Doctor Who Retro Review: Serial 010—The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Doctor Who Retro Review, Serial 010:
"The Dalek Invasion of Earth"
Starring: William Hartnell
By T. Scott Edwards
The
Dalek Invasion of Earth is
an epic adventure which sees our time travellers return to their home planet a
few hundred years too late, to discover that the Daleks have conquered the
planet and through slave labour and mind control are forcing the remaining
survivors to mine for something from the planet's core. Terry Nation returns to
his creations, the Daleks, with aplomb – after the hit-and-miss The Keys of Marinus, his writing is back
on form. Whilst he'll never be as gifted at writing realistic three-dimensional
characters as Lucarotti and Spooner, he does admirably when dealing with a
grand-scale of characters, achieving a sense of national crisis as opposed to
just a collection of characters dealing with their own issues. What is so
magnificent about this serial is that we meet characters from every walk of
life, and from a variety of different regions and in a number of varied
locations, all dealing with the implications of the domination of their home
planet. Some step up to rebel, whilst others work with their oppressive
overlords and betray their own kind for some fresh fruit. Others use cunning to
exploit their own people, for their own superficial gain.
The serial opens with the suicide of one
of the Daleks' mind-controlled Robomen, as he struggles with his neck brace
before collapsing into the poisonous depths of the river Thames. In the
background throughout, there is a sign warning not to "Dump Bodies into
the River". The grim realism of this sets it apart from Nation's other
scripts – where he usually creates alien worlds and alien residents, here the
focus is very British, and it is all the more shocking for it. The sign is
something of a bug-bear of mine; the TARDIS crew spend at least ten minutes of
this first episode wandering around under the bridge and yet fail to see the
sign which is right behind them until
much later. This is, of course, typical Nation – the realism is there, to some
degree, but there is always something about it not ringing true. Peripheral
vision is a hindrance to Doctor Who frequently,
with characters not noticing things or not being spotted despite being in the
most obvious hiding places – indeed, in the Pertwee years, it is a constant
fallback as a plot device – but here it feels ridiculous. That they are looking
around for clues, standing right in front of the sign, yet utterly missing it,
irks me.
Another Terry Nation favourite is the
idea of separating the crew from the TARDIS – this is a trait of many of the
early Doctor Who stories, a guarantee
that the begrudging crew have to join in with the action as they have no choice
– but since Planet of Giants the
dynamic and motivation of the crew had been seen to change. They are no longer
the group that would just as soon run away from danger, but rather purposefully
set out to stop whatever is happening around them. As such, Nation's script is
something of a backward step for the progression of the show – indeed, it is
something which Nation will continue to do in almost every script hereon, all
the way to his final offering in 1979. Here, the collapse of the bridge is
responsible, with a girder covering the door and preventing them access.
The introduction of the rebellious
forces at work is a nice touch – the eyes watching Ian and the Doctor but not
intervening is a grittiness which is welcome; these people do not know these
two outsiders, and even as the Robomen come forward, they are unwilling to step
in to protect them, risking their own lives. The Robomen are, generally
speaking, wonderfully realised; zombie-like in appearance, with glassy eyes and
stilted movements. One small grievance is the lack of consistency to them –
whilst most appear to be like zombies, unemotional and robotic, others (all
unnamed extras) swing their arms nonchalantly with little focus on facial
appearance or characterisation.
One of the most iconic Dalek moments
ever comes as the cliff-hanger to episode 1 – the Dalek emerging from the
Thames. Quite what it was doing under the surface of the river in the first
place is beyond me, but still, the scene would provide quite a shock to a
contemporary audience – that is the beauty of individual titles for episodes as
opposed to whole serial-encompassing ones. Having said that, an awful lot of
publicity went into the return of the Daleks, and so the shock may not have
been there for young children in the '60s either. The reveal of the Daleks
brings up a wonderfully realised parallel, one which Terry Nation was obsessed
with in his work – having survived the Second World War and witnessed the
atrocities of the times, Nation was a fan of openly criticising the political
systems which allowed such things to happen, and the destructive power of those
in charge. In The Daleks, it was the
use of the A-Bomb and nuclear armaments. Here, the parallel is far less subtle,
and all the more effective for it – the Daleks are the Nazi party, stomping
through other people's territories, saluting the 'sieg heil' with their plunger
arms. The parallels continue – Dortmun's speech in episode 2 sounds as though
it could have been delivered by any first-world country, particularly sounding
very Churchill-esque in its message of motivation and passion. The destruction
of London is reminiscent of the Blitz, and even Nation's scripts suggested
using locations genuinely destroyed in the bombing of London twenty years
earlier, still not rebuilt, for authenticity.
As with all Doctor Who serials of the time, education plays an important role,
and the scene in which the Doctor, Ian and Craddock are locked in a cell, and
the discussion of magnetism, feel a little forced and false – as with many of
Nation's scripts, the educational elements do feel somewhat shoehorned in. That
said, the Doctor does have some great put-downs for the sceptical Craddock,
including the brilliant "if they had to deal with a man of your talents,
they need hardly fear, need they?" and Hold that and shut up".
