The Power of the Daleks

Dear Gary—

“It’s not only his face that’s changed—he doesn’t even act like him.”

A new Doctor.

“It tis the Doctor; I know it tis . . . I think.”

A new Doctor. Patrick Troughton. I have to say, Gary, that I am both looking forward to and dreading the upcoming seasons of this the second Doctor.

I look forward to the Patrick Troughton years because I have enjoyed the few Doctor Who stories of his that I have seen up to this point and welcome filling in the gaps of my knowledge by watching the reconstructed episodes for the first time.

I am dreading it because there are so many reconstructed episodes.

A word here, Gary, about reconstructions. I don’t know how computer savvy you were or if you ever had a chance to view any of the reconstructions available. It does get tedious watching so many of them, but they are invaluable for bringing to life those stories that have been lost to us for so long. I find most of these on YouTube. Hopefully someday the full episodes will be discovered in some dark attic or locked trunk, but until then I am eternally grateful for the painstaking work that goes into making these lost stories available.

Sorry for the digression, but I am hesitating writing about our next episode The Power of the Daleks, not because it is the first without William Hartnell and not because it is a reconstruction, but because frankly the first time viewing The Power of the Daleks  I found the story rather mundane, even for a Dalek episode.

The action takes place on the planet Vulcan where the Doctor stumbles into a colony full of murder, intrigue, rebellion, and Daleks. My impression as I first viewed the recon was rather ho-hum. Another colony seething with rebellion. More sci-fi stock characters like the scientist who believes the scientific discovery outweighs the danger, the authority figure who won’t listen to reason, and the traitor who believes he can control the Daleks and use them to his own end for ultimate power only to be inevitably betrayed and destroyed by them.

However, there was one powerful image that remained with me, even though the image is a flickering, non-existent, recreated one, and that is of Dalek after Dalek rolling off an assembly line until a room full of mass produced Daleks start chanting, “We are the Daleks, we are the Daleks.” How much more compelling that would be if we could witness it in its original entirety.

And so, Gary, with the refrain of chanting Daleks echoing in my mind, I watched The Power of the Daleks a second time and I now appreciate this story so much more. What I found mundane before I now find gripping; what I found ho hum I now find riveting.

But let’s start with the new Doctor. William Hartnell had stumbled into the TARDIS at the end of The Tenth Planet, but it is Patrick Troughton who begins The Power of the Daleks on the TARDIS floor. Polly and Ben, along with the viewers, are confused and skeptical. Polly represents the voice of acceptance. She reasons that the Doctor was the only one to have walked through the TARDIS doors, so this must be the Doctor. Ben is the voice of skepticism. Polly remembers that the Doctor had said his body was wearing out and Ben exclaims, “So he gets himself a new one?”

The Doctor doesn’t help. He starts talking about himself in the third person and ignores Ben and Polly as they question him. The Doctor’s ring falls off and Ben’s doubts deepen. Is this the Doctor or isn’t it? I love how the show doesn’t offer up any immediate answers or explanations.

“Life depends on change . . . and renewal.” Ben locks on the word renewal and the Doctor considers before stating, “That’s it; I’ve been renewed.” And that is the most we get. Off the Doctor goes to explore and Ben and Polly have no choice but to follow.

We follow along, too; the action as ever overtaking the questions.

The action begins with the Doctor witnessing a murder. Searching the body of the dead man, the Doctor takes the credentials and decides to impersonate this assassinated Examiner. Now Gary, my thought is that William Hartnell’s Doctor would not impulsively take on the identity of another in this way. But this is a new Doctor, Patrick Troughton’s Doctor.

“You know its little things like this that make it difficult for me to believe that you’re the Doctor . . . the other one; I mean the proper one.” Yes, it is little things, as Ben states, that distinguish the first from the second. And what fun it will be, Gary, to discover these little things along the way.

However, it is the big things that establish continuity. Like the Daleks. And like the Doctor stating that it is because of the Daleks that they must stay on Vulcan. “I know the misery they cause; the destruction.” And the Daleks know the Doctor, recognizing him even if Ben and the audience do not. Ah, the mysteries of time travel that allows the Daleks to recognize this brand new incarnation.

The tension builds brilliantly in this story. At first only two inert Daleks are revealed, and then a third. What harm can these “pepper pots” do? Diligently the scientists work to bring life to these robotic bodies, foolishly believing they can control their actions and movements.

“I am your servant.” In the voice of a Dalek these words are eerily sinister.

Slowly the Daleks gain and reveal their power, with the misguided humans helping them along the way, all for their own selfish reasons, ignoring the warnings of the Doctor.

“We will get our power.” More Daleks glide through the colony. Still the humans believe they can control these robotic servants. Still the Doctor fruitlessly tries to raise the alarm: “The thing it does the most efficiently is exterminate.”

“We understand the human mind.” Yes, the Daleks understand and manipulate. The rebels; the scientists; the rulers; all are pawns for the Daleks.

Each ominous statement of the Daleks conveys chilling warnings, but all go unheeded by the unwary colonists. It is only for the Doctor and us to interpret these spine tingling declarations.

And then, a question: “Why do human beings kill human beings?” An interesting philosophical question to ponder, Gary, perhaps at a later date. For now we have Daleks mass producing themselves.

Even in reconstruction this scene of Daleks rolling off the assembly line is engrossing; how much more effective this would have been when originally aired.

Now we have the true nature of the Daleks revealed: “Daleks conquer and destroy.” Now the colonists begin to realize their mistake. Now the extermination begins. And now the Doctor goes to work.

“I prefer to do it my way.” Yes, Patrick Troughton will do it his way. This is his show now.

“Doctor, you did know what you were doing . . . didn’t you?” Polly never would have questioned William Hartnell’s Doctor in this way. Patrick Troughton’s Doctor still leaves questions in his wake. And a bit of destruction of his own: “Did a lot of damage, did I?”

But Patrick Troughton is the Doctor. A new Doctor. A renewed Doctor. A Doctor who plays the recorder and carries around a 500 year diary. A Doctor who fashions sonic keys out of a glass and a jug of water.  A Doctor who never talks nonsense – “well, hardly never.” A Doctor who believes that “a little injustice is better than whole scale slaughter.”

Patrick Troughton is the Doctor.

And I can only wonder, Gary, what you thought of Patrick Troughton, and send this out for that echo of a reply that I can only wait for.