Day 200 — July 19th 2021
Genesis of the Daleks Parts Three and Four
Genesis of the Daleks — Part Three
I’ve said it before in this marathon but things really do become far scarier and more harrowing when it’s real weapons rather than Science Fiction ray guns. The cliffhanger reprise here includes shots of Sarah Jane being fired upon and it feels far more tense than anything we’ve seen her go through before. That technique applies to the Daleks as well — they’re not the scariest thing in this story — the humanoid characters are.
It’s also interesting to see the Thals being presented here just as nastily as the Kaleds are. In their two previous apperances the Thals have been a slightly wimpy peace-loving people, so to see them behaving so callously here comes as a real shock. I’m especially thinking of the moment when one of them takes Sarah Jane by the wrist and dangles her at great height simply because he fancies being a bit sadistic.
This whole story is really laced with vibes of 1984 — there’s so much going on in secret whispers and snatched plans. But it’s not quite going far enough for me. When Kavell told Ronson that our heroes had managed to succeed in contacting the leaders of the Kaled government, and Ronson began to talk more freely about his plans to overthrow Davros, I was longing for it to be a trap, with Kavell betraying the man. I know we’ll get a bit of that later on in the story, but it’s so where I expected this scene to go, and I was sorry to have my expectations dashed on this occasion.
And I know it’s a small thing to pick up on, but doesn’t it feel weird to see Tom Baker dressed in something which isn’t his usual costume? Pertwee used to chop and change and dress up all the time, and maybe Tom will too as the next seven seasons go on, but for now seeing him in an all-black number feels so out of place to the point it doesn’t even really look like him!
This is one of those episodes where I don’t feel I’ve very much to say without simply repeating things I’ve already brought up in yesterday’s post, so I’m going to give it a 7/10 and move swiftly on…
Genesis of the Daleks — Part Four
One of the best things about this story, I think, is just how incidental the Daleks are to everything that’s happening. Usually, once we’re past the initial ‘surprise’ reveal of the pepper pots in the cliffhanger to Part One, they’re given lots of screen time and really have a presence in the story. That’s not the case here, to the point that they’re only adding one extra Dalek in each episode.
There’s a single Dalek in both Parts One and Two, two Daleks in Part Three, and there’s three of them in this one. It’s subtle — no attention is drawn to it at all — but it really helps to sell the idea that these machines are being created behind the scenes somewhere while we’re watching the rest of the action play out. I’m assuming that by Part Six they’ll have gone full throttle and have a whole army of the creatures, rather than the five that the current pattern would suggest.
We’ve also got today the return of something I loved in David Maloney’s direction for Planet of the Daleks a couple of seasons ago — the use of shadows to make the Daleks seem all the more menacing. In that story they were used to make a chase sequence scarier, while here it’s to reveal the creatures before they enter a room.
The Daleks design is so recognisable and iconic that it really works, and somehow they’re even scarier in this way — like a lurking presence that’s just out of sight. The lighting and use of shadows in this one is great across the board — the sets really are very plain but they feel totally real, and the careful lighting choices serve to make them really stand out.
This extends to sequences of the Daleks outside the Bunker, too. There’s an incredible moment where Doctor Who and a Thal hide in the trenches as a Dalek moves into position above them, which I can’t believe I didn’t recall from last time around, because it’s such a gorgeous image. Regular readers will know I’m always a fan of sets using different levels to their advantage and I think this must be one of the best examples we’ve ever had. Usually it’s the case that the designers have added a platform to the back of a control room at the very most, while here it makes the whole location feel very much a real place.
In spite of all my Dalek talk for this one, they continue to be an incredibly minor presence in the story… and I’m honestly surprised by that. I thought they’d keep ramping them up and bringing them more to the front and centre, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. You certainly get a sense that there’s a lot more of them here than in the previous episodes, but they’re still very much a background presence despite their massacre in the Thal Dome.
That’s not a bad thing at all, and I’m very pleased to report that I got to have my ‘betrayal’ moment in this one, when Nyder tricks Gharman into revealing his plans;
Nyder: ‘Right, I’ll try and get some of the military Elite on our side. Who can you count on?’
Gharman: ‘Kavell, Frenton, and Parran, but there’ll be more soon, I’m sure of it.’
Nyder: ‘Thank you. That’s what I wanted to know.’
Davros: ‘That information will prove most helpful.’
In truth, I’ve always looked down on this scene a little. It’s one of the more recognisable parts of the story, but it’s also felt a bit — whisper it — silly. That’s possibly down to Peter Miles’ slightly too hammy delivery of his final line, which I could recite with accuracy in tone off the top of my head. And yet, when you watch it in context it’s absolutely brilliant, and that delivery fits in so well.
The situation on Skaro feels increasingly bleak, and I love that the story isn’t afraid to start killing off the guest cast when they felt like important parts of the narrative. Poor Ronson is disposed of in this episode, and even the entire Kaled Dome gets destroyed, which feels like a pretty major event. And Nation’s not been afraid to make us think that they’ve gone even further — in the opening minutes Doctor Who is horrified to watch the dome being attacked because, as he reminds us, he’s sent Sarah and Harry back there. It’s eleven minutes before they turn up in this episode, so they really play with letting us think that they might genuinely have been bumped off. If there was any story in which I’d believe they might do it, it’s this one.
One last thing to touch on for this episode, and it’s the Giant Clams. When I was first getting into Doctor Who, everyone always said that this was the very best story of them all, but that the Giant Clams let it down. I’m not sure if that’s still the thinking these days, but I have to admit that I don’t have any issue with them! The sequence in Part Two where Doctor Who and Harry are attacked by one of the creatures is exciting enough, and they certainly don’t look as bad as reputation might suggest… what was everyone’s problem with them?
An 8/10.
