Destiny of the DaleksBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 1 September 2004 - Reviewed by John S. Drew

There is always that anticipation when a sequel to anything we hold in high esteem comes along. There are great expectations of how one is going to top what is considered a great work of literature or television or cinema. In the sixties, Terry Nation created the Daleks and with their first story, set them out as becoming as popular a character as the Doctor himself. When they returned one year later in the story, Dalek Invasion of Earth, Nation managed to create another epic that stood side by side with his original story. 

In the seventies, Nation wrote Genesis of the Daleks, a story that was supposed to reinvent, of sorts, the history of the Daleks. In creating the character Davros, Nation once again created a character that has proven as popular as the Doctor and the Daleks themse lves. And that’s where Destiny of the Daleks and most future Dalek stories fail. 

Davros, while indeed a great character and when written correctly can be a great foil for the Doctor, tends to overshadow the Daleks whenever he is used in a story. The Daleks become mindless drones with one obsession - restoring Davros so as to help them in their war with the Movellans. The Daleks have conquered earth and have developed their own form of time travel with an understanding of transcendental dimensions, and yet they keep coming back for Davros, looking for help. The Daleks don’t appear as threatening as they did in the sixties. 

This does present an interesting plot twist in the story though as the Movellans try to even the sides by engaging the Doctor for his aid. We are given some great moments as the Doctor explains to the robotic race how they will always be at a stalemate with the Daleks through the demonstration of the game, “Paper, Rock, Scissor s.” The interplay between the Doctor and Davros is excellent once again, but David Gooderson doesn’t drip with evil the way Michael Wisher or Terry Malloy does in their turns as the Daleks’ creator. So we not only have the Daleks watered down, but Davros’ presence isn’t strong enough to strike some tension into the story. 

The lack of music throughout most of the episode, in particular during some of the more dramatic scenes, also tends to take away from the story, especially when you add Gooderson’s performance into the mix. It appears as though Tom Baker’s trying desperately to make it work, but he hasn’t anything to interact with effectively. 

Lalla Ward premieres in this story as the character of Romana. Having played Princess Astra in the previous season, she is trying to find her way into the character and she appears more as the demure Astra then as the more outgoing Romana in this story, though we see some hope with her stopping the Movellan commander f rom detonating a nova device in episode four. 

I also found it jarring to see the BBC wardrobe department being raided to clothe the slaves of the Daleks. I spotted outfits from The Mutants, Colony in Space and Frontier in Space. I also believe Michael Keating wore Tyssan’s outfit in an episode or two of Blake’s 7. 

Overall, Destiny of the Daleks is a great idea with a great story, but it becomes only a good story when you consider what it has working against it. This is not a sequel that stands up to the original, Genesis of the Daleks as Dalek Invasion of Earth did with The Daleks back in the sixties. Not the best way to lure viewers into the 17th season of a long running television series.





FILTER: - Series 17 - Fourth Doctor - Television