survival, despite being over-shadowed by some of its season 26 neighbours, is remarkable in many ways. Rona Munro's story is a complex tale, unusual in its tone, and full of unexpected juxtapositions. We see a grandiose, debonair Master plotting first in a dark, fur-lined hut and later in a grotty, mundane high rise flat - his civilised (albeit evil) nature disintegrating in the face of chaos; Perivale, oddly disconcerting in its somnambulant suburban dullness, and the hot, dusty planet of the Cheetah People.

Perhaps the most refreshing contrast, in a story exploring diverse themes and deepening the characterisation of the regulars, is the streak of humour in the script and performances. Although predominately in episode one, the light, naturalistic touch of the comedy resonates through the story, giving a realistic sheen to the tragedy and drama. The Doctor's cat-baiting, while flatly ignoring Ace, is wonderful, as is his shooing off of the lady whose garden he uses as a hiding place; and Hale and Pace, in retrospect, are suitably funny in the context.

Humour aside, Survival is a powerful story about, appropriately, surviving, and surviving in such a way that you don't harm others, or yourself, by losing your humanity. Even the Hale and Pace sequence, with the joke about the two friends and the lion, highlights the dilemma - can the animal instinct within us sit comfortably alongside our human urge (our human need) to help others, to stick by our friends? It could be viewed as a critique of Thatcher's Britain, Midge in episode three, a caricature of the 'successful' individual; the fittest has survived. But it doesn't require a socio-political reading - Survival is effective, thematically, on a more universal level, and the themes serve to make Ace an even more nuanced character than she already, at this point, is.

Just as in Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghostlight, and The Curse of Fenric, the Ace we meet is an immensely strong-willed individual - a survivor. It is inevitable that she (the companion who has always wanted to be 'free' in many senses) falls in love with the experience of running wild. But the presence of the Doctor controls her, keeping her selfish will to survive in check. A classic moment in Survival, easily missed, is the a split-second look on Ace's face - when the Doctor retrieves his hat - that speaks multitudes about the faith Ace has in the Doctor, no matter what happens. And in return, the Doctor has immense faith in her - her wild, aggressiveness will always be there, but while travelling in the TARDIS she is part of a team.

It doesn’t all work. The bike-duel; the scene where Karra and Ace run, in slow motion, across the open plain; and the cats – furry soft-toys or peculiar mechanical moggies – that were never going to convince. But the cast take it in their stride, each character believable and interesting. There are only very, very rare instances of truly bad acting – and the excellent final confrontation, with McCoy screaming out the pained, anguished cry of a century-weary Time Lord, isn’t one of them. Even Anthony Ainley brings a measured reverence to the Master in this atypical appearance. There is no hint of world-domination or crude, hammy megalomania here, it is purely a portrayal of the man, the Doctor’s enemy, who wants to survive.

Survival has both style and substance. It is thematically rich, but comes together, as a cogent, three-part serial, because it has eerie atmosphere, oddly believable. The decision to put the Cheetah People on horse-back; the care taken to make the planet look truly alien; the music – all things that mark Survival out as something worth watching, and something you wouldn’t worry about showing to your friends. And now we know Doctor Who is coming back, the final voice-over is all the more poignant.

Strictly speaking, the term В“B-MovieВ” refers to a film without a very large budget or very big stars. The decade most associated with the В“B-MovieВ” is of course the 1950s--the atomic era. IВ’ve read many reviews of this serial on-line and they all seem to compare The Daleks to one of these films. LetВ’s take a moment or two to examine The Daleks in relation to other В“B-Movies.В” IВ’ve found that The Daleks is murky mix of 1950В’s style SF and a new, more thoughtful 1960В’s moral melodrama. 

The Daleks, of course, is at its crux a parable of the Atomic age. The metaphors are very clear. Daleks are Post-WW III Communists and the Thals post WW III Westerners. Not quite as hamfisted as the Nazi costumes in Genesis of the Daleks but itВ’s close. Aliens are commonly portrayed not as individuals but as a massive organism bent on conquest. Ever since H.G. WellsВ’ War of the Worlds this has been a classic paradigm. During the Cold War this portrayal brought new meaning. Aliens, of course, become analogous to the communist threat. An analogy that was so blatant, many less talented writers could easily use it. These films were a way to tell cheap stories to capitalize on western fears of a communist take over. NationВ’s monsters do, however, differ somewhat from the typical commie/bug eyed monster. The Daleks were not ruthless intergalactic tyrants in this first serial. They are just driven by their hate for the Thals. These Daleks do want a Dalek empire throughout the Universe, they just want every Thal dead. Communism is an internationalist doctrine, yet these Daleks seem happy to rule their ruined little planet. The analogy would actually become more apt with The Dalek Invasion of Earth. The Daleks are close to being textbook 1950s monsters, but the Thals and the TARDIS crew are textbook 1960s heroes.

