An Hour of Who a Day

January 24: "The Daleks" / "Day of Reckoning"

(The Dalek Invasion of Earth episodes 2 & 3)

"We are the masters of Earth! We are the masters of Earth!" a Dalek chants at the beginning of "The Daleks" (the second of Doctor Who's potentially confusing episode titles¹¹). It's a neat approach, showing not the Daleks attempting to invade Earth but having already succeeded. It sets up the Daleks as an already unbeatable force, even if we hadn't met them before.

Of course, the fact is that we have in fact met the Daleks before, but that's what makes the choices so canny. Here in 2014, we're so used to Daleks chanting and conquering and invading and such that we don't really notice how Terry Nation is recrafting the Daleks under our noses. Remember, this isn't at all how the Daleks behaved in their debut serial. There they were city-bound, paranoid, and concerned with survival, leaving their city, and destroying the Thals. But here they've taken the desire to exterminate others (although, it's worth noting that "exterminate" still isn't their battle cry, as they exclaim "kill him!" when surrounding a helpless man) and made that the driving force, adding in conquest and subjugation into the mix. Yes, the Daleks have become the Nazis.

The Daleks under attack by the rebels. ("The Daleks") ©BBC

Still, it's impressive how well they succeed with this change. The Daleks may not be as interesting as they were the first time, but they do seem more powerful. This leads to some great shots in "Day of Reckoning", as we see Daleks gliding around an apparently deserted London, waving their sucker arms up and down and generally acting like they own the place. This matched with scenes of Barbara and Jenny trying to get the wheelchair-bound Dortmun to safety while dodging Dalek patrols makes for some exciting viewing.

There are also some hints from Susan that she's starting to grow up: we had the argument with her grandfather during The Sensorites, and now she's questioning his judgment, favoring decisions made by resistance fighter David Campbell. But ultimately, these two episodes are about the Daleks, and their triumphant return to Doctor Who.

¹¹ In case you've forgotten, the first was episode 7 of The Daleks: "The Rescue".

January 23: "Crisis" / "World's End"

(Planet of Giants episode 3 & The Dalek Invasion of Earth episode 1)

It's well-known (in Doctor Who circles, at least) that Planet of Giants was filmed as a four-part serial, but when BBC Head of Serials Donald Wilson saw the final two episodes, he deemed them unbroadcastable⁹ and ordered that they be edited down into a single episode. The result is this episode, "Crisis". You can sort of tell, occasionally -- for instance, in one scene they've decided to take Barbara back to the TARDIS, and in their next scene Ian's arguing for taking her back while the rest are taking Barbara's side to do...something; it's never exactly made clear what.

Forrester and Smithers are wanted for questioning.
("Crisis") ©BBC

Really, though, the TARDIS crew barely make a difference in this episode. About the most important thing they do is cause a telephone to go off the hook -- except the switchboard operator was already suspicious of the goings-on at the Smithers farmhouse and was probably going to send her policeman husband down to investigate anyway. Oh, and I guess they caused a can of insecticide to explode in Farrow's face, allowing Smithers to grab the gun off him. But really, Smithers has already worked out how poisonous DN6 is, and Bert the policeman is already on his way anyway, so unless had Farrow gotten desperate and shot both Smithers and Bert, things would have turned out the same.

In a nutshell, this is sort of the problem with Planet of Giants. It's so unlike any other Doctor Who adventure thus far that it's rather difficult to come to grips with. The Silent Spring-influenced DN6 plot carries on more or less largely on its own, and for the TARDIS crew it's about exploring a familiar environment from a strange new perspective. That's entertaining enough fortunately, but any other attempt to put it into the larger context of the show essentially falls flat.

But it's on to the next adventure¹⁰, with "World's End". It's a suitably effective exercise in mood, as we see what appears to be a deserted London in the future. There's some great location footage here, being used much more extensively than in "Guests of Madame Guillotine", and it must be said that the Robomen do rather resemble the Cybermen (not that at anyone in 1964 knew that, of course), which makes them a bit more effective than they otherwise might be, as they're really just men in grubby clothes wearing metal headgear. (Special mention, by the way, goes to the "dead" Roboman the Doctor and Ian find in the warehouse, who seems to be moving quite a bit under his own power.)

Still, it has to be said: this episode is one great big delaying tactic for the big reveal at the end: the Daleks are back! Of course, as this had been promoted in the British press prior to the actual episode (with their own Radio Times cover!), holding back the main baddies is less a shocking cliffhanger and more a tease: we have to wait until next time to actually get any Dalek (tricky) action.

