The Power of the Daleks

Episode 1

All six episodes of this story are missing. This could potentially cause us even more problems than usual; for one thing, it's going to be difficult for Hannah to form an opinion of the new Doctor when she can't even see how he's playing the role. Actually, it's even worse than that; Patrick Troughton's first eleven episodes are all missing, so we won't get to see him in action until halfway through his third adventure. Hopefully it won't harm her first impressions too much.

But there's a silver lining: uniquely, this entire story has been animated, so at least there's going to be some movement to help her engage with it. But for once, the missing episodes aren't Hannah's biggest concern; there's something else troubling her.

Hannah: I've changed my mind. I don't want it to happen.

In spite of Hannah's objections the new, younger Doctor recovers from his post-regeneration hangover and starts to adjust to his new body.

Hannah: In the last episode the Doctor seemed like he was expecting it to happen, and knew all the signs and what it would involve and all that; it feels like this wasn't his first, like he's already had more regenerations than people think.
Me: That's actually something that's hinted at in at least one later story, but the current continuity is now adamant that Hartnell was unambiguously the first Doctor.
Hannah: Oh yeah, because they've done the whole numbers thing.

For some reason, his trousers appear to have regenerated as well.

Hannah: Oh. That doesn't happen in later ones. Why did his clothes change when he regenerated? That never happens in the modern era, because the whole point is that he picks out the new wardrobe.
Me: He's picking up the shirt and bow tie and jacket.
Hannah: But he's got different trousers?
Me: Yeah, I think we're supposed to just gloss over that bit.
Hannah: So the TARDIS is what helps him regenerate?
Me: Well, that's what they're saying here. The concept was only invented last week so they haven't established the "rules" yet, or even explained anything about it.
Hannah: They're calling it a "renewal" here.
Me: Yes, they won't coin the term "regeneration" for a very long time.

In an effort to get his bearings, the Doctor starts looking for his 500-year diary.

Hannah: Well, he should already know everything. Each Doctor knows what the previous Doctor knew, because they're the same person, but they don't necessarily understand why they feel things about things, because they're also different people; they have different personalities and different emotions and different reactions to things. So he knows that he wrote a diary, but he won't necessarily know what his reasons were for writing the diary and what he was feeling when he wrote it. It's like he can know who Ben and Polly are, but not really understand what the other Doctor felt for them.
Me: He's not Adrian Mole, it's just a record of things that have happened to him. His memory's not all there yet.
Hannah: Ben and Polly seem so lost and bewildered. It's so unfair that the Doctor has just changed and left them uncertain about their situation with no answers or explanation. What if this new Doctor doesn't like them and wants to get rid of them? It must be awful, not knowing if the person who's in complete control of your life is going to kick you out.

The TARDIS arrives on the planet Vulcan, so the Doctor grabs his stovepipe hat and goes out to explore.

Hannah: He looks stupid.
Me: He doesn't have it very long. Only a couple of stories.
Hannah: He just looks like a silly person, not a respectable old man anymore. Although Hartnell's hat was a bit weird.
Me: This Doctor is going to be a bit experimental for the first couple of stories. They're still trying things out at the moment, and then sometime around the third or fourth story it all comes together and he starts to crystallise into the Doctor he's going to be for the rest of his tenure. Like Hartnell, I suppose.
Hannah: He's starting off very uncommunicative. Ignoring his companions is something the first Doctor often did, but this goes a little further than that; he has no answers for them at all, and barely acknowledges them. He just does what he wants. He's also obnoxiously playing the recorder at them, which takes him beyond Hartnell's attitude. Obviously without seeing the actual episodes I can't tell how facially communicative he is, though. Maybe it's too early to compare the two.

The plot, in which the Doctor infiltrates a human colony by pretending to be an official Earth Examiner, is taking a back seat for the moment; Hannah is far too interested in the actions of the new Doctor. In fact she's completely forgotten the story title until the Doctor discovers that the colonists have recovered an alien capsule from the nearby mercury swamps, and recognises a familiar piece of metal. When he comes back later to sneak into the capsule, the tension starts to grow.

Hannah: Come on, get to the cliffhanger!
Me: What makes you think there's about to be a cliffhanger?
Hannah: Because you can't just call the story "Something of the Daleks" and then not have any Daleks. We're going to have some peril.

The Daleks are dormant and covered in cobwebs, but our heroes catch a glimpse of a Dalek mutant scurrying across the floor.

Hannah: Nice. It's a loose Dalek. A wet one.

Episode 2

Hannah: The music for this story is amazing.

She seems to be warming to the new Doctor, too.

Hannah: He talks to himself; I like it. I mean, the first one used to talk to himself, but in the same way that anyone else would, whereas this one's actually asking himself questions. I also like his animated eyebrows; I'm not looking forward to seeing him for real, in case they're not as impressive.

