Beginnings

It was terrific to see “Doctor Who” back on BBC television, early Saturday evening! Engaging, through the sincerity of its performances, suspenseful, in that you really didn’t know in what direction the tale was going to turn, and full of hidden terrors, in the shadows flickering across a seemingly deserted and unknown terrain. Whatever dangers are to be faced, it doesn’t help any companion if they don’t feel able to trust the Doctor! He makes up excuses to have his own way, oblivious to the hazards in which he may be placing them, allowing curiosity to get the better of him. Unrushed, with time to slowly build the narrative, to dwell upon ideas to consider their implications, the story places the TARDIS crew in considerable peril. What is the object found on the forest floor outside the ship - a bomb? Who has left it there and what is its purpose? Who can be relied upon - the Thals? Who is to be believed - “The Daleks”?

How unfortunate for Russell T Davies, supposedly the saviour of British television drama, that his latest offering should premiere on the same night as a welcome, and long overdue, repeat of a serial representing a master class in economically effective writing! And, written by a supposed hack!! Almost immediately, Terry Nation has the explorers fall ill, succumbing to radiation sickness, and just as they encounter the conniving inhabitants of Skaro for the very first time. But, the mysterious old man, leading the crew, is equally devious - disastrously to the travellers’ detriment… One of their number, a science teacher, is paralysed from the waist down. They are all imprisoned inside an alien city, forced to lay a trap against those who have befriended them, while the youngest has to face her fear and journey again amongst the petrified trees, alone, to fetch drugs to combat their deteriorating and debilitating condition. Will “The Daleks” allow the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara to use the medicine or do the exterminators want it for themselves?