Doctor Who Retro Review: Serial 021—The Daleks' Master Plan
By T. Scott Edwards
If I'm honest – and I always try to be –
this is the point in this experiment that I was dreading. The Daleks' Master Plan is an epic, 12-episode marathon, and a lot
of it is written by Terry Nation. I could fall out with this serial at the mere
thought. At the suggestion of a friend, this update will be split into three
sections – episodes 1-6, episode 7, and episodes 8-12. The reasoning behind
that will hopefully be clear.
For years, my only experience of this
serial was by way of the Target novelisations – which are superb – by John
Peel, splitting the story up over two books. I intend to do the same thing with
this blog entry, dividing it down the middle. Wish me luck...
Sadly, only 3 episodes from this
almightily epic serial exist, with a few short clips from some of the other
episodes. Fortunately, the audio, with Peter Purves' narration, do exist and allow an idea of how this
must've appeared. Episode 1 picks up where The
Myth Makers ended, with the Doctor and Katarina nursing the ailing Steven,
suffering from blood poisoning and on the edge of death thanks to an injury
sustained during the burning of Troy. The main focus, however, is upon Bret
Vyon and Kurt Gantry on the surface of the planet Kembel. Vyon is played
magnificently by Nicholas Courtney, better known for his recurring role as
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. As with Marc Cory in Mission to the Unknown, both SSS operatives are cool and crisp,
delivering their lines with brisk efficiency. What is beautiful is that at no
point does the pair directly reference the Daleks by name – there is the
mention of "those things" and "they", but the Daleks are
not name-checked yet. Instead, the audience is forced to remember the one-off
serial which aired 5 weeks earlier.
The scenes back on Kembel suddenly jump
back to life, as we are able to see an existing clip from the story – and it is
instantly clear that, as always, we are in safe hands with Douglas Camfield. Whilst
much of the story is missing, it is evident that it will have been very
cleverly handled, based on clips like this – the framing of the shots are
wonderful, and there is a real sense of menace in the way in which the Dalek
towers over Gantry, mercilessly shooting him down.
Steven's fate is ultimately interwoven
with that of Vyon – upon observing the materialisation of the TARDIS, he
follows the Doctor and forces him to hand the keys over. Once inside, he tries
to persuade Katarina to take off – not that there's any chance of that, mind,
since the poor girl doesn't even understand the concept of a key! – but is
promptly knocked out when Steven sees the Doctor locked outside on the scanner.
Fortunately, the Doctor was right about the planet being advanced enough to
provide the drugs needed to save Steven's life, as Vyon carries some medicine
with him in his belt-pack. With Steven gradually recuperating, unknown to the
Doctor, we are left to see him discover what we as an audience already know –
the Daleks are on Kembel forging an alliance that will spell the end of
civilisation. Returning to the TARDIS, he discovers that the doors are open,
and the ship is surrounded.
Of course, everything is alright though
– Steven and Katarina are lying some distance away, hiding. This episode exists
in the archives, and again it proves just how good a director Douglas Camfield
is. His use of blocking is magnificent, and there are some real flairs here –
moments like the greeting between Zephon and Chen are beautifully realised,
creating a grand scale which we could only imagine of the first episode. Likewise,
the framing of Courtney's face as he reveals his disgust at the presence of
Mavic Chen on the planet is wonderful; we are up close and personal, and his
curl of the lips is beautifully underplayed.
The Master of Zephon, a huge creature in
a long black cowl and with hairy hands and feet, is impressively played by
Julian Sherrier – but sadly less impressive when played by Hartnell, as the
disguise is taken and Hartnell's Doctor is able to be proactive and disrupt the
meeting. Whilst Sherrier was all about the grand gestures – his entrance is
magnificent as he strides confidently, arms out-stretched, through the entrance
hall - Hartnell instead elects a far softer more docile approach, head bowed,
arms crossed and quick steps. Quite how none of the other delegates are
suspicious is baffling – his feet are clearly not the fuzzy claws we saw
earlier, and his every mannerism is different. Also, when Zephon finally gets
back to his feet and sounds the alarm, he is still wearing his cloak – surely
he doesn't have a cloak beneath his cloak? Is he the equivalent of a Voord, a
man in a wetsuit with skin like a wetsuit, as was hinted at in The Keys of Marinus?
