Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Jonathan Morris

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: July 2015

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 12th September 2014

The year is 1987, and Britain is divided. In Bradford, strikers are picketing and clashing with the police. In the City of London, stockbrokers are drinking champagne and politicians are courting the super-rich. The mysterious media mogul Alek Zenos, head of the Zenos Corporation, is offering Britain an economic miracle. His partners wish to invest – and their terms are too good to refuse.

While the Doctor investigates Warfleet, a new computer game craze that is sweeping the nation, Mel goes undercover to find out the truth about Zenos’s partners.

The Daleks have a new paradigm. They intend to conquer the universe using economic power. The power of the free market!

* * *
The Seventh Doctor and Mel are back! Hurrah! If that’s not cause for celebration, then I don’t know what is. Often sadly poorly written for on screen, Mel has enjoyed a fantastic revamp akin to the Sixth Doctor’s here in the audio world. Bonnie Langford, forever brilliant whatever she is handed, has really stepped up to this and has continually proven how good she is and, indeed, how good Mel as a character is: enthusiastic and optimistic, someone smart and genuinely just wanting to have a good time.  I like that.  I like that in the end, she is someone who just enjoys travelling and exploring, and so she fits in wonderfully with those early, carefree days of the Seventh Doctor. Again, a lot of Season 24 never translates as well on-screen as it arguably should do, but in much the same way that Series 4 was so exhilarating to watch as it was all about the Doctor and his friend, Donna Noble, just having fun, so it should have been with the Doctor and his friend Mel, and so it has been at times thanks to Big Finish.

Of course, the Seventh Doctor’s era is well known for its sudden lurch from being light and more like a children’s show than we’d arguably ever had before, to something darker and more complex.  Whereas no attempt was really made to bridge that gap on TV, again some plays have tried to do it, and We Are the Daleks falls neatly in that slot. We have a recognizably human background (London), some nice iconography (a giant Dalek-shaped building), intelligent use of the current companion (Mel, the computer programmer, actually gets to do some computer programming!), and the slight reinvention of an old foe (the Daleks themselves) as well as a smattering of political commentary going on. It’s a neat-enough fit with the era of Doctor Who in which we find it, then, and provides some nice retroactive continuity creation to smooth over some elements of Remembrance Of The Daleks along the way.

(In addition to this, having recently criticized some of the CD covers for being very generic or lacking in risks, this one is pleasingly different and eye-catching and easily my favourite piece of work from Tom Webster for quite some time now.)

There is a lot to like in Jonathan Morris’s script, and the character of Celia Dunthorpe is superb: chillingly realistic and despite the awful things she says and does, you can see her justification and reasoning behind it all.  It makes what could be a simple caricature all the more effective and resonant.

Sadly though, despite all of these good points, there is something not quite 'there' with this play. On paper it all works, but in execution, I could never quite warm to it.

Was it the similarities to past Dalek stories? (We have a part where the Doctor explicitly compares a situation to the Dalek Civil War from The Evil Of The Daleks, and right on cue the Daleks start parroting dialogue from that tale.)

Was it the subplot with a computer game, that was very obvious from the off and felt very convenient to the plot than a natural off-shoot? (Maybe, though it does let Mel do something that her character excels at.)

Was it the sense that this sort of iconography, use of the Daleks in unfamiliar situations and liberal taking of continuity has been done before several times over now, and more often that not with the Seventh Doctor? I think perhaps that’s just it: this story is far from generic and has some great parts, but as a whole it’s in no way as fresh as perhaps it ought to be, and is perhaps a bit Remembrance-lite in parts? Last month’s play, The Secret History, had parts so shockingly like The Name Of The Doctor that I was surprised BBC Wales let it pass, but managed to feel different all the same. Perhaps it’s the use of the Seventh Doctor: he gets this sort of tale a lot, so similarities are all too easy to spot.

I know, whatever else, that many people will really enjoy We Are the Daleks, and I can’t blame them for that - there’s a lot to like.  For me though, its parts shine brighter than the whole piece.

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Director, Christopher Barry.

Christopher was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for directing the Classic Series adventures; The Daleks, The Rescue, The Romans, The Savages, The Power of The Daleks, The Daemons, The Mutants, Robot, The Brain Of Morbius and The Creature From The Pit.

He was one of only three people to direct stories featuring the first four Doctors (William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker).

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Christopher's family and friends.

[Source: Tim Vine]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Designer of The Daleks, Ray Cusick.

