Destiny of the Daleks

Having left behind the quest for the Key to Time, Doctor Who returns to its usual format, as the Doctor's meanderings are left to the randomizer, which promptly returns him to Skaro. The first Dalek story for some considerable time, 'Destiny of the Daleks' should have been a triumphant return for the Doctor's perennial foes, but instead is marred by the unwise decision to resurrect the most successful aspect of their last appearance and a rather half-hearted feel throughout.

The opening scene in the TARDIS is rather at odds with the subsequent tone of the story, as Douglas Adams' script editing makes itself felt with Romana's off-camera regeneration. I generally like Adams' sense of humour, but here it falls rather flat, possibly because Mary Tamm's sudden departure makes recasting her role a work of desperation. Romana's silly regeneration wastes several minutes and fails to be amusing, despite would-be funny lines, such as during the Doctor and Romana's bickering about character versus appearance, and the brief conversation they have from different rooms, during which they both repeatedly mishear one another. This silliness is enhanced by the nonsensical reason used to both remove K9 from the rest of the story so that Terry Nation doesn't have to fret about his creations being humiliated by a robot dog and also to recast its voice later in the season, due to John Leeson's (temporary) departure. The entire scene reeks of contrivance and just doesn't really work, although points are gained for the Doctor's inexplicably hilarious "Oh look, rocks!"

After this dubious opening, the humour is considerably toned down as the story proper begins. And what a pedestrian story it is. Nation should have long ago realized that if his stories are going to have the word "Daleks" in the title, spending the first episode building up to their supposedly dramatic revelation is utterly pointless. Nevertheless, this is what happens. In all fairness, we do have the mysteries of who the pilots of the mysterious spacecraft are and what the zombie like humanoids are doing, but even so the episode feels like it's treading water. Even when the plot starts to develop in Episode Two, there's something very lethargic about the whole thing. I can't help feeling disappointed by the lack of impact that the revelation that the setting is Skaro has on me either. Skaro has in the past been a nightmarish place, from the weird petrified forest and the mutant filled swamps of 'The Mutants', through the cold and unwelcoming Dalek stronghold of 'The Evil of the Daleks', to the depressing war-torn wastelands of 'The Genesis of the Daleks'. Here, it's just a rather scenic grassy place with old and ruined barns lying around and the odd gravel pit. There are half-hearted references to high radiation levels in Episodes One and Two, but after Romana's heart-stopping performance in Episode Two, this is completely forgotten. 

The story only really gathers momentum during Episode Three, with revelations about the Movellans and the return of Davros. Unfortunately, I have issues with both. Whilst I like the look of the Movellans (nice arses in tight spandex) and their spaceship (and the model shot of their spaceship burying itself is quite impressive), they are generally rather unimpressive as a race. Their main problem is that don't seem particularly threatening, and this is painfully obvious in Episode Four; despite the fact that Agella is strong enough to survive being buried under rubble in Episode Two, several of the Movellans are overpowered by slaves who have spent considerable time working for the Daleks under presumably debilitating conditions. Worse still, Commander Sharrel seems to be astonishingly badly damaged by a minor blow in his spaceship, resulting in Romana being able to literally disarm him with a kick near the end. As for the fact that snatching a tube from their belt can deactivate them, it can of course be argued that a Dalek could not do this, but it still renders them less than impressive. They are all acted well enough, Peter Straker's softly spoken Sharrel especially of note, and it's also nice to see a multiracial cast in the series, but as villains they don't have much impact. This might not seem to be a problem given the presence of the programme's most enduring monsters, but due to an unwise development in their characterisation, they too suffer badly…

Terry Nation's decision to restyle the Daleks as total machine creations is a grave mistake. Suddenly, they are a race not of psychopathic blobs in mobile war machines, but a race of robots, slaved to logic. The Daleks have never been a race of logical machines; they have always been paranoid xenophobic sociopaths motivated by a fierce hatred for any species other than themselves. Cunning and ruthless, they have worked because they have been portrayed as Nazis or used as an allegory for the horrors of war. Reducing them to the status of bargain basement Cybermen lessens their potency as a force for evil by a massive degree. It isn't even handled well within the confines of 'Destiny of the Daleks' itself; the Daleks state that self-sacrifice is illogical, but they have a history of doing so when it benefits the race as a whole, and here we see two of them risking themselves to save Davros from the Doctor's explosive device for that very reason (although I would like to point out that their self-sacrifice in order to destroy the Movellan ship doesn't necessarily conflict with this, since Davros orders it and by this point they have agreed to obey him because he can advise irrational actions and thus end their stalemate). In addition, I find it hard to believe that given the urgency of their mission to Skaro, it is really more logical to use humanoid slave labour than more efficient machinery, a point that Romana actually raises. Tenuous logic abounds in Episode Four as the Doctor uses a game of scissors-paper-stone to illustrate the deadlock between the Daleks and the Movellans (and whilst we're on the subject of dubious logic, why do the Movellans need comfy chairs on board their ship? Do they regularly entertain guests?), but as The Discontinuity Guide points out, this is an inappropriate example, since there is no logical advantage to choosing any one of the three options. Ultimately, the Dalek/Movellan impasse is introduced for the sole reason of giving the Daleks an excuse to resurrect Davros. 