Meanwhile, the colony's chief scientist Lesterson has begun his experiments to revive the inactive Daleks.

Me: Have you noticed the double meaning in the title yet?
Hannah: What, the fact that the Daleks need power to make them work again, and also that they're powerful beings? Yes! Obviously. But if the armour casing is their life support, and they had no power, surely the Dalek inside must be dead?
Me: Not necessarily. Maybe they just go dormant.
Hannah: You think they can hibernate for hundreds of years?
Me: I don't know how their biology works, but we've certainly never seen a Dalek eat anything.

Lesterson only succeeds in giving one of the Daleks just enough power to exterminate his assistant Resno. (And no, Hannah doesn't recognise Edward Kelsey's voice from either The Archers or Danger Mouse, although the leap from Resno to Joe Grundy isn't exactly an intuitive one.)

Hannah: He should have been much more cautious. Why would you switch anything on without a protective screen - at the very least - if you had no idea whatsoever of what it could do? He could easily have killed everyone in the room, even if it wasn't a gun-wielding robot shell for an insane alien race.

It's not long before she's back to admiring the soundtrack again.

Hannah: I really do like the music. It might just be that I'm able to concentrate on it more because there's less to look at.

The Doctor plays the recorder while he considers his next move.

Hannah: Not this music.

The tension escalates even further when the Doctor comes face-to-eyestalk with the reactivated Dalek. Unfortunately nobody listens to his warnings because, as Hannah elegantly puts it, he's "a real weirdo who's only just woken up and doesn't know how to talk to people."

Hannah: Does it recognise him because the Daleks are time travellers and they've seen his face before, or is it because they can tell he's not human? They don't always recognise him in the future.
Me: Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't; it's completely inconsistent every time they meet a new Doctor. It usually depends on whatever suits the story, or makes for a good dramatic moment.
Hannah: Depends on which group of Daleks and what software they've got installed. Does the armour recognise him, or is there a live Dalek inside that recognises him? Maybe they're from a future story that we haven't seen yet and that's why they recognise him as Troughton. Unless they're able to detect his bio-signature or something.
Me: They might be time-travelling and recognise him from another encounter, but the real reason is that it's supposed to be the convincer for the audience - and for Ben and Polly - that this new man is still the Doctor.

And then the Dalek breaks its silence by repeatedly chanting "I AM YOUR SER-VANT" at the colonists, drowning out the Doctor's frantic protests.

Me: That's one of my favourite cliffhangers. Possibly the best and most effective ever.
Hannah: It's good. Is the Dalek just pretending to be subservient in order to gain trust and access to things so that it can wake its brethren, or has it genuinely woken up a little bit brain-damaged and is legitimately doing as it's told?

Episode 3

Despite the Doctor's objections, Lesterson assures the governor that the Dalek's intelligence is no cause for concern.

Hannah: Yes, because there's never any reason to be concerned about something with artificial intelligence, if that's what you think a Dalek is. It's never known to be wrong.
Me: Maybe he missed The War Machines when it was broadcast.

Hannah is warming to the new Doctor far more quickly than she did with his predecessor.

Hannah: I like him. He's cheeky.
Me: You're liking him more than you thought you would?
Hannah: Yeah. Even though I can't see the real him.
Me: Do you feel like you're getting the essence of him, though?
Hannah: Yeah. Slightly. He's less angry and irritable than before. Even when he's worried or annoyed, he doesn't snap at people in the same way. He comes across as distracted, childish or self-involved - talking to himself more and impulsively doing what he wants without talking to his companions - but you can see that he's intelligent and constantly thinking. He's clever, like before, but perhaps less arrogant about it. Can't wait to see him properly and see if this is a fair assessment.

But there's far more to this story than the debut of the new Doctor.

Me: How do you rate this as a Dalek story?
Hannah: I like it a lot. But there's not a lot of Dalek; it's just a lot of threat of Dalek.
Me: That's what's so good about it, though; it keeps ramping up the tension. You know that this ticking time-bomb is going to go off at some point.
Hannah: I don't know whether or not they're actually going to turn up, or if it's just going to be six episodes of the Doctor trying to get them to stop being so stupid and listen to him even though there's no reason they should listen to him because he's just a random person. It's a really difficult position to be in.
Me: I don't want to influence you, but this is possibly my favourite Dalek story.
Hannah: It is very good; the story has a good pace, and the threat of the Daleks has been steadily increased and become more complex. I like the way there are two threads of story happening at the same time. It's not a purely Dalek story, so it's not all the same stuff again. We all know how powerful and scary the Daleks are, so to have them dangled as a threat like this works so well. We can have another story happening, and also the introduction of this new Doctor, with the Daleks as a hook, as we get settled in. It doesn't waste them, and it looks like it's going to get even better.