What is also interesting about this
second episode existing, of course, is the fact that it allows us to see all of the other delegates – whilst
stills exist from Mission to the Unknown,
it has always remained unclear who exactly was who. Toby Hadoke makes an
interesting suggestion in Running Through
Corridors regarding their character names based on the stature, and in one
case race, of the actors performing the roles. Here, though, they have been
recast – and several have been replaced entirely. Gone is the Christmas Tree /
Sorting Hat, and in its place is a fascinating character moving in slow motion,
covered in balls. Again, the makeup is superb here.
Episode 2 is also important for another
reason – until the recovery of it in 2004, there was no existing footage of
Katarina at all – as such, we had no way of seeing exactly how Adrienne Hill
played her, only able to hear her rather disjointed and staccato delivery at
the end of The Myth Makers and on the
soundtrack to this serial. Now that we can see it, however, it becomes far more
interesting; whilst she always sounded rather monotonous and uninspired, her
performance is beautifully played with little quirks and nuances, as she walks
around in a daze constantly, arms floating airily by her side. She also
provides a cracking cliffhanger, wonderfully poignant as she exclaims that they
cannot leave without the Doctor – "Without him, we can't reach the place
of perfection". The desperation in her voice is clear, and it is telling
that even with the Doctor's insistence that he is not a god, she still sees him
as a saviour, one without whom they stand no chance. It speaks volumes about
the way in which the show is still progressing, as since Ian left, the Doctor has
become far more proactive.
Episode 3 leaves us back to only having
a soundtrack and a few existing clips, but based on the soundtrack alone it is
quite a belter – the scene in which the Daleks stand by, watching the war of
words between Mavic Chen and Zephon is wonderful, and Kevin Stoney, as Chen, is
simply breathtaking. The arrogance and corruption oozes from him, and he is
spectacular in scenes like this. What is also fantastic is that after the
ludicrously debasing saga of The Chase,
the Daleks are genuinely threatening again – the carelessness on their part is
fantastically played, as whoever loses this verbal sparring will be executed,
as simple as that. They do not care who dies,
but someone will, to pay the price for the failing.
The scenes on Desperus – because the
convicts are desperate... gettit?! – sound great too. The in-fighting between
the convicts over ownership of the knife is wonderful, and what is interesting
is that it is Kirksen who survives on the planet and enters the airlock before
the Spar takes off again. Easily the weakest of the three, it is he who shows
cunning, and leads wonderfully into the cliffhanger, which is possibly the
first time a scream has seamlessly melded into the closing credits – something
which Bonnie Langford will make every effort to do week-in-week-out in the
1980s. Here, it is the Doctor's carelessness which has led to Kirksen gaining
entry – he left the external door open because he isn't "used to this kind
of craft". Likewise, it is he who sends Katarina to check on the door,
leading her to her impending death.
The death scene, in episode 4, still
exists, and the struggle between Katarina and Kirksen is horrible to watch, as
the pair tussles inside the airlock, and Bret's refusal to change direction,
builds up the tension and the drama nicely. When she pushes the button to expel
both herself and the convict into space, it is heartbreaking, and Purves'
delivery as he screams her name is wonderfully touching. Even more powerful,
though, is Hartnell's speech, as he says that "She wanted to save our
lives and perhaps the lives of all the other beings of the Solar System. I hope
she's found her Perfection. Oh, how I shall always remember her as one of the
Daughters of the Gods. Yes, as one of the Daughters of the Gods." It is a
speech which should be up there with the "I shall come back" speech
of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, yet
is largely unknown because of the lack of existent material.
This scene also marks an important first
– the death of a companion should not be underrated, as it is a powerfully
emotive scene, and one which further highlights the danger of the Doctor's
lifestyle. Whilst each serial invariably features a character nearly meeting
their end – whether by a sword, a ray gun, a depressurised airlock or what you
will – they are always seen to be saved. Here, though, we realise that the
Doctor loses. Or more importantly, that the Doctor can lose. Later in this episode, we have the death of Bret Vyon,
and he receives no eulogy whatsoever; the Doctor and Steven simply believe he's
fallen back somewhere, and even when they discover his fate, little is said or
done about it. It will not be until Earthshock
in the 1980s that a companion should suffer such an emotively-strung fate
again, but this is beside the point. If companions were frequently shown to
die, it would remove some of the wonder and fantasy that time travel entails. It
is enough to simply show that they can die.
Interestingly, had Vicki not left the series in the episode before, it would
have been her to have died in that airlock, and that frequently doesn't even
bare thinking about – Katarina had only travelled briefly with the Doctor, and
it was heartbreaking, but if it had been Maureen O'Brien instead, goodness knows
how I'd have felt.
