1.10: The Dalek Invasion of Earth

In which metal Nazi tank things occupy England, the Doctor abandons Susan to a man with less charisma than a Dalek, and the entire production steps up a gear.

Broadcast: November-December 1964

Watched: June 2019

1. World’s End

Very possibly the single best episode yet. Unbelievably tense and creepy despite nothing happening for most of it.

The roboman drowning himself in front of the posters about dumping bodies sets the tone. It’s also, I think, the first time we get a drop intro – a scene from the story we’re about to see, before the regulars arrive in it. It’s also the first episode to have this much location filming. The use of music to build tension is great, but I wonder if it’s a side effect of a using it to cover exterior noise?

Oh, and the exchange the goes, “She says she can cook.” “And what do you do?” “I eat,” is an insight into a much more fun version of Susan than the one we actually got. Ian consciously not wanting to know what has happened to London is also great.

Anyway – it’s sort of odd, given how diverse the first season was, that it still has a sort of formula… but it must do because we’re only on the second story of season two but for the second story running I’m very conscious that the show is pushing beyond it and doing something new.

This being a Terry Nation script I assume the next episode is quite good and then the last four will be bobbins.   

2. The Daleks

Episode title confusion fun!

Still great, actually – all the invasion and occupation stuff is very well done. Actually, that’s a point: even though it’s referred to as The Dalek Invasion of Earth, it’s an occupation story, isn’t it? The war is still hanging over everything like a shadow. 

The caputure-escape loop in which we learn about magnets is very dull. The cartoon bomb is hilarious, as is “They’ve turned the whole of Bedfordshire into a gigantic mine area” (yeah, fuck Luton, frankly).

Another way in which this story feels like the end of the first stage of Doctor Who, besides Susan leaving and the production block thing: this is the first time we see the lead play the part we know him for now. The moment the Dalek appears, he knows that he has to fight them, and that being smug at them is an important weapon in his armoury. The "Before you attempt to conquer the Earth, you will have to destroy all living matter!" speech is in the same genre as that bit in The Pandorica Opens. Finally, the Doctor arrives.

3. Day of Reckoning

“People may start collecting at the Civic Transport Museum.” Sensible people, know what’s good for them.

The battle sequence at the start lasts three minutes but is so hard to follow it feels like ages. The silent sequence, with the drums over the top, in which Barbara, Dortman and Jenny try to get across London is properly brilliant – utterly compelling despite nothing much happening, and again, like nothing we’ve seen in the show before. Mind blowing that there was a time of day when you could film in Westminster without there being people on the streets.

The Susan/David plot is undermined by David’s inability to express human emotions. [They’re meant to be falling in love. On screen, though, David is about as romantic as the Daleks.]

4. The End of Tomorrow

Rubbish title as nothing in particular ends (also, wow, this story really goes in for the portentous episode titles, doesn’t it?). The story’s starting to drag a bit now, and most of the guest characters are entirely interchangeable – can never work out if we’ve met someone before or not.

Anyway. Ian goes to Bedfordshire, Babara goes to Edgware, Susan nips down a sewer and the Doctor has a week off. The shots of the work gangs are surprisingly upsetting, but that may be because it reminds me, obscurely, of Threads. Fun bit of modelwork with the flying saucer blowing up the truck and some obvious stock footage of alligators but the slyther is completely rubbish.

We’re still getting a load of “here’s how people act under occupations” stuff but somehow it’s boring me now.

5. The Waking Ally

Barbara is an idiot for not seeing the rag woman’s sell out coming.

Larry’s brother Phil conveniently knows everything without ever showing up on screen. Oh wait literally the next scene he turns up as a robot.

David attacking Susan with a fish is the worst bit of flirting I have ever seen. Then they talk about her grandfather and then go to kiss, what is wrong with young people.

The Daleks’ plot is mental isn’t it? It’s basically “turn Earth into death star”. The contrast between the borderline gritty occupation stuff and the insane, supervillain plan the occupation is actually for seems very important in setting the tone of future Doctor Who.

6. Flashpoint

Barbara’s description of the human’s battle plan is the funniest moment of the series to date.

Transcript courtesy of Chakoteya.

Jenny somehow escapes the ridiculous neck thing without help when the Doctor arrives, which suggests she could have escaped all along. IS SHE IN LEAGUE WITH THE DALEKS?

The revolution sequence is great, the explosion one suffers from the stock footage being so different from the new stuff… but what really strikes me about this one is that Susan’s departure gets nearly 10 minutes: almost as much prominence as the defeat of the Daleks.

Anyway. As with all Nation stories it starts brilliantly and then turns into a boring and repetitive run around, which is annoying… but it takes longer to do that than most Nation scripts, so fair play. And the direction is easily the best yet.

Plus, it’s sort of a template for the future: the Doctor is his own character, not Susan’’s grandfather, and more to the point he searches out evil and destroys it. This is definitely the end of the first boxset, is what I’m saying here.

Also, this story includes the first time a companion says, “Obviously he’s not dead, he’’s the Doctor”. We’re getting meta.

Oh! The fact World’s End [episode 1; do keep up] was filmed in World’s End is terrific and I only just got that.

51 episodes down; 800 or so to go.