After the lovely interlude of having the dog with me over the weekend, it’s back to reality. And reality is rather scary today. I am scared of what the future may bring, and scared of what it means to have a life without her in it, which as time goes by seems more certain to be the case. There are moments when I can imagine it; just for a moment or two. But every day is an unknown right now. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know the kind of life that I want. It is a shared one, with a partner, lover and best friend. I have never been so sure of that. If she changes her mind, I will always listen. But I cannot count on that. I have to be open to new possibilities. And that will take time. So I turn to my distractions; Doctor Who and the discipline of watching and writing. That routine is providing some comfort; not enough, but it helps, and I’ll take whatever I can get right now.
Episode 1 – World’s End
What a great opening sequence. It prompts so many questions from the viewer. Who is this man? What is he wearing on his head? Why is it “Forbidden to dump bodies in the river”? Why is he so tortured that he needs to throw himself into the river? This is gripping television.
The location shooting is wonderfully atmospheric. They really pulled all the stops out with this story. Ian and Barbara’s excitement at possibly being home at last soon changes to suspicion and concern when they see what has happened to London. It’s effectively portrayed.
Terry Nation is great at coming up ways to keep them out of the TARDIS. My goodness. “A jolly good smack bottom”! That line always makes me laugh. They could never get away with it today.
The timing of the cliffhanger is brilliant. Richard Martin gets criticized a lot, and sometimes justifiably, but this is timed and cut together perfectly. Just as Ian and the Doc put their escape from the Robomen into effect, they turn around and see a nightmare that they never thought they would see again. Things already looked pretty bad. It turns out to be worse than they could have imagined.
Episode 2 – The Daleks
There are an impressive number of Daleks on display here, and just in case viewers don’t remember who they are we get a recap of the crew’s last encounter with them. But they have developed since then and they look great patrolling around the saucer area, keeping watch over their prisoners and the Robomen
It would appear that the Daleks now have a more defined hierarchy of command, and we get some different coloured Daleks. The variations have begun that will make Character Options happy 45 years later!
The sequence that tells the story of the invasion is great. I love how methodical and planned it appears to be. And how patient the Daleks were over their invasion plans. It took a long time, with meteor bombardments, and a plague to weaken humanity before the actual invasion. We also learn that there is a moonbase and that it is common for people to have tours of duty up there, which ties in well with the future human history that we see in the 2nd Doctor’s era. The technique used to tell the story of this epic invasion is very effective, with the tale being told to Ian and the Doctor on the Dalek shuttle at first, and then cutting between that group, and Susan and Barbara in the resistance base. It seems that everyone tells a very similar story, due to familiarity perhaps. It is a grim tale, well told.
When watching the resistance listening to the Dalek broadcast it is hard not to think of the Blitz mentality that was still present in so many people’s memories in 1964. The despair and fear is evident on the faces of all the actors, except for Dortmun, who views it as a challenge and has a blind belief that humanity can win through, with his help. It is inspiring to listen to. As is so often the case, it is Barbara who comes up with the best ideas regarding the attack, using her common sense.
Dalek science tests are great, and the Doctor has rather too much fun solving it, little realizing that it would be a mistake to do so. The battle sequence that follows is another impressive set piece. The Daleks look invincible to begin with. They are well organized, and exterminating the rebels at will. But even this attack may not save the Doctor from becoming a Roboman!
Episode 3 – The Day of Reckoning
It turns out, of course, that the attack does save the Doctor from becoming a Roboman, and many prisoners appear to be able to escape. But as they storm out of the ship, the extermination effect is everywhere, and the attack is foiled. I especially like the shot of the Dalek gun just going off.
Now the Daleks are now out for revenge, despite their almost total victory over the rebels. It only goes to show what dangerous creatures they are. As their plans for London become clear, everyone starts heading for Bedfordshire, but by very different routes.
This where we see Susan and David start to bond. It is a little awkward to begin with, but he is cearly starting to have feelings for her as he comforts her in her fear. At this point he seems more like a father figure than a potential husband, but this will change. It’s not yet at Ian and Barbara levels of intimacy! But that would be hard!
I adore the chase sequence through London, and always have. Part of it is the insistent drumbeat of the incidental score, and part of it is how it’s cut together. It’s a very tense sequence, and very exciting. The Daleks look fantastic on location. One particularly cool piece of attention to detail is the shot including the markings on the base of Nelson’s Column. It makes the Earth look invaded. And it always looks effective to shoot the Daleks from below, and this is especially true as they patrol the Albert Memorial!