⁹ Having previously seen the reconstructed versions of the original "Crisis" and the follow-up "The Urge to Live" on the Planet of Giants DVD, complete with a lengthy sequence where we actually see them map out the formula for DN6, I get the distinct impression that he was probably right.
¹⁰ Side note to say that on the Region 1 DVDs you can work out roughly when a story came out on DVD by the BBC Wales Doctor Who trailer included at the beginning. I've mainly been experiencing Matt Smith trailers, indicating that the majority of season 1 was released quite recently; The Dalek Invasion of Earth, by contrast, is old enough to not have any trailer at all.

January 22: "Planet of Giants" / "Dangerous Journey"

(Planet of Giants episodes 1 & 2)

Season 2 starts not with a bang but with a fault: the doors of the TARDIS open in flight, worrying the Doctor and Susan quite a bit. It turns out the moment of materialization is the most dangerous moment in the TARDIS's flight and thus the worst moment for the doors to open. Still, everyone seems all right until they venture outside and realize that they've been shrunk down to an inch in height. The planet of giants is in fact Earth: "Susan, this means we're on Earth!" Ian exclaims excitedly, as if they haven't just been on Earth (maybe they haven't; again, Past Doctor Adventure writers take note).

The production crew have been kicking around the idea of an "incredible shrinking TARDIS crew" story since the very beginnings of Doctor Who, and this is the final result. It's an interesting serial, and the episodes are quite unlike anything we've yet encountered. The guest cast (which consists of a scientist, a man from the ministry, an unscrupulous businessman, and a cat) never directly interact with the regulars; they unknowingly cause problems by carting them around and such, but the fact that the TARDIS crew is only an inch tall rather precludes any sort of conversations or similar interactions being held. This means that the star of the show is less the characters and more the sets. Fortunately, Ray Cusick's designs are more than up to the task, with some really wonderful sets and elements (the briefcase and the plug chain are really nice, and the various insects are all quite good -- with special mention of the twitching fly in "Dangerous Journey"). This story is more about exploring an environment than anything we've gotten previously, and it's a nice change of pace. It does mean we get two rather odd-looking cliffhangers, even if they make sense in context. A close-up of a cat and a man letting water run down the drain don't sound particularly exciting, but they're both quite effective as part of the narrative. And a special mention for the ominous musical sting that accompanies the line, "There's a sink in the lab" -- marvelous. Oh! And this is Dudley Simpson's first score for the show, before he goes on to dominate the incidental music for the '70s. Not that it's particularly distinctive in comparison to any of the other scores we've gotten so far, but still, you have to start somewhere.

And one final note: "Planet of Giants" (the episode) features another use of "TARDIS sans 'the' ". Looks like this, combined with the uses in Marco Polo and one I didn't mention in "The Keys of Marinus", suggests that this was a stylistic choice in use at the time rather than one author's decision. Interesting, given how bizarre it sounds to our ears nowadays.

January 21: "A Bargain of Necessity" / "Prisoners of Conciergerie"

(The Reign of Terror episodes 5 & 6)

It's another animated episode, but thankfully this one seems to be edited a little less hectically. "A Bargain of Necessity" has some nice moments: the fight between Jules and Leon sounds good (and the animation is quite good here, actually), and there are some more moments of comedy, such as when the Doctor convinces the jailer to let Barbara go so they can follow her but then insists that the jailer was supposed to do the following after she goes free. And Barbara and Ian have a nice argument about the Revolution itself: "The Revolution isn't all bad, and neither are the people who support it. It changed things for the whole world, and good, honest people gave their lives for that change," Barbara states. It's a moment to reflect that, even though in this story we're ostensibly on the side of those fighting the Terror, not everyone who supports the Revolution should be automatically worthy of disdain.

But really, the most significant moment comes when we look in again on Robespierre. "Mark my words, Lemaitre," he says; "if this plot is successful, tomorrow, the 27th of July 1794, will be a date for history." (Of course, he should actually call it the 9th of Thermidor Year II, but never mind.) It is indeed a date for history: we're going to witness the downfall of Robespierre. But as far as our heroes are concerned, the more pressing problem is the Doctor's seeming betrayal of Jules to Lemaitre, which ends the episode.

But no, it turns out that Lemaitre is in fact the man Ian was told to find: James Stirling himself. We're back on video for the final episode, and after a moment's readjustment to a shot language no longer like an action movie, we learn that Barrass is plotting Robespierre's downfall and Ian knows where he's going to be. (And let's take a moment to address something often called a mistake but isn't: Webster tells Ian to look for Jules Renan at the sign of Le Chien Gris. He does this, and in fact Jules' colleagues find him there -- off-screen and in a missing episode, admittedly, but still. When exactly Webster told Ian about Barrass and the Sinking Ship is a different problem, but it's not that the name of the inn changed between episodes 2 and 6: they're two separate places.) This means that not only do we meet Robespierre, we also encounter Barrass and Napoleon Bonaparte, as they plot out the future of France (in a meeting that almost certainly never actually happened) -- because if you're in revolutionary France, obviously you need to meet Napoleon.

