Imagine my shock when I realized that Britbox only has the special edition DVD cut of this story! My preference is to watch every story in its original, shonky glory wherever possible, so I felt just a tiny bit cheated, even though I did enjoy the "new" special effects. Removing "No complications" is criminal though! If they went back and removed every bad line delivery in the series, then we'd have a lot less Doctor Who to watch. It's no major complaint, but I do wish people could take more pride in the shows they like, warts and all.
The special edition alterations didn't really impact my enjoyment in any meaningful way, though. I thought this was an awesome story, and it came as a bit of a surprise. I was under the misapprehension that the Pertwee Dalek stories had middling to poor reputations, so my expectations have been subverted. Although it mines some of the same ground that The Dalek Invasion of Earth did eight years ago, that's a long time, and there is a slightly different spin on the alternate future that's presented to us. Last time we saw a Dalek-dominated Earth, there were a few collaborators, but they were scavengers who turned Barbara over to the Daleks out of desperation. Now we see people who have made a career out of enforcing the Daleks' will, generationally in fact. It's chilling that the murderous fascism of the Daleks is concealed behind a smiling, corporate façade. The Doctor's confrontation with one of these servants makes for one of the most enthralling sections of dialog we've had in the show so far.
JO: Well, I quite like it here, I must say. Everyone's been most kind.
DOCTOR: Well, I met some people today who were far from kind.
CONTROLLER: That was a simple mistake, Doctor, I assure you. You must not jump to conclusions.
DOCTOR: Well, better than jumping from the crack of a whip from some security guard. Do you run all your factories like that, Controller?
CONTROLLER: That was not a factory, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Oh? Then what was it?
CONTROLLER: A rehabilitation centre. A rehabilitation centre for hardened criminals.
DOCTOR: Including old men and women, even children?
CONTROLLER: There will always be people who need discipline, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Now that's an old fashioned point of view, even from my standards.
CONTROLLER: I can assure you that this planet has never been more efficiently, more economically run. People have never been happier or more prosperous.
DOCTOR: Then why do you need so many people to keep them under control? Don't they like being happy and prosperous?
[...]
DOCTOR: When I meet a regime that needs to import savage alien life forms as security guards, I begin to wonder who the real criminals are.
JO: Those creatures aren't really savage.
CONTROLLER: Exactly. They are simply guard dogs. They just do what I tell them.
DOCTOR: You mean there aren't enough humans around that will follow your orders so blindly?
CONTROLLER: That is not what I was saying.
DOCTOR: Isn't it? Then what you're saying is that the entire human population of this planet, apart from a few remarkable exceptions like yourself, are really only fit to lead the life of a dog. Why?
Even in an era which has already shown its teeth on politics, this is some biting stuff, and it's thrilling. Although it must be said that the Daleks are fairly peripheral in their first outing since 1967, I didn't mind at all and found the central story to be incredibly strong. The human dimension of this script is the more important one, and the marginalization of the Daleks allows it to breathe.
The time travel conceit of this one was very clever, and it's refreshing to once again see some more sophisticated use of time travel in Doctor Who. Admittedly, I'm still a little confused how the guerrillas jumped to the "Styles must have been the one who planted the bomb" conclusion, but I suppose the point is that, to mangle an aphorism, history cheats. They just take the fact for granted because it's written that way in their history books, and almost create a causal loop that leads to their own future. It's very smart stuff.
I should also praise the set dressing in this story. It's hard to gauge the future setting since its skyscrapers were mostly CGI in the version I had to watch, but Auderly House is absolutely beautiful, and the scenes around it are shot well. The sight of the Daleks and Ogrons parading up the lawn to the bright white Georgian edifice while UNIT troops feverishly try to hold them back are extremely memorable.
A word must also go to Aubrey Woods, who is just phenomenal as the Controller, a character who, despite having no name of his own, is the most strikingly human side character in the whole story. Watching him go from the Daleks' lickspittle, to gradually suffering from a breakdown of confidence, to finally defiantly announcing that he might have just exterminated them before dying, is a really intriguing little arc, and his performance adds a lot to the story.
In fewer words, I enjoyed this a lot. Season Nine is off to a great start. I'll be diving back into the non-televised world next for Who Killed Kennedy. That should be interesting...
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 30 March 2021.)
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