That's episode 4. And you're right.
Classic Who day by day
- Thread starter OmahaStar
- Start date
That's episode 4. And you're right.
An Unearthly Child 4 - "The Firemaker"
Written by Anthony Coburn
Directed by Waris Hussein
Recaptured, the group provides fire to one of the members of the tribe, effectively handing him leadership. Susan screams some more. Barbara screams some more. Ian admits that the Doctor is the group's leader. Susan screams some more.
With a less than elaborate rouse, they escape and take off in the Tardis, to the amazement of the cavemen.
* * *
I've decided that the pilot episode, co-written by C. E. Webber, is brilliant. The three episodes which follow are not. Actually, I think they're pretty much crap, saved only by a director who is able to rise above the garbage on the page. It's hilarious watching the actors jump up and down, pretending that they are running through a big forest.
I am getting tired of the female characters adding nothing to the story, except for screaming, which they do a LOT.
After watching this episode, I went straight into the first episode of the Daleks, and it's helped wash the bad taste of this one away. But I'm sticking to the schedule and will post about that episode tomorrow.
Four episodes down, 867 to go.
Written by Anthony Coburn
Directed by Waris Hussein
Recaptured, the group provides fire to one of the members of the tribe, effectively handing him leadership. Susan screams some more. Barbara screams some more. Ian admits that the Doctor is the group's leader. Susan screams some more.
With a less than elaborate rouse, they escape and take off in the Tardis, to the amazement of the cavemen.
* * *
I've decided that the pilot episode, co-written by C. E. Webber, is brilliant. The three episodes which follow are not. Actually, I think they're pretty much crap, saved only by a director who is able to rise above the garbage on the page. It's hilarious watching the actors jump up and down, pretending that they are running through a big forest.
I am getting tired of the female characters adding nothing to the story, except for screaming, which they do a LOT.
After watching this episode, I went straight into the first episode of the Daleks, and it's helped wash the bad taste of this one away. But I'm sticking to the schedule and will post about that episode tomorrow.
Four episodes down, 867 to go.
The Daleks
Episode 1 - "The Dead Planet"
Writer - Terry Nation
Director - Christopher Barry
Following immediately from the previous story, the crew leave the Tardis to explore the world outside. It is a petrified jungle full of fascinating things to discover.
On the edge of the forest is a beautiful city. As it is getting dark, they decide to head back to the Tardis to sleep before exploring further.
Susan is convinced that, on the way back, someone or something touches her shoulder, freaking her out big time.
While eating, they hear something knocking on the outside of the ship, but there is nothing on the scanner.
The next morning, on their way to the city, they discover a small metal box, confirming that someone has been there.
They continue on their way, quickly arriving at their destination. They go in separate directions, exploring. Unbeknownst to them, cameras are following their every move.
Barbara gets trapped in a funhouse-style building which continuously changes shape, doorways and hallways reconfiguring. She's trapped, panicked, when a doorway opens, allowing entry to ...
* * *
OK, we know it's a Dalek. And it's awesome. Subscribing to the "less is more" school, the director - Christopher Barry - gives us just the slightest hint of a Dalek, and other beings we come to know as the Thals.
It's only the beginning of the second story, and we're already exploring the Tardis with two new rooms, plus a kitchen area. Oh, and that is a neat little device. Anything you want, like Star Trek's replicators, years before Trek ever tried it.
Ian and Barbara are much closer to the awesome companions I remember, and the Doctor is ... well, I'll say mischievous.
He sabotages the Tardis so he can get his way, going to explore this alien city. Ian and Barbara have no idea, but the smirk on the Doctor's face tells us everything. Hilarious, it had me in stitches.
After the let down of the previous three episodes, this one is MUCH better. Were I rating these - and I'm not! - I would give it a ten out of ten.
Major kudos to the writer, Terry Nation, and director.
The Daleks, episode 2 - The Survivors
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Richard Martin
Ian, Susan, and the Doctor search for Barbara. They discover a laboratory with scanning equipment. Among them is a Geiger counter, which tells the Doctor they are in immediate danger. He wants to go back to the Tardis for radiation medicine, but before they are able to movie, they are surrounded by Daleks.
The three are taken to the room where Barbara is being held. Some time later, the Doctor strikes a deal with their captors. One person will go to the ship and get the medicine, but the others will remain behind as prisoners.
Susan goes, while the remaining three show signs of radiation sickness. They are dying, and they know Susan is their only hope.
She makes it to the ship, finds the medicine, and hears Ian in her mind (a flashback from earlier in the episode) telling her to hurry back. She opens the door to go back outside, and we fade to black.
* * *
I know this is rather rare for the series. It didn't end on a perilous cliffhanger as usual. It simply fades to black. Which, really, could be even more ominous for what it doesn't show.
