Harry -
The 25th season of Doctor Who kicks off with an anniversary episode, taking the Doctor and his new companion Ace back to the place where it all began: Coal Hill School, 1963.
Sarah -
"Remembrance of the Daleks" has always been my favorite story of the McCoy era, and after re-watching it this week, It's still in my top spot. We'll see where it is when we finish season 26, but it will be hard to beat.
Harry -
The Doctor has unfinished business to take care of. Back in his first incarnation, he planted a trap to lure the Daleks, who are now embroiled in a civil war between imperial and renegade factions. In this way, "Remembrance of the Daleks" concludes a trilogy that began with "Resurrection of the Daleks" and continued with "Revelation of the Daleks". I can't begin to express how long it took for me to remember the correct order of those titles.
Sarah -
Ha! I was having this conversation with Mr. Smith and kept mixing up Resurrection, Revelation, and Remembrance. There so much continuity and retconning in this story -- and I love it!
I also love the cold open and the shot of Earth with voices of JFK, MLK, and De Gaulle, signaling the era we're entering. So evocative.
Harry -
The Doctor and Ace stroll up to Coal Hill. He's curious and she's hungry, bordering on hangry. She heads to a nearby diner, leaving him to investigate a van with a massive aerial. Before you know it, he's popped inside and introduced himself to Dr. Rachel Jensen, who seems bemused but unalarmed.
Sarah -
Don't forget the creepy little girl watching them from outside the school!
Harry -
She's very creepy.
Sarah -
Ace leaps into 1963, seemingly not understanding how anachronistic her clothing and radio are in a era with no "street cred." Her confusion over the pre-decimalization money is a nice touch. These are the sort of things that should be confusing to a time traveler and it's good to be reminded every now and then how extraordinary the companions' lives really are. The monetary system, of course, won't be the only part of 1963 that gets under Ace's skin.
One of my favorite characters is Rachel Jensen, Chief Scientific Officer to a proto-UNIT-type military organization, who has been drafted into service from Cambridge. She's a precursor to the future Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. I can imagine Rachel and her assistant Allison bumping into Barbara Wright in the not-too-distant future and striking up a fast friendship.
Harry -
So many nods to the past already. Dr. Jensen is totally a retro Dr. Shaw, and Group Captain Gilmore is just as Brigadiery as the Brig himself. It's no surprise this government organization got their own series of audio adventures from Big Finish.
Sarah -
Have you listened to any of the audios? I've not dipped into that series yet, but I've always been intrigued. Simon Williams played Captain James in my beloved Upstairs, Downstairs, so I always enjoying seeing him in this story.
Harry -
Have not heard any of that series yet. Perhaps it's time we took a side trip. The Group Captain doesn't crack a smile during the entire story. He's virtually a parody of the stiff-upper-lipped English officer class. I liked how Rachel and Allison became increasingly sarcastic towards his military ways as the story went on.
I also liked how the Doctor eased his way into their company almost as if they were expecting him.
Sarah -
He really does just insert himself into the situation, doesn't he?
Harry -
He certainly helped out when the military pinned down a hostile inside I.M. Foreman's junkyard on Totter's Lane (squee!). After several futile rounds of fire from the troops, the Doctor destroys the hostile (aka a Dalek) with some of Ace's nitro nine. What a fantastic, action-packed opening scene.
Sarah -
"Ace, give me some of that Nitro-9 you're not carrying." It's a great scene. As many times as I've watched "Remembrance of the Daleks", I still feel a little thrill when that first Dalek reveals itself.
Harry -
It was a jarring moment when the Doctor matter-of-factly noted that the Daleks will eventually conquer Earth. Ace was a bit taken aback by that one.
Sarah -
It would be jarring news, especially having just met your first Dalek.
Harry -
Dusting himself off, the Doctor lets her in on his secret: he has used the Hand of Omega as bait to lure the Daleks. However it seems he's been too successful, and both warring factions are making for Earth quicker than he'd anticipated.
Sarah -
Did he leave it to lure the Daleks or did they just figure out where it was? I was a little confused on this point. The First Doctor hadn't encountered the Daleks before he visited Earth in 1963. Did he come back to plant it?
It's really brilliant to have the Doctor has shown up not long after he left Coal Hill School with Barbara and Ian. So timey-wimey.
Harry -
I'm sure in the Doctor's timey-wimey timestream, he managed to find a way to return to London 1963 in his first incarnation, finding a funeral home in which to store the weapon. The CGI of the levitating casket was some of the best we've ever seen on this show. It's almost heartbreaking to know that just as the show was shaking off its "wobbly sets" notoriety, it was about to be paused.
