The Power of the Daleks

Andy Hearn@AndyHearn09
 such a shame this story is 'lost' would love to see it.  

Always a bit odd with an early Troughton to hear the original Hartnell version of the theme.

The audio soundtrack is narrated by Anneke Wills, who played Polly in this story.

50dw50@50dw50  i have always had a soft spot for the Tom Baker narration but the sound quality of the more recent version is so much better to be honest.

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith Featuring the appalling Sawardism "Sharper than a Tereleptil's hunting knife". Ouch.

Steve Powner@StevePowner Only have the old Tom Baker cassette version and the beggar won't play anymore :( 

She gives us a quick recap of what happened at the end of the 10th Planet before we start... 

...with companions Ben and Polly struggling to work out if the man they see on the floor of the TARDIS... 

...can really be the Doctor. 

Nick Mellish@nickmellish I remember first seeing the Cine Footage from Power. It all made it seem so damn eerier!

50dw50@50dw50  its all we have sadly, creepy moments. 

50dw50@50dw50 viewers must have been baffled! I think the first episode was bonfire night, i wonder how many kids missed it for the fireworks.

His actions sound clownish, tripping over his clothes, but sinister at the same time. Can he be trusted? 

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith Ben & Polly act as if Dr Who didn't change in front of them, when he did. I wonder if this is a case of warring drafts? In Davis' novelisation of 10th Planet, they get into the Tardis to find him already changed.

Indeed! IIRC he even has a line (along the lines of 'don't you recognise me') much more like modern regenerations. 

The Doctor's ring falls from his finger; Hartnell apparently had fatter digits... 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris  perhaps the most “physical” rejection of the previous Doctor, similar to Castrovalva with the unravelling scarf

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith Was this scene written anticipating following something more like that? Certainly the rest of the 10th Planet book is based on an earlier draft, with Dr Who featuring in the action of Episode 3. 

Here's Troughton... 

50dw50@50dw50  i wonder if he likes the colour of his kidneys? As i recall the recorder gets annoying very fast! 

Polly is sure he *is* the Doctor, but Ben is more hostile. The Doctor rummages through some keepsakes... 

50dw50@50dw50  other than to freak out his companions why does he talk about himself in the third person? They did nothing to reassure the audience! 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris I love the ambiguity here - would we believe regeneration or would we think teleport or body swap.. Brilliantly written! 

The TARDIS lands in the Mercury swamps of the planet Vulcan, and the first new Doctor is keen to explore... once he's found himself a hat! 

50dw50@50dw50  lots of lovely recycled sound effects on vulcan.

In no time, the new Doctor is involved in intrigue, with a man murdered - shot - before his very eyes. 

50dw50@50dw50  a corpse in record time! 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris he needed this OTT, eccentric start to eradicate memories of Hartnell! By now he truly *is* the Doctor - no messing about!! 

The new Doctor tries on his glasses to read the man's ID badge, but no longer needs them! 

Ben and Polly are following by now, but Polly is caught by a blast of mercury vapour... 

The Doctor is knocked unconscious, and a button put in his hand.

Steve Powner@StevePowner This is where that pain was like a Terileptils hunting knife stabbed into his head or similar lol

The travellers are rescued from the swamp by deputy governor Quinn and Security chief Bragen.

50dw50@50dw50  the descendent of Marcus Scarman selects his guards for physical fitness! mucky devil! 

Inside the colony scientist Lesterson is preoccupied with a capsule discovered in the swamp. 

Lesterson's assistant, Janley is mixed up in some colony politics but the scientist wants no part of it. 

50dw50@50dw50 Ben shows great restraint in not beating the new doctor into his next regeneration with that recorder! 

"Will he come out and say? Will he admit to being the Doctor?"

50dw50@50dw50 i love Ben and Polly i wish they were in more surviving episodes. i forgot how long Ben rejected the new Dr Who for

The Governor, Hensell,arrives to interrogate the Doctor and his friends. They think he's the Examiner & he lets them think it. 

His interest is piqued by mention of the capsule, but he decides to leave it for later... 

He's a sly one, this new Doctor - he's pickpocketed Ben to get his recorder back... 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris  Michael Craze is stunning in this story - he really is hostile without alienating the audience

...and he admits that he was really looking for clues and testing people's reactions. 

50dw50@50dw50 not only is it a new Dr Who but he is pretending to be someone else, you would not have a clue if you missed the first bit

The piece of metal Lesterson is polishing is the same as the Dalek piece the Doctor had in the TARDIS' chest. 

