Planet of the Daleks: Episode One Now then, its time to play a game. The best bits of Terry Nation. Alien jungle? Check. Hostile plant life? Check. Infection causing body horror? Oh, definetly! The Doctor going on a seperate endevour to his companion who then gets pursued by a heavy breathing figure? Why, what else would we do? Invisible creatures that make footprints in the ground? Second time lucky, eh? And, it seems that the entire production crew has noticed just how traditional the story is, because the sound effects for the jungle ambience are the same ones we heard back in the days of Kembel. So, that maybe was a bit harsh, but, its common knowledge that Terry Nation has a little book of tropes for his Dalek stories, then he pops them out accordingly in new and interesting orders. And to be fair, if this story was in the Hartnell era, I would complain, because the elements in Nations stories were there in his stories already. But here, slap bang in the middle of the Pertwee era? Im loving it! The story seems so traditional, its like a return to the old days of Doctor Who, the whole thing is also completely studio bound! Its like a 60s story being made with the technology of the 70s, not only visually is it more traditional, without the location work pomp that weve grown used to with Letts and Dicks, but, all of those story elements make it seem absolutely great to be back. And, for the 10th anniversary season, this is a traditional throwback to the Dalek stories of old, and Nation gets that and makes a throughly entertaining installment. From the incredibly thoughtful Frontier in Space, we now go to the opposite end of the spectrum, with this story being pure and simple action adventure! Nations forte if you will, and yes, whilst there are still some interesting themes in there, what stands out about this episode is the graphic visual imagery, which means that most of this episodes appeal is down to David Maloney in the directors chair. Its great to finally have him back, after his superb work on The War Games, and, he hits it out of the park from the off. I adore the dark nighttime lighting of the jungle, with the green lighting almost flooding everywhere, even Jo! It creates a great sense of atmosphere and apprehension, and because this is the first time that Jo is stepping onto the planet, that is incredibly appropriate! Theres a great sense of isolation here, with all of the characters being cut-off from each other, which, combined with the rather disgusting creatures in the jungle, it makes everything incredibly scary! The spurting of some of the living plants is incredibly disgusting, not just because of the sound effects, but the whole presentation of the jungle is made to look incredibly gritty and grim, with the whole idea of being splattered on by living plants being perhaps a rather inventive way to introduce body horror. It seems like the ultimate throwback to the Varga plants, but, I have to admit this is done better, mainly due to the build up and presentation. Its the horrible fluidity of the stuff it squirts, combined with that sound effect, its grim in its most simple, a bit of imagery that Nation seems determined to engrave into your mind, for example, the moment where Jo throws her coat to the ground because it has been absolutely devestated. I really like how Jo is allowed to go alone, yes, I said it was more scary now because shes isolated, but it also gives her a chance to lead the adventure, which, I dont think any companion, other than Steven and Dodo have had the chance to do since! Jo is the one going around exploring, and she makes some incredibly clever observations, for example, her deduction that the Time Lords are controlling the TARDIS again. Also, I cant help but adore her incredibly 70s costume, complete with flairs, and, those mittens. Shes just too cute! Speaking of graphic imagery, theres some more shocking stuff such as when Jo touches a cobwebbed corpse and it just falls to the ground. This is being broadcast at 6 o clock and we have a falling, rotting corpse. You know, for kids! The body horror of the plants squirts (Im trying to make this sound not that bad if you get what I mean, but, its my only way around it) is shown really well, such as when Jo is hit on the arm, and it kind of made me squirm in my seat. The idea of these things scattered around a jungle really puts you on your guard, but, its the later moment where Jo begins to develop the fungus on her arm that is incredibly scary, especially considering we have just has the explanation that it engulfs you. I also like just how alien everything is, for example, the set design highlighting this with some sort of stone statue that is never explained, or, those rather weird plants with moving eyes. Small little moments that make you feel like theres a whole different culture here, something that Dudley Simpson mirrors by having a sort of tribal drum sound effect in the background to the scenes of Jos explorations. The set design of the ship is also brilliant, not only does it look massive, but, I really like the idea that its not stable, and no, its not a wobbly set, its meant to be like that, like some sort of wobbling caravan. I also like how tight and cramped it is, yet again, Nation is using the isolation of a studio environment to really use it to his advantage, to pack everything in. From the vast spacecrafts of Frontier in Space, this cramped realisation of the Thal craft seems somewhat more realistic, and when everyone packs themselves in, you really do feel quite claustrophic. And when the invisible Spirodon comes in, the isolation is used