Sarah -
I'm afraid we've got loads of fist-shaking over stuff like this in our immediate future. Doctor Who was getting SO GOOD in the Cartmel era.
Harry -
Anyway, in addition to the cracking new Counter-Measures characters, this anniversary story brings back some familiar faces. The Coal Hill headmaster was played by Michael Sheard, who appeared in no fewer than six different Who stories. And it was fantastic that the blind vicar was played by none other than Peter "PACKER!" Halliday.
Sarah -
Mr. Smith was more than a little startled when I shouted "PACKER!" Fortunately, he's mostly used to this sort of behavior from me.
I hadn't made the connection to "Remembrance of the Daleks" when the Series 8 story "The Caretaker" aired in 2014, but appreciated Steven Moffat's continuity link. I'd forgotten about the headmaster assuming that the Doctor was at Coal Hill to apply for the Caretaker job -- and I love that he showed up 51 years later to accept the position.
Harry -
Mindblowing, era-linking continuity is wonderful.
Sarah -
Isn't it?
Harry -
After snooping out a Dalek transmat machine, and eluding death at the hands of another Dalek, there's a quirky pause to the story as everyone splits up for the night. Ace departs with Mike Smith, whose mum runs a boarding house. The Counter-Measures team goes to regroup, and the Doctor slips into the same diner from before. There, he has a philosophical conversation with a man behind the counter. It was a strange few minutes, but it let everyone catch their breath after a breakneck first episode.
Sarah -
I absolutely adore the diner scene. Apparently, it was nearly cut for time, but McCoy insisted that it stay in. It's a wonderful moment and I'm glad it survived. John's meditation on how the desire for sugar led to him being British, rather than African, is a perfect fit for a Doctor Who story. It made me think of the First Doctor's lecture on how they must not change one thing in history while time traveling. The Doctor's conversation with John is an amazing way to remind us of the consequences of choices. "Every large decision creates ripples."
Harry -
At daybreak, the Doctor buries the Hand of Omega in a nearby cemetery, while human operatives of the two Dalek factions look on. The headmaster was clearly under control of the imperial faction, but here's a big bombshell: Mike Smith is in league with the renegade Daleks and their fascist human cronies. Oh Mike how could you!
Sarah -
Cutie pie Mike is not the good guy he seems -- in league with the Daleks and a racist, to boot!
Doctor Who doesn't always succeed when trying to deal with social issues, but Ben Aaronovitch's script does a great job of equating human racism with the Dalek's obsession with racial purity. Ace is there to most effectively call out everyone on their BS.
Harry -
Her reactions to the casual racism of Mike and his mum were perfect. The 60s were not all that long ago for a person from the 80s, but Ace still found the open-faced intolerance shocking. It's incredible to think this was only Sophie's second story, yet she's nailed the character. Ace comes at us as a bundle of emotions, conflicted feelings, strong opinions and bold moves; the average teenager, in short.
Sarah -
She is absolutely amazing! It's so refreshing for a companion to be given so much to do and Sophie gets everything right. The scene where she confronts Mike about his betrayal is amazing. I want to stand up and cheer every time.
"Remembrance of the Daleks" also features the ultimate Ace scene -- the one that will always be shown to represent her character -- when she beats up a Dalek with a baseball bat. It's one of the most lasting images in the entire history of Doctor Who and makes Ace the baddest badass to ever travel in the TARDIS!
Harry -
The contrast between Ace and Mel is like night and day. You can't imagine Mel swinging that baseball bat, or leaping through a glass window, or telling Mike to his face that she wished he was dead. I love Ace's badassery.
Sarah -
I can't even conjure up that image. Mel could never call anyone a toe rag!
Harry -
Somewhere between Revelation and Remembrance, was there a switcheroo between the identities of the Dalek factions? Here, the renegade faction -- led by a mysteriously Davros-esque controller -- is actually the original gunmetal grey Daleks of Skaro. The imperial Daleks are now the gold and white ones, led by the round-domed emperor Dalek. This confused me for the greater part of an episode before I figured out which side was which.
Sarah -
I had the same reaction, trying to figure out which faction was which. I imagine there are a dozen audios and books to fill in the gaps in the televised storyline.
