Planet of the Daleks: Difference between revisions
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| type = serial |
| type = serial |
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| image = |
| image = |
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| caption = |
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| caption = The Doctor and three of the Thal crew, Vaber, Codal and Taron, discover an inactive Dalek on the planet Spiridon. |
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| doctor = [[Jon Pertwee]] |
| doctor = [[Jon Pertwee]] – [[Third Doctor]] |
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| companion = [[Katy Manning]] |
| companion = [[Katy Manning]] – [[Jo Grant]] |
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| guests = |
| guests = |
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*[[Prentis Hancock]] |
*[[Prentis Hancock]] – Vaber |
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*[[Bernard Horsfall]] |
*[[Bernard Horsfall]] – Taron |
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*[[Tim Preece]] |
*[[Tim Preece]] – Codal |
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*[[Jane How]] |
*[[Jane How]] – Rebec |
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*[[Hilary Minster]] |
*[[Hilary Minster]] – Marat |
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*Alan Tucker |
*[[Alan Tucker (actor)|Alan Tucker]] – Latep |
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*[[Roy Skelton]] |
*[[Roy Skelton]] – Wester{{efn|Also provided other Spiridon voices, uncredited.}} |
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*[[Michael Wisher]], [[Roy Skelton]] |
*[[Michael Wisher]], [[Roy Skelton]] – Dalek Voices |
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*[[John Scott Martin]], Murphy Grumbar, Cy Town |
*[[John Scott Martin]], [[Murphy Grumbar]], [[Cy Town]] – Daleks |
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| director = [[David Maloney]] |
| director = [[David Maloney]] |
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| writer = [[Terry Nation]] |
| writer = [[Terry Nation]] |
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| Line 28: | Line 28: | ||
| series = [[Doctor Who (season 10)|Season 10]] |
| series = [[Doctor Who (season 10)|Season 10]] |
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| length = 6 episodes, 25 minutes each |
| length = 6 episodes, 25 minutes each |
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| |
| started = {{Start date|1973|4|7|df=y}} |
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| ended = {{End date|1973|5|12|df=y}} |
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| preceding = ''[[Frontier in Space]]'' |
| preceding = ''[[Frontier in Space]]'' |
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| following = ''[[The Green Death]]'' |
| following = ''[[The Green Death]]'' |
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}} |
}} |
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'''''Planet of the Daleks''''' is the fourth serial of the [[Doctor Who (season 10)|tenth season]] of the British [[science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on [[BBC1]] from 7 April to 12 May 1973. |
'''''Planet of the Daleks''''' is the fourth serial of the [[Doctor Who (season 10)|tenth season]] of the British [[science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on [[BBC One|BBC1]] from 7 April to 12 May 1973. It was the first Dalek story to be written by their creator [[Terry Nation]] since 1965’s [[The Daleks' Master Plan|''The Daleks' Master Plan'']]. |
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Continuing from the events of the serial ''[[Frontier in Space]]'', the story involves a small team of [[Dalek]]s plotting to revive an army of Daleks which are being kept in [[suspended animation]] on the planet Spiridon. |
Continuing from the events of the serial ''[[Frontier in Space]]'', the story involves a small team of [[Dalek]]s plotting to revive an army of Daleks which are being kept in [[suspended animation]] on the planet Spiridon. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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The [[Third Doctor]] has been wounded after being shot by [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]]. [[Jo Grant|Jo]] helps the Doctor into the [[TARDIS]], where he sends a message to the [[Time Lord]]s before he collapses then falls into a coma. The Time Lords direct the TARDIS to the planet Spiridon, where Jo leaves the TARDIS in an attempt to find help, and encounters a party of Thals, the Daleks' oldest enemy. The Thals rescue the Doctor from the TARDIS, the outside of which has been overtaken by a lethal fungus, and explain to the Doctor that the Daleks have set up a research base on the planet to gain the native Spiridons' power of invisibility. |
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{{needsattention|project=Doctor Who|type=plot|date=June 2017| |
