The Death of Time (The Chase Episode 2)

The one where Barbara's cardigan saves the day...

Director Richard Martin's atmospheric location filming at Camber Sands continues with lovely shots of Daleks making their way across the dunes - or tiptoeing across, as can be seen clearly in one early shot! Later, back in studio (at 12m 9s) a Dalek is caught on camera lifting and placing itself into position. It seems the Daleks were hovering above ground decades before Remembrance of the Daleks, although perhaps not intentionally in this case!

Again, writer Terry Nation treats his creations with slightly less respect than previously, as he gives them dialogue which is much more emotional and human, such as when one Dalek asks of the TARDIS crew: "Are they to be taken alive?", and the other replies: "No! They are to be exterminated!" The first Dalek seems excited by this, and hails: "Good! Exterminated!" like a petulant child. Later, we see two Daleks discuss using slaves to dig the TARDIS out of the sand. "Well, see to it!" snaps the boss Dalek in a vernacular more suited to humans than Daleks. Compare the dialogue they are given here to the more staccato, emotionless, monotone lines in The Daleks - it's changed considerably.

The Death of Time (despite not featuring or even being about the death of time) is a vast improvement on episode 1. Stuff happens, and at quite a lick too. We meet a new race of aliens called the Aridians (their reveal at 1m 54s is a real WTF moment) who, while not unlike the Thals in their somewhat effete benign nature, look quite good. Yes, you can see the joins on the skull caps and you can tell they're wearing jumpsuits painted with scales, but this is 1965 and people were watching on tiny, low-res black and white TV screens. It was perfectly good enough for the time, and would've looked convincing too.

I'm troubled by the Aridians' etymology though. They say that the Sagarro Desert used to be a vast ocean, and that the Aridians used to live underwater in their city. But despite the Aridians looking suitably amphibious to match their background, why on earth are they called Aridians, and why is their planet called Aridius? Surely if it used to be much wetter, the last thing it would be called is Aridius - a name obviously derived from the word "arid". It's like having a planet which is totally white in every way, but calling it Greenius and the people Reddians. It's illogical thinking on Nation's part, and suggests that the Aridians were called something else originally, but decided to rename their entire planet and race after the new environmental condition. It doesn't work.

Also indigenous to Aridius are the Mire Beasts, glimpsed last episode but which come to the fore here. I love the Mire Beasts, I think they come across quite well, despite being rather floppy. They are giant squid which can move on land as well as in water, with searching tentacles and glowing eyes (well, one glowing eye. I fear the bulb must have gone in the beast's left eye!). I had to laugh at the way Maureen O'Brien "allows" a Mire Beast tentacle to wrap itself around her, but the scene in which the beast bursts through the brick wall and devours an innocent Aridian is quite well done. I acknowledge the obviously polystyrene bricks but choose to ignore them because the rest of the scene has a certain power and danger, especially as the camera lingers on the beast apparently ingesting its victim. It's just a pity the beast looks rather too genial as he does it, with a cheery smile on its "face".

Although it doesn't go anywhere surprising, the dilemma faced by the Aridians brings a strong vein of danger to the episode. They are a friendly race who want to help the Doctor, but as soon as the Daleks give them an ultimatum to hand over the travellers or else face the destruction of their civilisation, you can feel the dilemma. Why should the Aridians risk everything they have to save the lives of a few errant strangers who have only bought death to their door? The Aridians are suitably sorrowful of the choice they have to make - to obey the Daleks - and there's a lovely little moment when Malsan approaches the Doctor and says: "Do please sit down, I have some news for you." William Hartnell leaves a long pause here, and in his eyes you can see the Doctor suspects this is bad news, perhaps about the fate of Ian and Vicki. He sits, then solemnly prompts: "Now... What is it?" It's a great little moment carried by Hartnell, who gives it gravitas and an edginess.

The Doctor does not ask the Aridians to fight for his cause, as he did the Thals, and accepts that it is he who has brought this upon them. Nevertheless, he is fully aware that if the Aridians allow the travellers to escape before they are handed over, they may well be massacred by the Daleks. This does not stop him affecting an escape to get back to the TARDIS, and ultimately dematerialising safely, without a thought for the consequences back on Aridius. In the event it seems the Daleks forget about their threat to destroy the Aridian city, but the Doctor doesn't know that. For all he knows, he has left these people to their doom, which is pretty irresponsible. I suspect it's driven more by Nation's desire to resolve the episode and get on to drafting the next, but it does give the end of the episode a slightly sour taste.

A quick mention for the classic exchange between this close-knit team of regulars near the end:

Ian: Oh, er, Barbara, could, I, er, have your cardigan?
Barbara: Oh, not again.
Ian: It's for the Dalek, not for me.
Vicki: I hope it suits him.
Ian: Oh Doctor? Your coat, please.
Doctor: My dear boy, we're trying to beat the Daleks, not start a jumble sale!

Bliss! The way Jacqueline Hill delivers that line is perfectly timed, referring back, of course, to The Dimensions of Time in which Ian unravels her cardigan in the space museum. Perhaps Barbara's cardigans only ever get a mention in episodes entitled The D___ of Time? It's surely the only time a Dalek-busting trap has been constructed using a woolly cardy and a few strips of plywood!

This episode is a real step up from last week, with new characters, a dilemma, monsters, action and the fan-geeky scene where the Daleks try to exterminate the TARDIS, as well as stand guard outside of it. I would've liked to see a Mire Beast attack a Dalek, but there's only so much you can cram in to 25 minutes, and anyway, perhaps the Mire Beasts don't like the taste of hot metal?

First broadcast: May 29th, 1966

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Although it's obviously a painted backdrop, and due to the subtle lighting you don't see much of it, the Aridian city looks great. It goes off into the distance and has height and scale, with steps and columns winding all over the place. Reminds me of Moria from The Lord of the Rings.
The Bad: Tiptoeing Daleks.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

NEXT TIME: Flight Through Eternity...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: The Executioners (episode 1); Flight Through Eternity (episode 3); Journey into Terror (episode 4); The Death of Doctor Who (episode 5); The Planet of Decision (episode 6)

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/2013/08/the-chase.html

The Chase is available on DVD in a box set with The Space Museum. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Space-Museum-Chase/dp/B0033PRJWQ