(638) Revelation of the Daleks - Part 1

Revelation of the Daleks is a story that I have waited for and it arguably the last great Sixth Doctor story. This is the final story of the 22^nd season and the final story to air as a 45 minute episode until the show returned in 2005. It is also an Eric Saward story so you can expect a darker Doctor Who story than normal. It is also a story directed by Graeme Harper which means that the story will move in an interesting way. It seems that the Doctor and Peri’s relationship is as frosty as the lake the TARDIS lands by. The fact there is a lot of snow adds something to the story which is an added bonus.

Clive Swift appears as Jobel. He is quite an arrogant individual and is instantly unlikeable but that makes his likeable. He treats everyone around with contempt and that includes Tasambeker. Tasambeker is someone who has a bit of a crush on Jobel. Tasambeker is played by Jenny Tomasin  and she might be small but she almost stands over some of the other performers. Tasambeker comes to the attention of Davros which isn’t always a good thing.

Alexi Sayle appears as a DJ and adds a bit of anarchy to proceedings. He seems to be in own little world talking to those who are in suspended animation. He in fact doesn’t interact with anyone which is quite similar to Arak and Etta in Vengeance on Varos. Sayle’s performance is quite entertaining but it’s more fun trying to listen to the music playing in the background and guessing what the tracks are.  

It takes just eight minutes for Davros and the Daleks to make a return and this is a wonderful change of form because normally they wouldn’t appear until the half way point or even later. Here, Eric Saward doesn’t waste anytime. What he does do however is delay when the Doctor realises that the Daleks and Davros are on Necros with the name ‘The Great Healer’.

The Doctor and Peri spend an awfully long time just walking around. I suppose this allows for the other aspects of the story to take centre stage. The only person they come into contact with is someone who is quite deformed due to the Great Healer’s experiment. It almost seems like they are being kept separate from the main action. They are there for the cliffhanger however when a statue of the Doctor falls over and seems to crush the Doctor. The cliffhanger is different because it’s a white statue that falls to the camera and then the screen goes white before the credits roll.

There are several different plot strands that take place in this episode . The first involved Kara and Vogel. Kara (Eleanor Bron) and Hugh Walters (Vogel) run a factory that is basically a plaything for Davros. They dislike Davros but are nice as pie to his face. They are arranging for Orcini and Bostock to kill him. The first scene between Kara and Orcini is a great one because Kara is gushing about him but Orcini is less enthusiastic and acts like a nice guy because he gives his fee to charity. William Gaunt is brilliant as Orcini and the character is great because Gaunt makes us believe that he is a gun for hire and is a man with morals and a code.

Natasha and Grigory appear at first to be two body snatchers which is a wonderfully dark idea to have in a Doctor Who adventure. They are looking for Natasha’s father and it doesn’t take long to find him. He is in a glass Dalek casing and its in a dark room that has a faint red glow. The image of a glass Dalek casing is wonderful and the make-up used for Natasha’s father is quite gruesome. He wants her to kill him which is a quick and surprisingly emotional moment.

This episode didn’t strike me as grim or dark as I remembered. I do think that this might change in the next episode but the episode wasn’t slow and had enough going on to maintain my interest. It shouldn’t be a surprise considering how good Eric Saward’s last credited effort Earthshock was. Graeme Harper also deserves credit for directing this episode with the passion that it needed to. No story will ever be as well directed as The Caves of Androzani but Harper has shown again how a story should be directed. I look forward to the season finale.