The Power of the Daleks episode 3 discussion:
R: Dalek sing alongs are boring.
P: This one didn’t feature the word Exterminate, which is hard to rhyme to.
A: Germinate.
M: Oompa Loompa Oompaty Derminate? It just doesn’t work.
H: Well, this discussion is getting off to an interesting start.
M: They’re so childlike and endearing in their enthusiasm. And I mean that. It’s like a pep-rally of death.
R: IF WE EXTERMINATE WE GET A PIZZA PARTY!
P: I think they’d like a Slurpy more than a pizza.
M: Because they have built in straws.
P: With a little spoon at the end too.
H: So, trying to regain control of the conversation, I believe two of you missed last week. Something that’s interesting, it’s very different than any Terry Nation plotted story. It’s a lot more complex with a lot more going on.
K: Yet shorter.
P: And no jungle.
H: Shorter? It’s 6 episodes.
K: But not 11. (Not counting “The Feast of Steven” episode from “The Dalek Master Plan” story)
H: To be fair, Terry Nation only wrote 6 episodes of The Dalek Master Plan. But, as I was saying, you have a whole heck of a lot going on here. Wheels within wheels. The Dalek’s plan, Lesterson’s naivety, the situation with the rebels and the governor, Bregan’s double crossing. A lot is going on. A lot more than you’d see in a lot of earlier stories.
P: Is this a sign that perhaps they’re not writing to the children any longer, but to older viewers?
Sc: I noticed the interaction between Ben and the Doctor was totally different than the interactions with Hartnell.
P: That Ben is driving the Doctor to do things differently?
Sc: He speaks to the Doctor as much more of an equal. And the Doctor is much more competent.
H: Although he’s driving Ben nuts by his apparent inaction.
Sc: But he’s not being inactive. He sabotaged the Dalek’s power supply. And not in a deranged maybe by accident way. He feels like much more of an active character. I can see any of the later Doctors doing pretty much the same thing. They’ve entered the period where the genre is down.
H: You’re absolutely right about the Doctor and the genre thing, but I don’t think you’re giving Hartnell’s Doctor enough credit. I think we’ve joked about the “cootness” more than what was usually there.
R: some of it is also that Hartnell didn’t always care to intervene. A lot of the time he was just watching them screw themselves over, or looking at all the cool stuff. And yeah, “I’ll rescue you when I get around to it, but this interests me more. You’re not really in danger.”
H: I disagree with that, especially in Hartnell’s last season. While true for the first season and a half or so, definitely not his last season. The Dalek’s Master Plan is the opposite of that. But let’s talk about this story. Yes, he’s more of an active character and “modern Doctor”
R: And dig those crazy pants.
Sc: 1966 now?
H: Late ’66, yes.
P: I think that this Doctor is showing that he’s seen more of the overall plots. When he chooses not to be active, when he picks up the flute and plays, he clearly knows what’s going on around him and he is waiting for his moment to pounce.
H: I think you’re absolutely right, and it’s driving Ben absolutely crazy, because he’s used to the Doctor “cooting” his way through the danger. And this Doctor is more watching and then acting, instead of sort of going.
R: There’s another difference. Hartnell’s Doctor, I think, was very much about “no, you do this, and you do this, trust me it will work” but now we’ve got a Doctor who’s like “shut up, let me think.” Sits there, thinks about it, and then HE does something. Ben is mostly along for the ride. “Ben, you distract them, while I do the thing.” Whereas Hartnell would have, I think…
P: Rallied the troops?
H: The difference between and old man who’s not as active, and a younger man who is.
Sc: I can’t imagine Hartnell ever convincingly running from the Daleks.
A: Like a rabbit.
H: We have the first “When I say run!” There’s a myth that Troughton said that all the time. It did come up some, but he didn’t say it as much as people think he did. Because in the surviving episodes it’s shown more. Also like the “Oh, my giddy aunt” that he says in some of his final existing stories. But definitely when you hear “when I say run, run” take a drink.
P: But we’re yet to really know that. That’s forward looking. But I guess I’m waiting for moving pictures to see if my perception of the Doctor is going to line up with what I see in my mind with the reconstruction. I think the physical acting is part of the character that is being built. I’m kind of looking forward to seeing more of that. Nothing wrong with the reconstruction, it’s done well.
H: How about the plot and the wheels within wheels?
P: Here we have another murder with only a few people knowing who the actual murder is.
K: I knew from the start. Because he’s a bad guy later hanging out with Sutekh.
R: You’re cheating! You time traveling types cheat.
P: We have several plots where only certain people are aware of part of it, but the Doctor and his cohorts are in the know for most of them.
K: If all three of them could pool their knowledge they’d have almost the whole plot figured out. Except maybe the Dalek’s part.
H: I think the Doctor has a good idea what the Daleks are doing.
R: Yeah, the Daleks are pretty much always have very simple goals.
P: Exterminate!
R: Stupid complex plans, but simple goals.
H: We want to pilot the earth around the universe!