Ray designed the iconic look of The Daleks - brainchild of creator, Terry Nation. The design of The Daleks has changed very little since the 1960's and at the time of designing, Cusick was on a standard BBC salary, so did not collect any royalties from his designs.

The Daleks have since gone on to earn huge revenues for Terry Nation's estate - a fact which many fans feel Cusick should have received more recognition (and royalties) for.

During his life, Cusick always stated he never asked for money, only to be recognised as a designer.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Raymond's family and friends.

[Source: BBC News]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Eleven - The Rescue (The Daleks, Episode Seven)

Dear diary,

I've never noticed it before, when watching the stories all in one sitting, but the cliffhanger reprises at the start of the episodes are actually pretty damn useful, aren't they? As the titles played out on today's instalment, I became very aware that I couldn't actually remember how we left things yesterday, but a few seconds of the recap and it all came flooding back to me.

I complained yesterday that our whiny Thal had been irritating me for a while, but here he nobly sacrifices himself to ensure the rest of the party have a chance to continue onwards. It's a great moment, and really allows him to die with dignity. It's far more moving than any of the deaths we have in the final battle (though more on that later).

In his book The Writer's Tale, Russell T Davies says that it's important for characters to have flaws, as it makes it all the more wonderful when they overcome them. He gives the example of Rose Tyler being selfish - so her best moments come when she is completely selfless. This is the idea in motion during this death. We've witnessed fear and cowardice throughout the last episode, and here it's all made worthwhile by the single act of self-sacrifice.

I can't help but think that if the death itself had been the cliffhanger, with the final shot being of Ian staring over the edge into the abyss below, then it may have been more memorable, and packed more impact.

I do have to take issue with the final battle here, though. It feels very much like after they've managed to break into the Dalek city, it's all a bit too easy. It's a scene replicated in Journey's End, the Doctor's companions working together (and here with the Thals, too) to overcome the Daleks, shutting off their power and kicking them into a corner.

It's a shame that after such a long time of building them up to be these imposing creatures, they're defeated with the flick of a few switches at the end. I wonder if things would have worked better had this episode been given over entirely to a final battle? The few Thal deaths we do witness during it feel completely arbitrary, just there to make the stakes seem higher.

It's especially laughable when it's described moments later as 'The Final War'!

I'm glad that there's enough time at the end to include a proper 'goodbye' scene, though. In the last story, the TARDIS crew departed in a hurry, running for their lives and fleeing in the ship. Here, they've made friends, and they get to properly see them go. Susan's given a present, Barbara gets a kiss and the Doctor gets to fill them with hope about the possibilities of the future.

He's very clearly a different character already to the one I first met just over a week ago, and different, too, to the version at the start of this story. Here, he's far more kind-hearted - pleased that he's managed to help the Thals, and excited by the possibility to build a new world.

The whole team has changed, really, and this is exemplified in the final scene aboard the TARDIS, where they seem perfectly casual with one another, ready for the next adventure instead of worrying about how to get home. It's a shame to see that the set has been created in miniature in the studio, as the size of the TARDIS during this era is one of the best things about it.

At least the next story has plenty of opportunity to show it off…

As for the story as a whole…? Well, I've enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Watching an episode a day has already started to become an interesting way of viewing the series, as it's allowing my time to sit and digest everything I'm seeing, instead of heading right into the next part. The Daleks is certainly better in the first half than it is in the latter, and I think this is what's ruined previous viewings of the serial.

Watched as one, it could start to feel a bit like running through treacle towards the end, but taken at a slower pace (as intended), you realise that there's plenty to love as you go along.

I certainly think there's some changes that could be made to have some more impact - as I've mentioned above, the final battle needs a bit more room to breathe, and Episode Five is far too padded for my liking. Perhaps the first three episodes could tell the story of the TARDIS crew exploring and escaping from the Dalek city, Episodes Four - Six could be the struggle to get back inside (it's supposed to be a near-impossible feat, after all!), and then Episode Seven could feature the battle on a larger scale?

Still, I'm pleased to have enjoyed it more, and I'm really glad that I'd not gotten sick of it by the end as I had with An Unearthly Child.

Next Episode: The Edge of Destruction

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Ten - The Ordeal (The Daleks, Episode Six)

Dear diary,

Well, the good news is that yesterday seems to have been a bit of a blip. I've found myself enjoying today's instalment much more again. It's not all been plain sailing - I started the episode with a heavy heart, worried that I'd not be able to get the momentum back for the rest of this story, but actually (and this isn't a sentence I expected to ever say), watching a group of people make their way through a system of caves is rather good.

