The Expedition (aka The Plan) - Following the Doctor and his teams' escape and return to the Thals, the Daleks hatch a plan to reclaim Skaro for themselves and eradicate any other life on the Planet. The use of a nuclear bomb to do this has echoes of WWII, although this version has the perceived bad guys with the weapon. Yes, what I'm getting at is are the Daleks really the bad guys? The Daleks have adapted to life on their planet, encasing themselves in machines to protect themselves from the radiation that has ravaged the planet. Also, the technology to cultivate food with artificial sunlight has allowed them to survive in the harshest environment. Applying Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' to this situation, you could argue that the Thals have no right in attacking the Daleks, granted they lured the Thals into a trap and killed their leader, but was this an act of self defence? Am I on the side of the Daleks? At this point I think I am.
Hug a Dalek - A peace keeping initiative?
The Ordeal (aka The Cave) - The Thals plan of attacking on two fronts makes sense from an element of surprise aspect but trekking through a deadly swamp, and entering a cave with no idea if there is an exit reeks of stupidity. I'd be the first to volunteer to escort the Doctor and Susan on the path they've already travelled and know is safe. The journey through the swamp passes without major incident, in the grand scheme of this attack, as the Thals only lose one member to a mysterious swamp creature. I should mention that the Thals were initially against re-entering the city, but are easily persuaded by Ian with a flimsy argument of its you or them. It's almost as it they want a fight. Entering the cave, one of the Thals suddenly decides that he is not up for a fight and wishes to go back, fortunately for the progression of the story a cave collapse puts paid to that. A convenient chasm opens up before our travellers, allowing for, quite literally a cliffhanger. The Thal who wanted to go back ends up falling short of the ledge leap and is left hanging. There is a fine show of struggling to hold on acting going on from Ian to end the episode.
The Rescue (aka Ride a Dalek) - The Thal who wanted to go back, gets his wish in a way, as he cuts rope, saving Ian from a fall and allowing the others to continue. The cave eventually leads to the basement of the main Dalek building which is handy. The Doctor and Susan have been taken prisoner, and as Ian, Barbara and their crew make tracks through the building, they meet with the other Thals who have become concerned that the Doctor had not returned. Upon reaching the Dalek control room, on level 10 as the Dalek intercom helpfully pointed out, what follows is a game of hide and seek almost as Ian sneaks around the room. It is reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid, in that the Daleks have a limited tunnel vision directly ahead.
For red dots imagine Daleks
As Ian releases the Doctor and Susan, Thals suddenly appear from every direction, including one rappelling down from the roof. The Daleks are seemingly defeated by being ridden by various Thals. This looks like fun, and is a precursor to the inflatable ride in Daleks released last year.
Re: My Birthday - This please, but bigger so I will fit!
The kicking of the Daleks and seeing them glide around, is similar to how we find the Daleks being controlled by Donna Noble in Journeys End. Fortunately, the Daleks are defeated and have left the fluid link that the team need to restore the TARDIS on one of their control machines. After a tender moment back at the Thals camp with Barbara, the team enter the TARDIS and onto adventures new. A sudden jolt in the TARDIS, throws the team to the floor for this episodes cliffhanger.
I enjoyed the cave episode and the final episode of this serial, although with the riding of the Daleks towards the end, I couldn't take it too seriously. A lot of the plot points seemed quite contrived, the cave collapse and the Thal suddenly deciding he wanted to go back progressed the story, but some character moments arrived from nowhere. I am enjoying the journey so far, and my eyes have just about adapted to the black and white and I think that watching most of the episodes on my phone certainly helps. I've two more episodes until I hit the first missing story, and I am looking forward to experiencing a story in audio form. Having read a lot about 'classic' who stories and the characters, finally seeing them live on screen compounds my reading, and will help with visualising the Marco Polo story that is coming up.
Anywho, until next time...
11 of 790 episodes watched
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