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{{Long plot|episode|date=June 2017}} |
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The [[Third Doctor]] has been wounded after being shot by [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] on the Ogron planet. [[Jo Grant|Jo]] helps the Doctor into the [[TARDIS]], where he uses the [[telepathy|telepathic]] circuits to send a message to the [[Time Lord]]s before he collapses. Delirious, he falls into a coma. Jo dictates into the TARDIS log, a portable recording device, that she has seen this healing state before (''[[The Dæmons]]''), and that the TARDIS is moving, being controlled remotely by the Time Lords. When the TARDIS comes to a stop, Jo activates the external scanners to see some plants outside block the viewer by spraying a thick sap-like liquid at it. With the Doctor still catatonic, Jo leaves the ship to explore the surrounding jungle. The plants spray sap on her as she walks by, and a bit of it gets on her hand. |
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As Jo explores, the TARDIS is rapidly being covered by plant sap, which is hardening into a shell around it. When the Doctor awakens, he finds himself sealed in and the oxygen in the TARDIS rapidly being used up. Activating the emergency oxygen supply, he discovers the tanks almost empty, and starts to suffocate from lack of air. Jo discovers a spacecraft in the jungle with a dead pilot. Shortly after, three blonde haired humanoids enter the spacecraft, identifying themselves as Taron, Vaber and Codal. They offer help but are cautious as there is an apparent danger outside. |
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Taron and his men find the TARDIS and chip the hardened sap from its doors, managing to drag a nearly asphyxiated Doctor out into the open air. The Doctor thanks them and notes that he finds them familiar. When the men explain that they are from the planet [[Skaro]], the Doctor recognises that they are [[Thal (Doctor Who)|Thals]] and tells them he was on Skaro many years ago with his three companions, Susan, Ian and Barbara (''[[The Daleks]]''). |
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Meanwhile, Jo has fallen unconscious as a result of the plant sap and is removed from the spacecraft by a Spiridon, an invisible apparently humanoid lifeform. Whilst en route to the Thal spacecraft the Doctor and the Thals encounter an apparently disabled [[Dalek]] that has the power of invisibility. After briefly examining it they return to the Thal spacecraft to discover the Daleks have already found it. The Doctor, still believing that Jo is on board, reveals himself to the Daleks, only to be disabled and the spacecraft destroyed anyway. |
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The Doctor is taken to the Dalek base for interrogation and is put in the same cell as the recently captured Codal. The Doctor tries to use his [[sonic screwdriver]] to open the cell door, but to no avail. He and Codal then conceive of modifying the components of the TARDIS log to emit a radio frequency that will jam Dalek control impulses. Meanwhile, Jo is being cared for by the Spiridon who found her. His name is Wester, and he is one of a group of his people who are trying to fight back against the Daleks. He cures Jo of her fungal infection with a salve, and tells Jo that the Doctor and Codal have been captured and taken to the Dalek base. Jo is determined to try to free them, even though Wester says that if the Daleks use them for their experiments, they are better off dead. |
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The Thals take the Doctor back to their ship, but the Daleks arrive first, destroy the ship and capture the Doctor. He presumes Jo to be dead, but fortunately she had already been removed from the ship by a Spiridon named Wester, having become infected with the fungus, which Wester cures. As the Doctor is held captive in the Dalek base, another party of Thals arrives and informs the first group that their intelligence had been mistaken; there isn't just a small research team of Daleks on the planet, but an army of ten thousand, which will form a galactic invasion force. |
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The group flees down the corridors with the Daleks pursuing them. Finally they get away, making their way back to the cooling chamber. Once there, the Doctor asks Rebec and Taron to barricade the entrance while he finds a way to keep the Dalek army from reviving. He and Codal decide to set an explosive in the wall of the chamber containing the Dalek army, which is slowly coming to life. In the meantime, the [[Dalek variants#Dalek Supreme|Dalek Supreme]], a member of the Dalek Supreme Council, has arrived in a spaceship, to oversee the final stages of the operation, and exterminates the Section Leader for its incompetence. |
