Part One
1)Another Dalek story by Terry Nation, one of the ones I haven't seen in a long time. For some reason, when I first saw the show on channel 2 back in the 70's, I didn't see Sladen's first season, do for a long time I thought "Genesis" was her character's first encounter with the Daleks.
2)Ah, Sarah Jane in a swimsuit...
3)"I always come back form Florana feeling a hundred years younger." Maybe that's why his age keeps getting lower, he's counting all his trips to Florana.
4)Sarah's a bit more timid in this early than she would later be. Althogh, to be fair, she does brain that guy with the crank pretty eagerly.
5)Once you start looking, you can see pretty easily where it's Terry Walsh and not Jon Pertwee int he fight scenes.
6)"They're dirty wee fighters." That makes them sound like evil leprechauns.
7)The Exxilon chants are fairly creepy. The Exxilons themselves are not especially well-realized.
8)The music on this was done by Carey Blyton instead of Dudley Simpson - definitely has a distinctive sound to it.
9)Cliffhanger: The Daleks open fire!
Part Two
1)"Daleks without the power to kill - how does it feel?" It was an interesting idea, showing powerless Dalesk - it's funny how quickly they become whiny and neurotic. And we see a Dalek killed by guys with sticks! Having them re-arm themselves with projectile weapons was another good idea. Of course, it's all overshadowed by the fact that the Daleks apparently keep a supply of toy TARDISes around to use for target practice.
2)"Inside each of those shells is a living, bubbling lump of hate." Also, marinara sauce.
3)"They move by psychokinetic power." OK, that explains why their travel machines are still working.
4)Cliffhanger: An eye-thing menaces the Doctor! (Hmm, that looks familiar. I wonder if the Exxilons bought it off the Krotons?)
Part Three
1)"They used their sciences to make the city into a living thing." I wonder if they hired Kroagnon to design it for them.
2)"I know the Daleks, and they're not medical missionaries."
3)Cliffhanger: The Doctor spots some tacky floor tiles!
Part Four
1)"Do I need five piastres?" Be funny if the lack of five piastres became a huge plot point later on.
2)The "trippy mind assault" is also reminiscent of "The Krotons".
3)"Female prisoner has escaped! I have failed! I have failed! Self-destruct!" I don't suppose it occurred to him to try looking for her before going straight to suicide as his first choice?
4)It's pretty unobservant of the Daleks that they don't notice that Galloway is pretty obviously hiding a bomb under his jacket.
5)It occurs to me that in "Pyramids of Mars" , Sarah says "Reminds me of the City of the Exxilons", and she never actually saw the inside of the place! Perhaps the Doctor told her about it in great detail, later.
6)"It's rather a pity in a way. Now the universe is down to 699 wonders." "You take one down, you pass it around, 698 wonders of the Universe on the wall...."
Overall:
A nice, enjoyable, if non-spectacular, story. Nice to see Nation trying to do soemthing new with the Daleks.
[Part of list of Doctor Who episodes here.]
Replies
This one foreshadows (or echoes) several different franchises (if you squint your eyes just right): the Tusken Raiders from Star Wars, the Sleestaks from Land of the Lost, Gypsy from MST3K, even a little “Dagger of the Mind” from Star Trek there toward the end. We’ve seen “danger mazes” and least twice before (and will again), but it was done well.
There is only one more Sarah Jane Smith story left to be released after this one (“Terror of the Zygons” with the Fourth Doctor). I just recently finished watching the fifth and final “season” (only three two-parters dues to Sladen’s untimely death) of The Sarah Jane Adventures. RTD was beginning to take the show is a slightly different direction. With Luke away at university and Clive and Rani getting older, a new, younger, adopted daughter for Sarah Jane was introduced. Very sad.