The Escape (The Daleks Episode 3)

The one where we (sort of, almost) get to see what's inside a Dalek...

Blimey, what a dull episode title! I mean, there must be an escape of some kind almost every week in Doctor Who!

Susan ventures out of the Ship into the storm-lashed forest outside and straightaway spots an imperious Aryan figure looming over her. And what's the first thing Susan does? She sinks to her knees, almost in supplication and awe. It's one way of placating potential aggressors during your interplanetary travels, I suppose...

And so we meet the Thals, the other race which inhabits this desolate irradiated world. But they must be the good guys because they are white, blond, beautiful and don't have scary, monotone voices. But these are supposed to be the "dis-gusssstingly mutated" creatures the Daleks spoke of. In a wonderfully ominous line, Alydon says: "If they call us mutations, what must they be like?"

Back at the city, where the Daleks seem to have provided our heroes with water in a dog bowl, Susan waxes lyrical about her encounter with Alydon. She really does seem quite smitten by him, judging by the way she looked at him with awe, began to trust him almost instantly, and describes him as "magnificent" to the others. Maybe Susan likes the Aryan look?

It's nice to see Susan getting some quality air time here, almost taking the lead as she tells the Doctor, Ian and Barbara what she's learnt about the Thals and their world, and suggesting that they try and broker a peace treaty between the Daleks and the Thals. Little do they know the dastardly Daleks are listening in, with one particular Dalek feeling very pleased with himself: "I feel preserving our prisoners was a good idea." Really? A Dalek that feels? The metal meanies demonstrate their cunning even further when they plan to lull our heroes into a false sense of security by providing them with rest and refreshments.

When the hostess Dalek delivers the refreshments to the cell, he rather gives away the fact the TARDIS team are being monitored by saying they will help the Thals, "which is what you want us to do". Doh!

Tristram Cary's music goes a long way in conjuring the spooky atmosphere of this story, especially the scenes with the Daleks and in their city. It's like a reversed, looped sound effect, coupled with a constant, deep bassline like a distant drumbeat.

We spend quite a lot of time with the Thals in this episode, getting to know their foibles and background, but it's hard not to wonder why they all look and dress the same. They are Aryan ideals and wear identical leather trousers and show off alabaster chests. Richard Martin shoots them like god-like figures, posing, looking into the middle distance with noble detachment, as if they're posing for their own publicity pictures ("Can I have a few seconds of Ganatus looking handsome in front of the TARDIS please?" I imagine Martin saying to vision mixer Clive Doig. "And then a bit later the same shot, but with Dyoni looking sullenly beautiful.")

Ah, Dyoni. The only principal female in the Thal tribe (others are visible in the background, but they're not allowed two-dimensional lives on screen), she is eye-wateringly patriarchal. Writer Terry Nation has no intention of depicting a culture built on equality. Instead, we get a terribly 19th century style society: when Dyoni is asked whether she trusts the strangers, she has "no opinions on the matter". She also expresses outrage that Alydon should entrust the anti-radiation drugs to Susan. She believes he'd have been better giving them to a man than a girl. Quick, play Dyoni some Spice Girls now! Of course, this rather anti-feminist viewpoint is explained slightly by Dyoni's apparent jealous crush on Alydon, who sees her "personal future in him".

We also get a really weird, slightly awkward exchange where Temmosus asks Alydon how old Susan is. "No longer a child, not yet a woman," he replies, to which a bemused Temmosus says: "Perhaps it's safe for you to talk to her - (dramatic pause) - if she's not yet a woman." Cue Dyoni storming off. Alydon admits to not understanding Dyoni's tantrum, as "we're all working to the same end". To which the rather more laid-back Ganatus replies: "Now there's a double meaning for you!" Hold on, does he mean what I think he means? Or... no! No, surely he said it in all innocence...

Temmosus is a bit of a strange one too. It's hard to see why he's the leader (although none of them seem to have natural leadership qualities, except perhaps the more free-thinking Ganatus). The Thals are generally quite stagy and po-faced, none more so than Alan Wheatley. But what's Temmosus's general policy on the future of the Thal race? In this speech, he seems resigned to them dying out: "Perhaps we have lived too long. I've never struggled against the inevitable. It's a vain occupation. But I should always advise you to examine very closely what you think to be inevitable. It's surprising how often apparent defeat can be turned to victory." What's he driving at here? As soon as they receive word from Susan that the Daleks are willing to offer them synthetically-grown vegetables, his pessimism goes straight out the window: "So there is a future for us!" He's a rather flaky leader if you ask me, and not a little bit wet.

Meanwhile, back at the city, the Daleks are dictating to Susan what she should write in her letter to the Thals. There's a lovely little moment when the Dalek asks what the last word is on the page - "Su-san" - and she laughs that precocious laugh. "Stop that noise!" the Dalek barks. A nice little exchange which emphasises how alien Susan and the Daleks are to one another just as they seemed to be getting on famously. As for the state of Susan's handwriting, it's atrocious! She might be able to solve Mr Chesterton's science equations and Miss Wright's history lessons easily, but her homework must be unreadable!

In the cell, our heroes manage to dismantle the Daleks' CCTV eye, and the Daleks consider whether this was wanton vandalism or genuine oopsy-daisy. "Do you think it was broken accidentally in their struggle?" asks the quizzical one. "No. The cable is strong. They have broken it deliberately." Again, as with The Survivors, it's a bit odd hearing the Daleks being so chatty.

As the episode draws to an end, the TARDIS crew plot an escape (this is called The Escape after all). Barbara brews up a mud pie using Susan's filthy shoes (no doormats in the Dalek city then). "How's the mud?" asks the Doctor for the one and only time in his entire existence. "It's very sticky and nasty," says Babs, probably not for the first or last time in her life. And so they are ready to sabotage the hostess Dalek and make good their escape.

I love how the Dalek loses his cool so quickly when the attack begins, shouting "Keep away from me" over and over with increasing panic. After all, these creatures are so isolated from contact with other beings (even each other) that to suddenly be in close proximity to four icky bipeds must be pretty terrifying for it. Once it's disabled, Susan and Barbara are sent out into the corridor as lookouts because what's inside the Dalek machine is simply too gruesome for their delicate eyes. Cleverly, Martin has Russell and Hartnell keep the flipped Dalek lid facing the camera, and the audience can only guess at what's inside judging by the looks on their faces. They heave the terrible "something" out onto the floor so that Ian can climb in, and they make their way as pretend captor and prisoners through the city corridors.

And back in the cell, a teeny tiny something (maybe a claw?) edges out from under the cloak, but the fade to black is frustratingly fast. We see so very little of what's under that cloak, but the imagination begins to run riot, and those original viewers back in 1964 had to wait an entire week to hopefully see some more of it...

First broadcast: January 4th, 1964

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan all working together as a team to first of all dismantle the CCTV, and then come up with an escape plan is pleasing to see. It's the first time we've really seen them gel as a group.
The Bad: The Thals are terribly removed and superior, and the acting leaves a lot to be desired, especially from Alan Wheatley and Virginia Wetherell.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

NEXT TIME: The Ambush...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: The Dead Planet (episode 1); The Survivors (episode 2); The Ambush (episode 4); The Expedition (episode 5); The Ordeal (episode 6); The Rescue (episode 7)

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-daleks-aka-dead-planet-mutants.html

The Daleks is available as part of the Doctor Who - The Beginning box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Beginning-Unearthly-Destruction/dp/B000C6EMTC