Story #68 - Planet of the Daleks (1973)

Sarah -
Here we are in the second half of our first continuous serial since the Hartnell years, and we’ve run into some friends we haven’t seen since then. The Thals have certainly evolved since the First Doctor’s visit to Skaro. They’ve developed the technology for space travel, acquired a more robust source of raw materials for clothing, and achieved a level of personal conflict required for a proper science-fiction story.


Harry -
These are proper Thals, in that the ones we first met on Skaro seemed such unlikely opponents for the Daleks. These Thals are much more up to speed on all that sciencey, weapony stuff.


Sarah -
And more fully clothed!


Harry -
Maybe Terry Nation realized that they were due for an upgrade. Which brings us to... Terry Nation! The third member of the classic Who circle of writers. It's great that we get a Holmes, Hulke and Nation story all in a row.


Sarah -
It's the trifecta! Unfortunately, it’s not a terribly original story. Is it just me, Harry, or is "Planet of the Daleks" basically a rewrite of the original Dalek story?


Harry -
Yeah, it's familiar stuff.  And this one took forever to get going. The first two episodes offered all the characters a chance to creep around the jungle for a bit, get into a spot of trouble, split up, get captured or sick and separated from the others. Sounds like a lot, but I was surprised to get to the end of part two and it felt like all of ten minutes had elapsed so far. Great pacing, but barely anything had happened.


Sarah -
You know what was particularly wonderful about this story? Jo Grant! Katy Manning was given every opportunity to shine - setting off to find help for the Doctor, surviving the fungal infection, and getting herself into the Dalek city to save the Doctor. Jo was particularly brilliant in this story.


Harry -
You could argue that Jo is the lead character here, and it's great that she was the focus of so much action. She is assertive throughout, be it exploring the wrecked ship, sneaking into the Daleks' base, defusing the explosives... not even a boulder to the head will slow her down!


Sarah -
Jo is unstoppable!


Harry -
Meanwhile, the Doctor is just along for the ride for the most part. He seems to enjoy hanging with his old friends the Thals. He's been captured and thrown into a cell so many times this season he barely puts up a fuss this time. And so we come to the scene where the Doctor is in a cell with Codal, the sciencey Thal. To effect an escape, the Doctor rigs up a device to cripple the Dalek guard - a device made from a cassette tape casing! A brilliant piece of improvised engineering, or quite simply the worst prop ever?


Sarah -
I imagine it looked quite cutting-edge at the time.


Harry -
I can't help but focus on little details like that. There's so little to this story, Sarah. As you said, it's practically a remake of the original Dalek story with better costumes.

As well, it's unmistakeably a Terry Nation story. He had a knack for pacing out his adventures so that each new peril or plot development fit neatly into a 22 minute block. Look at part three. Jo spends almost the entire episode creeping around a room - a room! - manoeuvring herself around consoles and posts to evade the Daleks' eyestalks. Meanwhile, the Doctor and the Thals fashion a marvellous escape up a ventilation shaft with a makeshift sail. Introduce new peril, and cue end theme. And of course, this is all happening on a jungle planet with a core of molten ice. It's so Terry Nation.

Did you have a favourite Thal?


Sarah -
I hadn't thought of having a favorite, but I kept looking at Taron and trying to remember where I had seen him before. A quick search answered my question - Bernard Horsfall was Lemuel Gulliver in "The Mind Robber" and a Time Lord in "The War Games". I love returning guest actors!

Do you have a fave?


Harry -
Taron is definitely my favourite and for the same reason. Horsfall made several appearances in Doctor Who over the years, and also appeared in a fantastic Big Finish audio released ten years ago: Davros.

Sadly, Horsfall passed away earlier this year, but he'll be remembered as one of Doctor Who's best guest actors.

While we wait excitedly for the next volume from our friends Rob Shearman and Toby Hadoke, I flipped through Outside In, a collection of fan essays on all the classic Who stories. The entry for "Planet of the Daleks" summed up my feelings about this story. Basically, it's great to watch Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning performing in their best season together, the Daleks do their Daleky thing, and it's a fun story to wile away some time. That's pretty much what I got out of it.


Sarah -
That's about it. I was never bored or bothered by the story, but neither did it capture me. I can't help but think it would have been a standout in almost any other season of Doctor Who, but this season has been so strong that "Planet of the Daleks" ends up being the weakest story.


Harry -
The post-viewing shine really came off as we've been writing about it.  I do want to note that, uninspiring story aside, it was well served by the set design. The jungles of Spirodon and the labyrinthine corridors of the Dalek base both looked vast and sprawling. The little tin models of the Dalek army were neat too.