Robespierre is taken away by soldiers. ("Prisoners of
Conciergerie") ©BBC

But the best part is when Lemaitre and Ian rush to the palace to help Robespierre; it's too late, obviously, but it does mean that Ian (and therefore the audience) is actually present for Robespierre's arrest -- we even hear the gunshot to the jaw. It's the first time that the TARDIS crew has been present for a significant historical event, and it's quite fascinating to watch it unfold. Really, this entire serial is quite good, even if some of the history is a bit suspect -- the period is quite effectively conveyed, even if it's mainly through a prison and a safehouse. It's certainly entertaining, and it makes you want to learn more about the French Revolution -- quite a compliment indeed.

And finally, the episode ends with a conversation about how there's nothing the Doctor or his friends could do to change history, which leads into a rather sweet end-of-season speech about their destiny lying in the stars. And that's how the first season of Doctor Who ends.

January 20: "A Change of Identity" / "The Tyrant of France"

(The Reign of Terror episodes 3 & 4)

Hey, it's Tom Baker's birthday today! And my brother's! Happy birthday to both of them. Obviously I'm celebrating by continuing to watch The Reign of Terror...

"A Change of Identity" starts out feeling pretty hopeless, but things start to pick up once Jules and Jean rescue the prisoners being sent to the guillotine: namely, Barbara and Susan. You kind of want to slap Susan as she stands there being useless and refusing to try and escape, but it turns out she's sick, so it's sort of okay. Still, it seems less horrible once the two girls are away and safe in Jules' house. Ian, meanwhile, gets to make his escape from the jail, while the Doctor gets to impersonate a regional officer.

This is very much a change of pace as we move from simple bleakness to a more adventure-style serial. Barbara and Susan's rescue is quite well done, and their introduction to the people running the safehouse means we get a sense of those fighting against the Terror and the public executions. But really, the star of this episode is William Hartnell, who as the Doctor cons his way into a position of authority (with an amazing hat to boot), only to be pulled in by Lemaitre, who insists on the Doctor accompanying him to meet Robespierre.

"The Tyrant of France" is an episode that no longer exists in the archive (other than a few seconds of off-air 8mm footage, which I duly viewed⁸), and there are no telesnaps to accompany the soundtrack. However, the DVD provides animated versions for this (as well as the next episode, which is also missing). These have to be regarded as a limited success. The animation itself is actually pretty good, but the editing is incredibly frenetic, at one point changing angles 4 times in one line. Doctor Who's not the most energetically directed show at the best of times, and The Reign of Terror is a pretty placid piece. This means that the overall effect is very disconcerting at times.

It's somewhat sad, then, that our meeting with Robespierre comes at the top of the episode, while we're still adjusting to the different style, which means that the Doctor's meeting with this important historical figure is robbed of some of its impact. (It doesn't help that the off-air soundtrack is noticeably problematic at this stage.) But it's an interesting argument the Doctor has with Robespierre: "I mean, what can this reign of terror possibly gain?" the Doctor asks. "For every opponent you put to the guillotine, two more will spring up!" But Robespierre has considered this: "Do you think I want this carnage? Three hundred and forty two executions in nine days in Paris alone! What a memory I shall leave behind if this thing lasts."

But beyond that, this episode is largely about two things: bringing Ian into Jules Renan's circle (William Russell being back from his vacation), and getting Barbara and Susan recaptured and sent back to the Conciergerie. It's somewhat difficult to tell how effective the actual episode was with this, but based on the animation it seems like it did a reasonable job -- things never get too slow, and the bit with the physician is quite good. And it's a good cliffhanger: Leon Colbert is a traitor! Pity; Barbara seemed to be quite fond of him...

⁸ These can be found on the Lost in Time DVD set. Why they're not on the actual Reign of Terror DVD, I have no idea -- but then it's also missing Carole Ann Ford's linking narration from the VHS, so maybe space was at a premium.

January 19: "A Land of Fear" / "Guests of Madame Guillotine"

(The Reign of Terror episodes 1 & 2)

When we left the Sense-Sphere last time, there was a cozy sort of feeling to everything (the Doctor's ill-tempered outburst at the cliffhanger not withstanding). That sense continues in "A Land of Fear" for a bit, as Ian convinces the Doctor to come get a drink with him before he leaves forever (also allowing Ian and Barbara to make certain that they're actually back on 20th-century Earth). But that atmosphere is steadily eroded away as the episode progresses, ending with two people dead and the Doctor lying unconscious inside a locked room in a burning building, while Ian, Barbara, and Susan are forcibly escorted to Paris, to be executed by the guillotine. Yes, it's the French Revolution story.

