Doctor Who Death To The Daleks: Fab In Silver!
This is my favourite ever Doctor Who story which is ironic, seeing as it was released on my birthday, June 18th, 2011 (or was it 12?). Was the first I purchased on VHS, first saw it on PBS & instantly fell in love with it. This, for me, at least, has everything going for it. Silver Daleks, a groovy sand pit planet, the beautiful Exxilon city with its unique defence system, & equally beautiful Sarah-Jane Smith, as her character progresses!
This is Jon Pertwee's final season as The Doctor before Tom Baker takes over, & this story really shines ( in more ways than one!). I even love the incidental music despite it's negative reputation. As for the also stranded Earth crew, I like them. Dan Galloway (one of my favourite characters in this with Belall) although ruthless, gets redemption in a unique way. Jill Tarrant is lovely, stuff the fellow Whovian critics out there, who don't like her. *Sticks out tongue*.
Jill is your stereotypical female crew member of MSC Marine Space Corp. Her determination to get a vast supply of Trissilicate, a mineral needed to aid in the cure for a space-plague that is ravaging the outer Earth Colony's is based on Humanitarian causes. A passing satellite in orbit around the planet Exxilon detected a huge quantity there. She seems more concerned with that than getting off a smegging hostile, barren planet! But nothing is as simple as it first appears.........
Dan Galloway, on the other hand, wants to get Trissilicate alright. Not so much for Humanitarian concerns, but for his own glory. & he's determined to do whatever it takes to get it, even kill if need be.
Dan is a unique addition to the crew. If you're lucky enough to have read the Target book version of this, then you'll know that Target books of the tele Adventures went more in depth in structure & characterisation than a 25-minute episode a week could afford to. In the book Dan Galloway has a very interesting history. He grew up in a post Dalek devastated Earth, & grew up, as a kid, pretty rough. You had to be pretty tough in order to survive! Is this the reason Dan Galloway comes across so cold & unsympathetic? (Post Dalek Invasion Of Earth? Years even decades after The First Doc, Ian & Barbara left? & WHERE is Susan?! Are we about to find out, Mr Moffat, or is this wishful thinking on my part?). Is he a Freudian, unofficial, by-product of a post apocalyptic, dystopian, planet in the Dalek wars? So, in a way the malevolent "wee salt shakers" made him what he became? Unintentionally, of course. I need some aspirin!
And is it me, or are the MSC crew wearing the logos of the fascist Terran Empire of Blake's 7 on their uniforms? Well, this is a Terry Nation script.
​​SMLXL
The catch (of course) being that the Earth ship, like the TARDIS, is also stranded, the source being the mysterious Exxilon City. Soon they'll be receiving not so friendly stowaways, also stranded on the Exxilon planet.
Yep, welcome to the club not to mention the bleeding obvious cliff-hanger. The Daleks also find themselves stranded on the planet, after landing, & shouting the usual "expletives"........ Hardly a SPOILER then? Aw, c'mon! The influence of Erich Von Danikens : Chariots Of The Gods is here like so many others including the very similar Colony In Space.
Oh, & I so love the continuity history of the Dalek Wars involving Earth, its colonies, & the Dalek Empire.
Sarah-Jane Smith meanwhile, finds herself becoming the next sacrificial lamb for the ruthless primitive Exxilons for desecrating their holy ground. The City which they fear & worship in equal measure, & boy, are they good opera chanting singers!
One of the most unusual & uneasy alliances occurs between The Doctor , Earth crew, & Daleks & it isn't long before the Exxilons attack! An all-side near draw battle ensues with at least one loss on the "three" sides.
There are two factions of Exxilons with different beliefs in regards to the Exxilon City. There's a sense of anti semite hostility between them as a result, the friendly Exxilons are hunted by their somewhat malevolent peers. The Exxilons who don't worship the City are few in number & forced to live in the underground caves & caverns.
Another fab scene is when The Doctor & Bellal enter the mysterious City, in an attempt to destroy it from within, & are put through intelligence tests with unpleasant consequences if they fail each test. One test would be repeated in a future Anniversary story, mentioned briefly in another. Another test suggests someone in the script editing ate the wrong mushrooms with their breakfast!
The Roots are the most frequently used of the City's defences. They are bad tempered & from it develop a new hobby involving bad tempered "pepper pots". The Doctor derives equal pleasure from this new found hobby of theirs.
The Daleks are also in the City in hot pursuit of The Doctor, & to destroy the City as well.
Despite their new hobby the Roots aren't picky (nooooo pun!) & will attack anything they consider to be a threat to the City, including our hero!
The shrill screech they make is both effective & terrifying. Eat your heart out, Banshee.
As this is Jon Pertwees final season as The Doctor there's speculation that he wasn't into the role as he had been in previous seasons. The spark of the Timelord children's action hero is seemingly lacking. Possibly the death of Roger Delgado, the first actor in the role of The Master on June 18th, 1973. Katy Manning who played Jo Grant leaving in the previous seasons The Green Death, in a touchingly unique end scene. Throw into this mix the slower death of the cosy U.N.I.T. family makes a contributing factor.
And am I the only one to notice The Doctor call Jill Tarrant "Jo" in one episode 2 scene?!! A slip of the tongue on Pertwees part & missed or deliberate non-editing confirming this fact?
The Daleks lose their raison d'etre in this one, to the Doctors amusement, though, they find an alternative. We get, yet another "would be" companion in Belall. who reluctantly joins The Doctor in the sentient city. The city has defences like roots (think War Of The Worlds, 1953), & zombie-Exxilons. And HOW can I forget the suicide Dalek(?!) Daleks must really make terrible counsellors!
This is arguably, my favourite Doctor Who story of all time, which make's me a wee bit biased. This one suffers, at the commentary. From the lack of both Elisabeth Sladen &, obviously, Jon Pertwee, which adds an element of loss to these proceedings for the obvious most recent reason. The first episode is creepy & well-executed. At least HIRE this one, first, before buying!
Borgduck,
