Ten Statements About....DOCTOR WHO STORY TEN: THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH (1964)

"Seig Hie--EX-TER-MI-NATE!  I mean EX-TER-MI-NATE!"

"We do not release prisoners. We are the Masters of The Earth."

"Not for long."

1) I will acknowledge that I am too young that I don't appreciate the real reason this show must've had the impact it did when it first aired. The WWII similes come hard and fast throughout the show (this really is the story than cements the Daleks=Robot Nazis concept), and while it's not as unsubtle as, let's say, Torchwood: Miracle Day, it is very, very present throughout.

2) Unlike other 'companion falls in love and leaves the Doctor' final stories ("Hi, I'm Leela, fierce warrior of a primitive culture...and now I's in lurve with wimpy Gallifreyan Guard Guy I have two, three scenes with"), Susan's storyline is very well constructed. Terry Nation makes certain Susan and David have lots of screen time together to build their chemistry and make you believe that they are in love...and I find it interesting that the final decision is The Doctor's, choosing to give her a home rather than selfishly keeping her for himself. It sort of signifies a point in the Doctor's character arc as well as Susan's.

3) We've got another example of Hartnell's struggle with his health as not only do we get him stumbling over his lines, we get in episode four...The Doctor falls insensate so Hartnell can rest for a while! The way this development is introduced is so hamfisted, it's hilarious. And speaking of hilarious....

"It's time you had a life of your own, my child...besides, your
weird-ass face is quite frankly creeping me out...:

4) WHAT. The. Fuck. That Slyther thing....Ye Gods, that's an awful monster. And I love the fact that it's apparently The Black Dalek's 'pet'....doesn't that imply a level of affection the Daleks just aren't capable of? But then....

5) Even at this early point in the series' existence, it's obvious the 'greater-than-four episodes' structure for longer stories start to seem overextended very easily. Not only the whole time waster of the Slyther seems gratuitous, the whole side trip with the women in the shack in the woods could be cut whole without any disruption to the flow of the story.

6) Was I the only one who wanted Barbara at some point to grab Jenny by the collar and punch her repeatedly? Especially after all the 'I'm a ballsy tough broad who will do anything to survive' bullcrap she keeps spouting....only to collapse into a pile of pork gelatin once she's captured by the Daleks in episode five. Ann Davies' portrayal pisses me off.

7) Dortmunn...I understand intellectually why this character existed in the story (The parallels to him and Roosevelt are hard to escape)...but maybe it's Alan Judd's portrayal, maybe it's the way the character is written, but I just don't buy his role. His death, meant to be heroic and bittersweet, just seems anticlimactic to me.

"...and we take bread and fruit and dip it in the cheese...it's
the party idea of the century!"

8) What I did think was effective was the shots of Barbara, Jenny and Dortmunn running through the empty streets of London, and seeing Daleks wandering around recognizable London landmarks. They ground the story in a weird reality that makes the invasion seem realer.

9) Overall the design sense of this story contributes greatly to the atmosphere and reality of the narrative. Simple things like the Dalek lettering seen throughout the show, or the 'vetoed' signs on artwork and museum pieces all lend veracity to the idea that this is a recognizable city that something truly terrible happened in.

10) Here's something that nags me about Dalek stories as a whole--wouldn't they be more effective, especially given how Episode One's cliffhanger is the appearance of a Dalek out of the water of the Thames, if the story wasn't named 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth?' Apparently, the story at one time was called simply 'The Invaders,' and I can imagine the chill that would go through me if I didn't expect that shot.

Overall...I know a lot of people hail this as a classic, but the truth is it's overlong and somewhat all over the place. Sure, there are some nice moments, but it could have benefited from being shorter and/or more focused. Still, an important story in the development of the show and required viewing.

Ten Statements About....DOCTOR WHO STORY THREE: THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION (1963)

Susan was unsucessful in teaching her companions
the new dance craze called 'The Norman Bates'....

"You have no means of telling what's out there! There may be no air, it may be freezing, it may be too hot to exist!"

"Yes, or it might be Earth in the 20th Century. Hasn't it occurred to you? My ship is very valuable, remember."

1) This is the kind of episode that could never have been done with many of the Doctor/companion combos that follow--it certainly couldn't have been done with the revived show. The plot relies totally on the tension that has developed between this iteration of the crew, and capitalizes on it in an incredibly effective way.

2) You know what's creepier than Susan? Susan in a snuggie stalking around with a pair of scissors.

(Although to be fair, not even that is as creepy as modern-day Carole Anne Ford, who looks like a demon trying to pretend to be human).

