The Power of the Daleks by: David Whitaker directed by: Christopher Barry

 

The Power of the Daleks stars Patrick Troughton as Dr. Who, Anneke Wills as Polly, and Michael Craze as Ben Jackson with Daleks operated by Gerald Taylor, Kevin Manser, Robert Jewell, and John Scott Martin, and voiced by Peter Hawkins.  It was written by: David Whitaker and directed by: Christopher Barry with Gerry Davis as Script Editor and Innes Lloyd as Producer.  It was originally broadcast on Saturdays from 5 November to 10 December 1966 on BBC1.  All six episodes are currently missing from the BBC archive.  It was animated in 2016 in a production directed by Charles Norton and produced by Paul Hembury with character art by: Martin Geraghty, character shading by Adrian Salmon, props by Mike Collins, background art by: Darryl Joyce, audio recording by: Graham Strong, and audio restoration by: Mark Ayres.  The animation was remastered and recomposited in 2020.

 

Perhaps the most important story in Doctor Who’s history is The Power of the Daleks.  When it was understood that William Hartnell was stepping down from his role due to ill health, producer Innes Lloyd and script editor Gerry Davis came upon the idea that as an alien there would be no reason for the Doctor to continue on after changing his appearance and undergoing a renewal.  By July 1966 they had received permission to enact this renewal at the start of the fourth production block and it was decided to issue William Hartnell a special extension to his contract to cover serial DD which became The Tenth Planet (The Smugglers which opened Season 4 was produced as the final serial of the third production block).  To help through the transition it was decided that the contracts of Anneke Wills and Michael Craze would not be cancelled early, and were extended to cover much of the fourth production block, to assist in the transition to a new actor, and the most popular foes of the time, the Daleks, would be the first foe this new Doctor faced.  Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks, gave his permission to use the creatures with the knowledge that former script editors David Whitaker and Dennis Spooner would be responsible for the story.  Whitaker and Spooner were chosen by Nation as they were the only writers other than Nation to write for the Daleks: Whitaker had written Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks (later reprinted as Doctor Who and the Daleks) in 1964 and Spooner had written episodes 6 and 8-12 of The Daleks’ Master Plan on television.

 

While Whitaker wrote The Power of the Daleks, the new actor had not been cast and by the time Patrick Troughton agreed to play the role on 2 August 1966 they were well underway.  Dennis Spooner would be contracted on 12 October 1966, less than a month before Episode One would air, to revise the scripts to be in line with the characterization developed in pre-production by Troughton.  The Power of the Daleks would air between November and December of 1966 with viewing figures ranging from 7.5-8.0 million, marking the new Doctor a success, and ensuring the future of the show.  Sadly, by 1975 all six tapes in possession of the BBC were wiped in line with practice of the time, leaving The Power of the Daleks completely missing bar approximately 6 minutes of varying quality recovered from various sources and a complete set of telesnaps.  It has been released as a soundtrack on cassette and audio CD, and most recently was animated and remastered in a special edition DVD and Blu-Ray which includes a remastered telesnap reconstruction, with and without narration.  While the animation was originally released in 2016, the special edition marks a definitive version of the story and is the recommended purchase for anyone wishing to experience this story.  It is more polished than the 2016 release, the animation is notably more smooth and complete scenes have been done from scratch with more camera angles and detail.  It further reveals the 2016 animation to be the rush job that it was and eclipses that release in every way.

 

And now, nearly 700 words into this review, we can actually turn to The Power of the Daleks itself.  The six episode script is a tightly paced drama from start to finish, opening in the TARDIS in the aftermath of the “renewal” (yes it’s a regeneration, but as none of the lore had been established yet it’s a renewal as well) where the audience is firmly in the shoes of companions Ben and Polly as they don’t understand what has happened to the Doctor or who this strange new man in his place is.  This suspicion continues through the first two episodes as the TARDIS arrives on the planet Vulcan in a mercury swamp where an Examiner from Earth is shot, and the Doctor assumes his role.  The colony on Vulcan has turmoil under the surface as a group of secret rebels have been planning an unjustified revolt and scientist Lesterson has found a space capsule in the mercury.  Whitaker’s stroke of genius here is allowing the TARDIS team and the audience to understand the colony before the Daleks even appear: they are revealed at the end of Episode One, but don’t become active until the end of Episode Two.  The audience has time to get a handle on who all of the human players are and what motivates them before the tragedy strikes.  Lesterson, played by Robert James, Bragen, played by Bernard Archard, and Janley, played by Pamela Ann Davy in particular form a trio of characters who represent the different groups.

 

Lesterson is a scientist and well-meaning at his heart, but curiosity gets the better of him as he is determined to awaken the Daleks.  Once they are awakened he only sees the potential for their servitude, and it eventually leads to his downfall as they take over.  Bragen is power mad, looking to unseat the governor and uses any means necessary to do so: playing the rebels and colonists against each other for his own ends.  Janley represents the rebels: an antagonist and desiring power, but not entirely evil.  There is a telling line from a Dalek late into the story where it questions “why do human beings kill other human beings?” as a reflection of all of the evil man can perform.  The Daleks themselves work in the background of the story, starting with only one powered up, and then three, all claiming to be in the position of servants.  They entice Lesterson with their potential only if they can get more power (in more ways than one), and by the time anyone that has the power to stop them on Vulcan realizes this, it is too late.  By the end they are reproducing on a massive scale and everything comes to a head in Episode Six where they are truly ruthless with a body count that shows just how powerful the Daleks can be.  In fact, before this only The Daleks’ Master Plan had this many on screen deaths.

 

Patrick Troughton as the Doctor is brilliant in his first outing.  While he is still acclimating to the role, he marks himself off as a completely different interpretation from William Hartnell’s portrayal.  Troughton is more physical in the role, but also works in the background to put himself into a position where he can take control and stop the Daleks in a way that Hartnell would never accomplish.  He also keeps the viewer guessing as to if he really is the Doctor until a Dalek recognizes him near the end of Episode Two which is where the relationship between the Second Doctor and his companions can really be established and explored.  The Doctor relies on Ben and Polly outright at several points for help without ever actually telling them he needs their help.  At several points Ben and Polly both have their parts to play and give the Doctor ideas and possible solutions during the plot.  Michael Craze and Anneke Wills bring their characters to life wonderfully, acting as the audience surrogates throughout.

 

The music and direction also play important parts in evoking the feel of Vulcan.  Tristram Cary’s musical score for The Daleks and The Daleks’ Master Plan is reutilized here to full effect, making Vulcan come alive.  There is also a tenseness added as specific cues are used whenever Daleks appear on-screen or a revelation is made about the colony or the Daleks, or even the Doctor.  Christopher Barry provides the direction for this story and although we cannot see much of it, we do have access to the camera scripts, telesnaps, and several clips from the story.  Taking this into account, and his work on The Daleks, we can get a decent idea of how the story looked, something that Charles Norton’s team captured in the animation.  Many of the surviving clips are tense and set up camera angles that build the threat of the Daleks and convey the fear and eventual insanity of characters.  Barry is one of those directors who lasted through multiple Doctors and each time he brings an interesting and distinct visual style to proceedings.

 

Overall, The Power of the Daleks is a story which originates much of what makes Doctor Who Doctor Who.  It has been the inspiration for several stories in the future, but nothing can really beat the original.  It is ranked among the very best the show has to offer with good reason and if you have not seen this for whatever reason track down the animation or soundtrack and experience it for yourself.  You won’t regret it.  10/10.