Harry -
It would be no surprise to learn that Davros' renegade faction had become the dominant one. Either way, the human collaborators end up as so much detritus under the onslaught of Daleks that mass in London. Radcliffe's men are all gunned down, and Radcliffe and Mike end up getting betrayed.
Sarah -
Radcliffe was a slimebag from the beginning, but you couldn't help but hope that Mike could be redeemed. Alas, we reap what we sow.
In a interesting twist, the little girl is possessed by the renegade Dalek controller. The Doctor explains that the Daleks need a creative mind to allow them to be non-rational -- and there's nothing more creative than a child's mind. She manages to escape the carnage, because a child could never be killed in Doctor Who.
Harry -
The Doctor performs an often hair-raising balancing act, trying to keep the military at bay, trying to make sure the right Dalek faction captures the Hand of Omega, trying to keep the collaborators from bungling things up, and trying to keep Ace out of trouble. He pulls it off, just barely.
Sarah -
And look, there's our old pal Davros! After "Genesis of the Daleks", it feels like you're not a proper Doctor if you don't get your scene with Davros.
Harry -
Davros has to be there to wrap up the Dalek civil war trilogy, and to be the one who seizes the Hand of Omega at last. While Dalek factions continue battling in the streets (including the Special Weapons Dalek, squee!), Davros faces the Doctor again via the teleport that the Doctor rigged up with sound and video. Terry Molloy was extra greasy as Davros this time out. It looked like there was actual black goo coming out of his mouth. So grotesquely gothic!
Sarah -
This version of Davros has been through the wars and Molloy makes you feel every bit of it. The moment when the Emperor Dalek is revealed to be Davros is epic. I've seen this story so many times, but I still had a brief moment of surprise. That's some good storytelling!
Harry -
The Doctor provokes Davros into activating the Hand of Omega, not realizing that it is about to trigger a supernova that will anihilate all of Skaro, then return to destroy the imperial Dalek ship. The last minute turnaround that Davros always pulls at the end is somewhat ridiculous. One minute after raging like a maniac about total power and the oblivion of Gallifrey, he's reduced to mewling and begging the Doctor for pity.
Hey Davros, it's so transparent don't bother! You really are a terrible actor.
Skaro blows up real good, and so does the imperial ship.
Sarah -
And Skaro is no more...for now.
Harry -
The explosives crew must have had the time of their lives working on this story. The explosions throughout were massive.
Sarah -
Good work by everyone on the crew in this story.
Harry -
It was curious that they showed Davros' escape pod getting away from the exploding ship. I wonder if that meant that they planned to bring him back again soon, or maybe it meant the opposite?
Sarah -
We'll never know, I guess.
Harry -
After the Doctor talks the final suriving Dalek into self-destructing, the creepy little girl is freed from the mind control under which she had been held, and that's that. Presumably the Hand of Omega was destroyed. I can't recall hearing about it in any other stories since.
Sarah -
I expect it to show up in the 13th Doctor's era -- after Peter Capaldi's 27th series ends.
Harry -
If only!
What an amazing story. Perhaps the only disappointing thing was the rather abrupt ending. We didn't get a final scene of the Doctor and Ace with the Counter-Measures group, unless you count the very brief funeral procession. As we discussed above, I'd be keen on checking out some of the group's audio adventures.
Sarah -
It is a bit abrupt, but I love the final exchange:
Ace: We did good, didn't we?
Doctor: Perhaps. Time will tell. It always does.
Harry -
For now, the Doctor and Ace quietly take their leave and Coal Hill School can go back to normal... for now.
Best Line:
MIKE: Ace.
ACE: Go away.
MIKE: Ace, I didn't know it was the Daleks. I was just doing Mister Ratcliffe a favour.
ACE: Do me a favour and drown yourself.
So blunt, haha!
Favourite Moment: Ace bashes a Dalek to smithereens.
Lasting Image: the Counter-Measures team.
8/10
Sarah -
I've been looking forward to this story since we started this project, but wouldn't allow myself to watch it before now. I'm happy I don't have to wait to rewatch it again!
Best Line:
ACE: But this is Earth, 1963. Well, someone would have noticed. I'd have heard about it.
DOCTOR: Do you remember the Zygon gambit with the Loch Ness Monster? Or the Yetis in the Underground?
ACE: The what?
DOCTOR: Your species has the most amazing capacity for self-deception, matched by only its ingenuity when trying to destroy itself.
Favorite Moment: Ace telling Mike off.
Lasting Image: Ace beating on the Dalek like a boss!
9/10
Our marathon continues with Story # 149: The Happiness Patrol...
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