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As the Doctor and a fellow captive Thal break out of their cell, the other Thals break into the base, and the Doctor confirms the existence of the Dalek army, before the group escapes and reunites with Jo and Wester. The Doctor realises that making use of the planet's natural ice volcanos will be key to defeating the Daleks. Meanwhile, a Dalek ship commanded by a Supreme Dalek lands on the planet, and the Supreme executes the lead Dalek for failing to deal with the Doctor and the Thals. |
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Jo and Latep arrive at the cooling chamber and use their bomb to destroy a squad of Daleks before joining the others. As another patrol comes through, the bomb set in the chamber wall explodes. Molten ice rushes out to flood the chamber, freezing the Dalek army. The group escapes over a ramp that leads to the surface while the rest of the Daleks abandon the base, which is filling with molten ice. |
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The group sneaks back into the base, where the Daleks are preparing a bacterial weapon in a laboratory chamber to destroy all life on the planet. However, Wester unleashes the weapon prematurely, ensuring he is its only casualty and creating a no-win situation for the Daleks, where those previously inoculated in the laboratory cannot leave or open the chamber, lest they infect their bretheren. The Doctor, Jo, and the Thals return to the cavern where the Dalek army is being brought out of stasis, and the Doctor sets off an explosion that floods the entire base with liquid ice, freezing the army. The Thals take the Supreme Dalek's ship to return to their home world of Skaro, while the Doctor and Jo narrowly get away in the TARDIS, though the Supreme Dalek vows that they are not defeated, and that they will someday thaw their army back out. The Doctor offers to take Jo anywhere in time and space, but after their [[Carnival of Monsters|recent]] [[Frontier in Space|adventures]], Jo is happy to go back to [[Earth]]. |
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The group makes its way to the Dalek Supreme's spacecraft. The Doctor asks Taron not to glorify what has happened, nor make war sound like an adventure. The Thals were a peaceful people and he would not want that to change. Taron and Rebec promise and the Thals enter the spacecraft and leave for Skaro. The Doctor and Jo run back to the TARDIS, pursued by the Dalek Supreme and the other Daleks. They dematerialise just as the Daleks open fire. The Dalek Supreme orders operations to recover the invasion force and contact the Dalek High Council for a rescue ship. |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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The story was originally commissioned as ''Planet of the Daleks'', but during production it briefly changed to ''Destination: Daleks''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4scrVNf2Vxl2Qc0zLHMS7v8/the-fourth-dimension |title=The Fourth Dimension |publisher=BBC | |
The story was originally commissioned as ''Planet of the Daleks'', but during production it briefly changed to ''Destination: Daleks''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4scrVNf2Vxl2Qc0zLHMS7v8/the-fourth-dimension |title=The Fourth Dimension |publisher=BBC |access-date=16 July 2015}}</ref> Episodes 2 & 4 do not feature a reprise of the previous episode's cliffhanger ending, while the reprises in Episodes 3 and 5 are re-performances. Though this latter technique was commonplace in 1960s episodes, by this time in the programme's history it was an approach almost never used. |
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The [[Dalek variants#Dalek Supreme|Dalek Supreme]] in this story was a modified prop from the film ''[[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.]]'' (1966) that had been given to Terry Nation. Its eyestalk has been replaced with a conventional torch, which flashes when it speaks. |
The [[Dalek variants#Dalek Supreme|Dalek Supreme]] in this story was a modified prop from the film ''[[Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.]]'' (1966) that had been given to Terry Nation. Its eyestalk has been replaced with a conventional torch, which flashes when it speaks.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4scrVNf2Vxl2Qc0zLHMS7v8/the-fourth-dimension|title = BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 10, Planet of the Daleks - the Fourth Dimension}}</ref> |
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For many years Episode 3 of the serial existed in the BBC Archives only as a black-and-white 16mm [[telerecording]], as the 625-line colour [[PAL]] transmission master videotape for that episode was wiped for reuse by the BBC in 1976. Episode 3 was restored to full colour in 2008, using a combination of computer colourisation by [[Legend Films]] with software developed by the Colour Recovery Working Group.<ref>http://colour-recovery.wikispaces.com Colour Recovery Working Group website</ref> This version was released on DVD in 2009. The colour masters for the other five episodes are still extant.<ref> |