3) This is the first time where we see overt evidence of Hartnell's increasingly faulty memory, as he stumbles over a number of lines, but it works to shore up the strange behavior of the TARDIS crew.

Wow...William Hartnell lying on the ground...he's going
to be doing that a lot....

4) But even with Hartnell stumbling over those lines...that monologue. Good Lord, is that a great performance. Hartnell just plays out the story of what happened magnificently, and we are totally carried away with the increasing excitement and enjoyment of his voice. It's the highlight of this episode and sort of helps give us new insight into the Doctor while giving us a transition into the softer, more genteel Doctor of later stories.

5) Am I the only one who was amused by the fact that William Russell spends the bulk of the show lying on the ground, only pulling himself into a sitting position to utter a half-assed 'No, Doctor, don't' and the like such?

6) I really enjoy how we're still at a point where the production crew is feeling around trying to define the show. On one hand, that creates the moment where Susan alludes to a previous adventure on an alien planet; on the other, we have all this trouble caused by...a faulty spring?

7) And as long as I kept in mind that this two-parter was done on literally no budget, I have no problem with the goofy clock, which I assume had been corroded and not melted.

"I have this persistant urge to sing 'Yankee Doodle
Dandy'..."

8) I'm not as accepting of the 'costumes' for this episode--those weird snuggies that seem to be made of foam plastic for Barbara and Susan and that goofy bandage for The Doctor that makes him look like he stepped off that painting of the pipers and drummers leading the troops during the American Revolution.

9) I think that the 'well, now we're all cool with each other' coda that eases us into the next story would not have worked if it wasn't for the way the Doctor and Barbara had seemed to gain respect for each other in the previous two stories. It makes what should be a dubious about face on the Doctor's part plausible--and it helps that Jacqueline Wright is able to signify her emotional sea changes subtlety but effectively.

10) Good Lord, that cloak is ginormous on Ian in that last scene. I understand that they were probably cobbling stuff together from pieces still lying around in BBC's Wardrobe Department, but he could hide a couple of midgets inside it and not break the lines.

Overall...all told, a pretty remarkable piece of work given the lack of budget and the last minute nature of David Whitiker's script--a place setter of a story that manages to advance the character arcs and gives Hartnell one truly amazing moment in that monologue.

Ten Statements About....DOCTOR WHO STORY TWO: THE DALEKS (1963)

Barbara is a little upset at the prospect of her pipes
being plunged....

"He appealed very sensibly to them. Any responsible human beings would have responded. The Daleks didn't. They obviously think and act and feel in an entirely different way. They just aren't human."

1) It's nice to see that this second story carries forward the tension between Ian and The Doctor, as William Russell and William Hartnell effectively play a game of one-upsmanship with each other that actually interferes with their stated intention of leaving Skaro.

2) And it's also nice to see that Verity Lambert and story writer Terry Nation seem to be gleefully not backing away from the idea that The Doctor is Something Of A Sinister Sort. The fact that he consciously lies about the Tardis being broken just so he could get the opportunity to explore the city is kinda creepy. And he doesn't stop trying to manipulate everyone, even down to the last scene! That kind of uneasy feeling he's always playing his own game gives Hartnell at this point a refreshing edginess we won't see again until McCoy's later stories.

3) Especially given that each episode of the series was budgeted at an ungodly low amount of money, you have to give them a hand at how thoughtfully the sets are designed. Little things like the lower ceilings in the Dalek chambers and the strange ovoid shape to the doors gives the setting an alien air to it.

4) Boy--watching this now (I don't think I've seen this story since it ran once on WLIW in the early 90's), with my knowledge of what the Daleks become in the era of Pertwee and beyond, I'm somewhat taken aback by how....laid back these Daleks are. They only utter their signature phrase once, shoot Ian only to paralyze his legs, and discuss their plans like borough representatives. The moments where they're the paranoid, single-minded Space Nazis are still there, but much a little on the few and far between side. It's not until we see them again (which we will on DYE! DYE! in a short while) in 'The Dalek Invasion Of Earth' that the psychotic Dalek mentality surfaces.

"All due respects, young lady...I live on a planet
with the Daleks, and you creep me out more..."

5) And similarly....it's rather a shock to see this first portrayal of the Thals as these white-haired hippie types in soundproof quilting vests. It takes a long time to get used to them talking about growing food and the like when you want to see them be ass-kickers. Of course, it doesn't help that the outfits of the female Thals are, ummmmm, silly as all hell....

6) It's obvious to me that the production team is feeling around in the dark at this point trying to find their ideal groove, because this story might be a touch long at seven episodes. To be fair, it keeps it pace pretty well for the first four episodes...and then everyone plans an assault on the Daleks that involves an episode and a half tromp through a swamp with a killer whirlpool and a whole lot of nuttin' that slows the story to a crawl. When it's time for the climax, everything shoots back in double time in an effort to wrap everything up.

