July 3: Death to the Daleks Parts One & Two

Well, they didn't quite make it to Florana.  Instead, the TARDIS was pulled off-course to Exxilon and drained of all its power -- to the point where they have to use a crank to manually open the doors (ugh, look -- it's a Terry Nation script, just accept it and move on).  Fortunately, the oil lamp still works and they can move around, so it's not all energy that's drained.  Maybe it's just battery power that's drained?  Even leaving aside the distinction between organic and non-organic batteries, the Doctor complicates things by describing the TARDIS as a "living thing" -- and none of this explains why the Daleks can move around but can't shoot people.  Mind, someone's considered this, so (to jump ahead for a moment) the Doctor tells Sarah that the Daleks can still trundle around because they move "by psychokinetic power".  Thanks, that clears everything up.

There are a number of odd moments in this first episode, such as the part where Sarah goes back into the TARDIS for a warmer change of clothes but makes sure the Doctor won't leave while she changes.  The Doctor nods his assent, watches her enter the TARDIS, and then immediately wanders off.  Was he listening to her at all?  There's also the part where he discovers a hidden tripwire, digs it out a bit, and then chucks a rock at it to see what will happen.  Which is admittedly both understandable and entertaining, but perhaps not the most prudent decision ever.  Sarah, meanwhile, clubs an Exxilon who wandered into the TARDIS into unconsciousness and runs into the unknown, eventually discovering a (rather nifty) city in the distance with a flashing light on top of a tall pillar.  Unfortunately for her, getting that close means she's performed sacrilege and thus will be sacrificed by the Exxilons.  Oops.

The final odd moment comes at the end of the episode, after the Doctor has been found by the humans who also crashlanded while looking for a rare mineral called parrinium.  They see a ship come down (with a solid thump, though that might be intentional, to demonstrate the power loss) and then three Daleks emerge.  And do they run or dodge or get behind cover?  No, the Doctor and the humans stand there while the Daleks open fire, their gun sticks clicking away.

Cover of the 1978 Target novelisation.
(From On Target - Death to the Daleks)

Fortunately for the good guys, the second episode reveals that the Daleks' guns have also been subjected to the power drain, making them unable to exterminate the Doctor and company.  So if the Daleks can't kill you, naturally you decide to join forces with them.  And it's not like you can say the humans don't know about the Daleks -- Peter Hamilton's father was killed by them in "the last Dalek war".  But no, that's the plan.  It gets slightly derailed when they're all ambushed by Exxilons, who kill John Abineri's character with an arrow to the back -- so there goes the best actor of the bunch.  This is also the moment where the Exxilons smash a Dalek, causing it to explode -- which seems to have subsequently inspired one of the best Target covers ever.

A meet-up with Sarah later (in which the Doctor prevents her sacrifice by assaulting the High Priest -- an even worse offense than getting next to the City), Galloway reveals he's ruthless and willing to let the Doctor and Sarah die so long as they can complete their mission, while the Daleks equip themselves with projectile weapons (which they test on a model TARDIS -- quite the impression the Doctor has made on their culture, eh?).  In the ensuing confusion, as the Daleks enter the Exxilons' temple, the Doctor and Sarah escape down a tunnel -- and the lack of pursuers suggests things are even worse down here than back in the sacrificial area.  Still, nothing's found them yet, so when they reach a crossroads the Doctor tells Sarah to wait while he explores down a tunnel for half a mile (!).  So while they're separated, an Exxilon creeps up on Sarah, while the Doctor encounters a huge root-like thing with a giant eye...

The problem with these two episodes is that they're both pretty uninvolving.  Director Michael Briant is trying to give it energy and suspense, with some creative shots and day-for-night filming that actually works, for once.  The decision to make the Daleks silver and black, to look more like the '60s models, is also a good one.  But he can only go so far in disguising the predictable script from Terry Nation.  And the incidental music by Carey Blyton (and performed by the London Saxophone Quartet) doesn't help, with its slow, plodding melody.  One can only hope that things improve for the last two parts.