The Daleks Master Plan - The Traitors

This episode is historic in Doctor Who history. It’s the first episode where a companion dies. As little as I thought of Katarina I must say that I thought that her death was rather effective and shocking. The silence that follows adds to the shock. It was a selfless act by Katarina and the Doctor appreciates what she had done even though Steven can’t accept that at first. It pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the story.

The story introduces Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom. Marsh previously appeared in ‘The Crusaders’ in a blink and you’ll miss it role. When she joins the story she is as cold as an iceberg and she believes Chen. It’s not long before we the second death of a companion when Bret is killed by Sara. It must have been quite a shock because even though Vyon had been with the show less than Katarina, his impact in the story was quite and his loss is quite big to the story. It pretty much shows that all bets are off as far as the characters are concerned. Viewers must have been thinking even the Doctor could fall victim to the axe.

As for the rest of the story it seems far more action packed than the previous one. From the moment that Katarina is killed it jumps to Mavic Chen and then Daleks and then back to Chen and it never seems to stand still which is great and when you consider its only 25 minutes long this episode, it’s quite amazing what Terry Nation fits into the episode. Even though for a large part of the episode the Doctor, Steven and Bret spend their time on the ship, when they get to earth they seem to be part of a conspiracy and it’s a question of who can be trusted and its not normal in a Doctor Who episode.’

Another cracking episode it feels like the story has found its legs and is really getting going. The Daleks are on fine form (perhaps their best) and the regulars (whats left of them) are also on good form. Even Terry Nation has done a great job with this story after some fairly average stories it’s good that he gets to show what a great writer he is. The story continues to impress

The Daleks Master Plan - Devil's Planet

The third episode sees me return to the CD’s. The story moves off Kembel and continues its gradual pace. The thing about this entire episode is that even though some scenes do have a sense of urgency about them it doesn’t really feel like at the end of the episode that they haven’t really moved that far in terms of the plot. At the end of the previous episode the Doctor had stolen the teranium core and escaped and this episode is about try to get it back. Basically that’s what the entire story is about really.

Something that is quite noticeable is the errors that William Hartnell is making. He seems to be making a lot of mistakes which is a shame really. He is quite ill at this stage and is close to leaving the show (probably a year) but the errors which were quite humorous to begin seems to be less so as its become clear that he’s ill.

As mentioned earlier, Earth is in danger and the Doctor, Bret, Steven and Katarina know that they need to get back to Earth to warn them. Things rarely go well in Doctor Who and shortly after they start their journey they arrive on Desperaous which is a pirate planet. Meanwhile, Chen is sent by the Daleks to go after them. It’s still not obvious to Chen that he is not in control.

It’s something that I’ve commented on before but its worth mentioning and its that despite his fluffs, William Hartnell is putting in a good run of performances which is even more impressive when you consider the Myth Makers. Nicholas Courtney and Peter Purves are both in good form in this episode and the less said about Adrienne Hill the better but she does contribute to a fantastic cliffhanger because her scream isn’t the normal scream as its quite horrific. It’s the best thing that she’s contributed really.

Zephon meets his end in this episode which is a shame because he has been a good character and someone that has been a problem for Chen and the Daleks. It becomes clear that once he got knocked out that his time on the show was somewhat running out.

This isn’t the best episode of the story so far but I cant say that its terrible. It serves its purpose and moves the story on plot wise as well as geographically wise. The characters (minus Katarina) all work well and the story does move along at a good pace but sadly as is the case with the audio episodes it lacks something and it would be great if it existed on video.

The Daleks Master Plan - Day of Armageddon

Day of Armageddon is the first of three episodes in this twelve part story that exists on video and was the most recently discovered. I can remember the excitement when I first saw this episode as I had heard the episode so many times on CD. The episode was found back in 2004 and released on the Lost in Time DVD release. After the introductory episode we finally get some substance to the story and we get to find out a bit more as to what the Daleks are up to.

We get to see the room where all the Daleks and their allies are meeting. The first thing we see in that scene is Mavic Chen writing. I say writing in the It’s a great looking room and its used more than once which is good. The aliens that are there are a wide range and one of them looks like a giant cookie. Everytime I seem him I think that he should be promoting cookies in a supermarket somewhere.