I think it's helped that unlike yesterday's episode, in which most of the running time was spent with characters telling us what's going on, or what has been going on, or what will be going on, today has seen our two distinct groups take action.

Before I talk about the stuff in the caves, I'm going to focus a bit on the Doctor and his little 'team'. The Doctor here is far closer to the man we've come to love over the years, taking a gleeful delight in breaking the Daleks' equipment when he thinks he's putting them out of action. I love the way he happily smashes away at their power supplies with the end of his walking stick.

I'm less keen on the idea that they can hide in the heart of the petrified jungle and make a (fairly detailed, it would seem) map of the Dalek city. A few episodes ago, they had to be right on the edge of the jungle before they could see it, and it was at least an hour's trek away. Equally, I'm sure that the Daleks' sensors could only reach the edge of the jungle. Have they boosted their power or something, and I've just missed it?

Either way, the shot of the Daleks surrounding the Doctor and Susan is fantastic, and should, I think, be more iconic that it is. There's also a fantastic scene where the pair are forced to sit cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by the Daleks. It's well shot, and helps to make the creatures seem especially menacing.

On the whole, there's a lot of rather good direction in this episode. Some of the shots during the cave sequences is very well done - there's a great shot of one of the Thals jumping the ravine, with the camera positioned behind him, so you can see all the way down to Ian in the distance, and across a ravine.

I praised the set design yesterday, commenting that it didn't look as though it was filmed in a tight studio. There's lots of good stuff on display here, too, with several shots framed specially to make the tunnels look long and thin. They feel dangerous, too, and we're shown just how tricky they can be to traverse at several points throughout the story.

Antodus, a Thal who's feeling more than a little out of his depth, has irritated me a lot of the way through the episode. He's spent most of it complaining that he can't go on with the adventure, and looking for excuses to turn around and run away back to the other Thals in the jungle. Actually, though, he's the person I'd be if I were on this adventure. Maybe that's why he bothers me?

Still, we end the episode with him dangling from a cliff, so perhaps he'll have less to whine about tomorrow?

Next Episode - The Rescue

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Nine - The Expedition (The Daleks, Episode Five)

Dear diary,

The bubble had to burst some time, didn't it? I'm not sure what it was, but tonight's episode just didn't really grab me in the same way that the first four instalments of The Daleks did. Perhaps my elation at enjoying the story for the first time yesterday was premature?

I think it lost me towards the beginning, during long discussions about the morality of asking the Thals to fight the Daleks, simply to get back the Fluid Link. It's an argument we had yesterday (not quite, but along the same lines), but there it was much more succinct. Here it just seems to drone on, between Ian and Barbara, then Ian and the Doctor, then Ian and the Thals, then the Thals themselves…

By the time things really got moving, I'd already let my attention slide. It's not all doom and gloom, though, but I do have one more little niggle before I talk about the good stuff.

The cardboard cut-outs of the Daleks are quite effective the first time they appear on screen. No, really, they are! When they're all pointing toward the camera, you could actually mistake them for other Dalek props. Well, if you squint.

What you have to remember, though, is that I'm watching this episode on a 21" iMac, in a darkened room, and using a print that the Restoration Team have spruced up for DVD release. Watched on a grainy 1960s black-and-white TV (and trust me, I know, we used to have one in our apart room while I was growing up), it would have been quite effective.

It's later, though, when you see them from an angle and realise just how thin they are, that the effect if ruined. There's even one shot where there's two practically leant against a wall! A shame, as there's some shots of the city in close-up during this episode, which just help to reaffirm my comments yesterday about the success of the effects in the tale.

Anyway; time for some better stuff. Ian tempting the Thals into battle is well handled, and it gives Williams Russell an chance to really shine. I'm on Ian's side of the argument, though. Much as the travellers need the TARDIS to leave the planet, it is more than a little selfish to ask the Thals to risk their lives to help them.

The swap setting is rather well done; it really is tricky to tell that this series is made in a studio as small as it was. There's another chance to get some good effects in, as they gaze across the lake to the Dalek's water pipes, and the use of dripping water in places really helps to sell the effect.

One other thing to note - the Doctor muses that his 'little trick [with the Fluid Link] has really rebounded on me'. Not half! It it wasn't for his curiosity in the first episode, he'd possibly not have met the Daleks for a long time!