Which brings me to the Daleks' insane creator. When I reviewed 'Genesis of the Daleks', I highly praised Davros as a character and described him as one of the finest villains ever to appear in the series. The production team of 'Destiny of the Daleks' clearly agrees with me, since they elect to resurrect him in this, the very next Dalek story. It is arguably a mistake for several reasons. Firstly, Davros' undoing by his own creations at the end of 'Genesis of the Daleks' was entirely appropriate, as in his last moments he realized that he had made them too pitiless ("have mercy!"). After that, bringing him back feels rather gratuitous and in addition the lesson he learned in that final moment is conveniently forgotten as he awakens delighted to see his homicidal progeny and confident that they will obey him. Secondly, he's far less impressive here due to recasting. I feel that David Gooderson is not as bad in the role as some critics have claimed, but he has a very, very hard act to follow and he just doesn't pull it off. His Michael Wisher impersonation works sporadically, but it often sounds like he's trying too hard and it doesn't help that he's wearing a second hand mask that doesn't fit properly. Thirdly, Davros cheapens the Daleks. As a one-off in 'Genesis of the Daleks', this didn't bother me, but his return marks a change in the nature of Dalek stories that remained constant until Big Finish entered the picture. Gone are the scheming manipulators of the black and white Dalek stories, as the Daleks from this point on in the television series are only ever concerned with either obeying Davros or trying to destroy him. The ambitious conquerors of 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth', 'The Daleks' Master Plan', and the 'The Evil of the Daleks' are replaced by watered down petty factions. Most of this will come later, but for now we get blindly obedient Davros henchmen. 

The other most memorable aspect of 'Destiny of the Daleks' is that it introduces Romana's second incarnation, and the chemistry between the two leads results in a much closer relationship between the two Gallifreyans than that which existed between the Doctor and the first Romana. Lalla Ward's performance as Romana is highly endearing, and the character gains a warmth that Tamm's icy incarnation lacked. Ward's Romana also seems more vulnerable, especially when being interrogated by the Daleks for example, but she retains her previous pluckiness as evidenced by her tackling of Sharrel in Episode Four. Tom Baker actually takes his role quite seriously in this story, with much of the humour played down in comparison with the rest of the season, and the Doctor's intense dislike for Davros is palpable, especially when he tries to blow him up in Episode Three. The feeling is clearly mutual, but what is also evident and which works in the story's favour, is the grudging respect they bear each other, each realizing that the other is more than clever enough to solve the impasse between the Daleks and the Movellans. There is even a "let us put aside our differences for a while" moment, which whilst only a pale imitation of the superb scene between the pair in 'Genesis of the Daleks' in which Davros contemplates unleashing a hypothetical virus that would wipe out all life in the universe, is at least an attempt to characterize Davros as more than just an ranting madman. 

Overall, 'Destiny of the Daleks' isn't as crushingly bad as I remembered; it's just very half-hearted and mediocre. The production doesn't really help, with tatty Daleks and a generally drab feel. I also find the presentation of the Dalek city rather dubious, since at first it seems to be deep underground, but later there appear to be windows leading in and out all over the place. This gnaws away at my suspension of disbelief throughout. Some of the supporting cast members further weaken the production; Tim Barlow is rather wooden as Tyssen, but does at least make an effort, but the others are atrocious. Most of the extras used don't even get speaking roles, simply being cast as cannon fodder, but they can't even fall over convincingly and I'm sure that one or two of them start giggling when they get exterminated in Episode Three. In summary, 'Destiny of the Daleks' is a disappointing start to Season Seventeen; fortunately however, what follows next more than makes up for it…