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| The Thals fought and died for this fluid link... |
The Expedition
I've said it already, but Tristram Cary's score here is superb. Well, it always is, but definitely worth mention here. The episode starts with the Daleks look at pictures of the regulars and discussing which one is which. Okay. Then they actually do something interesting and talk about how they're afraid the Thals will attack them. It's quite nice that they're actually worried about a bunch of pacifist farmers attacking them. Not so nice that they want to commit genocide, though.
Ooh, another Doctor-getting-Ian's-name-wrong gag, Chesterman this time. I do have to agree with Barbara that the Doctor and Ian really are chatting away about nothing. Here we have an interesting side to the Doctor's early lack of goodness. He says, "it's no time for morals, they (the Thals) must fight for us". What's interesting is that Barbara backs him up. Considering it's supposedly exposure to Ian and Barbara that softens him, it's quite amusing to see Barbara geeing him on.
I love the way the Doctor calls Ian a strange young man as he goes off to convince the Thals to fight for them. It's only a shame that Alydon stops Ian from taking Dyoni. Later we see Alydon and Dyoni having an intimate chat about what happened, and then the camera pulls back and we see Barbara and Ganatus standing right there behind them! I've always found that shot slightly strange. It just looks like terrible eavesdropping.
There's the debut of the "pictures of Daleks on the wall" thing which is meant to make it look like there are lots of Daleks. I've always found it really unconvincing. I just like to think that Daleks like wallpaper with pictures of themselves on it. We also get the "Dalek eye view" debut here, as one Dalek goes mad and dies, which is fun. Although one Dalek is looking up at the others, which is quite odd. I didn't notice one which was shorter... The Daleks do babble on in this episode, too. It's really very tedious. They're not even talking about anything exciting.
At the lake, Ian says he'd be surprised if he'd been able to stop Barbara coming along. That's always good to hear. Poor acting from Philip Bond as Ganatus, sincerely talking about the wandering of the Thals, saying, "I suppose there'll be an end to it one day". Yeah yeah. I like the close-up of Barbara for the cliffhanger. That works well.
Pretty entertaining episode here. It sets up the end quite well, and is pacy-ish, if you take out the long scenes with the Daleks having their nice chats. Probably deserving of a 6/10.
The Ordeal
This has probably been mentioned before, but I was wondering whether the ordeal of the title was to do with what the characters go through, or what the viewer is put through. Watching this 25 minutes is one heck of an ordeal. Ooooh, cave exploring! How very exciting. Especially when it lasts the entire episode. It's funny how Barbara says, "can you hear the sound of water?" and they go quiet and strain to hear the LOUD splashing.
Ganatus says two very strange things. Firstly, he says "we're not going to follow one of the customs of your planet ... ladies first!" Huh? How on earth does he know that? What do these people talk about off camera that would lead him to know that? Then Barbara lowers him down into a cave to see if it's a promising route to take, and then she drops him and he falls down. He finds that it is very promising indeed, and so, "it looks as though it may have been a lucky fall". Why? He was going down there to explore anyway. He didn't decide to look around because he fell! Anyway, it's made clear that's the only way back, and he'd have needed help to get back up, so naturally once they've all come down and made their way again, Antodus has his big "cowardly moment" and decides he's going back. Where's he going to go? So, with 10 minutes left of the episode, we get to the famous jumping bit. We painstakingly watch each person jump over. I've always found this bit horribly tedious. I don't really care anymore by the time Antodus rather predictably falls.
Whilst all that is going on, the Doctor, Susan and Alydon (and Dyoni, sadly) are having lots of fun annoying the Daleks and vandalising Dalek property. The Doctor rather amusingly says, "we mustn't diddle about here". Then the Doctor and Susan are captured and the Doctor says, "that's sheer murder!" as the Daleks sit them in the middle of the room and tell him their murderous plans.
The less said about this episode the better. The Ordeal is such a waste of time. It's strange as somebody who prefers longer stories, but the Daleks for me is the one example of a story that is too long. The Doctor's vandalism is quite fun, but the rest is forgettable. 2/10
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| We're through! |
The Rescue
I can't wait for the Rescue. Vicki's arrival, for me, heralds the start of consistently high quality Doctor Who right up until Terror of the Autons kicks off a season of dullness. Sadly, that is a way off right now, and I still have a year of Susan to "enjoy" first.
The Doctor and Susan have suddenly gone from sitting on the floor to being chained to the wall between episodes. It's interesting the Doctor so quickly resorts to offering the TARDIS to the Daleks. I find it bizarre that the fluid link was just sitting around in the Dalek control room. The Daleks say they don't need the Doctor, but he argues that, "I won't explain its secrets or philosophy of movement!" Interesting description, and speaking of philosophy, the Daleks are very forward-thinking, stating that every problem has a solution.
The fight scene is a little chaotic, but I love Barbara just chucking a big rock at a Dalek. That's far more entertaining than using a baseball bat on one. And so after nearly three hours of "action", the Daleks are defeated really really easily. Alydon (or is it Ganatus, I can't remember) does his best Davison, forlornly looking at the mess and saying, "if only there had been another way".
This clearly is the episode in this story for ridiculous quotes. The Doctor says, "always search for truth. Mine is in the stars and yours is here". What a load of guff. You should be ashamed of yourself, Doctor! Far more interesting is the Doctor saying, "I'm too old to be a pioneer, although I was one once, amongst my own people". That's a nice little hint, there.
Ian and Barbara are really dirty as they arrived in the Dalek city at the start of this episode, but suddenly as they enter the TARDIS, they're nice and clean. It's just as well, as they'll need to be, when they face...the Edge of Destruction!!!
This is difficult to rate too. It's a good episode, perfectly entertaining, but it does feel quite underwhelming. After all the tedious scrabbling about in the caves last week the resolution is so quick and sudden that we have to have long scenes of the Thals and the regulars chatting to get us up to the 23 minutes that this episode runs to. 7/10
Conclusion
Okay, that's bad. One of the primary aims of this marathon was to try and see the good in every story. I failed quite badly, here. I've always liked the Daleks as a decent enough story, but I struggled with large parts this time. Well, specifically, parts 3 and 6. Take them out (or at least, merge them into the surrounding parts), and you have a good, fast-paced(ish) story.
The Daleks is a good story, it's just paced dreadfully, and has many very tedious moments to go with its brilliant moments. I'd say it's the worst seven parter by a distance. The best thing about it is the regulars. The Doctor is superb throughout, and Ian and Barbara get some lovely development all the way through, although Barbara's brief romance with Ganatus was slightly odd. Susan is as annoying as ever, though.
The average rating I've given to the episodes is 6/10, which is the score I was planning to give the story, which is bizarre. I'm sad to already be rating a story lower than I used to, but I pledged to be harsh with my marking, and, frankly, 6/10 is a fair score for this story. Two in a row to start my marathon. But I'm over the tricky opening bump, and the joys of Marco Polo are less than an hour away! I can't wait. Goodbye Skaro, for now.
Average Rating: 6/10
My Old Rating: 8/10
My New Rating: 6/10
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