Speaking of which, the Dalek very nearly blows it when Lesterson has the nerve to compare it to a human.

Hannah: He is pretending now, I'm very sure of it. He was going to say "Daleks are better."
Me: That's the other interesting thing about this story; it not only shows how clever and cunning they can be, but also that they're capable of reigning themselves in and putting on a pretence when it serves a better purpose. They don't just go in screaming and shouting and trying to get their way, they're capable of calculating and biding their time until they know how to manipulate and use people. I think this story is the Daleks at their most clever and interesting.
Hannah: Yeah, they're not all rage. And they're even offering to help people and make things better for them, knowing that they'll keep them around because they're so helpful. I love that little stumble, because that just proves everything. You couldn't have been sure whether they were damaged or they were faking it, and then it was just "We're bett-- I mean, we're different to humans, la la la, would you like us to make a better meteor shield?"

Any lingering doubts she might have about the Dalek's motives die like flies in the winter when the other two Daleks are reactivated, and the three of them unite to chant "We will get our power!" in front of a worried Lesterson.

Hannah: They'll make anything a chant, won't they?

Episode 4

The Daleks have seemingly forgotten their bluff (and Lesterson's presence) and continue chanting.

Hannah: They haven't noticed him standing there?
Me: I think they're getting caught up in the moment. They're very excitable little creatures.
Hannah: Wow. I thought Daleks were clever.

There's the odd moment of light relief amidst the growing tension; Hannah finds the servile Dalek's enquiry "Do I bring liquid for your visitors?" amusing enough, but she prefers the sight of the Doctor nervously shielding himself with a chair. Then the stakes rise yet again when he realises that the Daleks have been secretly reproducing themselves.

Hannah: Where's your chair now, Doctor? You're going to need a whole dining set.

The colonists are all far too preoccupied with their own internal power struggles to notice or care about the impending bloodbath.

Hannah: I still find it surprising how astute the Daleks are, noticing that there's all this politics going on and using it to their advantage while they're going along with the flow.

The final scene sees the Daleks reproducing themselves on a massive scale with an industrial production line. Hannah was expecting them to assemble their army by building one Dalek at a time, so it comes as quite a shock to see that they've managed to produce hundreds overnight.

Hannah: Show us the vat of little baby Daleks or something. Have they got a TARDIS-style ship? Is it bigger on the inside? You can't tell how big the capsule is, but it appears to be big enough to have a Dalek factory inside it.
Me: Look, there's your vat of baby mutants.
Hannah: Awww! This is really interesting.
Me: The production process, or the scene itself?
Hannah: All of it.
Me: It would be great to see this for real. Although maybe it wouldn't be quite as impressive as it looks here.
Hannah: Every single one of these episodes has had a decent cliffhanger. Now this one is basically telling us that everyone is even more royally screwed than we thought.

Episode 5

The Doctor spends most of this episode locked in a prison cell, which he eventually escapes by using a glass of water to mimic the sound of the sonic key.

Hannah: Interesting mechanism, and I love it when the Doctor identifies a thing and knows how it works, and does something weird or clever to solve it or fix it or open it. Hartnell did it, and now Troughton does it. The Doctor always remains clever and perceptive, no matter what else changes. He's perceptive of objects and systems, anyway; not necessarily perceptive of people and their feelings.

Meanwhile, in his absence, Polly is trying to convince the colony about the Daleks.

Hannah: Ben and Polly had never seen the Daleks. The Doctor must have told them a lot off-camera.

As Lesterson starts to realise he's made a mistake and runs around desperately trying to stop the damage he's done, Hannah begins to feel sorry for him.

Hannah: I want to see what this actor looks like, being hysterical all the time.

There's a very interesting moment when a Dalek innocently asks why human beings kill each other, to which it doesn't get a reply. Then, in the next scene, another Dalek explains to the scientists that they're building a static electricity converter and nearly makes another slip-up before biting its tongue: "With static power, the Daleks will be twice as... useful."

Hannah: (laughing) That's my favourite bit ever.

The episode ends with the assembled Daleks chanting over each other ("I want this as a ring-tone") before the Dalek army finally seizes its chance and emerges from the capsule to engage in full-scale slaughter. 

Hannah: It's so good! This story is excellent. There are so many scenes that I wish so intensely we could watch for real. The in-depth view of the Dalek production, the extreme emotion of the characters, the dark, mysterious rebel meeting with Bragen in the corner, the Doctor defending himself with a chair...

Episode 6

Hannah: So much suspense and intrigue.

I haven't seen Hannah so engrossed in a sixties story since... well, ever.

Hannah: I just had a weird feeling.
Me: What's that?
Hannah: I forgot that this is an acted television show. This feels so good that it's like an animated show with good voice acting.
Me: Like the David Tennant animations?
Hannah: I never watched them.
Me: No, me neither.