Have I mentioned before just how awesome Terry Nation is? He's fantastic, truly making these characters live and breathe. Along with both directors (Barry and Martin, depending on the episode) and the actors, of course, this story is leaps and bounds better than the previous serial, and each part seems to get progressively better. Granted, there's only been two parts, but still.
I think this episode contains some of William Hartnell's best acting as the Doctor, from any of his available stories. He's showing the Doctor vulnerable, dying, and while still alien, he has a Human side as well. Ian and Barbara are part of the team now, whether they want to admit it or not, and are much more ... adult/mature .. in their attitudes.
About the Geiger counter ... There is a gentleman named J. L. Cassingham. He was a scientific adviser on a variety of Hollywood SF and monster movies. He may best be known for his work in the serial called Zombies of the Stratosphere, which starred a young Leonard Nimoy - in pointed ears, years before Star Trek.
There is a website here which will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Geiger counters, and it's run by Mr. Cassingham's son, Curt.
While not an official tie-in to Doctor Who, I enjoy the connection and am passing it along for those who may be interested in learning the science behind the fiction. (oh, I like that phrase)
And that ends the first week ... So far, I've posted this on my blog and copied it to this thread. Should I keep doing that? Is this interesting for anybody besides me?
It's interesting for me.
I think, more to the point, tv sets in 1963 were much lower definition than they are now with tiny screens. They knew what they could get away with showing. Plus the audience were more sophisticated in that they were used to such televisual shorthand and let their imaginations fill in the gaps. Vt drama then was closer to theatre than film, and people understood that.
As for being a kids show, those early Who stories are a lot more "adult" than the stuff they make nowadays.
The series aired at quarter after five on a Saturday afternoon back then and it was aimed at the kids, it was meant to be in part an educational series.
The Daleks, episode 3 - The Escape
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Richard Martin
Walking outside the ship, Susan meets the Thals. She is rather impressed with how physically "perfect" they seem to be. She discovers how to use the medicine - left for them in the metal case - and brings this knowledge back to the city.
She has three supplies. One for the Daleks, one for her group, and a third, hidden supply.
After she leaves, other Thals surround the Tardis, calling it a "weird" ship.
She saves her group and helps the Daleks send a message of peace to the Thals. The Thals believe it to be true.
The Doctor and company capture a Dalek, scrape out its insides, and Ian climbs inside, ready to escape. They leave their room, ready to depart.
* * *
For the first time, we partially see what's inside the Dalek casing ... and whatever it is, it's small, kind of basketball-sized, and has claws. Because all we see of it, sticking outside the coat it's in, is three claws.
I am continually impressed with Terry Nation's writing, and with how well the cast is coming together. They are obviously having fun, and they're working as a team. While the Doctor is without question in charge, they all are contributing to the cause. Whatever that cause might be.
It's funny watching this, having so recently watched the two Peter Cushing / Dalek movies. I can see scenes taken right from this and put into the movies, sometimes the dialog being word for word. It is this story, The Daleks, which was remade for the first of the two movies.
I believe - though I would love to be proven wrong - Bernard Cribbins (Wilf) is the only person who appeared on screen in both the Peter Cushing version and the tv series Doctor Who. Are there any others?
7 down, 864 to go.
I'd say it's more cricket ball-sized.
Well sure, now it is ... but it looked like they stuffed a basketball inside the coat, then held it in such a way that only the back of the coat was up to camera, hiding what was inside. Sneaky devils, saved quite a bit of money that way.
The Daleks, episode 4 - "The Ambush"
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Christopher Barry
Barbara, Susan, the Doctor, and Dalek-Ian narrowly escape through an elevator shaft, where they look down to the city below ... seeing the Thals walking into a trap.
The elder Thal gives a great speech that Yoda would have been proud of, about how hatred and war lead to the dark side.
The group makes it downstairs, where they warn the Thals about the Dalek trap, but to do this, they split up. Ian goes one way, the others head another.
Ian arrives in time, but not all of the Thals listen. One of the men killed is the elder.
They all meet together again around the Tardis, talk a bit, then prepare to leave. Except Ian has lost the crucial piece of the Tardis given to him by the Doctor in episode 1. They must return to the city to get it, or they can never leave.
* * *
First, the video is amazing. It's shot on film, and holds up in such pristine condition after almost 50 years, it's just unbelievable.
There are a few unintentionally funny parts, such as when the Doctor's group tries to warn the Thals - from several stories up, by pounding on glass that isn't really there ... but they more than make up for it with a cracking good story.
I don't know how the heck they pulled off the fx work in this. It truly looks like they're stepping into an elevator and going off into the sky, but in reality, the actors aren't moving at all, nor is the floor.