For many years Episode 3 of the serial existed in the BBC Archives only as a black-and-white 16mm [[telerecording]], as the 625-line colour [[PAL]] transmission master videotape for that episode was wiped for reuse by the BBC in 1976. Episode 3 was restored to full colour in 2008, using a combination of computer colourisation by [[Legend Films]] with software developed by the Colour Recovery Working Group.<ref>http://colour-recovery.wikispaces.com Colour Recovery Working Group website{{dead link|date=December 2023}}</ref> This version was released on DVD in 2009. The colour masters for the other five episodes are still extant.<ref> |
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{{cite web |
{{cite web |
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|url = http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rtwebsite/DalekWarDVD.htm |
|url = http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rtwebsite/DalekWarDVD.htm |
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|author = Steve Roberts |
|author = Steve Roberts |
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|date = 23 December 2008 |
|date = 23 December 2008 |
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|access-date = 7 January 2009 |
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|url-status = dead |
|url-status = dead |
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|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090115160456/http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rtwebsite/DalekWarDVD.htm |
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|archive-date = 15 January 2009 |
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|df = dmy-all |
|df = dmy-all |
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}} |
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===Cast notes=== |
===Cast notes=== |
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Bernard Horsfall had previously appeared as [[Lemuel Gulliver]] in ''[[The Mind Robber]]'' (1968) and as the First [[Time Lord]] in ''[[The War Games]]'' (1969). He appeared once more in ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' (1976), as Chancellor Goth.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/deadlyassassin/detail.shtml</ref> All these serials were directed by [[David Maloney]]. |
Bernard Horsfall had previously appeared as [[Lemuel Gulliver]] in ''[[The Mind Robber]]'' (1968) and as the First [[Time Lord]] in ''[[The War Games]]'' (1969). He appeared once more in ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' (1976), as Chancellor Goth.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/deadlyassassin/detail.shtml |title = BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - the Deadly Assassin - Details}}</ref> All these serials were directed by [[David Maloney]]. |
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Prentis Hancock |
Prentis Hancock had appeared as a reporter in ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'' (1970), and would return as Salamar in ''[[Planet of Evil]]'' (1975) and as the Shrieve Captain in ''[[The Ribos Operation]]'' (1978).<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> |
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==Broadcast and reception== |
==Broadcast and reception== |
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The serial was repeated on BBC One on Friday evenings between 5 November and 17 December 1993, as part of "Doctor Who and the Daleks", celebrating 30 years of ''Doctor Who''. Each episode was preceded by a specially made 5 min vignette, which were 'Bigger on the Inside', 'The Antique Doctor Who Roadshow', 'Missing in Action', 'I Was That Monster', 'The Master' and 'U.N.I.T. Recruitment Film'. The repeat of Episode 3 of ''Planet of the Daleks'' on 19 November 1993 was shown in black and white, the only time since June 1969 that a ''Doctor Who'' episode has been broadcast in black and white on BBC One. The ratings achieved were 3.6, 4.0, 3.9, 3.3, 3.3 |
The serial was repeated on BBC One on Friday evenings between 5 November and 17 December 1993, as part of "Doctor Who and the Daleks", celebrating 30 years of ''Doctor Who''. Each episode was preceded by a specially made 5 min vignette, which were 'Bigger on the Inside', 'The Antique Doctor Who Roadshow', 'Missing in Action', 'I Was That Monster', 'The Master' and 'U.N.I.T. Recruitment Film'. The repeat of Episode 3 of ''Planet of the Daleks'' on 19 November 1993 was shown in black and white, the only time since June 1969 that a ''Doctor Who'' episode has been broadcast in black and white on BBC One. The ratings achieved were 3.6, 4.0, 3.9, 3.3, 3.3 and 3.5 million viewers, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/story.php?story=PlanetoftheDaleks&detail=broadcast&page=2|title=Doctor Who Guide: broadcasting for Planet of the Daleks|last=doctorwhonews.net}}</ref> |
