Spoilers from the start.
The Comic
Finally, the Daleks make it into space! The first instalment of this
serial is a bit like a teaser trailer, concentrating on the Dalek space
program. You almost get a sense of the heroism of the early Dalek
pioneers sacrificing their lives for a worthy cause.
And this is what makes me think hard about my reaction to these stories.
The Daleks are evil empire-mongers, and yet they are undoubtedly the
heroes of the comic; which gives me a kind of double vision. I've never
understood the attraction of programs like Dexter or Hannibal,
where the audience is meant to be, in some sense, attracted to utterly
horrible serial killers; and yet, here I am rooting for the Daleks to
get into space! Maybe I'm not so different from the fans of those shows
after all. My approach to superhero and spy fiction is similar: in real
life I would abhor the actions of violent vigilantes and government
agencies who put ordinary people's lives at risk, but I can put that to
one side and enjoy them on their own terms.
This way of reading is certainly put to the test in the rest of the
comic. First we get the thrilling spectacle of Daleks fighting sentient
vegetation (no joke - it is thrilling, and my moral sentiments
are nowhere to be seen as I enjoy the sight of Daleks being killed in a
variety of inventive ways); then the Daleks cause the destruction of the
entire planet. I guess spectacle is what it's all about rather than
black and white hats, but whatever; it works brilliantly. The only thing
that makes it inferior to the previous story is that there is no
characterisation on display at all.
Rating:
Comic: 9/10.
Published:
Dates: 22nd May to 3rd July 1965
The Animation
It may be because it was a long time since I last watched one of these,
but it felt as if this was a step up. The sound recording quality is
still a little subpar, but in general Altered Vistas continue to push
against the limitations of what they can achieve. I noted last time how a
'making of' documentary explained why they had to use still shots when
Daleks spoke; here, we actually get some shots with speech and
character motion, and even the static shots are less noticeable. This is
partly due to careful direction, with motion that comes to a natural
halt just before the static section; and partly because for some shots
they use a scrolling backdrop - an advantage of the Daleks having made
it into space.
Speaking of which, the first episode of the comic is expanded to a
ten-minute sequence. Again the additional material is mixed. The
Emperor's speech at the end is perfectly in keeping with the source
material - in fact, it's quite chilling, just as, later, on the speech
about "one Dalek is still an army, one Dalek is still an invasion
force", set in a beautifully-lit cavern, is a brilliant addition; but
the meetings where the Emperor bangs on about how the Daleks are failing
seem out of character.
Once we reach the planet, I was pleased to discover that mobile
vegetation and lizard-worms don't give the makers as much of a problem
as humanoids. Again, the care and attention that has gone into this
really shows.
Overall it's nicely done, but rather slow-paced (there was no room for
any extra material this time). I would have preferred it if it were five
or ten minutes shorter overall, but I still feel getting the whole set
of these was a worthwhile investment (especially since it only cost me
blank disks, postage, and a little printer ink).
Of course, it's a long time since I've posted one of these reviews as
well; so I should point out that I don't make conscious allowances for
this being an amateur production. I think there might be an unconscious
bias, and the subect matter certainly helps, but even allowing for that
they're really not doing bad! For comparison, I rated the BBC
productions Dreamland 1.5 and The Infinite Quest 3.5...
Rating:
Animation: 4.5/10.
Next Time:
The Penta Ray Factor.
DRP
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