True to 1950s stylistic convention, the westerners are cast as the heroes. The similarity ends there. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Susan, and the Thals are far from the В“Man in the Grey Flannel SuitВ” heroes of such films as The Deadly Mantis and Tarantula. The Doctor and the Thals are both dressed in an odd and archaic manner. Even in this second Doctor Who story it is established that the Doctor is a perennial individual. The Doctor does, however, play into SF convention when he removes the fluid link. His scientific curiosity puts his life and his companions at risk (i.e. Fiend Without a Face and The Fly). The Thals have given up on the post-war decadeВ’s religion of industry and trade--they have reverted to a totally agrarian lifestyle. Susan, the В“Unearthly Child,В” is also a unique character. Young people are usually portrayed as wide-eyed observers (Invaders from Mars) or victims of their own foolishness and predatory elders (I was a Teenage Werewolf). In The Daleks, Susan is an active participant in the action--not just an appendage. Barbara and Ian are the most formulaic of the TARDIS crew. Ian was very stalwart and Babs was a screamer, yet even they differ from most B-Movie heroes/heroines. They are not romantically involved with each other--Barbara falls for an alien something a good B-movie female should never do unless under some sort of alien mind control. Ian, for the most part, plays the В“square.В” But heВ’s extremely irritable and hostile, qualities not usually found in a good BEM fighting leading man. While The Daleks may differ from the 1950s B-movie with its heroes, some of the serialВ’s morals are much more similar.

The serial condemns the Daleks for being aggressive but it also condemns the Thals for being complacent--a very bare bones version of Cold War era morals. The condemnation of both the Daleks and the Thals is the thematic centerpiece of the serial therefore the serial has the mentality of a B-movie. But what about the theme of the armageddon? The first episode of this serial is entitled В“The Dead Planet.В” In fact that other theme, the theme of destruction-through-violence, casts some doubt as to how The Daleks stands on the Thals. Is battle that necessary? Is it right for the Thals have to fight the Daleks and restart the cycle that nearly destroyed eons? This brings up another key difference to the Daleks in relation to B-movies--a ethical haziness. In Them!, War of the Worlds, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, and The Thing there is no question on whether the aliens needed to be wiped out. Consequences for mankindВ’s actions were never shown. The aliens were evil and needed to be killed. The Doctor triumphantly watch as the last DalekВ’s eyestalk shoots upward as it dies. Yet, killing has only brought Skaro misery. This conflict is interesting for sure, but not intentional. Terry Nation started to write a serial showcasing the foolishness of prolonged conflict and then began writing a serial that denounced pacifism. Its rare to find coexisting at the same time in popular culture, however, it was probably just Terry NationВ’s lazy plotting and not a social comment. 

The Daleks is first and foremost family adventure entertainment. It is quite like a B-movie. It has many of the same generic trademarks of the genre but I have found out that once you start to look at those similarities you find many differences as well. Now that have blabbed on about how The Daleks relates to movies of a similar ilk--I will turn my attention to reviewing it as a Doctor Who story. 

We first meet our heroes covered in Cro Magnon dung after just having their first adventure with a bunch of Cavemen. One thing that struck me, was how puffy BillВ’s wig is. His hair is nearly as big as BabsВ’. The TARDIS crew is the strongest point of The Daleks. These early stories show that three companions can be successful. The Doctor may be the title character but he is no more important than any of the other TARDIS team. This is what went wrong with Season 19. The Doctor was the star and the rest were just satellites, banging around in unstable orbits. The Daleks has some really great bits of Doctor/companion action (shut up) like when The Doctor reveals having trouble relating to Susan. Ian and the DoctorВ’s confrontation. All great stuff--still impressive nearly forty years later. 

The Daleks and the Thals have the distinction of being Doctor WhoВ’s first aliens--not counting the Doctor and Susan. The Daleks look excellent in their first outing. They are constantly twitching and scheming. These Daleks are new and shiny, they havenВ’t been used and re-used yet. The Thals seem sort of wooden and are much less interesting than the Daleks. Which is odd because theyВ’re supposed to be the free spirited individuals. Plus, they wear possibly the worst pants in WhoВ’s history. 