Sarah -
The design team we're on their game in this story. Making small studios look like part of a massive structure can't be easy.


Harry -
In the end, everybody worked together to put the Dalek army back on ice, blow up most of their base and leave a few of them stranded on Spirodon.


Sarah -
HUZZAH!


Harry -
HUZZAH!

Jo's Farewell Arc comes into play again at the end, when she declines a personal invite to join the Thals on their journey back to Skaro. She's eager to return to Earth and the Doctor happily obliges. The arc is about to reach its end.


Sarah -
I'm going to be sad about saying goodbye to Jo, but I'm ready to start her final story. Shall we move on to "The Green Death"?


Harry -
It was interesting to see a kind of "Daleks' Master Plan" epic in the Pertwee era. "Frontier in Space" was a great first half, but the transition from space opera to a formulaic Terry Nation runabout didn't quite work.

Well, we can't put it off forever. I'm ready for Jo's farewell story too!


Sarah -
Best Line: "You know, for a man who abhors violence, I took great satisfaction in doing that."

Favorite Moment: Jo heading into the Dalek City to save the Doctor.

Lasting Image: The Doctor in that fabulous fur disguise!

6/10


Harry -
Best Line: "Doctor, I'm tired of being hunted too."  Another example of Jo foreshadowing her departure.

Favourite Moment: Jo asks the Doctor to take her home to Earth, and he cheerily obliges, not realising how little time together they have left.

Lasting Image: the army of Dalek miniatures

6/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #69: The Green Death...

Story #67 - Frontier in Space (1973)

Sarah -
We're halfway through season 10 and this is shaping up to be the best season of Doctor Who so far. Every story has been a corker!

Mac Hulke is back with another tale of political intrigue. After my shout of joy at seeing his name in the opening credits, I realized that I had never actually seen this story before! How exciting!


Harry -
We were just talking about him, too.

You know, we've seen before how Uncles Barry and Terry liked to create little season arcs, and I picked up a kind of unintentional one while watching this story. It's Jo's farewell arc.

This is Jo's third season with the Doctor, and by now she's had a lot of adventures, most of them Earthbound. When Season 10 began, the Doctor had recovered the ability to take the TARDIS anywhere in time and space. So far, they've landed in the cargo hold of an Earth ocean liner that itself was trapped inside an alien scope. From there, they moved on and landed in - wait for it - another cargo hold, this time on a space freighter. I don't think the Doctor promised he'd show Jo every cargo hold in the galaxy.

During this story, we also see Jo starting to drop hints about wanting to return to Earth to stay, especially during her incredible nonstop monologue that covered the Doctor's escape from a cell they were sharing.


Sarah -
Oh dear, you're right. There are just a couple more Jo stories left and I'm already feeling a bit sad about it. Watching all of Jo's stories in order for the first time has give me an appreciation for her that I've never had before. She really has grown and developed during her three seasons with the Doctor. She's gone from being his scatterbrained assistant to becoming an extremely resourceful and clever companion.


Harry -
I used to not think all that highly of Jo, but I agree seeing all her stories in order has shown how she developed as a character.


Sarah -
I'm going to miss Jo - and also her amazing fashion sense. I found myself wanting almost everything she's worn. Maybe not the hightop wedge gym shoes, but apparently they're the one thing Katy Manning regrets not keeping from her time on the show!


Harry -
Incredibly, one of my co-workers is wearing black hightop wedge gym shoes at the office today. She got them in NYC. Hers have fewer white markings on top and burgundy laces, but it blew my mind when she walked in today.


Sarah -
Love it!

Jo's monologue in the cell was one of my favorite scenes in this entire story. She was so funny and charming and I just wanted to give her a big hug for being so creative in distracting the Master. Her victory was complete when he turned the volume down on the video feed!


Harry -
Jeez, they got thrown into an awful lot of cells in this story, didn't they?


Sarah -
Oh dear, so many cells! Kudos to the inventive set designers for making it work.


Harry -
Maybe all the spaceship props ate up the budget.

I tallied up seven different times that Jo was detained in a cell or cage. That's more than once per episode!


Sarah -
Poor Jo!

One of the things that I loved about this story is that we spend the first two episodes on a political dispute between Earth and the Draconians, knowing that there's more to it, but not what it is. The moment when the Master arrives in the third episode is brilliant because it's so unexpected.


