A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 49. End of Tomorrow (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Episode Four)

Yeah, I’ve got lots to talk about regarding characterization and stuff, but forget that.  Forget even the Doc-Nap at the top of the half-hour.

We got a Monsta Sighting!

Y’see, Ian and Larry (not Craddock, who apparently switched places with Larry during last episode’s assault on the saucer) do find their way to the Bedfordshire mining site and, while waiting around for a black marketeer who could get them back into London when they hear this (admittedly kinda cool) shrieking.  This, they’re told, is a Slyther, a creature that the Lead Dalek uses as a guard dog.  Of course, then we see the Slyther and it looks like a guy hiding in a grotty old sleeping bag.  Ol’ Slyther eats the black marketeer and chases our heroes, and it’s gloriously cheesy.

It’s a weirdly fun moment in an otherwise grim half hour.  Even though the whole ‘WWII Resistance’ simile is beginning to blur, there are still some gut punches--the location sequence of humans pulling a giant mining cart full of ore and ridden by a dalek is powerful even with all the obvious stock factory footage surrounding it.  I am beginning to think that it’s the location shoots that elevate this story from last season’s intro of the Nazi Pepperpots, as they make their threat seem more real than the obvious sets we’ve been stuck with up until this point.

Now about that Doc-Nap--since Hartnell injured himself, his stand-in shows up just long enough to pretend to pass out so that David can persuade Susan into helping him find an escape route that will lead to Tyler and a stock footage baby alligator.  Nation continues to develop Susan and David, so that even though there is a screaming moment, Susan is beginning to come off as a fuller character.

And Barbara....Barbara runs over a bunch of Daleks with a tanker truck.  I can’t tell you how much I am digging Barbara on this rewatch.  I think we seem to overlook her in favor of other companions, but she is so much fun and deserves to be placed next to Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Catwoman as major players in getting people to accept women as Action Heroes.  Even though Jacqueline Hill plays her very prim and proper, she’s got a certain iron-willed-something that makes her my favorite member of the crew so far!

I seem to recall thinking that this serial sort of goes off the rails around this time in previous views...but I gotta be honest, it hasn’t happened yet.  This is proving to be a pretty solid serial, and may be even better than ‘The Daleks.’