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[[Paul Cornell]], [[Martin Day]], and [[Keith Topping]] gave an unfavourable review of the serial in ''The Discontinuity Guide'' (1995), writing that it was "a typical coincidence-based Dalek story of hammy deaths and ridiculous escapes. A reworking of the themes and set pieces of ''[[The Daleks]]'', with pacifism and an anti-nuclear stance becoming weak monologues on bravery and caution."<ref name="disctoninuity">{{cite book |title=[[The Discontinuity Guide]] |last1=Cornell |first1=Paul | |
[[Paul Cornell]], [[Martin Day (writer)|Martin Day]], and [[Keith Topping]] gave an unfavourable review of the serial in ''The Discontinuity Guide'' (1995), writing that it was "a typical coincidence-based Dalek story of hammy deaths and ridiculous escapes. A reworking of the themes and set pieces of ''[[The Daleks]]'', with pacifism and an anti-nuclear stance becoming weak monologues on bravery and caution."<ref name="disctoninuity">{{cite book |title=[[The Discontinuity Guide]] |last1=Cornell |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Cornell |last2=Day |first2=Martin |author-link2=Martin Day (writer) |last3=Topping |first3=Keith |author-link3=Keith Topping |year=1995 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-426-20442-5 |chapter=Planet of the Daleks|chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/planetofdaleks/detail.shtml }}</ref> In 2010, Mark Braxton of ''[[Radio Times]]'' awarded it three stars out of five, describing ''Planet of the Daleks'' as "an exciting story, but a tawdry spectacle" with it being "continually compromised" in production values. While he found that some elements of the story were enjoyable, he felt that it lacked emotional continuity and the Daleks did not impress.<ref name="Radio Times">{{cite web|first=Mark|last=Braxton|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2010-02-07/planet-of-the-daleks|title=Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks|work=[[Radio Times]]|date=7 February 2010|access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref> [[DVD Talk]]'s John Sinnott found the story more enjoyable than ''[[Frontier in Space]]'', praising the way Nation "filled the plot with creative other-worldly creatures and devices and used them nicely to move the story".<ref name="DVD Talk">{{cite web|first=John|last=Sinnott|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/40637/doctor-who-dalek-war-planet-of-the-daleks/|title=Doctor Who Dalek War: Frontier in Space & Planet of the Daleks|date=23 February 2010|access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref> In the book ''Doctor Who: The Episode Guide'', Mark Campbell also rated it as better than ''Frontier in Space'', awarding it eight out of ten, concluding "a believable jungle setting and ambitious (if unoriginal) ideas make this live-action comic strip romp breeze along in fine style."<ref>{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Mark |title=Doctor Who: The Episode Guide |date=2010 |publisher=Pocket Essentials |isbn=978-1842433485 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pe2MAgAAQBAJ&q=tim+preece+codal&pg=PT62 |access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref> |
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==Commercial releases== |
==Commercial releases== |
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===In print=== |
===In print=== |
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{{unreferenced section|date=December 2023}} |
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{{Infobox book |
{{Infobox book |
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|name = Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks |
|name = Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks |
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===Home media=== |
===Home media=== |
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This story, together with ''[[Revelation of the Daleks]]'' was released on [[VHS]] in a special Dalek tin set in 1999, with episode 3 in black and white. The stories were released on VHS individually in North America. It was released on DVD alongside the previous story, ''[[Frontier in Space]]'', in the box set "Dalek War"<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5CxMkbsMPZq2XCjtgmKrgNP/the-fourth-dimension</ref> on 5 October 2009, with episode 3 now restored to full colour using the pioneering chroma dot recovery process and some more traditional colourisation techniques. In July 2019 the story was released for the first time on Blu-ray as part of the Season 10 boxset. It featured optional updated visual effects and 5.1 Surround Sound. |