50dw50@50dw50 which is a tad convenient

Lesterson proposes to open the capsule with a laser! 

The governor seems quite happy to have the "Examiner" preoccupied with Lesterson's capsule. 

He certainly doesn't want to hear about his deputy's concerns. 

50dw50@50dw50  he is a descendent of Mr Chinn from the Claws of Axos, bureaucrats must have remained in the family! 

That night, the Doctor creeps back into the lab to get inside the capsule... 

No prizes for guessing what's inside... 

50dw50@50dw50 "come in and meet the Daleks" spooky. music from The Daleks, i wonder if that was intentional? 

Surely it is, on file as for use with Dalek stories. 

One Dalek is missing, and Ben catches sight of a scuttling mutant in the shadows! Cliffhanger! 

50dw50@50dw50 i wonder of realistic the creepy sounding mutant was ?

Seems a glove-type affair a bit like the then recent Cushing movie.

50dw50@50dw50 space spider! 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris perfect music, perfect atmosphere - this is really good stuff! 

By the time Ben's fetched a lamp, the mutant has scuttled away... back to its casing, presumably. 

One Dalek is all that is needed to wipe out the entire colony... 

atruedrwhofan@atruedrwhofan a fact that the episode "Dalek" would show us much later on.

Quinn is looking to speak to the Examiner but butts heads with the security chief, Bragen. 

50dw50@50dw50 "real Doctor" Ben remains to be convinced. Polly sounds drunk with all the "Lesterson listens" 

Lesterson isn't very happy that the Doctor has been inside his capsule but struggles when confronted. 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris Lesterson’s disintegration is wonderfully scripted. He starts off as a man on the edge and just gets worse

Pat fluffs a line here "contar- compartment". See, it could happen to the best of them with tight recordings. 

50dw50@50dw50 it lacks the grandeur of a Billy Fluff #CindersInSpain

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith If you check scripts against delivery, Troughton fluffs at least as often as Hartnell, he just hides it better.

50dw50@50dw50 Barry Letts always said that Pat would give an approximation of the line

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith Yes, he's not trying to be Letter Perfect so slips less noticeable. Tom would rewrite in rehearsal, which is different. By recording he's delivering what's agreed. Take the TX script for Underworld, there probably isn't a single line of the Doctor's that hasn't been changed in some way since the rehearsal script. But the TX script matches final delivery, which means the changes are all made before the camera goes on. 

The Doctor remembers Marco Polo. The lucky blighter. 

The Doctor's apple is bugged! 

50dw50@50dw50 makes a change from maggots

The bugging incident is what seems to swing it for Ben. It's "what do you think, Doctor?" straight after. 

Resno knows full well about Janley's involvement with the so-called "rebels".You'd think if he knows it'd be easy for the Governor to find out who they were. Unless someone in a position of authority was keeping such info away from the governor, of course... 

50dw50@50dw50 its a gun! #StubbyArm 

Number 3 attachment with lens moving... 

50dw50@50dw50 its really got it in for Resno 

He's a threat; says it's intelligent and that it's watching him. He won't believe it's a ser-vant, so he has to go!  

The Dalek has some power...  

Presumably the mutant creeping about has been inching Lesterson along to get to this point.  

Elsewhere Bragen has Quinn arrested when the Doctor's discovery of sabotage leads him to the revelation that the button planted on him is Quinn's. 

Janley assures Lesterson that Resno is fine. "Beautiful plumage, the Norwegian Renso!" 

The Doctor and his friends gather to see Lesterson's experiment - and are horrified to discover he's reactivated the Dalek! 

Although he's removed the weapon, it can still speak... 

...and it recognises the Doctor, despite what it says. And what it says is... 

"I am your servant... I am your servant!" 

50dw50@50dw50 only in Dr Who can a thing claiming to be a servant be a cliffhanger! 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris I love the way the audience are complicit with the Doctor. Only us and him know the threat! It’s a riff on “he’s behind you” 

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith The audience accepts this man is Dr Who because the Daleks do. 

John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland That the Dalek recognises him means he really IS Doctor Who. 

The possibility of exploiting the Daleks as a free labour force, appeals to the governor. 

Rings a bell. 

Lesterson has to call the Dalek off when it gets a bit too creepy with the Doctor. 

Ben is on the same wavelength as the Doctor - the rebels can wait, the Daleks are the real threat! 

Quinn denies attacking the Examiner - he was the one that sent for him! 

Bragen is able to pull the wool and drive a wedge between the governor and his protégé. 

The Doctor lashes up a Dalek brain-scrambler. 

