There's a lot to write about this time, so I'm going to skip lightly
over most of it (which may therefore get a little disjointed) and pick a
few scenes to tackle in more detail. The sets are great, and we get to
see a bit more of how the spaceship fits together. I particularly like
Ian's hiding place, and the way that the first time we see it, it's shot
as if it could be a different set; but then it's revealed to be
connected.
The big fight scene is an improvement, doing a good job of showing the
confusion; but it's still not what Richard Martin (or, indeed, the
program) does best. The smaller fight, with Ian and the roboman, also
lacks a little something - as most brawls at the time did - and then it
ends with one of the good guys stabbing the roboman! Suicide, knives -
this serial is providing some pretty good ammunition for Mary
Whitehouse's Clean Up TV Campaign, inaugurated earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, back in the rebel base, we have a lovely moment of waiting,
of despair. Someone's crying, someone's losing it; the others are sunk.
In particular, Alan Judd as Dortmun gives a fine, subdued performance.
In fact, this episode is very much his. Third episodes can be tricky; in
my First Season roundup they scored second-lowest on average (after
fifth episodes), and lowest if you go by director. By focusing so much
on one supporting character Terry Nation manages to keep up interest,
and in the process shows that he really is pretty good at serial TV.
So let's follow Dortmun's tale. Next we get the impressive whistle-stop
tour of London landmarks, with Jacqueline Hill showing off her
impressive "pushing a wheelchair at speed" skills. This has got it all -
Daleks doing the Nazi salute, Dalek graffiti (which got the designer
into trouble), Dalek viewpoint moments and a pounding musical backdrop.
This is the "money shot" for this episode, and the sense of scale I
mentioned last time is upped another notch. It's also playing up the
fear of invasion the British still felt (just as I said when reviewing The Time Travellers) - this is a very 1960s future nightmare.
The story focus zooms in again when we reach the Transport Museum. Judd
hits it for six with his portrayal (or knocks it out of the park -
choose your idiom), ably supported by Hill (and briefly Ann Davies,
before she leaves). This is matched by the finely nuanced script: the
way Dortmun handles the others has so many layers. Sending Jenny to
check on the Daleks is an obvious misdirection; we just know he's
actually doing it to smooth relations between the women. And when he
sends Barbara to fetch her this makes sense too, so when we find out
that he's actually getting them out of the way it's a real surprise. But
the thing is, it makes sense for his personality and feelings at the
time - and all layers of the deception make sense, too.
When I first saw this I thought it was cheesy the way Dortmun stands and
throws away his sticks when facing the Daleks, but this time around I
can see it for the big, defiant gesture it is. A fine end for the
character, and - despite a rather too pathetic explosion - for the
subplot too.
The other key character this week is Susan. As usual when given decent
material, Carole Ann Ford shows what she can do - and here she is helped
by Martin's direction, which works better in small, intimate moments.
Considering she spends almost the entire episode hiding under a small,
leafy twig, the fact that this part of the story is so good is quite an
achievement!
This subplot concentrates on two of her relationships: her
longest-lasting and her newest. She and David are thrown together by
circumstance, and crouch together listening to someone being
exterminated in the distance (a truly scary moment). I wonder what it
would be like to watch this and not know that Susan is going to leave at
the end? It's impossible to say, but David is certainly being set up as
a nice guy, and we are getting plenty of hints here that Susan's
travelling days might be coming to an end. There's the whole discussion
about moving on, about running away (and it's amusing that David
mentions going to see what it's like on Venus, when that will be the
TARDIS's very next port of call). The talk of Susan's real identity and
of her finding somewhere to finally stop may be a little heavy-handed,
but when you've got four episodes to set up something this important -
and when those episodes are each a week apart - I think it's pitched
right. To be honest, only one other companion gets anything like this
amount of focus on a relationship before leaving with someone.
I mentioned last time how little eye contact there was; here Martin
gives Ford plenty, first with Peter Fraser's David and later with
William Hartnell. There's a lot of affection between Susan and the
Doctor, and the actors manage to bring this out in little ways. It's not
that they are completely comfortable with each other - part of the
point is that Susan has grown, and that phase of their travels is past -
but they obviously know and like each other, even when they disagree.
Once again it's a combination of script, acting and direction that
brings the people to life. The Doctor tests Susan, making his authority
clear while prodding around in her skull; but then, when David returns,
gives her what she wanted. We see Ford in closeup, and as we watch the
emotions playing across her face it is emphasised once more just how
wasted she's been in the scripts to date.
There's a lot to like about this episode. The direction means that there
isn't quite as much tension as there should be in some parts, and the
fights are lacking; but the smaller moments are spot on.
Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 5th December 1964
Viewers: 11.9 million
Chart Position: 10
Appreciation Index: 59
Rating:
6.5/10.
Next Time:
The End of Tomorrow.
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