to its advantage. Maloneys direction here is absolutely superb, as he gives us not only a terrifying sequence, but its visually stunning, and without Maloney, some of this fantastic imagery would never have worked. The wobbling of the ship, the opening doors, the picking up of items, but my favourite parts are where the Spirodon is rummaging through the cupboard, throwing everything out, or where the door handle is being messed with! The heavy breathing supplied by Roy Skelton completes an already polished effect. And, Katy Mannings reactions? Yeah, were bloody terrified for her because shes trapped with no way out, this is true behind the sofa stuff. Just what Nation does best! I also like how the Thals have no idea what the Earth is, it yet again goes to that idea of isolation, that the Thals live so far away that they have no idea of Earth, and yet again its the idea of perception being forwarded from Frontier in Space. Speaking of which, the re-cap from this story is really odd to see, and yet again it makes everything seem more traditional, like a 60s story with one story seeping into the next! Pertwees performance is wonderful here, mainly for the most part he is played a Doctor who isnt in control, which, perhaps with him being one of the most authoritative Doctors makes things seem all the more scary! Its great to see the reference to The Daemons when he puts himself in a self-induced coma, and, it once again re-afferms the Doctor as an alien, but also, his performance when he has his eyes open with the frost on his face, it actually looks quite unnerving! Pertwees then groggy performance is rather hard to watch, because our hero is being put through peril after peril with no break. Yet again, a Nation staple. Even when Pertwee exits the TARDIS, he doesnt seem like the Doctor, he doesnt seem initially right, and then we find out that hes been infected. Its so subtly done, that when it hits you, you begin to understand whats been wrong, for example, the subtle moment where he scratches his face. Also, that double-breasted purple velvet has to be one of his best costumes to date, and its such as shame it only appears in this one story. Its also very nice how we get throwbacks to The Evil of the Daleks, but also, way back to The Daleks. This has to be the moment of the episode, and it strikes me as not being too indulgent, and yet, in hearing Jon Pertwee say the names Ian, Barbara and Susan makes my heart feel just that little bit warmer, one tiny bit of recognition that goes right to the beginning, proving that this is exactly the same man. And, judging how the Doctor left Skaro in The Rescue, you can imagine him getting this mythical status, but, I bet in the records it doesnt mention that one of them fancied Barbara! The Thals little reference to them not being able to believe the Doctor because he pops up and says hes the stuff of legend is just Doctor Who in a nutshell really, and because this line is capitalised well, it once again makes for a nice dovetail to Frontier in Space when we find out, albeit of screen that the Doctor knows the Draconians. In fact, thats a running theme this season, the Doctor knows of the Miniscopes, we dont, he knew of Omega, we didnt, this is the first time we actually are told something that we can recall happening. The TARDIS being engulfed in fungus is a lovely effect, and, the fact that its made of polystyrene, actually feels like a more convincing effect, because, a fungus would bubble up like that, its actually more realistion due to its limitations! I also like how the Thals have yellow sprayed protection, which, once more forwards the idea of just how dangerous this place is. Also, its interesting how the Thals are apparently violent now, with them happily wielding guns and going on, what could be concieved as a rescue mission! This is a great throwback to the Doctor who led them on a rescue mission, and Ian who taught them to fight back, and, theyve obviously listened to Ian here. But, did Ian make the situation better or worse by making them hapilly wield guns? Its an interesting dilemma, well just have to see what happens. I also like how the guns are attatched by cable, which seems like something Nation will notice here and then re-use in Blakes 7! I also really like the design of the TARDIS here, whilst the sleeping cabinet idea is a little odd, I rather like it in terms on an emergency, and it makes a little gap which seems to lead off into the rest of the TARDIS which is nice to see. I also like the little oxygen device, with the sound effects making the scene. And if you look carefully, you will see something that looks like one of the Doctors capes being stored in the roundels at the bottom of the TARDIS walls in this scene, which, is really odd, but seems to make sense when we will later see Castrovalva or Terminus. I also like the patterns on the ground for the invisible creatures, whether that be the falling footsteps of the Spirodons, which seem to be an effect mirrored by the Refusians, and, the Dalek outline at the end, which leads on to a brilliant cliffhanger. And, its a fantastic use of CSO, with the whole idea of invisible Daleks being the stuff of childrens imaginations, and because its done so well, I cant wait to see where they go with it, and Pertwees firm assurance Daleks at the end carries an intensity that assures us he is now back in action, ready for a firm fight. 11 million people tuned into this installment. You know what? I can bloody understand why!
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 10:39:43 +0000
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