Harry -
Mac Hulke gave us the ultimate double red herring by introducing the Ogrons first. Aha, the Daleks' old servitors - this must be a Dalek story! But no, instead of Daleks barging into the Earth president's IKEA-From-the-Future office, it is the Master who suavely strolls in.

But at the end of the sixth episode, it turns out that the Daleks were involved all along. Double red herrings, well done Mr. Hulke!


Sarah -
It's utterly brilliant! I squeed with joy when the Daleks showed up!


Harry -
Despite the endless cycle of captures and escapes for Jo and the Doctor, the story kept changing locations and that kept it from dragging. The Doctor's time on the lunar penal colony felt unnecessary, and we never saw nor heard from those characters again. Maybe the whole point was to provide Jo with a wardrobe change to show that time had elapsed. Maybe I'm overthinking that?


Sarah -
Well, Katy did say that the karate outfit was her all-time favorite DW outfit, so maybe you're right!

I kept finding myself marveling at how well the story worked and how the story of all the captures, escapes, and re-captures could have easily gone south -- but never did.


Harry -
While Pertwee was racing around with the Earth general and the Draconian prince, Delgado's faceoffs with Manning were a highlight in this story.


Sarah -
She really held her own against an old pro.


Harry -
It's too bad that "Frontier in Space" marks the final appearances of the Ogrons and the Draconians. It's a shame that neither was ever brought back. I like the Ogrons in particular; they are like a mindless, thuggish biker gang in space. The only sour note is that Hulke never tells us where they came from, other than "the Ogron planet." And I doubt he would have named it "Theogronplanet". That's more of a Bob Holmes gag.


Sarah -
It was great to see the Ogrons again. I especially love the Draconian makeup and costumes. I'd love to see them return.


Harry -
The Draconian masks were excellently done.

Considering the lack of action in the first couple of episodes, there's plenty of it in the later stages. However, I do have to note that part six is one of the most baffling episodes ever.

When the Doctor and the others arrive on Theogronplanet (sorry, I'm stuck on that now), they see some sort of huge bladder monster at the top of a cliff. The Ogrons flee in terror. But later, we see that a depiction of the bladder monster has been painted on a wall inside the place where the Master has set up, complete with honourary flame. So is the monster an object of worship? It was so random, and never fully explained.


Sarah -
Apparently, that was explained in the original script, but got cut along the way. Look at me, Miss Watch-all-the-bonus-features-on-the-DVD!


Harry -
Ahh, call me Mr-Skipped-the-features-this-time.

Another thing that wasn't explained was how the Master shot the Doctor, then vanished. Did he just decide the gig was up and it was time to leg it? His disappearance allowed Jo to help the Doctor into the TARDIS and they escaped Theogronplanet.

And instead of a tidy ending with everything sorted, we instead get a Hartnell-era ending, where one story bleeds into the next one. That threw me for a loop.


Sarah -
I found it wonderfully exciting! I kind of loved when all the stories bled together in the Hartnell era.


Harry -
Turns out, "Frontier in Space" is the first half of an epic double feature. I have good memories of the next story, can't wait to get to it!


Sarah -
"Frontier in Space" is notably - and tragically - Roger Delgado's final appearance in Doctor Who. Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks had planned to end the season with an epic final story for the Master, but, sadly, it was never to be. Delgado's untimely death in a car accident in Turkey on 18 June, 1973, devastated the Doctor Who family.

Watching the Delgado tribute on the "Frontier in Space" DVD was so bittersweet. I was in tears by the end.


Harry -
Well, before we get to "Planet of the Daleks," I'll have to watch the Delgado tribute. For now, here's my closing notes.

Best line - "The Ogrons have got the finest defence mechanism of all: stupidity. They haven't got a mind for you to probe."

Favourite moment - Jo stands up to the Master, and he backs down.

Lasting image - The Draconians.

7/10


Sarah -
Best Line: The Master : "In a reminiscent mood are you, Doctor? Poor Miss Grant, you have my deepest sympathies."

Favorite Moment: Jo's rambling monologue.

Lasting Image: The Doctor and Jo in the cell.

8/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #68 - Planet of the Daleks...

Story #66 - Carnival of Monsters (1973)

Harry -
Poor Jo. The Doctor finally got a new dematerialization circuit from the Time Lords, and where's the first place they shoot off to? The musty storage deck of an Earth-bound ship.

Of course, he claimed he was taking her to Metebelis Three, but isn't that always the way? What's a poor companion to do?


Sarah -
It's a whole new adventure for Our Jo! She finally gets to travel freely with the Doctor -- and learns that it's not always what she might expect.