The direction is top notch. This serial begins as one of the best directed stories of Doctor Who. The cheap sets are filmed so that the make atmosphere. SusanВ’s run the jungle is especially well filmed. This suspenseful direction goes bye-bye after the first four episodes. Starting with В“The ExpeditionВ” the serial becomes a play-by-play on walking traveling through Skaro. Painfully padded and plodding, episodes five & six make you not even care about the ending. What really sucks about this is that the first four episodes were so good! Terry Nation sets up a dangerous precedent with The Daleks.

As I write this review, I realize that there are perhaps many things that have already been said regarding the classic 4-part story that began the longest and greatest sci-fi phenomenon in television history. But so what?

With that out of the way, let's get down to business. I have always found this first adventure to be among my favorites, probably because it is the adventure that started it all. 

Anyway, let's start with Ian Chesterton & Barbara Wright, the two school teachers whose seemingly harmless curiosity regarding the enigmatic Susan Foreman, leads them to become unintentional travellers in time. Both are very likeable and prove a very down-to-earth sense of incredulity, at least upon first meeting Susan's grandfather (The Doctor) and stumbling into the TARDIS for the first time. They provide a link with the rest of us regular Earthlings, for we as observers feel what they feel (not just in this adventure, but int the stories to follow as well). Whether it's the general sense of awe and wonder at finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, or the sense of dread at the prospect of never being able to return home. 

The Doctor's behavior is shown to be very patronizing towards strangers, a natural distrust of strangers, selfish, authoritative when the need arises, pessimistic or realistic (especially regarding the natural ignorance humans display, when they are unable to rationalize things they could never hope to understand) But he also demonstrates a very keen mind, a sharp intellect, an enigmatic aloofness, and an almost malicious glee in his arrogant air of superiority. That is not to say he isn't likeable, we can see how much he loves Susan and wants to protect her and himself from danger, or simply from becoming a public spectacle. 

Now on to Susan. I know there are those that don't like the character, I'm not one of them. She's very caring, compassionate, openminded, kind, and sweet, and very bright as well. Although it's been hinted that she's traveled quite a bit with her grandfather prior to meeting Ian and Barbara, she's still quite young and has a great deal to learn and experience as well. Her reaction to the Doctor's disappearance, while a tad OTT, is still understandable. Her reaction is no different than how we would react if a beloved family member, especially an elderly family member, were no where to be found. 

Now, onto the cave dwellers. The main characters of any significance being Za, Kal, Hur, and the Old Woman. One can easily forgive the fact that these people have a spoken (if not written) language, even though it is through a limited Tarzanlike grasp of human speech. The writers have done this as a necessary plot device in order to understand the motives and thoughts expressed by these primitive people. 

The leader Za is interesting, you can see that he cares for the lives of his people, and will do anything to maintain his position as leader, desperately hoping to create fire to keep his tribe from freezing to death. In addition, although he is a primitive, he does hold a degree of honor and truth, when it comes to helping and providing for his people, as any great leader would. 

Kal is a scheming, deceitful individual, the sole survivor of a tribe who died out because they did not possess the ability to make fire. for that, he feels resentful for being in Za's tribe and displayed that he would do whatever was necessary to remove Za from power, and be leader. for even he has a primitive understanding of something that is true even now as it was thousands of years ago, that one who can provide something essential to the continuation of life, has power over people, and can become a leader. 

Hur is also a truly intriguing character, for she admires, respects, and loves Za a great deal, and although she may be a woman, she is not with a modicum of intelligence. she understands that being with Za has many rewards not just for herself, but for her family. it is a wonderful display of something that is always true, behind every great man is a woman.

The Old Woman represents one who has seen a great deal of hardship fall upon people because of something essential to their way of life. She represents the world weary, pessimistic demeanor many of us take when we know of the hardships and despair caused by those who desire power and are corrupt enough to use that essential commodity to keep others subjected. 

The differing character dynamics is very solid as the varying viewpoints clash on various occasions through the four parts. One immediate example that springs to mind is when the four of them have escaped into the forest, and Za is injured battling a ferocious beast, and the Doctor is ready and willing to finish him off while Ian and Barbara are willing to save his life. 

But, it is also in this adventure that they show that they are willing to work together for a common goal, that goal being to get back to the TARDIS and hopefully back to Earth in the 1960's. It demonstrates a great deal of resourcefulness on the parts of the TARDIS crew, especially on the part of Susan who develops the idea of creating a frightening illusion involving torches and skulls, scaring the tribe long enough for them to make their escape. 

This is definitely an excellent start to an extremely wonderful series, and its popularity would be solidified with the introduction of a menacingly disturb alien race that will come in the next adventure. But that, my friends, is another review for another time.