"They're the new species, you see. Taking over from homo sapiens. Man's had his day. Finished now."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode is gone from the archives. I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Dec.10 1966.
IN THIS ONE... The Daleks decimate the colony and the Doctor blows them up with a power surge.
REVIEW: It's been some time waiting, but in the end, the Daleks act exactly as they've always done and start exterminating everyone. One by one, guest characters and extras alike are mowed down in what is actually the program's first on screen Dalek massacre. It's a prolonged affair, and even when we're not seeing it, we can hear a blend of screams and gunfire in the background, made all the more tangible by the use of straightforward firearms in the colonists' hands. The humans are no less bloodthirsty, as Bragen orders the execution of the rebels he just encouraged to revolt to get himself on the throne. But here's the thing. Daleks may have been bred to kill, but humans have different ethical thresholds. Janley dares question this order and almost gets summarily shot, and it will be Valmar who will shoot Bragen rather than see those orders carried out. As an audience, we're asked to compare human action to Dalek action - which murders are justifiable? Any of them?
Ultimately, though there was a lot of ambiguity in the preceding chapters, the Whoniverse's innate morality wins out in the end. Every "name" character who dies in this episode was guilty of something, even Lesterson whose scientific hubris opened this particular can of worms. Robert James once again gives an interesting performance as the pitiable Lesterson sacrifices his life by approaching the Daleks are repeating their line back to them, "I am you servant!". He gave them life, and they give him death. No daddy issues here, eh Daleks? (Has anyone ever done a psychoanalytical study of the Daleks and their relationship to Davros?) Among the dead, we of course number the Dalek army, which the Doctor manages to blow up quite spectacularly (we have some clips of it, thankfully) by sending a power surge down their static electricity generator. When the heroes return to the TARDIS, there's a melted Dalek only a few feet from it, and we wonder just how close we came to the Daleks' final victory. As the police box dematerializes, its eyestalk manages to pathetically go up, but I doubt the future of the race lies in this one specimen. Other fugitives from Skaro's civil war though...
I realize I didn't mention the Doctor much (or Ben and Polly at all), but like the Daleks themselves, the story lets the guest cast sort things out. It's all action, running and shooting, and final confrontations. Rather than be caught in the crossfire, the cast might as well keep its head down and let things resolve themselves as if this were a historical adventure with a well-known and unavoidable end. Except the Doctor does act as the agent of good that destroys the Daleks, and then acts coy about it, the scamp. Have you accepted this new Doctor yet? I know you have. And it looks like Ben and Polly are well on their way as well.
VERSIONS: The novelization - one of the rare few published by Virgin rather than Target - features a few notable differences. Sgt. Benton and Sarah Jane Smith are mentioned in the prologue. The Interplanetary Mining Corporation (from Colony in Space) is said to be the driving force behind the colony. And the events of The Tenth Planet are set in the 1990s. The animated version's massacre is very creepy, more so than the episode itself I should think (Janley's open dead eyes, brrr), though the fire fight itself is rather stiff. I know a lot of actual episodes can only manage to "choreograph" people standing there and getting shot, but the Flash animation is particularly limited. There are some nice explosion effects when the Daleks blow however.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - There's little time for clever dialog with all the shooting going on, but it's an exciting ending to a tense Dalek thriller. Satisfying across the board.
STORY REWATCHABILITY: High - I've said this before, but the fact that they wiped Patrick Troughton's first story, a Dalek story that outdoes Terry Nation's to boot, is perhaps the greatest crime against the program ever committed (albeit without malice). Even on audio, Troughton's performance shines through and wins us over. There's lots of intrigue and the Daleks are particularly devious. And if you're a fan of the new series, you'll recognize its influence on its writers.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode is gone from the archives. I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Dec.10 1966.IN THIS ONE... The Daleks decimate the colony and the Doctor blows them up with a power surge.
REVIEW: It's been some time waiting, but in the end, the Daleks act exactly as they've always done and start exterminating everyone. One by one, guest characters and extras alike are mowed down in what is actually the program's first on screen Dalek massacre. It's a prolonged affair, and even when we're not seeing it, we can hear a blend of screams and gunfire in the background, made all the more tangible by the use of straightforward firearms in the colonists' hands. The humans are no less bloodthirsty, as Bragen orders the execution of the rebels he just encouraged to revolt to get himself on the throne. But here's the thing. Daleks may have been bred to kill, but humans have different ethical thresholds. Janley dares question this order and almost gets summarily shot, and it will be Valmar who will shoot Bragen rather than see those orders carried out. As an audience, we're asked to compare human action to Dalek action - which murders are justifiable? Any of them?
Ultimately, though there was a lot of ambiguity in the preceding chapters, the Whoniverse's innate morality wins out in the end. Every "name" character who dies in this episode was guilty of something, even Lesterson whose scientific hubris opened this particular can of worms. Robert James once again gives an interesting performance as the pitiable Lesterson sacrifices his life by approaching the Daleks are repeating their line back to them, "I am you servant!". He gave them life, and they give him death. No daddy issues here, eh Daleks? (Has anyone ever done a psychoanalytical study of the Daleks and their relationship to Davros?) Among the dead, we of course number the Dalek army, which the Doctor manages to blow up quite spectacularly (we have some clips of it, thankfully) by sending a power surge down their static electricity generator. When the heroes return to the TARDIS, there's a melted Dalek only a few feet from it, and we wonder just how close we came to the Daleks' final victory. As the police box dematerializes, its eyestalk manages to pathetically go up, but I doubt the future of the race lies in this one specimen. Other fugitives from Skaro's civil war though...
I realize I didn't mention the Doctor much (or Ben and Polly at all), but like the Daleks themselves, the story lets the guest cast sort things out. It's all action, running and shooting, and final confrontations. Rather than be caught in the crossfire, the cast might as well keep its head down and let things resolve themselves as if this were a historical adventure with a well-known and unavoidable end. Except the Doctor does act as the agent of good that destroys the Daleks, and then acts coy about it, the scamp. Have you accepted this new Doctor yet? I know you have. And it looks like Ben and Polly are well on their way as well.
VERSIONS: The novelization - one of the rare few published by Virgin rather than Target - features a few notable differences. Sgt. Benton and Sarah Jane Smith are mentioned in the prologue. The Interplanetary Mining Corporation (from Colony in Space) is said to be the driving force behind the colony. And the events of The Tenth Planet are set in the 1990s. The animated version's massacre is very creepy, more so than the episode itself I should think (Janley's open dead eyes, brrr), though the fire fight itself is rather stiff. I know a lot of actual episodes can only manage to "choreograph" people standing there and getting shot, but the Flash animation is particularly limited. There are some nice explosion effects when the Daleks blow however.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - There's little time for clever dialog with all the shooting going on, but it's an exciting ending to a tense Dalek thriller. Satisfying across the board.
STORY REWATCHABILITY: High - I've said this before, but the fact that they wiped Patrick Troughton's first story, a Dalek story that outdoes Terry Nation's to boot, is perhaps the greatest crime against the program ever committed (albeit without malice). Even on audio, Troughton's performance shines through and wins us over. There's lots of intrigue and the Daleks are particularly devious. And if you're a fan of the new series, you'll recognize its influence on its writers.
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