Let's start by taking a glance at the broadcast figures below: 8.9 million viewers. That's two million higher than the previous record, two and a half more than the previous episode. Next week will add another million, with a further half million a couple of weeks after that. The chart position is also the highest it's been, and the trend over the next few weeks is again positive; while audience appreciation is consistently high, which is impressive when combined with such steeply rising viewing figures.
Many things can affect these ratings other than the quality of the programming - a warm, sunny evening, for example, can make people decide to go outside instead of watching TV - but it's only really the quality of the alternatives on other channels that affects all of them. When Sydney Newman joined the BBC his remit was to revamp the drama department. ITV, the network of commercial stations that started in the mid-50s, was eating into the BBC's share of the audience, and it was Newman's job to reverse the trend. Ironically he was partly responsible for it, having done much the same for independent broadcaster ABC! Part of his strategy at the BBC was to develop a program to bridge the Saturday evening gap between Grandstand and Jukebox Jury; Doctor Who was it.
When the show started, a rival children's SF series called Emerald Soup had been running for a couple of weeks and built up some viewer loyalty. Its final episode was broadcast on 21st December, opposite The Dead Planet, after which it was replaced by reruns of older shows. I can imagine people tuning in for another week to see what the repeats were like, then deciding to see what's on the other side. Some may have been swayed by the buzz that was building up, but I strongly doubt 2.5 million were. Still, whatever their original reasons for tuning in, the new viewers stayed for the Daleks.
On to this episode, then, which is the first directed by Richard Martin. Martin had done a little TV directing before, but was still fairly inexperienced. Later he was to return for two more Dalek serials and the surreal The Web Planet, and is not generally well regarded in fandom. Based on this episode I really can't see why - it's mostly effective and there are some particularly good moments, such as Susan stepping out into the light with Alydon and Temmosus standing up to reveal the TARDIS behind him just as he mentions "magical architecture."
What most stands out for me this week, though, is the script. Nobody behaves stupidly for the sake of the plot, a rarity not just in Doctor Who but in TV drama generally. Equally, nobody jumps straight to the correct solution; for example, we get to see the prisoners working out their plan of escape step by step, and this is done in such a way that it is kept interesting rather than killing time. The way the Thal cape is used is also impressive, with each step completely natural and ending up just where it needs to be.
The acting is also up to scratch (except for a couple of moments with the Thals), and I particularly enjoyed Ian's reaction upon first seeing the Dalek creature. Which brings me nicely on to my next subject:
Playing on our Fears, Part 1: Disability
The Thals are physically-perfect aryan humanoids. The Daleks are so hideously mutated that they need huge amounts of mechanical help just to move about their city. Guess which ones are the bad guys?
I have recently been thinking more about fear of disability and the prejudice it engenders because of my own experiences. A couple of years ago I suffered a severely prolapsed disc. It wasn't just my mobility that was impaired: the constant pain (possibly along with the drugs I was taking to manage it) meant that my thinking was also unclear. I felt as if I couldn't do anything. Being unable to wash or dress myself, let alone work, brought me up short against this most common of fears. A determination to get well helped me to avoid an operation (against the advice of my surgeon, though he acquiesced so long as I agreed to get myself up A&E at the first sign of nerve damage), and I am recovering well; but I will never manage the long commute and long hours of work I was doing before. I am currently figuring out what I can do instead but it's not easy, particularly in the current economic climate.
Anyway, it seems to me that our society really pushes independence and self-reliance to a ridiculous, unrealistic extent. We are all dependent upon others, but those links are hidden and can generally be ignored by most of the population. Visibly disabled people demonstrate to the rest of us how fragile that illusion is, and bring our fears of losing "independence" close to the surface. Unfortunately what sometimes happens is that we decide to "kill the messenger," and turn our fear into anger or even hatred against the person or thing that reminds us of our fragility. We also project our fears, imagining how bitter and twisted a disabled person must be.
It's not a pretty picture but it is full of potential as a source of emotional "hooks" to grab viewers, and all credit to Nation and the team for making such good use of these. The Daleks are the ultimate symbol of disability warping the victim into something terrible. Or at least they are for the next twelve years, until they are supplanted by their own creator.
This episode ends, appropriately enough, not on a cliffhanger but with a moment of disgust for the viewers as we see the Dalek creature's claw reaching out from beneath the cape. 'Nuff said.
Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 4th January 1964
Viewers: 8.9 million
Chart Position: 45
Appreciation Index: 62
Rating:
7.5/10.
Next Time:
The Ambush.
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