The Power of the Daleks

A televised story featuring the Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly

Written by David Whitaker and directed by Christopher Barry

Polarity Rating: 4 out of 5

Hot on the heels of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration in "The End of Time," we come to probably the least-seen regeneration episode of all time, a foregone conclusion if there ever was one because the BBC elected to toss out all six episodes of the story long ago.

"The Power of the Daleks" was a huge crap shoot for the BBC. After three years in the role, William Hartnell's ailing health forced him to leave the show, and the producers found themselves with a conundrum: how could they possibly replace the lead actor after he had established himself and been received so well? From the outset, the producers and the BBC elected rather than casting someone else to step into Hartnell's shoes, they would completely revamp the character in looks and personality.

Perhaps to offset the audience's trepidation about the change in casting, the producers elected to bring back the Daleks, who hadn't made an appearance since "The Daleks' Master Plan." And so David Whitaker penned a Dalek story that left out any elements of the Doctor's personality and called it "The Destiny of Doctor Who." Dennis Spooner was later asked to make some changes after Patrick Troughton was cast in the role and the crew had some idea of what the new Doctor would be like. It was show creator Sydney Newman's idea to make the Second Doctor a kind of "cosmic hobo," who is better at listening than speaking, a stark change to the verbose Sherlock Holmes that David Whitaker originally had in mind.

Nowadays we've seen the Second Doctor in stories like "The Mind Robber," "Tomb of the Cybermen," and "The War Games," but his characterization there is far from Sydney Newman's original idea. However, in this story, Newman's decsription of the character is spot-on: the Doctor spends little or no time stammering in protest or talking excitedly, and seems to ignore the questions of his companions (or does he?). Although it's difficult to gauge without seeing the visuals, he seems to be thinking more than doing, and he spends much of his time thinking while playing a recorder. There are little bits of playfulness that shine out in Troughton's performance, such as when he's listening to a piece of fruit or confusing china plates with the country of China (listen for a reference to a classic Hartnell story there).

Fans must have loved the Daleks after their initially appearance in 1963, but nowadays fans have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Doctor's most famous enemy. One has to admit that they're a big stagnant visually, the sound of their voices tends to get a bit too repetitive half an hour into the story, and the writers have evolved them over the years into miniature war machines that can fly through the vacuum of space. On the other hand, the Daleks are an institution in England, and even casual viewers can recognize them. If the current producers failed to include a Dalek story in every season, I think they would have a minor coup on their hands.

With that in mind, I have to admit I approached this story as "just another Dalek story," and was looking forward to the opening regeneration scene rather than the remaining five and a half episodes. However, Whitaker really delivers a smashing good Dalek story, and we get to see them in a light we've never seen before; they're no longer the ravaging killers we saw in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth," but suspicious characters that lurk in the background for much of the story, causing both the listener and the Doctor much vexation.

The setting of the story is pretty standard fare. The Doctor, Ben, and Polly arrive on the planet Vulcan amidst yet another colony of earthlings. Among them is Dr. Lesterson, the archetypal scientist who is focused on nothing but his work, that being opening some kind of capsule discovered in the planet's mercury swamp. There are also rebels in the midst of the colonists who wide like to use Lesterson's work for their own purposes, particular when the capsule is opened and a Dalek emerges.

For once, however, the Dalek is not bent on blasting everyone in its wake. It seems willing to serve the colonists and eerily keeps repeating "I am your servant," in monotone Dalek fashion. The Doctor, of course, knows there's more to it than meets the eye, as do we. Even Ben and Polly seem to be taken in, no doubt because this is their first encounter with the Daleks. Of course, by the story's conclusion, the Daleks' true intention of using the colonists' power supply to build new Daleks becomes all too apparent and many, many people die.

There are moments in "The Power of the Daleks" that stand out in one's mind (spoilers ahead!). For instance, at the first episode's cliffhanger, the Doctor is assaulted by a Dalek creature which has crawled out of its casing. Viewers got to see only a glimpse of a Dalek claw in their premiere story, but seeing this for the first time must have been thrilling. Imagine it: not only is the Doctor being played by a new actor, but we get to finally see what a Dalek looks like under all that metal! In another scene, Lesterson accidentally uncovers the Daleks' plan when he's exploring the interior of the capsule. He sees a literal Dalek assembly line, with machines placing the tentacled creatures into their robot casings.

As a fan, listening to these scenes is enjoyable on two levels: it's a visual leap for the history of the show, but also the shock and joy of hearing the Daleks' plan unfold is far better than any of the Dalek revelations served up to us in the current story. Pure gold. We all know that something is going on in that capsule we just don't know what, and we're as anxious as the Doctor to discover it.

If one would have to say anything bad about this story, it would perhaps be the length. At six episodes, there is a little bit of padding in the middle, much of it involving the rebels plan to usurp the colony's governor. There are also maybe one too many classic scenes involving running up and down corridors. Ben and Polly also seem to take a backseat to the action, and they've conveniently captured and held hostage by the rebels, perhaps so the actors could take a break (Polly is absent from the fourth episode and Ben is absent from the fifth).

As with "The Enemy of the World," perhaps the story is better without the visuals; I can only imagine how boring the colony hallways must have looked. Nevertheless, any Doctor Who fan would admit that it would still be a real treat to actually see "The Power of the Daleks."

Fun Facts:

• The BBC's account books, which still exist, say that this story cost a total of 17,065 pounds. What I find baffling is that the beeb actually threw out the films but elected to keep the books. There's bureaucracy for you.
• Although the story is now available on CD and presented by Anneke Wills, it was originally released on cassette in 1993 and presented by Tom Baker.