The Comic
First, a note about the dates of publication. Mission to the Unknown went out on 9th October 1965, which means that the Dalek Chronicles (which began before The Chase
was broadcast) are now overtaking the point I've reached in the TV
strand of my marathon. And what's noticeable is that, in terms of tone,
the TV series is only just catching up with the comic. Anyone who
enjoyed Mission will have done so largely due to the sight of
Daleks being both implacable and deadly, with additional variety
provided by other alien threats. Basically, you have to possess a
fascination with fear and death (as many humans do), a sense of horror
that is at the heart of the comics' appeal as well. This, however, was
almost entirely absent from The Chase, and to be honest not a major component of The Dalek Invasion of Earth
after the first episode. No, you'd have to go all the way back to their
debut as the title monsters of serial C to watch this mode of
storytelling in action, and in that story the Daleks were confined to a
single city and therefore in some way "safe". Like dinosaurs. Now they
are out in the universe.
But enough of that - what of this serial? Structurally it's very
interesting. Up until now the stories have been entirely linear, but
most of this adventure takes place on Skaro while The Penta Ray Factor
is happening elsewhere. What's more, the next serial begins before this
one is fully resolved! It definitely adds something to the series.
[Spoilers all the way.]
Unfortunately I'm not so enamoured of the content. I'm not one to
complain about dodgy science usually - oh, OK, I suppose that's the
opposite of true, but generally I'll do so in passing and move on. Here,
though, I find it particularly silly. The problems start with an
explosion of dalatomic radiation, which fortunately exits in a column
through a hole in the roof, leaving the laboratory area uncontaminated.
Now, in a genre where we have energy beam weapons I can imagine that
happening with a controlled process, but in an explosion? I mean, one of
the things about radiation is that it, well, radiates. But it
gets better. The beam strips the rust off the metal roof on the way out,
creating a radioactive cloud of rust, the one thing Daleks fear.
(Incidentally, this leads to one of my favourite scenes, with Daleks
running away from a wall while their leader yells at them to stop
panicking. Very Monty Python and the Holy Grail...)
Now, this rust voraciously destroys any metal it touches, including
desert stations and Dalek casings. What's more, when fired upon, it
climbs the energy beams to contaminate the attackers. Fortunately the
brain machine (remember that?) gives them the answer, and the cloud is
stopped using static electromagnets. David Whitaker does love his static
electricity, doesn't he? Though I can't see how it can create an
electromagnet, which produces a magnetic field with an electric current. Perhaps my school just didn't teach me enough physics.
Anyway, this is when things get really weird. The rust turns into
a plague, and Daleks start shooting each other to prevent their fellows
getting close enough to pass it on. The Emperor returns to find that it
isn't being spread between members of the general population, but only
from one carrier Dalek - who just happens to be the Black Dalek, the one
whose role means that he comes into contact with more of the populace
than anyone else. The poor guy should have learned to delegate. He tries
to sacrifice himself, but the Emperor refuses, saying they will build
him a new casing. So, a happy ending, after a fashion.
I suppose the problem isn't really that the science is dodgy per se,
but rather that each twist feels like a completely random magic-wand
way of extending the story. There is no logic to it, and no story
progression: each page or two a new way for the Daleks to be threatened
by the rust appears. This is the serial, episode by episode: (1) create
the cloud, (2) show the effects, (3) now it can climb energy beams, (4)
the wind blows it towards the city, (5) it turns into a plague, (6) the
Black Dalek is the carrier, (7) conclusion, but an alien ship lands.
Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
I take it back. Regardless of the way it overlaps with the stories on either side, this serial has no structure whatsoever.
Rating:
Comic: 2.5/10.
Published:
Dates: 4th September to 16th October 1965
Next Time:
Altered Vistas' take on Plague of Death.
DRP
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