Planet Of The Daleks REVIEWS
Goldby
They're back again! No actually - he's back again!! Terry Nation again storms the BBC. Yes the original combo of Daleks and their writer / creator Nation are back on their first solo script since The Chase 8 years ago and what a hit that was! Yep and Planet of the Daleks here is a direct follow on from Frontier In Space and the 6 part conclusion to the 70's answer to Daleks Masterplan. It starts immediately following the rather badly filmed conclusion to Frontier In Space, where the Master shoots the Doctor in front of Jo while surrounded by Ogrons, then everyone panics and runs off with no explanation. The Time Lords send the Doctor in pursuit of the Daleks and the fun really begins. Actually the first part where the Doctor's injured and has to fall into a coma is pretty good, leaves Jo to carry the can - she doesn't wear mini's any more…
Then this story becomes little more than a 'greatest hits' of previous Nation Dalek stories. There's the jungle planet (from the Chase and Masterplan), jungle planet populated by invisible aliens (from The Daleks Masterplan) some extremely noble, blond and characterless Thals (from the Daleks), a dalek army ready for conquest (Dalek Invasion Of Earth), the Doctor and others locked in a room and forced to escape up a lift shaft while the daleks cut through the door (The Daleks) The Dalek Supreme turns up at the end complete with a huge flashing torch as an eye (Dalek Invasion of Earth)…guess he must have thought no one would remember those early stories.
Oh it livens up around part 3, because it suddenly goes black and white for an episode. Plus for any new Who the daleks aren't reduced to one - there's a whole army of them frozen in the mountains of Spiridon for future use! Pertwee and Manning go through the motions, the jungle sets are harshly over lit so it looks just like a studio and the daleks sort of just plod along, although one finally manages to shoot the Doctor and the model shots are bad, real bad. The ice volcano was a novel idea though. Was wishing the dynamic duo would just return to Earth really, so there you go after the Chase my least favourite dalek story…4/10.
Grob
Oh God. Its another Pertwee 6 parter. And its written by national hack Terry Nation. And it has the daleks in it. And the Thals. And a big bomb. And......oh hell, we've seen it all before. Well we HAVE actually in a story called "The Daleks" and somehow old Nation would think we wouldn't notice?
But there is always something new to make us sit up and take note such as the Doctor's ability to change jackets while he's losing oxygen in the Tardis. Or Jo's ability to have a totally different hairstyle mid story. Or the Dalek supreme with an eye stalk made out of a hand held torch. Or those half a dozen dummy daleks that don't move?
How about the return of the Thals? Yeah, with the same bland personalities as before. And how does the Doctor recognise them anyway? Its not like they actually LOOK like the Thals in the first dalek story.
Even the setting is cheap; over lit studio jungles and ye olde quarry thrown in for good measure. God Planet of the Daleks is dull. And its crap. 2/10.
Boland
(Boland filling in) PLANET OF THE DALEKSIf you though Frontier in Space was dull, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Planet of the Daleks makes it look like a romp of a space opera. Terry Nation you aren’t writing for Carole Ann Ford and Hartnell now! I can’t stand his wooden ‘convey the basics’ writing. Everything that happens or appears on screen seems to be elucidated by the characters, even though it’s generally bloody obvious:
‘Oh look we are in a jungle.’ ‘This is the Dalek’s control room.’ ‘I am taking the bomb now.’ For fuck’s sake!Oh invisible monsters. AGAIN! Any new ideas Terry? ANY? Oh the Thals are back. They all talk like they have fruit up their arses. The only characters he knows how to write for are the Daleks. Everyone else gets Dalek-style lines. The Doctor and Jo. Where’s the relationship? The nuance? Okay they are separated for ages but still. Gee the Doctor believes Jo is dead. Then five minutes later he is over it. Then Jo seems to be falling from some Thal. Why? Just thrown in there for the hell of it. Does that count as character development Terry? No, just filler, like the fighting between the Thals as well.
Nice design though. Except for the Dalek’s base. Look closely, the walls are painted crinkly cardboard. Jungle is nice. Not sure about the eyes in the dark, and when the Dalek is pushed into a pool in a quarry... well that short and surely needless film sequence in no way matches the jungle or area they were in.So sorry but I can’t give this frustrating six parts of dreary dialogue and invisible creatures in purple coats a good mark. 2.9/10
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