vacation), until she attacks Janley on whom he is "soft". The Daleks could never relate with these emotions.
And the Doctor in this? Well, he also makes his move by breaking out of jail. It seems I jumped the gun on his interest in sonics in the previous episode. It's not that he's thinking forward to his sonic screwdriver, it's that the lock responds to a sonic key, something I completely missed earlier (the disadvantage of not having video to marry the audio). That he manages it by rubbing the rim of a glass of water is sheer brilliance. I do love the 2nd Doctor's MacGyverisms! Unfortunately, the sounds he makes don't unlock the minds of his captors as easily. Bragen sentences him to return to jail, which come to think of it, may be the safest place at the moment.
THEORIES: If these Daleks have traveled back in time from their destruction, then they know about the civil war that destroyed Skaro (in Evil of the Daleks). If so, the question has even more meaning. The civil war starts because the Doctor has infected some Daleks with the "Human Factor", a symptom of which is the ability to question orders and in effect, turn on their own kind. This Dalek may find humanity especially vile because of this.
VERSIONS: There also exists an animated version in black and white and in color.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - The episode could do with a little more Doctor, but the guest cast and villains do very well whether he's around or not. Even when it bides its time, it doesn't feel like it's WASTING time, as some of the middle episodes in The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth did.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Missing from the archives except for a few brief clips. I have thus used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Dec.3 1966.IN THIS ONE... The rebels and the Daleks both make their moves.
REVIEW: If you've been waiting for the Daleks to go crazy and start overrunning the colony, this is the episode for you. The Daleks have multiplied and hold an insane, cacophonous rally, pumping themselves full of hate before putting their plan into action. When Lesterson tries to block the capsule door with a file cabinet, it's pathetic, but it's so ridiculous as to be funny too. He's terrified, and teeters on the edge of madness, but who could blame him? Every time he tries to speak up, somebody (Janley, the Dalek) lie about what he may have told them before to make him doubt himself. It's an incredibly cruel and well-executed smear campaign. Before this story, you could at least count on the Daleks to shoot you without resorting to destroying your reputation and dignity.
THESE Daleks are manipulative bastards! "Why do human beings kill human beings?" What's with the guilt trip? Skipping over the fact that it was the Dalek who actually shot the Governor even if Bragen gave the order, the Daleks are planning on exterminating the whole colony, capitalizing on the rebellion that's about to start. In their world view, though they are killers, they are better than humans because they don't kill their own kind. Well, they DO, but it's usually a mercy killing (also, see Theories). Seeing the way Bragen and Janley act, we might be inclined to agree, but we soon remember that not everyone is a Janley or a Bragen, while all Daleks are Daleks. Their purity is their greatest pride, and the one we condemn them for. But even in the rebel camp, humanity's not all bad. Just look at the minor character of Valmar who almost responds to Polly's arguments (this week, it's Michael Craze who's on vacation), until she attacks Janley on whom he is "soft". The Daleks could never relate with these emotions.
And the Doctor in this? Well, he also makes his move by breaking out of jail. It seems I jumped the gun on his interest in sonics in the previous episode. It's not that he's thinking forward to his sonic screwdriver, it's that the lock responds to a sonic key, something I completely missed earlier (the disadvantage of not having video to marry the audio). That he manages it by rubbing the rim of a glass of water is sheer brilliance. I do love the 2nd Doctor's MacGyverisms! Unfortunately, the sounds he makes don't unlock the minds of his captors as easily. Bragen sentences him to return to jail, which come to think of it, may be the safest place at the moment.
THEORIES: If these Daleks have traveled back in time from their destruction, then they know about the civil war that destroyed Skaro (in Evil of the Daleks). If so, the question has even more meaning. The civil war starts because the Doctor has infected some Daleks with the "Human Factor", a symptom of which is the ability to question orders and in effect, turn on their own kind. This Dalek may find humanity especially vile because of this.
VERSIONS: There also exists an animated version in black and white and in color.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - The episode could do with a little more Doctor, but the guest cast and villains do very well whether he's around or not. Even when it bides its time, it doesn't feel like it's WASTING time, as some of the middle episodes in The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth did.
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