There are a number of writers in the history of Doctor Who who end up a cut above the average. Personages such as Robert Holmes, Terrence Dicks and Christopher Bidmead are integral to certain eras of the show.* But none of these had an impact on the series as much as one Terry Nation.Terry Nation was a Welsh writer who had some minor success in writing for comedy programs before Verity Lambert brought him onto the writing staff for this show. He wrote other things during his association with Who, went on to create two other significant BBC series (Survivors and Blake’s 7, the Space Opera for people like me who don’t like Space Opera), wrote some interesting films (I particularly like the collaboration he did with my hero Brian Clemens, And Soon The Darkness), but even if he did nothing else, his place in the series’ history would be cemented by creating...The Daleks.
This is the first part of the first appearance of the Daleks. These monstrous pepper-pots (and I say that with utmost respect) don’t technically appear in the episode save for one plunger-arm making its way into the last, iconic shot, but this is where the show gains traction in the minds and hearts of Britions in 1963.
The crew has landed in the middle of what appears to be a petrified forest. They know it’s not Earth because of the petrified metallic lizard they find during their exploration...and because there’s also an alien-looking city off in the distance. The Doctor really wants to explore the city whereas Ian and Barbara want to leave immediately. So The Doc pretends to take off--but we, the audience, clearly see him kinda...tinkering with the Tardis console, so it stays stuck. There’s this part that’s run out of the mercury essential for operation and there’s no mercury on the ship and maybe they could find some inside the city. While searching for the elusive liquid, Barbara gets separated from the others and is confronted by something inhuman. And that’s not even mentioning the unseen figure who touches Susan and leaves a metal container filled with strange vials outside the Tardis...and the fact that the viewer (but not the crew) knows the radiation level is dangerously high.
To me, what makes this episode work is how Nation continues filling in the dynamics between our lead quartet. This time it’s Susan doing the Girl’s School Screaming, but the interesting thing is how he develops the way Barbara and The Doctor interact. Unlike the contentious battle for control the Doctor has with Ian, the Time Lord seems to be respectful of Barbara, admitting that there are things she can communicate to Susan that he just can’t because of the generational gap. I got the impression that the Doctor is telling Barbara things he doesn’t want to admit, and looks upon her as an authority in the one of the few areas he can’t claim expertise in.
That doesn’t mean the Doctor isn’t a massive Dick in this story. The direction by Christopher Barry makes it clear that the Doctor’s story about the faulty macguffin is not only willful but defiantly obvious. It brings into sharp contrast what Susan means when she says the Doctor is a little...insistent on getting his way.
Considering this half hour is pretty much four people wandering around some sets, Nation skillfully keeps our attention...and the bizarreness of the final shot makes it stick in your memory.
*--I know you expect me to mention Douglas Adams, but considering how much of his work on the show was recycled from his Hitchhiker’s Guide radio shows, I don’t recognize him as Who royalty. Come at me.
No comments:
Post a Comment