This story, together with ''[[Revelation of the Daleks]]'' was released on [[VHS]] in a special Dalek tin set in 1999, with episode 3 in black and white. The stories were released on VHS individually in North America. It was released on DVD alongside the previous story, ''[[Frontier in Space]]'', in the box set "Dalek War"<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5CxMkbsMPZq2XCjtgmKrgNP/the-fourth-dimension |title = BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 10, Frontier in Space - the Fourth Dimension}}</ref> on 5 October 2009, with episode 3 now restored to full colour<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> using the pioneering chroma dot recovery process and some more traditional colourisation techniques. In July 2019 the story was released for the first time on Blu-ray as part of the Season 10 boxset. It featured optional updated visual effects and 5.1 Surround Sound. In November 2020, it was released as part of the ''Time Lord Victorious: Road to the Dark Times'' blu-ray set along with ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]''. ''[[State of Decay (Doctor Who)|State of Decay]]'', ''[[The Curse of Fenric]]'', ''[[The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who)|The Runaway Bride]]'' and ''[[The Waters of Mars]]''. |
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==Notes== |
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{{notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist|refs= |
{{Reflist|refs= |
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<ref name="ArchiveStatus">{{cite web|url=http://gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=sss |title=Planet of the Daleks |publisher=Outpost Gallifrey |author=Shaun Lyon |date=31 March 2007 | |
<ref name="ArchiveStatus">{{cite web|url=http://gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=sss |title=Planet of the Daleks |publisher=Outpost Gallifrey |author=Shaun Lyon |date=31 March 2007 |access-date=30 August 2008 |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041212060234/http://www.gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=sss |archive-date=12 December 2004 }}</ref> |
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<ref name="AllRatings">{{cite web|title=Ratings Guide |url=http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date |website=Doctor Who News | |
<ref name="AllRatings">{{cite web|title=Ratings Guide |url=http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date |website=Doctor Who News |access-date=28 May 2017}}</ref> |
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}} |
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{{Doctor Who episodes|C10}} |
{{Doctor Who episodes|C10}} |
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{{ |
{{Third Doctor stories|selected=Television}} |
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{{Dalek |
{{Dalek stories|selected=Television}} |
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[[Category:Third Doctor serials]] |
[[Category:Third Doctor serials]] |
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Latest revision as of 20:31, 5 September 2024
| 068 – Planet of the Daleks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who serial | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
| |||
| Production | |||
| Directed by | David Maloney | ||
| Written by | Terry Nation | ||
| Script editor | Terrance Dicks | ||
| Produced by | Barry Letts | ||
| Executive producer(s) | None | ||
| Music by | Dudley Simpson | ||
| Production code | SSS | ||
| Series | Season 10 | ||
| Running time | 6 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
| First broadcast | 7 April 1973 | ||
| Last broadcast | 12 May 1973 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
Planet of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 7 April to 12 May 1973. It was the first Dalek story to be written by their creator Terry Nation since 1965’s The Daleks' Master Plan.
Continuing from the events of the serial Frontier in Space, the story involves a small team of Daleks plotting to revive an army of Daleks which are being kept in suspended animation on the planet Spiridon.
Plot
[edit]The Third Doctor has been wounded after being shot by the Master. Jo helps the Doctor into the TARDIS, where he sends a message to the Time Lords before he collapses then falls into a coma. The Time Lords direct the TARDIS to the planet Spiridon, where Jo leaves the TARDIS in an attempt to find help, and encounters a party of Thals, the Daleks' oldest enemy. The Thals rescue the Doctor from the TARDIS, the outside of which has been overtaken by a lethal fungus, and explain to the Doctor that the Daleks have set up a research base on the planet to gain the native Spiridons' power of invisibility.
The Thals take the Doctor back to their ship, but the Daleks arrive first, destroy the ship and capture the Doctor. He presumes Jo to be dead, but fortunately she had already been removed from the ship by a Spiridon named Wester, having become infected with the fungus, which Wester cures. As the Doctor is held captive in the Dalek base, another party of Thals arrives and informs the first group that their intelligence had been mistaken; there isn't just a small research team of Daleks on the planet, but an army of ten thousand, which will form a galactic invasion force.