Harry -
Of course, we know something is afoot right off the bat. We meet the travelling carny performers Vorg and Shirna as they make their way through customs on Inter Minor. The baggage retrieval scene was zany fun.

Vorg and Shirna are a delight. So much glitter!


Sarah -
I've been trying to convince Mr. Smith that they should be our costumes for the next con -- I'll let you know how that goes. He seems to have an issue with glitter.


Harry -
And so many familiar faces among the Inter Minorites. I spotted Michael "Davros" Wisher right away, and while going through the DVD features I realized another of the gray-faced fellows was Peter "Packer" Halliday. PACKERRRR!!!


Sarah -
PACKER! I found myself having a "who is that, he looks so familiar" moment, but never quite got around to looking it up.


Harry -
It was good to see Robert Holmes' name again too. He wrote a cracking script here, brimming with creativity and snappy dialogue. Half the fun was listening in on the Inter Minor characters as they plotted and schemed through the entire story.


Sarah -
They were brilliant -- such fully realized characters! The writing and performances were an utter delight.


Harry -
One of the things about our little marathon is that we're really getting to know the show's writers. We're getting to see the wit and humour of Bob Holmes, and the social commentaries of Malcolm Hulke. Those two have really stood out, and I hadn't given the writing side of the show much thought before.


Sarah -
There are definitely writers names that I look forward to seeing!


Harry -
The first episode of "Carnival of Monsters" is a great mystery, as we try to reconcile the scenes on Inter Minor with the Doctor and Jo's arrival on the S.S. Bernice in 1926. I loved the visual cliffhanger of a giant hand picking up the TARDIS. The effect was pulled off brilliantly.


Sarah -
I love that we don't find out what's going on until the second episode. It's so disorientating -- for us and the Doctor and Jo.

I say, Old Chap, did you notice a rather familiar-looking gentleman playing the dashing young officer Andrews? I'm sure I've seen that handsome face before.


Harry -
Why yes, Andrews caught my eye and it's none other than Ian Marter! I'd venture to guess Andrews might be a relative of another Naval officer we'll be meeting in the future.


Sarah -
I'd like to imagine that he and Claire got back to Earth, married, and had a baby -- and for some inexplicable reason gave him the last name Sullivan. It could happen.


Harry -
You've convinced me it could.

Now, I've promised that I wouldn't rail against the Pertwee-era six parters because they are what they are and they can't be changed. But this story underscores why the four-parter is the best format for classic Who. If this one was stretched to six, the Inter Minor conspiracy would have become bloated, or the Doctor and Jo would have had to play a couple of extra rounds of capture-escape-recapture aboard the Bernice, or, well you see where I'm going with this. I won't keep bringing it up, but it's a shame that there weren't more Pertwee stories in the streamlined four part format.


Sarah -
I can only agree. Four-parters are really the perfect length -- all story, no padding.


Harry -
This one is such fun, especially when the Drashigs start running rampant throughout the scope.


Sarah -
It's been so long since I'd seen this story that I'd forgotten how much fun it was. I watch all four parts in one sitting.


Harry -
Me too. Topping day, wot!

Towards the end of it, Vorg is resigned to watching the scope slowly break down, and we saw the true face behind the smile when he shrugged off the imminent deaths of all his "livestock" inside the scope. Good thing that by then the Doctor was out and gave him what for.

I wonder how long Vorg and Shirna hung around on Inter Minor before precipitating their own expulsion. Hopefully Shirna found a better line of work.


Sarah -
Poor Shirna, she could only do better.

Did you find yourself missing the UNIT family just a little bit?


Harry -
Well, since we were "off world" for this story they wouldn't have been included here. This story is fun and pacey, and Uncles Barry and Terry are on a roll, following "The Three Doctors" and "The Time Monster." Unfortunately, I don't think we'll see much of UNIT for the next story or two. Hopefully the good roll will continue.

Shall we?


Sarah -
Let's!


Harry -
Best line:
"Doctor, I must rest."
"I know, I'm beginning to feel the centuries myself."

Favourite moment: Vorg and Shirna come tumbling out with the baggage at Inter Minor customs.

Lasting image: Vorg and Shirna's colourful outfits.

9/10


Sarah -
Best Line(s):
Doctor: "No, that's impossible."
Jo: "Do you ever admit that you're wrong."
Doctor: "No, that's impossible, too."

Favorite Moment: The Inter Minorites plotting.

Lasting Image: Nothing can top those costumes!

9/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #67 - Frontier in Space...