Ho hum, hoping tomorrow returns some enjoyment to the story for me…

Next Episode - The Ordeal

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Eight - The Ambush (The Daleks, Episode Four)

Dear diary,

If there's one thing I could change about this marathon, it would be how much I know about Doctor Who.

For the early years of the programme, each episode had its own individual title (much like the modern series), but because each story was spread over several weeks, the viewer never quite knew how long each narrative was going to last for.

Now, I know that The Daleks is a seven-episode-story, so I know that there's still another 75 minutes of story to go, but if I'd not been so sure about the length of the stories, then today's cliffhanger would have had a bit more impact. The first story was four episodes long, and since this one builds up to the TARDIS crew headed back to the ship until the last thirty seconds or so, I'd have been in the same mind about this story, I'm sure.

As it is, the cliffhanger feels weak. I know the story's not over, so it feels like a way to extend it pointlessly.

Still, this isn't the complaint it might appear to be. By the time I'd reached the fourth episode of An Unearthly Child, I was bored of the setting, bored of the guest cast, bored of the story and more than ready to move onto something new. I worried briefly that this may turn out to be the case with all the stories - that I'd become so used to watching a Doctor Who in one or two sittings to the point I couldn't enjoy it in this way.

Thankfully, though, and still much to my surprise, I'm still enjoying this one. I've spent the day eager to get home and tune in, and I'm already looking forward to tomorrow. Huzzah!

It helps that, quality wise, this story has remained pretty damn consistent for me. I've been enjoying it all along, and while it's not quite perfect, it's certainly better than some tales. Today's instalment continues to give me things to smile at, and I'm particularly keen to focus on one aspect; the effects.

Back in the first episode of this tale, I commented that the Dalek city looked pretty good, and that the props themselves were rather well made, too. In this episode, we're treated to several special effects - certainly more than we've had in the series up to now.

The lift looks fantastic - I'm assuming here that they've not built an actual lift in the studio, but have created it with some camera trickery? Maybe someone more familiar with it can let me know in the comments? Though the shots panning down the lift shaft as it rises and falls do become a bit repetitive after a while.

Especially impressive, though, is the effect of the wall being blistered when a Dalek gun hits it. Done with some form of split-screen effect, it works surprisingly well. Though we don't get actual rays from the Daleks' guns for some time yet, this story does a perfectly valid job of making them seem like a powerful weapon.

The Daleks cutting through the door to reach the TARDIS team is just one of the shots from this story that gets visually referenced many years later for Chris Eccleston's swan song Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways (The other being the first shot of the Daleks' sucker arm in Episode One), and it works just as well here as it did in 2005.

Aside from the effects, the music has also been particularly good this time around. There's a scene where the Daleks hide from the Thals, and their movement in unison out of sight, coupled with the effect of the incidental music really helps sell the tension of the scene. It's fairly easy to see why the Daleks were considered so scary at this stage - here, they're not the single-person tanks they'll later become, but scheming, manipulative little creatures encased in metal.

The Doctor has softened a bit here - already he's becoming a different man to the one I met a week ago at the start of this experiment. When he sits with the Thal woman, looking over the history of Skaro, there's a wonderful mix ofd the excited explorer I enjoyed so much at the start of the last story and the cuddlesome grandfather he'll later become.

And yet, there's still flashes of the original Doctor in here. The debate over weather they should stay and help the Thals or simply leave while they have the chance ('The Thals are no business of ours') is strongly reminiscent of the same debate in the last story, with the teams still being equally drawn.

Still, I'm glad to see that this story isn't wearing me down in the way I'd expected. I'm certainly enjoying it more this time around than during any other watch I've ever done of it…

Next Episode: The Expedition

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Seven - The Escape (The Daleks, Episode Three)

Dear diary,

A complaint that I often see levelled at the classic series is that it's pacing is just far too slow and plodding. I tried to get my girlfriend to watch an episode once, and she'd practically fallen asleep before the end of Part One.

Now, I've got a bit more of a tolerance for the pace of 60s telly. I'd say around half my DVD collection is stuff from the 50s/60s, so I'm used to watching telly at that pace on a day-to-day basis. Except for Doctor Who.

For some reason, I always seem to sit and watch a classic Who story in a single sitting. You know what? It really doesn't do it justice. Frankly, I'm shocked that I've reached the end of Episode Three of The Daleks, and I'm still thoroughly enjoying it. It's been a while since I last saw it, but I seem to remember being more than a little bored with it by this point.

