The Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terry Nation
21 November - 26 December 1964
It’s been a long time coming, this’un. It’s not as if it was a chore, really, though the story is on the longer side and thus a little tougher to write up. What am I ever going to do with next season’s Dalek epic when I get there? Question for another day.
The Daleks’ inaugural outing was fine generally, but it left me a little cold, as readers might recall. The fact that The Dalek Invasion of Earth was heralded a classic in the same way left me suspecting that I was due for a repeat and I didn’t greet the idea warmly. Imagine my delight when the story rolled along at a fine pace and genuinely thrilled at some points. Huzzah!
The obvious thing to remark upon is the fact that the Second World War allegories I noted last time are now far more explicit. The story resembles not a few speculative histories I’ve read of an Allied defeat, from the propaganda broadcasts to the rubble-strewn streets reminiscent of the Blitz. Considering how much closer this serial is in time to the Second World War than it is today brings home the poignancy of the comparison, to the point where it almost feels gauche to slap the (literal) tin-pot robots into the image. But it works; just. Taking the hugely popular Daleks and moving them to a more familiar setting is a really clever (if staggeringly obvious) move and definitely displays some savvy audience pandering on the program’s part.
It is a stylish story from the start, the suspenseful direction in World’s End selling for us the grimness of this world from the instant the Roboman drowns himself in the Thames and we cut to the rather morbid sign which the TARDIS lands next to. The first cliffhanger with the Dalek emerging from the river is famous for a reason, even if it is kind of goofy. We’re swift introduced to the brave human freedom fighters, a couple of whom leave an impact. Dortmun is probably the best among these. His almost childish fascination with his pet project does much to endear, and his brave last stand against the Daleks tugs at the heartstrings. Though considering that the freed prisoners and Robomen at the end of the serial seem to have no trouble clobbering Daleks with rocks, one’s left wondering what the point of the bombs was to begin with.
Jenny and Larry are fine enough, too, though they mostly shine due to their accompanying Barbara and Ian respectively. Jenny’s quite feisty, and it’s a regretful moment when she seems to crumble so easily while briefly in Dalek captivity. Barbara flattening a pack of Daleks with a truck with Jenny at her side was a good moment for a fist-pump. Larry’s sad demise at the hands of his lobotomized brother was one of the more touching moments in this story, one that sticks in the mind for a while. David Campbell, sad to say, leaves far less of an impression. It’s hard to sell Susan’s departure with an unremarkable beau like this one, and more on that in a bit.
Talking of humankind, it’s a poignant and realistic touch that, though humanity generally is shown rather positively here, the serial doesn’t shy away from the inevitability that some people will always try to profit off of hardship and disaster in showing us the sniveling Dalek collaborators as well as Ashton the black market dealer. Ashton gets an untimely end at the claws of the rather silly-looking Slyther, but the two women who turn Barbara and Jenny over to the Daleks never have their comeuppance. Not all collaborators do.
The Daleks themselves are a little more menacing this time around; in their first outing they’re underhanded, skulking around semi-helplessly inside their city. Here they are the masters of Earth, and are sure to make us hear all about it. Their voices are totally off, though. It barely sounds like they’re being altered at all so much as the actors voicing them are just raising and lowering their pitch unconvincingly. Their “plan” is pretty ridiculous, but we’re forced to take it in stride in light of the surrounding drama. The “static electricity” dishes look a bit silly, though it is thoughtful of the writer to offer at least a token explanation for why they can move off of metal surfaces this time. Still, it does beg the question of why the Daleks in the original serial didn’t just use these dishes too, if they’re “a million years” in the future and existed “late” in Dalek history. I’m beginning to suspect already that trying to read continuity between these early Dalek stories is a bit like Sisyphus pushing his boulder up a hillside. If we substitute boulder for “Dalek” and hillside for “a flight of stairs”. Hm. That joke doesn’t really work. Moving on.
Now our regulars! As mentioned passingly above, Barbara is as splendid as usual, very earnestly trying to fit into the resistance and help where she can. Her joyride out of the museum is one of my favorite Barbara moments so far. Ian also does well with his time in the spotlight when he has it, even if it’s not really his show. And Susan, poor old Susan. I’m not tremendously impressed with how she’s written out here, even if I am at least happy she gets to do things before she’s dropped off. Goodbye, star child. See you in the review threads.
Last, the Doctor, with whom I was somewhat more impressed. Hartnell seems to have transitioned comfortably into the “leading man” role by this point, for once not just looking after his companions or trying to retrieve the TARDIS safely, but trying earnestly to stop the bad guys and do good by others. His cheek when one Dalek remarks that they control the Earth and he says “Not for long,” almost as an aside, is really wonderful. And he means it, too. This is the first time that the Doctor sets himself up as “the man who stops the monsters”. And it’s great.
Sera’s Say:
Joining me from here onward is my girlfriend, Sera. A one-time regular viewer of the New Series, we recently caught up on the Capaldi years, which emboldened her sufficiently to the idea of joining me for the remainder of my marathon. After catching her up on Season 1 (but judiciously skipping The Keys of Marinus and The Sensorites for now if only because I can’t be bothered watching them again so soon) she sat down with me for Season 2 and we’re currently up to The Web Planet. Say “Hello, Sera.”
Anyway, she rather enjoyed this one for the most part, and particularly thought that the segment without dialogue where Barbara and company run through the abandoned London avoiding Daleks was particularly stylish and interesting. Larry’s death affected her as much as it did me, though we both somehow missed Phil the Roboman’s last word. We were probably chattering a little; oops. While on the topic, she was also amused by the Robomen’s obvious resemblance to the Cybermen, down to the headpieces. One does have to wonder if there was some sort of subconscious echo in the Cybermen’s design two years on from this.
Sera was even more put out with Susan’s departure than I was, since she was more attached to the character. The issue with Susan getting the home that she so desires, Sera says, is that the home she’s given is on a shattered planet with some dude she barely seems to know a thing about. It seemed like a disservice to Susan in her eyes, and had the knock-on effect of making the Doctor’s iconic speech (which she had heard before) a little less affecting than it might have been otherwise.
Let’s hope The Rescue leaves her a bit less cold!
Memorable Dialogue:
“You poor pathetic creatures.”
“You’re a genius!” “Yes, there are very few of us left.”
“Just the beginning,” to the evocative chimes of Big Ben
“One day, I shall come back…”
Miserable Dialogue:
Insert any time the Daleks talk over one another here.
Also insert snortling about “oral control” and the “bomb shaft” here.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 19 June 2018.)
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