The Doctor starts to senses how Susan has begun to have feelings for David. It’s wonderful how, once he realizes, he defers to the younger man and in so doing subtly encourages their burgeoning relationship, and ensuring Susan realizes that this is someone she can look up to, as she has done so with her Grandfather for so long.
In an episode of great set pieces, we get one more towards the end. Dortmun’s suicide is noble, and a fitting end for a proud character, whose impact will be felt in later episodes.
Episode 4 – The End of Tomorrow
This is such an ambitious story. It has a huge speaking cast and so many extras as well. There’s location shooting, large numbers of Daleks, and they even have shots of the Daleks going over non-paved ground! It all adds up to a produce a huge sense of scale and an epic adventure. This is a confident production team at the height of their powers. They are not afraid to take risks, and in this case it pays of magnificently.
There are more tense and exciting sequences here. The alligator scene with Susan is especially tense, and I enjoy Barbara and Jenny’s escape from London in the old van. Barbara taking out a roadblock of Daleks is very amusing. It’s too bad that it has to end in a fireball when the Dalek saucer catches up with them.
It’s quite fun to see Nicholas Smith in the background. I used to take the train into London with him every day, although at that point he simply looked like Mr Rumbold, rather than Wells. And then, oh dear. It’s the Slyther. Not the biggest success, but everything around it is so good, it can easily be forgiven.
Episode 5 – The Waking Ally
“No Tyler, I never take lives. Only when my own is reasonably threatened”. The Doctor makes a stand, and it is something that stands up even today. It may not be quite as catchy as “No second chances”, but it certainly stands to define his character.
Barbara and Jenny’s betrayal is truly shocking. Two lives were worth oranges and sugar. Such is life under the invasion force of Daleks. This continues the ugly side of life on invaded Earth that was seen at the end of the previous episode with Ashton’s refusal to help Ian and Larry.
And speaking of Larry, he finally finds his brother, but it is not the reunion he had hoped for. Hehas been turned into a Roboman. From previous dialogue, we already know that that means his brother is dead, but brotherly love throws all reason out of the window, and we see the impact of debating with the possessed for the first time. It’s something we will see again in the series, (“Pyramids of Mars” and “The Age of Steel” come to mind) and both scenes there are reminiscent of this first sequence. Marvellously written, acted and produced.
In counterbalance, we finally see the romance bloom between Susan and David, as they are caught kissing. (I’m rather jealous!) The production team have made sure that this relationship is not an afterthought in the last five minutes. It really does seem to have been built up from scenes over the last several stories, where the point has been made that Susan wants to belong somewhere, and get to choose who she marries. Everything is developing nicely, and the Doctor encourages things further, by telling David how good a cook she is!
Episode 6 - Flashpoint
Barbara is quite a bluffer, as she talks about the resistance and the threat that it poses to the Daleks, by using a combination of seemingly random historical events! It does the trick though and buys the time she needs. And she couldn’t have done it without Dortmun and his book.
Things are getting more and more tense, as the story drives towards its climax. The bomb is heading to the centre of the earth in a classic Terry Nation countdown!
It’s time to make mischief, now that Barbara and the Doctor have control of the Dalek control room. Their Dalek voices are very funny, and I’m sure children throughout the country could do it better, but it certainly has the right effect on the Robomen. This leads to another great climatic battle sequence, and the scenes of all the extras fleeing the mines are full of joy and work very well. The joy of toppling an invading force is felt loud and clear!
Now it’s back to London now, and to release the TARDIS, just as the chimes of Big Ben strike once more. Barbara is so funny as it becomes time to leave, dragging Ian away from Susan and David. She has a woman’s intuition for what comes next, and drags Ian away like the husband he is going to be to her in the future. And if you don’t believe me, remember “Death of the Doctor” is all true!
So we bid farewell to our first companion. She reiterates the needs that she has yearned for over the time we have come to know her. It is so difficult for her to leave the Doctor, the only family she has ever known. So he does what must be done. He knows that when you really love someone, you have to be prepared to let them go if that is what they need for their happiness and fulfillment. Once again on this journey I come across a feeling that is very familiar right now. And despite the pain it causes me, I have to do the same thing, and can take strength from the Doctor doing so as well.
Susan looks bewildered as she listens to that wonderful closing speech, but David just takes her hand. He knows exactly what she needs to hear at that moment, and he will take care of her. Just as the Doctor knew that he would. The last symbolic shot of her abandoned TARDIS key (because she knows, despite his best intentions, that grandfather will never come back) is lovely. Good luck Susan. And be happy.
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