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| The Doctor is made a pawn of his oldest enemy... |
7 episodes. Approx. 163 minutes. Written by: David Whitaker. Directed by: Derek Martinus. Produced by: Innes Lloyd.
THE PLOT
The Chameleons have been defeated and Ben and Polly have returned to their lives, but the Doctor's and Jamie's problems are far from over. The TARDIS has been stolen from Gatwick Airport, with just enough clues left behind to lead the pair to Edward Waterfield (John Bailey), a mysterious dealer in Victorian style antiques. The Doctor is startled to find that Waterfield's antiques are all completely new - yet at the same time, completely genuine.
The antique shop is a trap, and the Doctor and Jamie soon find themselves transported back in time to 1866. It is here that they are properly introduced to Waterfield, who is actually a 19th century scientist, is in the employ of Theodore Maxtible (Marius Goring), a man who dreams of turning lead into gold. Waterfield's daughter, Victoria (Deborah Watling), has been kidnapped by an evil force that has taken control of Maxtible's estate and has forced them to lay this trap for the Doctor.
The Daleks have returned. And this time, their agenda may just mean the end for the entire human race!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: "I am a professor of a far wider discipline, of which human nature is merely a part!" Many facets of the Doctor are seen in this story, with both his compassion and his manipulative side shown strongly. Though initially insistent on informing Jamie of the plan to use him in the Daleks' tests, he is ultimately very willing to manipulate his companion into participating. He manipulates the Daleks, too, recognizing that giving them what they want will fundamentally change them. This larger good is exemplified in the Daleks implanted with "the human factor," in whose childlike nature he delights. Still, he is ready for the Daleks' inevitable betrayal, as shown by his reflections midway through the story that the destruction of "an entire species" may well be what this encounter ends up coming to. Given such meaty material, Patrick Troughton rises to his best performance in the role to date - and given how good he already has been, that is quite a feat.
The Doctor: "I am a professor of a far wider discipline, of which human nature is merely a part!" Many facets of the Doctor are seen in this story, with both his compassion and his manipulative side shown strongly. Though initially insistent on informing Jamie of the plan to use him in the Daleks' tests, he is ultimately very willing to manipulate his companion into participating. He manipulates the Daleks, too, recognizing that giving them what they want will fundamentally change them. This larger good is exemplified in the Daleks implanted with "the human factor," in whose childlike nature he delights. Still, he is ready for the Daleks' inevitable betrayal, as shown by his reflections midway through the story that the destruction of "an entire species" may well be what this encounter ends up coming to. Given such meaty material, Patrick Troughton rises to his best performance in the role to date - and given how good he already has been, that is quite a feat.
Jamie: The Doctor/Jamie team continues to delight in the first two episodes. Episode Two's survival allows us to glimpse some of the nonverbal, likely unscripted interplay between the two, as Jamie nearly knocks over objects in Waterfield's shop only to catch them as the Doctor shushes him. Jamie really comes into his own in the middle episodes, though, as he is left to carry the bulk of the action during the attempted rescue of Victoria. For the bulk of Episodes 3 - 5, Jamie is left to his own devices, and he shows himself as very capable. Ingenuity and instinct allow him to circumvent multiple traps, while an act of compassion toward the mute but deadly Kemel (Sonny Caldinez) turns an enemy into an ally.
Victoria: In her introductory story, Victoria gets little to do. Episodes 2 - 4 feature her in only one to two scenes a piece, largely as a bit of pretty bait to lure Jamie into the Daleks' test. The later episodes allow her a bit more character material, and Victoria's contempt for Maxtible's actions at the end is a particularly strong scene. Deborah Watling does give an appealing performance, and she already shows good rapport with Frazer Hines which the following season would capitalize on.
Daleks: This story introduces a bit of Dalek lore that would be revisited by the new series: The Dalek Emperor. A massive but immobile construct, the Emperor towers over the other Daleks, issuing commands and dictates. Given the almost web-like design of the Dalek city and the way he has the Doctor brought to him, unveiling the TARDIS as a lure, the image evoked is very much that of a fat spider lurking at the center of a spiderweb. This story also introduces the idea that if compassion and other human qualities were introduced to the mix, then the Daleks would not have to be evil - a notion that would laer inform the Doctor's actions in Genesis of the Daleks,where it was clear that he preferred to influence the Daleks to have compassion as part of their makeup rather than to destroy them outright.
THOUGHTS
The Evil of the Daleks was the last viewers would see of Terry Nation's sci-fi fascists until Season Nine. At the time, with Nation attempting to shop a Dalek television series in the United States, it was scripted as a "final" story for them. As such, writer David whitaker, who had done so well by the monsters in The Power of the Daleks (Troughton's debut), returned to the writer's desk to deliver another multi-layered take, this time with a more epic feel.
Going from The Faceless Ones to this is seamless in continuity terms, the start of this story picking up directly from the end of that one. Episode One is largely transitional, moving us from the previous story into this one, complete with references to the Chameleons and the Commandant. However, it is almost jarring how much stronger the writing quality is. The dialogue is sharper, the characters feel more complete. As much as I enjoyed The Faceless Ones, it's instantly apparent that this drama is on a higher level all around.
In this first episode, we meet four guest characters who are each distinct. Waterfield, Kennedy, Perry, and Hall are working together to ensnare the Doctor, but each has his own view of the events and each has his own agenda. The honest and fussy Perry is kept in the dark, simply used to run errands. The thug-like Hall is used to arouse the Doctor's suspicions. Crafty Kennedy follows his orders but also keeps an eye out for something he can use to his own benefit. Waterfield appears to be in charge... until late in the episode, when we see him pleading with his unseen masters. Of these four characters, only Waterfield is significant. Still, even these minor roles have a texture and life.
It's no surprise that this carries over to the major characters we meet in later episodes. Waterfield and Maxtible are initially presented as allies. Even in Episode Two, however, when we first meet him, it's clear that Maxtible is far more callous than Waterfield. By the end of Episode Four, he's emerged as a villain in his own right, obsessed with the power he can gain through the Daleks. He exults to his horrified daughter, Ruth (Brigit Forsyth):
"To possess such a secret would mean power and influence beyond all imagination. And I am about to discover this secret. Nothing will stop me. Nothing! Nobody!"
Change just a few words around, and this could just as easily come out of the mouth of Davros...
The quality does dip very slightly near the end. The overly-elaborate plan involving "the Dalek factor" is the stuff of "B" sci-fi serials of the 1930's. The final episode also sees the Doctor escape a Dalek trap on the grounds of not being from Earth - despite the same trap working just fine on the equally non-Earthborn Daleks. A bit of lazy handwaving around an inconvenient spot in the plot. These things have me ranking this just a bit below Whitaker's more tightly-plotted Power of the Daleks.
Still, with splendid production values (very evident in the surviving episode) and a pace that never flags across seven wonderfully entertaining installments, this has to rank as a triumph. A few lapses near the end don't stop this from being one of the best-made stories of the show's entire black & white era.
Overall Rating: 10/10.
The Evil of the Daleks Missing Episode Notes
Previous Story: The Faceless Ones
Next Story: The Tomb of the Cybermen
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