Taking things an episode a day, though, I'm really enjoying the way that the story is building. Each episode is slowly introducing us to another element. In the first episode, we've got the jungle and the city, then the Daleks show up in part two. At the start of this episode, we're introduced to the Thals, and more of them arrive during these 25 minutes.

This particular instalment also sees us given lots of backstory to both our guest races for the tale. We're given something of a history lesson via Susan and Alydon, and start to understand more about them.

What's interesting is how easily you forget the Daleks' story while watching. I know them as the scourge of the galaxy, feared by everyone and main enemy of the Doctor. While watching along, though, you quickly forget all of that, and find yourself swept up in the thrust of the story.

Aside from the introduction of new elements, the story itself is moving along at a comfortable pace for me. We've had the regulars locked up in a cell for the best part of two episodes, but the end of this one (as the title suggests) sees them making a break from their prison, via the inside of a Dalek casing.

And it all feels just right. The speed at which the Doctor and Ian deduce how Daleks work, before closely studying one bringing them food, is spot on - just long enough for it not to be easy for them, but not so long that you tire of their deductions. The same is true of the story involving the radiation sickness. In some respects, it feels like they've been sick for ages, but actually it's only been the last 45 minutes or so.

There's lots of little things to love in this episode, like the iris on the Daleks' eyes moving. I'd not noticed it before in this story, but it's quite unsettling when it contracts in during the Daleks' speech about giving the TARDIS team sleep, food, and false hope.

Then there's the first almost-mention of the Daleks' most famous catchphrase - when one suggests that the solution for the prisoners breaking the camera is 'extermination, then?'.

I also want to draw attention to Carole Ann Ford in this one. I mentioned earlier in the week that I'm not a great Susan fan, and it bugged me yesterday when she scoffs at the suggestion there could be something inside the Dalek casing, but it has to be said - she's great here.

She's very much the focus of this episode, meeting Alydon outside the TARDIS at the start, and being the go-between for him and the Daleks, while also being present in the cell for the rest of the narrative. She's obviously had a very busy evening in the studio this week!

But it pays off. The moment when she explains to the Daleks that she's signed their message 'Susan' because it's her name is the best performance we've had from her since the very first episode. She's really relishing having a lot to do.

And then a cliffhanger that wills me forward. I'm looking forward to the next episode, but I'm happy to wait until tomorrow. This is starting to feel like a vital part of my evening, now…

Next Episode - The Ambush

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Six - The Survivors (The Daleks, Episode Two)

Dear diary,

Doctor Who and the Daleks. It's always 'and the Daleks', isn't it? When people at work find out I'm a fan of the show (not that it's any real secret. The last couple of weeks, colleagues have actively been seeking me out to say how much they loved the Christmas special, as if I'll feed it back to the production team), they always make comment about remembering the show from childhood. And then they tell me how mud they loved the Daleks.

My friend Phil (Born 23rd of November, 1963, which officially makes him cool!) is always coming up with new tidbits. 'Was there one with the Daleks in an old Victorian house?' 'What's the one where the soldiers come back from the future, and there's Daleks in the sewers?' 'Didn't they team up with the Master one time?'.

Even my mum, who can't bear the show, has memories of hurriedly leaving the room when the pepper pots from Skaro arrived on the scene.

The point I'm trying to make is that the Daleks are absolutely synonymous with Doctor Who. What's so magical about them is that they're the first aliens to appear in the series, aside from the Doctor and Susan. Every other alien adversary the Doctor has faced has come after he fought the Daleks.

And it's lovely to see just how many hallmarks of Dalek law actually appear in this story. The design, the voice, the 'heartbeat' noise in the heart of their city… all these things survive to this day. Oh, sure, they've changed a bit down the years - the Daleks are rarely as articulate as we find them during this episode, but they're still basically the same creatures.

I have to confess, I love their first appearance here. Discounting the plunger at the end of the last episode (and it's really hart to imagine how scary that would have been on first transmission. Would anyone have really guessed it might be an alien? Or did a nation of children think Babs was being menaced by a plumber?), we don't see them until the Doctor, Susan and Ian emerge into a room full of them.

And there's the style of these models. There's something wonderful about the 1960s Daleks - it's no wonder that Big Finish choose to use them for the majority of their audio plays. Equally, Steven Moffat has recently sung their praises, claiming that the Daleks work best when they're small like this. Ironically.

But, before we go much further, and before I appear to be a real Dalek fanboy… I have a confession to make.

My name is Will, and I don't really like the Daleks.

