A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 48. Day of Reckoning (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Episode Three)

So Terry Nation approaches the halfway mark of this sophmore Dalek adventure by further splitting the narrative, as the Doctor and Susan go to ground with David, Barbara and Jenny stay in London to help Dortmann and Ian and Craddock stow away on the Dalek saucer as it makes its way to the mining site.  Of course, what none of our crew knows is that the Black Dalek--who seems to be in charge, at least of the saucer--has ordered that a bomb is placed near the river that will incinerate London...and it’s been placed mere feet from the Doctor and his granddaughter!

There is a little bit of water treading in this episode--a large swatch of of the half hour is taken up by Barbara and Jenny pushing Dortmunn’s wheelchair through a deserted London, avoiding Daleks along the way--but it doesn’t feel like water treading mainly because the location shooting is so distinctive.  Remember, this is a low budget show (a show that was considered by the BBC a kid’s show) which did not have access to high quality optical effects and was decades away from CGI.  The shots of recognizable landmarks like Nelson’s column with the strange block-based Dalek ‘graffiti’ had to be arranged through cleverness and maybe a bit of guerilla filmmaking.

The Ian thread is kind of blah, but the other two have some excellent moments.  There’s a very effective scene between Hartnell, Ford and Fraser that does miles of character work in a short time--I actually saw a bit of chemistry between Carol and David in their conversation, and Hartnell is wonderful in how he seems to perceive their attraction, and decides to bolster it.

And in the case of Barbara’s thread, there is Dortmunn’s fate.  Even though he had been hinted at as being a major character, we see him literally stand up to the Daleks...and die in the process.  I can’t help but think that this is another scene Nation intended to give us echoes of WWII--in particular with this, the civilian resistance in Europe.  The gunning down of Dortmunn (and the earlier death of another resistance fighter after he helps the Doctor, Susan and David) come off as tragic but also grimly inspiring.  And given that Dortmunn’s death is part of the location shooting, it amplifies the sacrifice he makes.

...which gives us the interesting turn of events that Jenny is not just some background character in the serial, but Barbara’s companion (notice how Ian is paired with Craddock on the saucer, resulting in each narrative thread having a lead and a companion)...and her hardbitten, cynical nature plays off Barbara’s altruism pretty damn well.

I should also mention that during the filming of this episode, Hartnell injured himself.  And you know what that means...Doc-Nap coming up!

While I question the splitting up of the cast even further, it’s hard to deny that this is a compelling watch thanks to some interesting interplay between the regular and guest cast and those amazing location shoots.  We’re halfway through, and I am still digging it.