Like most egomaniacs, Mavic Chen doesn’t believe that he is being a traitor and instead thinks he is all powerful. He thinks that he is in control of the Daleks but in truth it’s the other way around. The moment when Bret Vyon discovers that Mavic Chen is on Kembel is a lovely moment and gives him a greater sense of urgency. I like the character of Zephon, I thought that there was a nice bit of rebellion about someone who has made some odd decisions. Sadly he gets KO’d by Bret Vyon and the next time we seem him is in a state of presumed undress.

Daleks with flames is a wonderful idea and may have been inspired by the Daleks from the two movies. They are quite good in this episode and seem to be recovering after the rather inferior story they had in ‘The Chase’. We are given some more information about the Daleks plan. There is a time destructor and Mavic Chen has spent 50 years trying to get such a small amount that is quite hard to get. It’s almost like this gives Mavic Chen a great bargaining strength when he needs to.

It’s nice that after being rather at odds in the previous episode, that they are now on more friendly terms. Though there is a nice argument between the Doctor and Steven. It seems like an awfully long time since the days of Ian, Susan and Barbara. No sense of unity between Steven, Bret and Katarina. Speaking of Katarina, I’m still not convinced with the character and its seems that the producer feels the same way.

William Hartnell continues his good form return after several episodes of walking through the story. Here he gets to show us why we like him so much. I like how when the Doctor is talking to Bret he refers to the events of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ and that it will show how to defeat the Daleks. Not sure of that myself but it was a nice bit of continuity. His best bit comes when he pretends to be Zephon. It’s a typically Doctor like move and it’s a one that almost works.

The cliffhanger is quite a good one as there is the very real possibility that Bret will take off without the Doctor much to Steven and Katarina’s dismay. It’s a nice way to end the episode after the action packed pace of the episode. It’s two episodes in a row that I have enjoyed and its not just because this episode is on DVD but its told well with some great characters and its told really well. It doesn’t feel like its all happening in the same place even though its filmed in a studio. A good Dalek story and its back to the CD’s for the next episode.

The Daleks Master Plan - The Nightmare Begins

Well I’ve finally reached the second longest story in Doctor Who history. After having to endure ‘The Myth Makers’, its great to get to this story. It’s good how this story references ‘Mission to the Unknown’. People watching this in 1965 would have remembered this and so it would be a nice bit of continuity. The episode has a wonderful title which is one of Terry Nation’s strengths and the title pretty much sums up the story. The action from ‘The Myth Makers’ spills over with Steven recovering and the departure of Vicki still very much being dealt with.

Katarina has joined the TARDIS crew and whilst her involvement in the previous story is somewhat limited in the previous story, here she makes up for it. With Steven somewhat out of action, its falls to the Doctor and Katarina to get involved in the story. It’s clear from this episode that Katarina is going to be restrictive influence in this story. She is too primitive and if the Doctor and others have to explain things to her then the story will take twice as long. It’s not Adrienne Hill’s fault and she does the best that she can but it doesn’t take away from the fact that character was always destined to have a short life span.

Nicholas Courtney makes his first appearance in Doctor Who as Bret Vyon. He is immediately unlikeable as he tries to steal the TARDIS. The way that he boards the TARDIS is sneaky and is very untrusting.  He gets his commence and spends the latter stages of the episode being tied up. After four episodes of doing pretty much nothing, its nice that William Hartnell finally gets to do something and he is the best he has been since at least the last season. He seems to be having a ball after the interaction with Bret.

Mavic Chen is probably one of the most iconic baddies in Doctor Who. From his opening scene he carries an aura which is instantly mesmerising. He is the Guardian of the Solar System but is in fact in league with the Daleks. This seems like the first part of their Master Plan but at this time we don’t know the finer details which is something to look forward to.

It’s a cracking opening episode and for the first time since ‘Mission to the Unknown’ I feel some energy in the story. I think that as they have twelve episodes to tell the story there is the time to pace it much slower. We are introduced to the key characters and it’s a well written story by Terry Nation.