Day 52 — February 21st 2021
The Abandoned Planet and The Destruction of Time
The Abandoned Planet (The Daleks’ Master Plan — Episode Eleven)
In my head, I’ve had this one down as Hartnell being on holiday for a week at a really crucial part of the story… but it’s not that at all, is it? Because he’s involved for the first five minutes, and then takes off! Maybe he had somewhere to be early the next morning, so had to leave the studio at half nine? Indeed it seems to be a bit of a mystery as to what really happened, with the scripts for both of today’s episodes being rewritten quite late on to give Doctor Who’s lines to Steven and remove him from much of the action.
At a guess, I’d say that Hartnell must have been unwell. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’s had to take some time out for his health, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Strange to have him come in for a bit of both episodes, though — if he was that unwell surely they’d have removed him entirely? Production dates show that he was involved in pre-filming for The Massacre the day before this episode went into studio, too, so it’s anyone’s guess.
Much like the episodes yesterday, this one feels like it’s got some brilliant ideas but doesn’t really know what to do with them, and certainly doesn’t give them the time to breathe. Take, for example, Mavic Chen’s ship exploding as it departs Kembel. I was genuinely shocked by that — and even made a note that it was striking that they’d killed of Chen so easily after all this time. On the one hand it could feel like an anti-climax, but on the other it works as a genuinely shocking moment, and really ramps up the tension as we head toward the end of the story.
Only Chen isn’t dead. He blew up his ship on purpose (‘my pyrotechnics,’ he calls it) and then manages to capture Steven and Sara and take them to The Daleks, who he’s still in thrall to even though they’ve already discarded him. Again, it could be a great moment… but it all happens so quickly. There’s only about two minutes between the explosion of the ship and the reveal that it was all staged by Chen. It feels like the kind of thing that should span a couple of episodes — the ship explodes as the cliffhanger to one, we spend 25 minutes watching Steven and Sara sneak around with the Daleks on their tails, and then you get the reveal that Chen has survived as a second cliffhanger.
I think that’s going to end up being my main take away from this story — so many brilliant ideas which just don’t quite come together in the finished product. The Daleks Master Plan has a towering status because it’s the longest 60s story, the final appearance of the Daleks in the Hartnell era, and because so much of it is lost and we’ve tantalisingly little material to see it through… but it’s perhaps not as good as you’d expect from it’s reputation. A real shame. 4/10.
The Destruction of Time (The Daleks’ Master Plan — Episode Twelve)
Things to pick up a bit for this final episode, and I reckon this is one of the ones I’d most like to see returned to the archives — partly because the last ten minutes feel like they should be incredibly exciting, and they don’t translate overly well to audio; there’s a lot of sound but not a lot of dialogue, and there’s only so much that Peter Purves’ narration can provide.
Sara’s death sounds like it should be pretty horrific, and photos from production make it look that way too. Indeed, two shots had to be cut from the finished episode because the producer decided that it went a bit too far. I wouldn’t want Doctor Who to be particularly bleak and horrible all the time, but as an occasional one-off I reckon it can be pretty effective, and this seems to have been one of those situations.
Equally, there’s a lot of photos of William Hartnell laying on the floor with a bit of sand chucked over him which don’t look half as dramatic as this, so it’s anyone’s guess unless the episodes turn up I suppose. Equally, it’s Camfield, so I’m leaning more towards it being a proper spectacle.
The whole concept of what the Time Destructor does to Kembel is fascinating, and I really think it’s the highlight of The Daleks’ Master Plan. The idea that this jungle world we’ve spent so much time on can be reduced to dust in a matter of seconds is brilliant, and I’m surprised we’ve not seen the idea revisited in New Testament Who — they could certainly do it well enough.
I also reckon that we see the beginning of the end for Doctor Who’s first incarnation here, with his body severely weakened by the effects of the Time Destructor, and that it’s all downhill for him from here on. There’s a little more to my theory of Doctor Who’s prolonged death than this, but we’ll revisit that idea in a couple of weeks’ time.
It’s not just the final act that works well here, and the breakdown and death of Mavic Chen in the first half of the episode holds up as equally captivating. Hearing him snap and give orders to the Daleks is brilliant, as is his ultimate extermination. It’s been a bit love/hate for me with Chen watching the story this time around, but it’s fair to say that when he’s being given the material he’s one of the best villains we’ve had, so it’s nice to see him given a decent send off here.
Overall I’ve mostly found The Daleks’ Master Plan to be a frustrating watch. It’s full of great ideas, and get’s so much right. The way it treats the Daleks feels a million miles removed from the laughing stock they were presented as in The Chase, and there are times when you genuinely feel that they pose a threat to the universe. The SSS are brilliant, and I enjoy the elements in the early episodes when we spend time exploring the world of Earth in the year 4000, and get to see the corruption at the heart of the society.
Then there’s the three major deaths — Katarina, Brett and Sara — which really pack a punch. I’m sticking with my decision the other day that none of these three count as actual Doctor Who Companions, but their deaths are still shocking and effective. I wish we could see them all properly.
But for all that there’s those good elements, there’s a lot in here which just doesn’t work. The story drags on for too long and loses its way too much in the middle. The return of the ‘Monk’ feels like a wasted opportunity, and the decision to replay The Chase for two episodes with the Daleks chasing the TARDIS through time and space and some wacky adventures feels wrong.
This final episode is a distinct step up — the best episode we’ve had since the very early days of the story — but overall The Daleks’ Master Plan falls flat. With the exception of this final episode, I wouldn’t be in any great hurry to see the whole thing returned to the archives. A 7/10 for Episode Twelve, which is probably at least one point less than it deserves, given how much there is to love in this one, but it’s all a little too late for me.
The funny thing is, when I look back over my scores for this story, it’s doesn’t seem that bad. It’s averaged a 6/10 across the twelve episodes (and a slightly higher 6.23/10 if you include Mission to the Unknown and split the score over 13 parts), which isn’t actually bad. It’s sits the story just slightly above the average score so far, and it includes a 9/10 (two, if you count Mission), three 8/10s, and only one really low score with a 2/10 for The Feast of Steven.
On paper it looks like this story did pretty well, with just a couple of duff episodes towards the late middle. But the overall feeling I have after a week of Dalek action is disappointment. It’s another reason why rating each episode individually and getting a final score based on those is the fairest way of doing this — I’d be giving this story a 4/10 if I had to rate it as a whole, which clearly does a disservice to the bits I clearly enjoyed.
I’d be tempted to give The Daleks Master Plan another go, but perhaps in a different format. The two-part Target novelisation is ready by Peter Purves and Jean Marsh, both of whom I know are brilliant. I think once this marathon is over — so around this time next year — I’ll give the story another go like that and see if I find it any more enjoyable.
