The day before this was broadcast, Maureen O'Brien was contracted for
another 12 episodes and Peter Purves (who we've yet to see) was
contracted for 13. Two days after broadcast, on the 24th, William
Hartnell was contracted for another 30. Confidence in the show's
continued viability must have been high!
And why not? We've got the Daleks back! And they get to open the show,
with the recap from last time. But there are a couple of obvious
differences from the usual Dalek story. First is that they are
here from the start, rather than being revealed in the cliffhanger at
the end of the first episode. It's a small thing, and our heroes don't
actually encounter them until the aforementioned cliffhanger; but it's
still an indicator that something has changed.
The other difference is that this is the first time the story comes to
the Doctor rather than vice versa. The Doctor is now a force in the
universe, and not the sort of figure who can slide under the radar of
his people for much longer, surely? We shall have to wait and see how
that pans out. Meanwhile, we get to see something else new: the TARDIS
in the Vortex. The effect here is nothing like the Matt Smith title
sequence version, but it's still very effective, and the jazzy music
that accompanies the shot helps to set the mood.
And then, what do we get next? Vicki being bored. What we might expect
is for this to be a momentary thing before they land, a character note
setting the tone for the opening of the new adventure. But it's not: it
goes on for ages, during which we find out - unexpectedly - that we are
watching a comedy. There's Ian in his pyjama top reading a book called
"Monsters from Outer Space" and commenting on how unrealistic it is.
There's the ridiculous beds (and note how Vicki emphasises their
impracticality by tipping one up). And then the crew decide to settle
down and watch the new telly.
I could go on for ages about the Time-Space Visualiser (hereinafter
TSV). It's a perfect blend of past and future: it looks vaguely like a
Wurlitzer organ but with old-style computer card slots and a 1960s TV in
the middle, it's decorated with labelled planets of our solar system,
and it can do magical things. It's also incredibly complicated to use
and breaks down easily. My dad used to be like the Doctor, here; he'd
spend ages fiddling with electronic devices to get them working - model
railway, TVs, projectors, reel-to-reel tape recorders - with mixed
success. Which is why I really like the way the visualisations of the
past gradually break up, with static obscuring the scenes. Now that's
how we used to watch TV! Well, some of the time.
And some of the time, the TSV behaves like the TARDIS and shows the
viewers exactly what they need to see, rather than what they ask for.
Barbara's reaction on seeing the Daleks is wonderfully performed -
though the actual scene of the Daleks preparing to leave is considerably
less effective. The Dalek assassination squad going round and round for
ages just drags, and there's no life to the scene - despite the
presence of a group of four Daleks lead by a black one, who prefigure
another such group.
Still, we're getting ahead of ourselves - in two ways. We're a few
months from the Daleks' big screen debut, but Dalekmania already has a
firm grip on the nation. And of course, Dalekmania was named after an
even bigger movement: Beatlemania. Which brings me to the missing scene
from the TSV show, and the stars honoured in Vicki's time at Liverpool's
Beatles Memorial Museum. Apparently they were happy to appear in the
show dressed up as old men at an anniversary concert, but this idea was
vetoed by their manager, Brian Epstein, and some archive footage had to
be used instead. The choice of Ticket to Ride seems eerily
appropriate, foreshadowing the end of this serial; but it was the
limited range of available clips that actually drove the selection. Put
it down to good fortune. And we even get to see Ian dancing like a dad!
So. Finally I've finished with this diversion; can we get on with the
adventure now? Apparently so, as there's a beautiful shot of the Doctor
from the point of view of the TARDIS console. Unfortunately that's about
the only brilliant shot in the episode, and it's outnumbered by weak
ones such as the view of Ian's legs that director Richard Martin
comments on. Although I think he's a little harsh, there, it does seem
that his wild imagination has mostly abandoned him.
Outside, at last, we see an alien landscape - and it's highly effective.
A day's shooting at Camber Sands provides some great long shots, but
the studio set is not bad either (though admittedly flaws show that
wouldn't have been visible originally thanks to modern televisions and
the efforts of the Restoration Team). When we see a tentacle in the sand
it looks great! Actually, the whole tentacled beast works wonderfully -
and shooting it in shadow when we see the rest of its body is a good
decision. The only problem is when the tentacle misses its cue to close
the door...
The designers have done a great job here. My namesake John Wood is
involved, alongside the late, great Raymond Cusick, and the feel of this
part of the episode is buoyed up by their work - and by Dudley Simpson,
who has provided some very effective music with a slightly music-hall
feel. The fade to night is done well - Howard King is the lighting man
here - and the sandstorm is brilliant. It's a team effort, and a
successful one.
What about Terry Nation's script, though? The idea to do an out-and-out
comedy episode to open a Dalek epic does seem a trifle bizarre, but he
really goes for it - and it made me chuckle, though not so much as The Dimensions of Time. I particularly liked the exchange between Barbara and the Doctor concerning the "awful noise".
And then we get the cliffhanger: the well-handled effect of a cute Dalek
panting as it strugges to rise from the sand. This says a lot about the
show, chiefly that it is so established that it not only has a
mythology to plunder, it has tropes it can lampoon. A straightforward
parody of the 'Dalek rising from the Thames' cliffhanger in World's End,
this is the first clear signal that the Daleks really are part of the
comedy. It's not an odd opener to a Dalek epic: it's the start of a
Dalek farce.
Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 22nd May 1965
Viewers: 10.0 million
Chart Position: 14
Appreciation Index: 57
Rating:
Do you know what? I was going to give this episode a 4, but in reviewing
it I found much more to enjoy, and I'm now thinking a 5.5. I'll split
the difference: 5/10.
Next Time:
The Death of Time.
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