As the Doctor and a fellow captive Thal break out of their cell, the other Thals break into the base, and the Doctor confirms the existence of the Dalek army, before the group escapes and reunites with Jo and Wester. The Doctor realises that making use of the planet's natural ice volcanos will be key to defeating the Daleks. Meanwhile, a Dalek ship commanded by a Supreme Dalek lands on the planet, and the Supreme executes the lead Dalek for failing to deal with the Doctor and the Thals.
The group sneaks back into the base, where the Daleks are preparing a bacterial weapon in a laboratory chamber to destroy all life on the planet. However, Wester unleashes the weapon prematurely, ensuring he is its only casualty and creating a no-win situation for the Daleks, where those previously inoculated in the laboratory cannot leave or open the chamber, lest they infect their bretheren. The Doctor, Jo, and the Thals return to the cavern where the Dalek army is being brought out of stasis, and the Doctor sets off an explosion that floods the entire base with liquid ice, freezing the army. The Thals take the Supreme Dalek's ship to return to their home world of Skaro, while the Doctor and Jo narrowly get away in the TARDIS, though the Supreme Dalek vows that they are not defeated, and that they will someday thaw their army back out. The Doctor offers to take Jo anywhere in time and space, but after their recent adventures, Jo is happy to go back to Earth.
Production
[edit]The story was originally commissioned as Planet of the Daleks, but during production it briefly changed to Destination: Daleks.[1] Episodes 2 & 4 do not feature a reprise of the previous episode's cliffhanger ending, while the reprises in Episodes 3 and 5 are re-performances. Though this latter technique was commonplace in 1960s episodes, by this time in the programme's history it was an approach almost never used.
The Dalek Supreme in this story was a modified prop from the film Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) that had been given to Terry Nation. Its eyestalk has been replaced with a conventional torch, which flashes when it speaks.[2]
For many years Episode 3 of the serial existed in the BBC Archives only as a black-and-white 16mm telerecording, as the 625-line colour PAL transmission master videotape for that episode was wiped for reuse by the BBC in 1976. Episode 3 was restored to full colour in 2008, using a combination of computer colourisation by Legend Films with software developed by the Colour Recovery Working Group.[3] This version was released on DVD in 2009. The colour masters for the other five episodes are still extant.[4]
Cast notes
[edit]Bernard Horsfall had previously appeared as Lemuel Gulliver in The Mind Robber (1968) and as the First Time Lord in The War Games (1969). He appeared once more in The Deadly Assassin (1976), as Chancellor Goth.[5] All these serials were directed by David Maloney.
Prentis Hancock had appeared as a reporter in Spearhead from Space (1970), and would return as Salamar in Planet of Evil (1975) and as the Shrieve Captain in The Ribos Operation (1978).[2]
Broadcast and reception
[edit]| Episode | Title | Run time | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [6] | Archive [7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode One" | 24:51 | 7 April 1973 | 11.0 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 2 | "Episode Two" | 24:08 | 14 April 1973 | 10.7 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 3 | "Episode Three" | 22:34 | 21 April 1973 | 10.1 | Chroma dot colour recovery and Manual recolourisation hybrid |
| 4 | "Episode Four" | 23:36 | 28 April 1973 | 8.3 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 5 | "Episode Five" | 22:31 | 5 May 1973 | 9.7 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 6 | "Episode Six" | 23:02 | 12 May 1973 | 8.5 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
The serial was repeated on BBC One on Friday evenings between 5 November and 17 December 1993, as part of "Doctor Who and the Daleks", celebrating 30 years of Doctor Who. Each episode was preceded by a specially made 5 min vignette, which were 'Bigger on the Inside', 'The Antique Doctor Who Roadshow', 'Missing in Action', 'I Was That Monster', 'The Master' and 'U.N.I.T. Recruitment Film'. The repeat of Episode 3 of Planet of the Daleks on 19 November 1993 was shown in black and white, the only time since June 1969 that a Doctor Who episode has been broadcast in black and white on BBC One. The ratings achieved were 3.6, 4.0, 3.9, 3.3, 3.3 and 3.5 million viewers, respectively.[8]
Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping gave an unfavourable review of the serial in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), writing that it was "a typical coincidence-based Dalek story of hammy deaths and ridiculous escapes. A reworking of the themes and set pieces of The Daleks, with pacifism and an anti-nuclear stance becoming weak monologues on bravery and caution."[9] In 2010, Mark Braxton of Radio Times awarded it three stars out of five, describing Planet of the Daleks as "an exciting story, but a tawdry spectacle" with it being "continually compromised" in production values. While he found that some elements of the story were enjoyable, he felt that it lacked emotional continuity and the Daleks did not impress.[10] DVD Talk's John Sinnott found the story more enjoyable than Frontier in Space, praising the way Nation "filled the plot with creative other-worldly creatures and devices and used them nicely to move the story".[11] In the book Doctor Who: The Episode Guide, Mark Campbell also rated it as better than Frontier in Space, awarding it eight out of ten, concluding "a believable jungle setting and ambitious (if unoriginal) ideas make this live-action comic strip romp breeze along in fine style."[12]
Commercial releases
[edit]In print
[edit] |
 | |
| Author | Terrance Dicks |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Chris Achilleos |
| Series | Doctor Who book: Target novelisations |
Release number | 46 |
| Publisher | Target Books |
Publication date | 21 October 1976 |
| ISBN | 0-426-11252-0 |
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in October 1976. The novelisation opens with the cliffhanger from Frontier in Space of a comatose Doctor pursuing the Daleks through space, even though this was removed from the Space War novelisation. A German translation was published in 1980.
In 1995 an abridged version of the novel was issued by BBC Audio as an audio book, read by Jon Pertwee. It was later reissued on the MP3-CD release Tales from the TARDIS Volume 2. An unedited audio book version was released in June 2013, narrated by actor and writer Mark Gatiss, with Dalek voices performed by Nicholas Briggs.
Home media
[edit]This story, together with Revelation of the Daleks was released on VHS in a special Dalek tin set in 1999, with episode 3 in black and white. The stories were released on VHS individually in North America. It was released on DVD alongside the previous story, Frontier in Space, in the box set "Dalek War"[13] on 5 October 2009, with episode 3 now restored to full colour[2] using the pioneering chroma dot recovery process and some more traditional colourisation techniques. In July 2019 the story was released for the first time on Blu-ray as part of the Season 10 boxset. It featured optional updated visual effects and 5.1 Surround Sound. In November 2020, it was released as part of the Time Lord Victorious: Road to the Dark Times blu-ray set along with Genesis of the Daleks, The Deadly Assassin. State of Decay, The Curse of Fenric, The Runaway Bride and The Waters of Mars.
Notes
[edit]- ^ Also provided other Spiridon voices, uncredited.
References
[edit]- ^ "The Fourth Dimension". BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ a b c "BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 10, Planet of the Daleks - the Fourth Dimension".
- ^ http://colour-recovery.wikispaces.com Colour Recovery Working Group website[dead link]
- ^ Steve Roberts (23 December 2008). "Dalek War DVD Boxset". Restoration Team. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
- ^ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - the Deadly Assassin - Details".
- ^ "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
- ^ Shaun Lyon; et al. (31 March 2007). "Planet of the Daleks". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 12 December 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ^ doctorwhonews.net. "Doctor Who Guide: broadcasting for Planet of the Daleks".
- ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "Planet of the Daleks". The Discontinuity Guide. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-426-20442-5.
- ^ Braxton, Mark (7 February 2010). "Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ Sinnott, John (23 February 2010). "Doctor Who Dalek War: Frontier in Space & Planet of the Daleks". Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ Campbell, Mark (2010). Doctor Who: The Episode Guide (4th ed.). Pocket Essentials. ISBN 978-1842433485. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ "BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 10, Frontier in Space - the Fourth Dimension".
External links
[edit]
Target novelisation
[edit]- Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database