The return to Earth also sees the
introduction of Jean Marsh's character, Sara Kingdom. Last seen in The Crusade, Marsh brings a sense of
coldness to this character, crisp and clipped in tone, dressed in a black cat
suit. Her brisk manner underlies the danger she poses, and her calm willingness
to follow orders is wonderful when seen in juxtaposition with her performance
in episode 5. Also on Earth is the man Bret Vyon trusts implicitly, Daxtar,
played wonderfully by Roger Avon (also from The
Crusade). Daxtar's treachery is uncovered rather simplistically, however,
using the old trick which we saw most recently in The Time Meddler – he is obviously a spy because he knows things
that the TARDIS crew haven't yet told him. Bret's argument that "I've
known this man all my life" is quickly undermined when he executes him in
cold blood for his betrayal.
Equally cold-blooded is the execution of
Vyon, by Sara Kingdom, who accuses him of treasonous behaviour. The efficiency
with which she guns him down, followed by her orders to kill the Doctor and
Steven, are troubling enough – but her addition of "aim for the head"
makes the blood run cold.
Episode 5 exists, which is both a
blessing and a curse – sadly, this episode is the weakest of the serial so far,
featuring clumsy Daleks and mice. Essentially a reread of The Chase, up to now, the story has bounced from location to
location, with our heroes only ever being breathing distance from the next
threat. Now that they are being pursued by Daleks, the similarity becomes even
more noticeable. What this episode does do very well, though, is cement what we
heard in episode 4 – and that is that
Stoney is simply magnificent. In episode 2, particularly with Zephon, he was
great. Here though, away from funny looking aliens and tin-pot wannabe
dictators, he smoulders brilliantly. His scenes with Karlton, played by the
impressively-bald looking Maurice Browning, are fantastic, as he rants about
power and see his quirky mannerisms underlying the danger of the maniac. Likewise,
we are able to see Stoney through Browning's eyes too – he is clearly aware
that his boss is going crazy, yet is willing to goad him, to push him onwards. Karlton
is actually the brains of this operation – the ultimate spin doctor, in fact,
as he works to turn the situation into an advantage for them both. It's
wonderful to see, and in lesser hands, both roles would have been hammy and
over-the-top, but instead the performances are low-key when they need to be,
filled with explosive bombast the next moment – and always brilliant.
The revelation that Kingdom was related
to Bret – "Bret Vyon was my brother" – is stunning, and delivered
wonderfully. In the last episode, Kingdom was a threat to our travellers, but
now, forced to unite with them, her character needs a quick 180-degree turn,
becoming an ally. It should feel forced and tacky, but the cast work with the
principal wonderfully, with Steven's bluster turning to embarrassment, and
Hartnell showing clear sympathy for a woman who was simply doing her duty.
On the planet Mira – it's like a mire, a
swamp, see? – the three are forced to work together as they do battle with the
Visians, the first invisible monsters in Doctor
Who history (although they certainly won't be the last!) Added to this the
threat of the Daleks, and the tension is ramped up successfully for Hartnell's
line at the cliffhanger – "I'm afraid, my friends, that the Daleks have
won". We're only five episodes in, and it would appear that the serial is
winding itself up – a contemporary audience would have had no idea that this
particular story is due to run for 12 weeks.
Episode 6 is something of a blessing,
really – it sees the writing credits handed over to the wonderful Dennis
Spooner, and the dialogue instantly feels richer and more varied. Whilst Nation
is a perfectly adept writer – at times – the serial suddenly feels fresher and
more natural under Spooner's pen, and it somehow lifts the pace of the serial
too.
Peter Purves is excellent in this
episode – feeling useless and outdated, his act of courage and bravery is
wonderfully played, a man desperate to have some impact. Sadly, of course, we
can't see his performance, but based
on Purves' own narration on the audiotrack, I bet it was great – "With a
struggle, Steven manages to blink his eyes". The plot device is
wonderfully simple too – creating a false core that looks and feels identical
is a little clichéd, and in Nation's hands it almost certainly would have been,
but Spooner creates a sense of urgency about the whole thing – as the ship is
being drawn back to Kembel, it is Steven's sacrifice which saves them.
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 timelordapprentice.blogspot.co.uk he also runs facebook.com/Classic.Doctor.Who. You can also follow him on Twitter: @TimelordTSE.
Labels: Doctor Who, Guest Blog, reviews, T. Scott Edwards
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