P: So why are the humans so important to the Daleks?
M: Later on they explain it that humanity explores the universe and they are very important in the “Who” universe.
Sc: Maybe the Daleks are doing stuff with other species, but the BBC isn’t showing it.
R: Well, there’s not much market for a show called “Doctor EUURUUUEERRIIIIRRURR.”
P: So the argument is that the BBC is only showing part of the universe.
H: The Doctor can’t be everywhere.
R: Also they only have 1 quid for costumes.
K: Actually, they had more than that back then.
H: Yeah, they had 1 and 6. So, complex episode. David Whittaker writing. The Doctor’s great line about “allow for a little injustice to go in order to prevent wholesale slaughter.”
<discussion about who did or did not remember that line.>
P: Again this shows the Doctor’s awareness of that which is outside of his purview.
R: I find the servile Daleks really creepy. I was just really impressed with the way that the Dalek was like “oh crap. I’m really screwed” and is like “okay, I’ll try it.” and he tries it and is just like it’s clear that he’s thinking “go big or go home” and it works and he’s like “oh yeah, humans are greedy little bastards.”
K: I loved the “Daleks are be… are not the same as humans.”
H: I really liked this story. It’s definitely in my top 1 or 2 Dalek stories in the entire run of the show. Final thoughts?
M: Mmmm. <waves hand> Sleepy.
Cz: I… what?
<there’s been some Glenlivet passed around by this point.>
P: Incidental music was nice.
H: And unobtrusive.
R: Relatively. There have been A-bomb tests that were less obtrusive than some of the earlier stories.
P: Also, I think the episode did feature a complex plot that was not meant for children. I think it’s been interesting watching the Dalek trying to work the room. In fact, I was surprised to see them disarm themselves.
Cz: They’ve got nothing to worry about, they’re Daleks.
K: Except stairs.
R: You’re foolish accessibility requirements have doomed us all!!
P: I also was impressed that the plots within the plots are evolving around each other as each of them are making changes to the world. For example, the gun.
H: Cool.
A: I don’t have any final thoughts.
Sc: I got nothing, honestly.
P: Is it that the story is clean enough that there’s not much comment?
R: This is sort of… I mean it’s been around for a while, but I do lament the ongoing and, if we sneak a peek into the future, long standing Doctor Who trope of “Stupid, stupid greedy humans!”
M: I know, because no real human in a position of authority would really put their own greed before the survival of an entire planet’s ecosystem, or anything like that.
R: It’s mercury swamps! What ecosystem?
M: I’m not talking about Vulcan!
R: Oooohhhhh. <sarcasm> But seriously, Lesterson went through how many pairs of underwear in this episode? “Just imagine all of the things they can do for us! Oh dear! I’ll be back in just a moment.” When he talks about improving the colony’s productivity by 50%, every manager in the room has an evilgasm.
H: It’s clear that he’s using that as excuse in order to get the full scientific carte blanche that he wants. And everybody in that room had an agenda, including the Doctor.
R: While all of that’s true, and I know it’s just kind of the nature of Doctor Who, I do reliush where humanity gets to shine. In Mission to the Unknown, that crew sacrefices themselves to get the message out about what’s going on. And the tragedy of that is that it doesn’t matter in the long run. But still, they sacrificed themselves and they succeed in doing the right thing.
H: I think we do see that more often than you’re thinking. This is specifically a fairly cynical story. Everyone on this colony, except possibly Quinn, has an agenda.
R: Which involves rolling in a pile of money.
H: But we do have humans being idealistic or whatnot in other stories. You have the mission control scientist in The Tenth Planet.
R: Who does eventually find the ability to do the right think about being cornered like a rat in a trap.
H: Or the government revenue man in The Smugglers. He’s dumb, but he’s definitely idealistic. This story just happens to be an extremely well written, but pretty cynical story.
Sc: The BBC just doesn’t show the episodes where people other than the Doctor save the day.
K: It wouldn’t be called Doctor Who then. And why isn’t the Doctor more worried about Polly?
P: That’s true, she could be dead in a swamp.
R: “She’s a resourceful girl. I’m sure she’ll recover from the mercury poison quickly enough.”
H: I think we’ll leave it there for this week.
R: <Dalek voice> WE’RE GOING TO GET A COMPUTER! WE’RE GOING TO GET A COMPUTER!
P: That’s 100% accurate.
H: I can’t believe they managed to convince Lesterson that kind of thing actually exists.
R: They’re typical consultants.
<Mr. Mother and Ketina, both consultants, wonder if they should be offended at that statement…>
R: <Dalek voice> WE WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO USE SCRUM TO OPTIMIZE YOUR MINING OPERATIONS!
M: It’s not Scrum, it’s Lean and Kanban.
H: You’re absolutely right about Lean, but okay we’re really going to end it this time.
R: <Dalek voice> ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU MY PAMPHLET!
P: <Dalek voice> I HAVE A WEB SITE ON THIS.
<message ends>
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