The second episode comes to a dramatic
close with the rebel attack on the Dalek base, using Dortmun's bombs. The set
pieces and action sequences are impressive, and as episode 3 begins, we see the
Doctor's transformation into a Roboman halted by the attack. What is
interesting about the sequences involving a large number of Daleks is spotting
the new models, the old models, and the one-dimensional cut-outs. Whilst the
BBC had kept two models in storage for a possible revival of the creatures, two
models had been donated to Barnardo's, and they were borrowed back for use in
this serial. Likewise, a large number of new Daleks were built, to a slightly
different design spec. To make up the numbers, several life-sized photos were
printed and cardboard-mounted to create the epic sense of being surrounded. The
Supreme Dalek is one of the old models, in episode 2 painted with black and
white stripes and then, for episode 3 onwards painted completely black.
The scenes involving Susan and David
(Peter Fraser) are wonderfully touching, as the pair first get to know each
other before gradually becoming more tactile. Their discussions about the
benefits of having "a home" are lovely, and heavily foreshadow the
final scenes of episode 6. Carole Ann Ford is terrific in this, both in her
scenes with David and those with the Doctor. The tactile relationship between
her and Hartnell positively lights up the screen, as she attempts to bring the
feeling back into Hartnell's legs. Incidentally, Hartnell really was injured in
the making of this serial, being dropped in the opening of episode 3 and
becoming temporarily paralysed after landing over something and hurting his
back. It is testimony to his dedication that he continues throughout despite
this debilitation, with only a short break and a little rewriting necessary due
to his visit to the hospital, with Edmund Warwick stepping in to 'faint' as the
Doctor.
Alan Judd is absolutely terrific as
Dortmun, the scientist unable to defeat the Daleks with his primitive grasp of
technology in comparison to that of the Daleks themselves, and his pride in his
creation of the bomb, swiftly followed by the look of dejection when he hears
that the first device was ineffective, are wonderful. His tragic self-sacrifice
is made all the more painful as we realise the second bomb prototype is equally
ineffective, and hi brave stand, throwing his wheelchair away before stomping
towards the oncoming Dalek troops is heartbreaking.
The bomb at the end of episode 3, and
its destruction at the start of episode 4, is a wonderfully crafted prop, and
there is a genuine sense of danger created as it ticks down to destruction. As David
pours the acid – really acetone – over the casing, it dissolves fantastically. David's
relationship with Susan continues to blossom throughout this episode, and the
pair are enchanting to watch.
Episode 4 is all rather bleak, really –
this is where Nation comes into his own, throwing in a vast number of bit-part
characters to show alternative ways of life during the oppression of the
Daleks. Ashton, played with slimy greed and callousness by Patrick O'Connell,
is superb, showing that while people likes Larry are rebelling for the greater
good, and people like Wells are struggling by in the mines but caring for one
another, there are those willing to exploit the situation – that he trades in
precious metals and jewels is odd, considering that there is no value to
anything anymore, since all shops are closed. What exactly he wants the money
for is rather ambiguous, but it's a nice touch that he is holding onto what he
believed dear from before the attack and the plague. Equally brilliant is the
relationship between Barbara and Jenny, played by Ann Davies, as they
courageously continue following Dortmun's suicide in a stolen bus. The scene
where they mow a Dalek down at full pelt is brilliant.
Sadly, budgetary restraints do have a
negative impact on episode 4 too – whilst the epic number of extras is
fantastic, as is the use of stock footage of mining works and the fantastic
location shooting, we also have two of the biggest let downs imaginable – the
three inch baby alligator in the sewers, and then the Slyther. Oh, god, the
Slyther – the worst special effect yet, it is fortunately only in it for brief
glimpses, but then we reach the cliff-hanger, for which the responsibility
hangs solely on its shoulders, or back, or lump, or whatever the hell it is. Essentially
a bin bag with one papier maché claw stuck to it, it has no menace whatsoever. And
in the reprise of episode 5, where the Slyther dies, it gives out a little
whimper like a dog that has been accidentally kicked.
Episode 5 features more of the 'bad'
people – the collaborators in the woods who betray Barbara and Jenny are
terribly one-dimensional, betraying them all for some sugar and some fruit. Still,
for the little time that they are on screen, they serve a purpose – like Ashton
before, some people will do anything to save their own backs, including betray
those who are desperately trying to save them. Adding to this realism is a
rather clever touch from the costume department – Ian's suit is gradually
becoming more and more grimy, and the seam down his back is, episode by
episode, becoming more and more frayed, before finally splitting completely in
the final episode. Episode 5 also features one of the most moving subplots seen
in Doctor Who, the desperate search
for Larry's brother, Phil. After he sprains his ankle, Larry realises that he
will only slow Ian down, and when he finally discovers his brother has been
turned into one of the Robomen, he insists Ian run as he sacrifices himself,
shot at point-blank range by his own brother. To add to the emotional charge of
this, though, is the unscripted moment where, in his final death throes, Phil
mutters "Larry", and that final moment of recognition is terribly
haunting.
Scott Edwards is a teacher of English and Theatre Studies at Barnard Castle School in the North East of England, with a BAHons in English Literature and Film Studies. He is also a self-professed ‘ming-mong,' and in addition to http://timelordapprentice.blogspot.co.uk/ he also runs http://www.facebook.com/Classic.Doctor.Who. You can also follow him on Twitter: @TimelordTSE.
Labels: Doctor Who, review, T. Scott Edwards
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