Lesterson gives the Dalek a chemistry test before The Doctor turns up, all sweetness and light. 

50dw50@50dw50 The Pub Quiz Of The Daleks 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris What a brilliant story this is! It really rattles along! Whittaker puts together a very simple but wonderfully intense story

Janley is called away, and smuggles away the Dalek's gun. Now the Doctor has his chance...  

The Doctor's device is defused by Lesterson. "I have sustained no damage!" squawks the Dalek defiantly. 

Janley's co-conspirator is none other than New deputy governor, Bragen!

50dw50@50dw50 all the politics makes the colony seem very real 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris a very simple power struggle, but you’re right - add clashing personalities and it feels very believable 

50dw50@50dw50 it makes the Daleks seem rather noble in comparison!

John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland What also makes it real is that it's so petty. Bragen just wants the colony, not the world/galaxy etc.

Polly is kidnapped by Janley and the rebel Valmar. 

The Doctor is more worried about the Daleks, though. 

The Daleks promise computers with 100% accuracy if Lesterson can just get them a few materials. How helpful! 

Ben and the Doctor find that the Daleks are wiring power into their capsule, and they're armed! 

50dw50@50dw50 the first time 2 says "when i say run..." 

"...run like a rabbit!" 

Lesterson is unconcerned that the Daleks have armed themselves. "Are you off your head, mate?" Love Ben. 

Bragen tries to exert some control over the Doctor but shows his hand - he murdered the real Examiner. 

They come to an agreement to keep each other's secret... for now. 

The Doctor and Ben receive a note that makes it clear that Polly is a hostage... 

The Daleks plough on. "We will get our power..." 

Lesterson doubts for the first time. 

Lesterson turns the power off, to teach the Daleks a lesson - "I control you!" They promise to be servants. 

50dw50@50dw50 evil beings chanting about getting power seems appropriate for an election year

"We understand the human mind." Whittaker's Daleks are devious & chilling. 

Our first "I would like a hat like that!" too. 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris I love that line! It’s like a shibboleth - I use it in regular conversation to sniff out fellow Who obsessives #ahatlikethat 

Also appropriate for an election year, Hensell is out "inspecting the perimeter" AKA canvassing the marginal constituencies, so Bragen has the run of the colony. 

"Have you finished your liquid?" The Daleks are quite getting into this teaboy thing. 

50dw50@50dw50 the people are so horrible its hard not to hope that the Daleks win! 

Hang on - there's more than 3 Daleks now... 

Lesterson's fears and paranoia are finally turning towards the Daleks. 

When it seems that Lesterson is coming round to the Doctor's point of view, Janley plays her cards... 

She reveals Resno is dead and she hid the body in the swamp. Now Lesterson is under her thumb... 

...she wants the Daleks to continue, intending to use them to overthrow the governor.

The Doctor inadvertantly tips Lesterson over the edge: "Nothing is beyond them given the right materials..." 

Janley claims the Doctor attacked Lesterson so the guards will haul him away, then sedates the troubled scientist. 

The Doctor discovers a hidden message - an invitation to a rebel meeting; he and Ben can lie in wait to find Polly! 

50dw50@50dw50 i adore Ben but he is a bit of a moaner in this story

The Doctor and Ben watch as Janley demonstrates the Dalek gun, but they can't make out the rebel leader. 

Ben is busted and the Doctor comes face to face with the rebel leader. It's Bragen! "I am the leader of the Daleks!"  

Bragen has decided it's time to put the Doctor away, he's going to produce the Examiner's body to do him for murder.

50dw50@50dw50 the body will be in a manky state after being in a mercury swamp for all this time

Depends on how Bragen's had it concealed/stored, I guess...

The Doctor is locked in the same cell as Quinn. Time to see if any of the junk in his pockets can get them out. 

He hopes to simulate the door lock device with a dog whistle. This bit was nigh-on incomprehensible in the original Tom Baker-narrated cassette version. 

50dw50@50dw50 Lestersons decent into madness is so well done 

Lesterson watches the Daleks' fully automated production-line in action! 

Where are the new mutants coming from? I guess they may be clones? 

Unless the capsule contains an incubator section for embryonic Dalek mutants. 

50dw50@50dw50 maybe each dalek ship has a freeze dried nursery aboard?
I suppose you never think about the Dalek creatures being able to reproduce once you've seen Genesis of the Daleks. But although Davros engineered those original mutants, I guess there's nothing to say they can't reproduce.  

