World's End
1)Apparently, they started planning the return of the Daleks almost immediately - just as soon as they realized how big a thing they were. I suppose the Daleks were Doctor Who's "Barnabas Collins" - the concept that saved the show but eventually came to be a much bigger part of it than was ever intended to be.
2)Interesting choice, starting out the story with a guy in a funny hat freaking out and drowning himself. I bet they got letters.
3)Interesting how "ruined London of 2164" looks so much like "ruined London of 1964". I gather the story was originally intended to reflect the idea that the Dalek invasion happened in the 1970's - wouldn't that have played havoc with subsequent continuity! I liked the idea of the "It is forbidden to dump bodies in the river" sign - didn't quite get what the "VETOED" signs were all about, one gets the impression that the Daleks were against everything just on general principles.
4)Wow, the TARDIS prop is beat up in this - and the windows are open! Guess the Doctor wanted a little breeze. The DVD came with the option of enhanced CGI effects - the main thing I noticed is that they made the saucer somewhat more reminiscent of the ones in the new show, which in turn were derived from the ones in the 60's Dalek comics.
5)I guess they just had to get one more hurt ankle in for Susan before she left.
6)The Robomen are wicked lame in this - the ones in the Cushing movie were much better.
7)Some fun quotes:
- "What you need is a jolly good smacked bottom!"
- "I'm not a halfwit."
- "She says she can cook." "Oh, can you?" "And what do you do?" "I eat."
- "Bring out your dead."
8)Cliffhanger: A Dalek comes up out of the river! (At least the episode title didn't give it away! No, it was left for the BBC to spoil that with advance publicity. I gather they were flooded with calls after this because of upset children - not because they were frightened but because there was only five seconds of Dalek in the episode!)
The Daleks
1)I see the Daleks have satellite dishes now, doubtless so they can watch ESPN on their down time. Still, it was nice that Nation took their mobility issues into account. Interesting that the Doctor thinks it's a good idea to smart off to the first Dalek he meets - he ought to know better.
Even from what little we know of Dalek history at this point, the Doctor's take of Dalek history seems nonsensical:
"My dear boy, what happened in Skaro was a million years ahead of us in the future. What we're seeing now is about the middle history of the Daleks."
In the novelization, Terrance Dicks has the Doctor suggest that maybe all the Daleks weren't dead after all, or there may've been other groups of Daleks elsewhere on Skaro.
2)Some fun quotes:
- "We are the masters of Earth."
- "Resistance is useless." I think you're required to say that if you conquer Earth.
- "You will all die - the males, the females, the descendants."
- "Hold that and shut up, will you?"
- "You're a genius!" "Yes, and there are very few of us left."
3)Cliffhanger: The Daleks begin Robotizing the Doctor!
Day of Reckoning
1)Well, Susan got over her hurt ankle pretty quickly. They do seem to beign sowing the seeds for her relationship with David here.
2)This was apparently the first story to use lots of location shots - if you look very closely during the scene in Trafalgar Square, you will note that despite the Dalek invasion, the buses are still running.
3)The first mention of "Dalekenium" here. Also, I liked the bit where the Dalek tired to interrogate the window dummy. "Subcultural", indeed.
4)Some fun quotes:
- "Your bombs were useless, Dortmun." You idiot.
- "Things aren't made better by running away." Depends on what's chasing you.
- "The Daleks want the magnetic core of Earth." I'm reasonably certain that the Dalek plan makes no sense whatsoever.
5)Cliffhanger: The Robomen set them up the bomb!
The End of Tomorrow
1)Apparently Hartnell hurt his back during the "escape from the saucer" scene int he previous episode, which is why the Doctor spends a chunk of this episode unconscious.
2)This episode is the first of many, many Doctor Who episodes to be shot in a quarry.
3)Mister Rumbold! It's the Dalek Invasion of Grace Brothers!
4)The Slyther manages to be goofy and disturbing at the same time.
5)Some fun quotes:
- "There is nothing romantic about dying."
- "Alligators - in the sewers of London?" To be precise: Stock footage ofanalligator.
- "Where do you come from, mate - fairyland?" No offense to the guy who plays Ashton here, but I miss Philip Madoc.
6)Cliffhanger: The Slyther corners Ian and Larry!
The Waking Ally
1)I almost feel bad for the Slyther when it's killed - it's only the Black Dalek's "dog" after all.
2)The two women are nicely creepy.
3)Doctor Nonviolent bashes the Roboman pretty eagerly.
4)Some fun quotes:
- "Leave this creature to his own devices and salvation."
- "I see something's cooking." David and Susan are getting frisky!
- "They dare to tamper with the forces of creation." "Yes, they dare - and we have got to dare to stop them!"
- "The Black Dalek will see you." What, without an appointment?
5)Cliffhanger: Ian is stuck in the moving capsule!
Flashpoint
1)"Exterminate him!" The Daleks don't actually say "Exterminate!" that much in the early days - it was only later that they became such boring conversationalists. It's lucky for the Doctor and Tyler that Daleks never look an inch to the right or left, since they would've been spotted instantly, otherwise. Daleks also can't stand heat, apparently. They're also surprisingly bad in close combat - much more ranged fighters, I guess.
2)I like Barbara's ex tempore historical gibberish.
3)At least Ford got a good - in my opinion, one of the best - leaving scene. Good, emotional acting form her and Hartnell - who was geuninely upset at her going. I gather the show's future was still up in the air at this point - this might've been the last episode!
4)Some fun quotes:
- "The final solution." Nothing subtle there.
- "And don't stop to pick daisies on the way."
- "One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye ,Susan. Goodbye, my dear."
Overall:
This was quite good - much better-written and better-acted than I remembered it being. I can see why our Russell ripped so much of it off for "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End". The first returning baddy, the first companion leaving, the first sign that the show will be able to adapt and change. That said, I think I'd pick the Cushing movie to show to a noob - only a year in, and it's already a little continuity-heavy.
[Part of list of Doctor Who episodes here.]
Replies
I’ve been posing reactions to Doctor Who audiobooks I’ve listened to lately. The ones I’ve heard so far are fairly strict adaptations of the TV episodes, with some deviations. For example, Ian and Barbara are allowed to develop a romantic relationship in Doctor Who and the Daleks. In this one, the budding romance between Susan and Davis is developed more than I remember it from DVD. More importantly, although the Doctor leaving her behind plays out much the same way it did on TV, in the book he didn’t lock her out of the TARDIS, but rather confronted her face-to-face. That’s a more satisfying conclusion; the decision was more mutual.
I have subsequently learned that the signs that said "VETOED" were a sort of in-joke. When higher-ups at the BBC disallowed some element of a show, they would stamp the relevant paperwork "VETOED".