Yes, yes, I know! I've just waxed lyrical about how they're the iconic villains, how great they look, how important it is for the Doctor to have this enemy… but I just… don't care for them. Give me a Cyberman any day.

Which is why I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I'm enjoying this story so far. By stripping things back to the pace of an episode a day, I'm finding myself able to concentrate on things other than the fact that this is 'the first Dalek story'. I went in expecting to be a bit bored by the whole piece, but actually - what we've had so far is quite good!

The Daleks here are interesting, because I'm seeing them with more personality than I'm used to, and I'm switching off before Dalek fatigue sets in. In many ways, like the last episode, this is 25 minutes focussed on just out four main characters. The Daleks are there, too, but it's hard to engage with them - being faceless machines and all.

The cast is still giving it plenty of enthusiasm and effort. All of them are on fine form still, but throwing an enemy into the mix gives them something to play off. Doctor Who at this stage still feels more like a serial than it usually does. The characters are growing, and they refer back to recent events. It's almost soap-like, with the TARDIS team as the central family of focus.

One other thought, without much of a home. I love the way the TARDIS doors open, and the jungle is just there, outside. There's something magical about that, and I'm so glad it's been brought back for the 21st century series. A black void beyond the doors just isn't as inspiring as this is, and while it's only a product of the way the set's been constructed, I love that the roundels glow when the lighting flares outside.

Next Episode - The Escape

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Five - The Dead Planet (The Daleks Episode One)

Dear diary,

I couldn't wait to get home today and start this one. Can't tell you how happy that makes me. Historically, I've never been that fond of The Daleks as a story (or as creatures, but we'll come to that in a day or two), but today, it was all I could think about to get home and stick another episode of Doctor Who on. I'm five days in and already it's just becoming a part of the routine. This pleases me no end.

In some ways, it's because I'm predisposed to like The Dead Planet. Like the very first episode of the series, it's one featuring (more-or-less) just our regular four characters. I've praised them enough this week to not need do it again here, but I love them being given a chance to shine like this.

The Doctor's back in his adventurer/scientist/explorer role, as we saw during The Cave of Skulls; eager to get out and examine the petrified jungle. Once he catches sight of the city below, there's no question about it - he has to go and explore. Of course, doing this leads to a life-long battle with a group of evil pepper pots, but still, for now he's as excitable as a child.

His whole character has mellowed somewhat here, too. He's still not the Doctor we know and love (and won't be for some time, yet), though he's got his darker side. Removing the Fluid Link and draining the supply of mercury, just to have an excuse to visit the city, against the wishes of his three companions? That's devious, but it's wonderful. He's lighter, though, in general. He laughs a few times here, and seems - at times - to genuinely enjoy having Ian and Barbara with him in the jungle.

When they find the metallic creature frozen to the rocks, he chides Ian for not being able to conceptualise it, though seems to relish the chance to explain it to him. Equally, he's softer towards Barbara, asking her to talk with his granddaughter, and even admitting that the age gap can be something of a problem between them.

This whole episode feels more like Doctor Who than anything we had during the last story. There, they were dumped into the strange new environment and instantly victims of circumstance. Here, they have a bit more time to explore and actively engage with the adventure. It feels like the whole of An Unearthly Child was there to set things up, and now we can be on our way with the adventure.

There's a few other things I want to draw attention to, but I don't have much to say about them, really. One is the model of the city. I've seen people talk of how rubbish it is; but actually, I really like it! It's got a very 1960s sci-fi feel to it, but it's very well realised. This episode was remounted and re-shot a few weeks after the first recording, so I'm guessing it allowed them more time to work on the model. While I'm on the subject, the shot of the TARDIS team looking over the valley toward the city works very very well. So n'yer.

The second thing I wanted to draw attention to, and sticking with the theme of 1960s sci-fi, is the TARDIS' Food Machine. What a wonderfully 60s idea. I love that the food comes out in little blocks and that Ian is surprised by this. I can't imagine this particular set of TARDIS occupants getting their food any other way, so I'm more than happy to see it here. I can't remember it showing up on many other occasions (though a few spring to mind), but it's perhaps my favourite bit of TARDIS kit.

Ian and Babs must be shattered by the time they get some sleep in this episode, mind. They taught a whole day at Coal Hill, followed a pupil home and then spent several hours playing capture and escape with some cavemen. I'm surprised they didn't slap the Doctor when he first suggested they go explore the city below…

Next Episode - The Survivors