The Doctor and Bellal continue to penetrate the City's defences while Sarah and Jill try to stop the Daleks leaving with the parrinium.The Doctor and Bellal continue to penetrate the City's defences while Sarah and Jill try to stop the Daleks leaving with the parrinium.The Doctor and Bellal continue to penetrate the City's defences while Sarah and Jill try to stop the Daleks leaving with the parrinium.
- Dalek Voices
- (voice)
- Dalek Operator
- (as John Scott-Martin)
- Dalek Operator
- (as Murphy Grunbar)
- Zombie
- (uncredited)
- Exxilon Corpse
- (uncredited)
- Zombie
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Terry Nation
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- Donald Wilson(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe ending to this story was revised. Originally, the Daleks escaped with the cure, but the humans worked with the Exxilons to set them back on the path to advancement and were given more of the cure in return.
- GoofsThe beacon drains all electrical power from any technology on the planet, which is why the Doctor, the humans, and the Daleks are stranded there. Yet the Doctor's sonic screwdriver works just fine when he needs it to.
- Quotes
[first lines]
[the Doctor and Bellal walk down a recently revealed corridor]
The Doctor: [blocking Bellal with his hand] Stop, don't move!
Bellal: What is it?
The Doctor: Another test, I think.
[the Doctor squats down to get a closer look at the red-and-white mosaic on the floor]
The Doctor: The people who built this city, they didn't go in for ornamental floors, did they?
Bellal: I don't understand.
The Doctor: No, neither do I.
[the Doctor takes out his sonic screwdriver and sweeps it across the pattern. It beeps part-way, buzzes, then beeps again]
The Doctor: Tell me, have you ever tried Venusian hopscotch? No, it's a silly question. You wouldn't have done. Anyway, now's your chance to learn. I want you to do exactly what I do, all right?
While yes the budget wasnt very kind to this story so the games in the city look abit rubbish, like the maze on the wall and death square. The script is also to blame. We just get told this about the Exxilons we never see it and the imagination of Terry for the games is alittle telling. Honestly if the story had a better Budget and didn't have so many longer part stories in season 11 this could work. A story structure like "The Ark" were we spend 2 parts in the past of the colony and then 2 parts in the future allows us to see both sides of the Monoids. You could do that here, have part 1-2 with the Daleks and grunting Exxilons and then 2 parts of the Dr and bellal trying to warn and stop the Exxilons in the past from building the city, the Dr then goes back to allow Galloway to blow up the Dalek ship. Of course without the city how do you explain why they all get trapped there? Well it's doctor who do a time is slowly changing reveal.
I always say every bad story has something good in it and every good bad and this story does have some great moments, alot of them are accidentally comedic ones though. I love that the Daleks use a tardis model as target practice for there new weapons, who ever thought this is absolutely brilliant. I do love the design/colours of these Daleks alot, especially with there machine guns attached. Which is also seen the mandalorian. The Daleks here get alot if good killing and exploding moments too. Even if you can see the wire to the metal snake thing.
There's also alot of nice references to past Dalek storys such as the mentions of the crews family fighting in the Dalek wars with earth and draconia. The idea that a plauge is spreading and the Daleks wish to exploit it at the end is a great one and far better than what we got in death. This is something Nicholas Briggs would recon and expand on brilliantly in his 2nd and 3rd season of Dalek empire. Were eventually it's reveled the Daleks deliberately infect people to get them to join them for a cure. This infection has no cure and it actually transforms these people into Daleks. So I like the added canon to this story. It also kinda is alluded to that it's the virus being made in "Planet of the Daleks".
Despite the surviving crew being so typical Terry nation characters of them being nothing but a crew member, we get some great scenes between Galloway and the captain as he dies and tells him he doesn't want him to take over. It's a great seem that adds to these characters and gives us a break from the overall plot. Its a nice ending for Galloway when he scarifies himself to blow up the ship even of it's not deserved as he hasn't really seen anything to make him do it, plus hasn't he technically done what the Daleks wanted by spreading there virus?
Bellal is another over the top character that I utterly adore because of actor Arnold Yarrows performance, he says my absolute favourite line in anything doctor who. "Which way did he go?, Sarah: Well that way. *Ridiculously shocked sound* that way leads to DEATH! " Hes a great charming character. When's big finish doing the adventures of Bellal boxset?
We then get to explore the city itself which is the story most ridiculous and biggest let down. But it's incredibly funny. First the maze on the wall. How the hell did not one of these super beings discovers this ? And how is ones skeleton still standing. Review of death came up with an excellent recon that these Exxilons came into the city, got trapped and someone forgot the sandwiches but brought the chess game. Then we have the square of death which gives us one of the greatest cliffhangers ever.
This being the last Pertwee Dalek story I think it's such a shame they weren't more tightly written to connect to each other because the ideas and references are there. What id of done is following on from "The Evil of the Daleks" 3 Daleks have survived and traveled to earth and are waiting for humanitys war to weaken them so they can invade and take over. The Dr and Jo fix the timelines and the gold Dalek escapes and teams up with the master to bring the Daleks back and cause the war between humanity and drconians. They have a secret base with an army of Daleks waiting but the Dr is about to get there and stop it. He does so and the Daleks are traped and eventually are able to save a few Daleks and escape. The new Daleks are upgraded to new casings and start finishing there infection viruse from spridon and start to spread it across the universe. Making a very good Dalek trilogy for Pertwee.
All in all its not a great story and it's full of moments to laugh at but I'd still rather watch most of this than most of "The chase" because that story thinks it's being really funny but failed, but here it's accidentally funny. But this story will always have a special charm for me.
Rating 2/5 5/10.
- mbellfield
- Aug 8, 2021
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