7) There's something really weird about Philip Bond's Ganatus pursuing Barbara. I know it's not the first time a character wants Barbara to be his wubbie (I'm looking at you, 'The Romans'), but given the continuing evidence that Ian and Barbara are involved (when she pulls him up from the elevator, she embraces him; they're seen sleeping next to each other when they rest in The Mutant Swamp) it makes her prissy self come off a bit like a player.

Yeah, the Daleks are forcing our heroes to have tea against
their wills...but it's really bad tea...

8) You gotta give directors Richard Martin and Christopher Barry for trying some unique and unusual shots, particularly those that are from the Daleks' point of view. They're obviously done with filters and cut-outs, but given the rather staid three-camera set up it's refreshing to see them trying new solutions for the problems of their budgets.

9) I am becoming more and more creeped out by Susan. Not only is she still disquietingly odd looking, she now chooses to break out this strange, braying laugh at the most inopportune times. There's one moment when the others stare at her after she does this donkey-like whinny, and you get the impression they're just as shocked as we are.

10) I'm also still not used to the way each episode only shows the last few minutes of the episode previous, then there's a fade out, and then the story starts. It's a slight disruption in the show's flow that distracted me every time.

Overall...as interesting as this episode is, it's still something of a shock to see a different interpretation of the Doctor's greatest foe. Still, another essential episode for aspiring Whovians.

Ten Statements About....DOCTOR WHO STORY ONE: AN UNEARTHLY CHILD (1963)

"You say you can't fit an enormous building into one of your smaller sitting rooms. But you've discovered television, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then by showing an enormous building on your television screen, you can do what seemed impossible, couldn't you?"

1) You know what really impressed me about this viewing? How truly scary and vicious the Doctor comes off as in the first half. I could easily see, with some tweaking, director Waris Hussien approaching the first episode of this story as a horror film. William Hartnell clicks on all cylinders in this portion, being absolutely dismissive of Barbara and Ian and being borderline gleeful when telling Susan he can't let them leave.

2) I know Barbara and Ian are just supposed to be friends, but the combination of the script and the chemistry between William Russell and Jacqueline Wright makes it seem like they're at the very least dating.

3) I know Verity Lambert has said she would never have commissioned this story, but I think the general simplistic storyline of the cave people portion of the serial works. Its simple narrative allows Anthony Cobrurn's script to better establish the dynamic between the four leads. The tension between Ian and the Doctor, in particular, comes off excellently...which furthermore makes the moment where The Doctor cedes control to Ian briefly all the more impactful.

"We can use this flaming skull to scare the cavemen....or my
disquieting face!"

4) Of course, you can tell how the producers don't quite know what to do with the female half of the team. You've got Barbara being the social skills with Ian being the science skills, and there are moments where she does convey this (like when she negotiates with Hurr to let Ian tend to Za)...but she also starts fretting and panicking like the Girl School Screamer so many of the New Who fans mock. And Susan is just...there until she comes up with a way for the group to escape.

5) Up to a point, I rather like the fact that there are no villains in the cave tribe storyline. We never get the sense that there is malice in either Za or Kal, the conflict between them being more a case of 'two men, one woman...trouble'). Hell, even the Old Mother's solution to these strangers she fears is in aiding them to escape. When Kal suddenly becomes a murdering schemer in Episode Three, the story loses a little something.

6) And speaking of the murder of Old Mother...that whole subplot is sort of confusingly handled. I didn't even realize that Kal stabbed her until the Doctor brings it up in Episode Three. Up until this point, it looks as if she accidentally falls and dies during her struggle with Za.

7) It makes me smile to realize that Za's decision to not let the group go can be interpreted as altruistic as well as selfish, that he may think he's protecting these newcomers from the terrible dangers outside by insisting they join his tribe.

"I'm better than you because I have a hat.  Hats are cool."

8) Given that the original remit of the show was to be education, I found it somewhat amusing that this story taught those young British children that cavemen had apparently perfected fabric making, judging by the rather obvious underpants Za and Kal wear when they're fighting each other to the death.

9) It needs to be said--Carol Anne Ford certainly does look like a space alien. It's her strange, not quite right features that sells the idea that she and The Doctor are Not From Around Here.

10) I like the fact that, at least at this point, the series is serialized across the season--we literally see the next story set up right after this story wraps up.

Overall...an intriguing beginning that holds up for most of the story's four chapters. And needless to say that it's essential viewing for any Whovian.