What's remarkable about these two episodes is how brutal everything feels. The soldiers are shown to be harsh and crude peasants, with the suggestion that they're acting out of feelings of vengeance and retaliation rather than any sense of duty. We meet two aristocrats fleeing from Paris, both shown sympathetically, and they're both shot dead before the end of the first episode. The cells are dark and dingy, and the jailer⁷ is vile and visibly fragrant (no mean feat to show in a purely visual medium), even as he describes himself as "an intelligent man" while leering after Barbara. Barbara and Susan are stuck in a rat-infested cell after she slaps the jailer, so he's clearly not above retaliation either. Meanwhile the Doctor's encounter with the overseer of a road crew along the way to Paris is also remarkably dark, even if it's largely played for laughs; only the sight of the overseer snoring at the end of the scene suggests that the Doctor has done anything other than kill a man to escape -- and note the relish with which the Doctor seems to bean the man with a shovel. We're a long way from traveling with Marco Polo in his caravan.

But look! It's Doctor Who's first location footage ever, with Brian Proudfoot stepping in for William Hartnell, showing the Doctor striding across the countryside on his way to Paris. It's not a huge moment, but it's noteworthy and does start to open the show up a bit, so that it doesn't feel quite as claustrophobic as it occasionally has in the past. And Ian's entirely on film for "Guests of Madame Guillotine" -- looks like it's William Russell's turn to take two weeks off. He gets to interact with dying British men and Citizens of the Revolution, while Barbara and Susan get readied for the guillotine -- another brutal moment, but an effective cliffhanger.

⁷ The Target novelizations were designed primarily for a British audience, with British spellings. It usually didn't cause problems, but I had no idea what the gaoler described in Ian Marter's version of The Reign of Terror was, other than that he must be important.

January 18: "Kidnap" / "A Desperate Venture"

(The Sensorites episodes 5 & 6)

I have to say, for all his scheming, the City Administrator's not actually very good at being villainous, is he? It's particularly entertaining how, after the accidental death of the Second Elder, his attempt to pin the blame on the Doctor falls apart in two minutes -- but as the Sensorite Nation is a society based entirely on trust, it makes sense that they would be lousy at deception. Still, there's something about watching their conspiracy collapse after three questions from Ian that's tremendously fun. Really, if it weren't for the Doctor, Ian, and Susan suggesting that the City Administrator replace the deceased Second Elder, he wouldn't have gotten anywhere.

Still, for all that, nothing much happens in "Kidnap" -- the kidnap itself is the cliffhanger of the episode -- and there's a bit of a sense of marking time. But at least it does so enjoyably. It's "A Desperate Venture" where things pick up. And Jacqueline Hill's back from her two-week vacation, so we get everyone participating in the story again.

And the aforementioned kidnap of Carol is once again quickly foiled. Once the First Elder suggests where they might have taken her, it doesn't take much for John to head in and rescue her. Entertaining stuff, but the real focus of the episode is the Doctor and Ian's exploration of the aqueduct system. It turns out that the three crewmen from the first expedition, presumed dead in the explosion that destroyed their ship and killed their fellow crew, are in fact alive and waging war against the Sensorites. It's rather difficult, upon first seeing them clearly, to avoid thinking of Monty Python's various bearded and bedraggled characters (especially since the man called Number One bears a passing resemblance to Eric Idle), but that's hardly the fault of the production team. Indeed, writer Peter R. Newman goes out of his way to give the three men a sense of dignity. They're clearly insane, but it's not a cackling sort of madness; rather, it's simply a determination to destroy the Sensorites without considering why they're doing it. In fact, the First Elder suggests it's inadvertently the fault of the Sensorites, since they most likely experimented with the thought transmitters and were driven out of their minds. It's a satisfying ending when they're caught; none of them are killed, and there's a suggestion that they may be able to get help. Sadly, however, at the conclusion of the story we're simply told about the former City Administrator's comeuppance rather getting to actually see it. In this respect, the serial does disappoint somewhat.

Still, The Sensorites is a delightful story. It might be a little long, but it rarely feels like it's dragging. And the Sensorites themselves are really well done -- in a series that is occasionally xenophobic, it's refreshing to get an alien species that is so obviously sympathetic. The story isn't terribly concerned with evil or danger, and there's hardly a cynical bone in its body. It's a refreshingly charming approach to Doctor Who.