Then the slaughter begins. She's thoroughly unimpressed with the colony's military tactics as waves of guards are sent to their deaths, and it doesn't help that the animation is a little more horrifying than she was expecting.

Hannah: So this children's show; would it really have panned across a pile of dead bodies?
Me: It wouldn't be the worst thing they've shown so far.
Hannah: That's true.
Me: I think they must have done; I can't think of anything else they would have shown during that sequence.
Hannah: I know. It just feels horrible. We already saw them all die, there's no need to do that. It's dramatic, but it feels unnecessary for a children's show.

Meanwhile, Lesterson has finally had a nervous breakdown.

Hannah: He's really gone a bit bonkers. I want to see his real face!

Despite having brought it on himself, Hannah is genuinely upset when he goes completely mad and finds himself exterminated by the creatures he resurrected. The Doctor finally manages to defeat the Daleks by overloading their power supply, and once again, the significance of the title is not lost on Hannah. 

Hannah: Fried Dalek!

For some reason, she's incredibly disappointed that we don't get a final close-up of the twitching tendril of a dying Dalek mutant. When Ben tries to get the Doctor to admit he knew what he was doing, the Doctor responds by playing his recorder.

Hannah: Yes, he's a very irritating man sometimes.

As the Doctor, Ben and Polly leave, they find the remains of a melted Dalek outside the TARDIS.

Hannah: Still waiting for them to do something.

She finally gets her wish as the TARDIS dematerialises and the Dalek raises its eye-stalk to watch.

Hannah: Yay. I'm glad they did do something. Yeah, the Doctor's a very annoying man sometimes. He may get through and do what he intends to do, but he does it in a way that infuriates everyone around him. He may or may not be joking, he may or may not have done stuff by accident, and in the end it was all okay - maybe if he'd had another ten seconds he could have done something that didn't destroy the place - but he's just so casual about everything. It really pisses people off. But it makes him a good character; you can't have a character who's perfect. It would just be boring, watching someone going round the universe fixing everything. Instead we've got a guy who's a bit weird, goes around trying to do some stuff, plays with a banana and cuts a grapefruit in half, plays his recorder... he seems to be choosing things to irritate people on purpose. What did Hartnell do that annoyed people? He didn't play musical instruments.
Me: He abducted them.
Hannah: No, I mean a day-to-day thing that he would do. He called people the wrong name out of forgetfulness, but he didn't play the recorder rather than speak.

The Score

Hannah: It's the dog's bollocks.
Me: Eloquence, thy name is Hannah.
Hannah: It's an excellent story with excellent characters. It has perfect pacing and a perfect balance of politics and action. Obviously we can't really judge on the actual action because we can't see it, so let's assume that the animation is a good interpretation of what was happening on-screen.
Me: I believe the animators were working from original camera scripts.
Hannah: Yeah. I mean you can try your hardest but you won't get exactly the same kind of atmosphere, especially when it comes to faces; animated faces are emotive, but not in quite the same way as real faces would be. So, on balance, I suppose the animation could be taken to be as good as the real thing; some bits are probably done better, some bits have probably ended up worse. Either way, the whole thing is just excellent.

10/10

Hannah: I like it even more than The Savages.
Me: You're scored two stories 10 out of 10 so far, and between those two stories not a single one of the ten episodes has existed.
Hannah: Maybe I like animation better than real life.
Me: The other one wasn't animated.
Hannah: Oh. Well, I like a well-written story. I think that seems to be my criteria for the better stories; one where I don't find the plotholes quite so obvious. It needs to have a good story arc, it needs to build tension really well, and yes, the camerawork and acting have got a lot to do with that, but if it's got a good base to start with, then you can work with it. Even the best cast can't work with a rubbish script and a rubbish story. So I think both of those were really good, thought-provoking stories. How does the Whoniverse feel about it?
Me: The what?
Hannah: Whovians. In their Whoniverse.
Me: It made the top 20 the last Doctor Who Magazine poll, out of 241 stories.
Hannah: Good. I really like Troughton a lot more than I thought I would, even though I haven't seen him yet. I thought he would just be old and annoying, dressed like a tramp.
Me: Why old and annoying?
Hannah: I don't know; I just never really thought I'd like any of the old Doctors, because I thought they'd be completely different to the modern way of doing things. I liked Hartnell, and I was happy to be wrong, and now I'm happy to be wrong about Troughton as well.
Me: You may be interested to know that Patrick Troughton is the Doctor that Matt Smith took the most inspiration from.
Hannah: He's fun without being irritating, and I'm looking forward to seeing the kinds of things he does. If he can be this calm and casual in an intense situation, I'd like to see how he gets on when they're not under such pressure. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him. And I'm glad, because I know he's your favourite and I wouldn't have wanted to carry on under the incorrect belief that he was rubbish.