50dw50@50dw50 i love there is a surviving clip of the dalek production line, shame about all the photo blow ups, maybe this sounds better than it looked?

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris The audio nature of the story does it some favours I think :) i’d still like a look at the TX version though ;) 

I genuinely don't think it would come off too badly. A few background blow-ups and rolykins on odd shots of the production line are easily forgiveable I think. Even the studio bound Mercury Swamp set is fine, I reckon. 

Lesterson resolves to destroy the Daleks, but they now function independently. 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris it would be just fascinating to see how they accomplished these - such wonderful ideas 

"We are not ready yet to teach these humans the law of the Daleks!" Dead cert for a Big Finish title at some point - The Law of the Daleks.  

Ivan Kirby@hellothisisivan The law of the Daleks states that even though your name's in the story title you'll still have a shock cliffhanger entrance. 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris Preparing a seminar for my Undergraduate students on Parliamentary Sovereignty - I’m going to incorporate the Daleks into it. 

50dw50@50dw50 PMQ's Of The Daleks  

He's a dodgy Supreme, with dodgy associates. 

The Doctor is still trying to escape. The dog whistle didn't do it, so he's rubbing his finger round a wet glass.

A panicky Lesterson demands to speak to the Doctor, but is carted off to Bragen. 

50dw50@50dw50 do we think he is the right side of over the top? gibber gibber "your trying to say i'm mad" gibber sob gibber. 

I think it works because he was so highly strung to start with, so this isn't *too* far removed. 

Polly tries to make the rebels see sense but drops a clanger by badmouthing Janley to the smitten Valmar. 

The governor's back in town after his tour of the marginal constituencies to find "Bragen's guards" running the show. 

Bragen's gone a bit mad himself; power-mad. 

50dw50@50dw50 the governor takes it on the chinn #exterminated 

50dw50@50dw50 ironic the Dalek questions humans killing humans when they spend the 80's shooting at each other 

This is pre-Evil, and pre-Genesis - pre-Time Lord meddling, so the Daleks are completely unified and don't understand civil war. 

The Daleks know they only have to wait for the humans to start wiping each other out now.  

"Daleks conquer and destroy! Daleks conquer and destroy! Daleks conquer and destroy!" 

The first time I saw this surviving clip was in "Resistance is Useless". Had no idea what story it was from.

50dw50@50dw50 the poor dalek operators whizzing around the set to come through the door again 

"Take up positions, ready to exterminate all human beings!" It's all kicking off now! 

Bragen has Janley urge the rebels to rise up, believing the Daleks are on his side... 

Valmar has got wise to Janley now, but at least they've realised they have to fight the Daleks. 

The Doctor does have a plan but it involves blowing the power lines of the whole colony, which could be a disaster in its' own right. 

It's a full on gunfight, now, but Janley still believes she has control over the Dalek's gun. 

"Your usefulness is over!" 

Quinn pulls Valmar to safety but Janley is exterminated. 

50dw50@50dw50 is this the first Dalek story to show women being exterminated on screen? wonderfully doom laden music for the dead colony 

Lesterson's completely broken, but his failsafe may serve the Doctor's rough idea for a plan. 

"I'm their governor, why don't they answer!" Bragen can't take the power slipping from his grasp... 

Kosmic Kris@KosmicKris This is fabulously dark and grim! The way it unravels for the colony at the end is amazing 

Never ignore advice from your Doctor, folks!

Grumpy2000@Grumpy20001 The Daleks are just so ruthless in this story 

50dw50@50dw50 Lesterson mimicking a Dalek before he gets zapped is a creepy moment 

Lesterson's delusions have led him to believe the Daleks superior and he seeks to be like them, but Daleks don't believe in mimicry as sincere flattery and exterminate him! 

The Doctor throws his switch and the power of the Daleks feeds back on itself, blowing them all up, and knocking him out in the process! 

50dw50@50dw50 total lack of gratitude from the humans, Dr Who should have left the miseries to the Daleks 

Bragen is still clinging on, till Valmar shoots him down... 

"What did I do? What did I do?" The 2nd Doctor operates very differently from his predecessor... 

The travellers have to scarper before they get sent the bill for all the damage! 

But as the TARDIS departs, the eyestalk of the damaged Dalek twitches... 

John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland The Power of the Daleks is the best Dalek story ever. The second best is 'Remembrance'. The slow burn of 'Power' is one of it's selling points, and when the massacre comes, it doesn't disappoint

Yes, a palpably thick atmosphere of dread, and inevitability, that pay off in a very satisfying way.  

TTFN! K.
Coming Soon... The Green Death