I'm starting to get bored with the Thals. I dunno what it is. They seem to be too "goody goody" like the whole universe is peaceful, despite their own history. I remember what they're like later on, but even as I think that, I remember that later on is actually before this. This is thousands of years after Davros and the Kaleds do their business.
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Christopher Barry
Barbara, Susan, the Doctor, and Dalek-Ian narrowly escape through an elevator shaft, where they look down to the city below ... seeing the Thals walking into a trap.
The elder Thal gives a great speech that Yoda would have been proud of, about how hatred and war lead to the dark side.
The group makes it downstairs, where they warn the Thals about the Dalek trap, but to do this, they split up. Ian goes one way, the others head another.
Ian arrives in time, but not all of the Thals listen. One of the men killed is the elder.
They all meet together again around the Tardis, talk a bit, then prepare to leave. Except Ian has lost the crucial piece of the Tardis given to him by the Doctor in episode 1. They must return to the city to get it, or they can never leave.
* * *
First, the video is amazing. It's shot on film, and holds up in such pristine condition after almost 50 years, it's just unbelievable.
There are a few unintentionally funny parts, such as when the Doctor's group tries to warn the Thals - from several stories up, by pounding on glass that isn't really there ... but they more than make up for it with a cracking good story.
I don't know how the heck they pulled off the fx work in this. It truly looks like they're stepping into an elevator and going off into the sky, but in reality, the actors aren't moving at all, nor is the floor.
I'm starting to get bored with the Thals. I dunno what it is. They seem to be too "goody goody" like the whole universe is peaceful, despite their own history. I remember what they're like later on, but even as I think that, I remember that later on is actually before this. This is thousands of years after Davros and the Kaleds do their business.
It is a great story, but it does sag a bit after episode 3. There's all that padding with the Thals in the caves to come too.
I love the subtext though, of NAZI style racism (which is even more present in the next dalek story) and the setting of a post-nuclear war was very mature and forward thinking for its time, imo.
I love the subtext though, of NAZI style racism (which is even more present in the next dalek story) and the setting of a post-nuclear war was very mature and forward thinking for its time, imo.
There are certain aspects of The Daleks that I liked, such as the slow introduction of the Daleks, but overall I thought the serial was meandering. I think they spend a whole episode traveling underground doing absolutely nothing.
The Daleks, episode 5 - "The Expedition"
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Christopher Barry
The Doctor and Ian fight each other over ideals. The Doctor wants to use the Thals to fight the Daleks. Ian says to leave them alone, to fight one's own battles.
Until they move the argument over to the Thals, when Ian just wants to argue with them.
Back to the Daleks - They are freaking out. They've tried the anti-radiation drug Susan had with her, and it's killing them. They are discovering that they need radiation to survive now, and they prepare to set off a bomb to create more radiation.
During their trek through the forest, they encounter a variety of strange, alien creatures - possibly mutated due to the radiation.
At the local watering hole, one of the Thals fills up a water bag, when he suddenly screams. There's something in the water.
* * *
I really don't have a lot to say about this episode. It sort of feels like filler, like there's enough story for about 6 episodes, and the producers came through at the last minute and said "we need another episode, so stretch it."
The only thing that seems to move the plot forward is the Daleks realizing they need radiation, and deciding to make the whole planet radioactive.
Beyond that, it's a whole lot of walking in place, and most of the character development we've had with Ian is forgotten about, along with any sense of motivation. Is he pro-war or pro-peace? Apparently, it depends on which direction he's facing.
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Christopher Barry
The Doctor and Ian fight each other over ideals. The Doctor wants to use the Thals to fight the Daleks. Ian says to leave them alone, to fight one's own battles.
Until they move the argument over to the Thals, when Ian just wants to argue with them.
Back to the Daleks - They are freaking out. They've tried the anti-radiation drug Susan had with her, and it's killing them. They are discovering that they need radiation to survive now, and they prepare to set off a bomb to create more radiation.
During their trek through the forest, they encounter a variety of strange, alien creatures - possibly mutated due to the radiation.
At the local watering hole, one of the Thals fills up a water bag, when he suddenly screams. There's something in the water.
* * *
I really don't have a lot to say about this episode. It sort of feels like filler, like there's enough story for about 6 episodes, and the producers came through at the last minute and said "we need another episode, so stretch it."
The only thing that seems to move the plot forward is the Daleks realizing they need radiation, and deciding to make the whole planet radioactive.
Beyond that, it's a whole lot of walking in place, and most of the character development we've had with Ian is forgotten about, along with any sense of motivation. Is he pro-war or pro-peace? Apparently, it depends on which direction he's facing.
Similar threads
