The Power of the Daleks Episode Four

The one where the Daleks begin reproducing en masse...

Robert James's performance in The Power of the Daleks cannot be appreciated too much, he gives a knockout turn. This episode belongs to him as he portrays a man who slowly starts to realise that he has been blind to the truth, that what the Doctor has been telling him all along may well be right, and that he is not as in control of the situation as he thought. At the beginning of the episode Lesterson is trying to retain his control of the Dalek, insisting that it is he who controls it. He is met with a double-edged retort from the Dalek: "We understand the human mind!"

By the episode's end, Lesterson is beginning to become unravelled as his professional pride and achievement turns against him. He comes to realise that the materials he has been giving the Daleks to supposedly manufacture a meteor detecting machine have actually been used to mass reproduce their own kind. His already delicate mental state begins to break down as he realises what he has done, what he has facilitated. That he has been stupid and blind, and may now have endangered the very colony he was trying to progress. And now he finds himself at the mercy of blackmail by Janley, when she tells him he was responsible for the death of Resno. Lesterson is horrified by the loss of human life at the hands of the Dalek.

James's frequent looks of terror - shot in close-up by the skillful Christopher Barry - speak louder than any words, his eyes transfixed and horrified by both his processing thoughts and what he sees as he explores the Dalek capsule at the end of the episode (and by the way, does that capsule have Time Lord technology - like the Dalek time machine in The Chase - because it's a lot bigger on the inside!). Lesterson's discovery in the capsule is directed beautifully by Barry, with lingering observations of the Dalek production line, with casings being filled with seething, bubbling mutant flesh, which is injected with something and then deposited inside the metal travel machine. It's a splendid sequence, spoiled somewhat by the obvious use of Dalek toys and life-size cardboard cut-outs. They may not have been too obvious on the tiny TV screens of 1966, but they're still different enough to notice even then.

I love how the Doctor gradually realises the Daleks are reproducing when he sees three (very noisy) Daleks trundle past him in the corridor, having just left a fourth back in Bragen's office. It's subtle but effective, the dawning realisation given extra impact as the viewer comes to the same conclusion as the Doctor at roughly the same moment.

The Daleks are at their scheming height here, still struggling to suppress their true murderous tendencies but succeeding in inveigling themselves deeper into the colony's infrastructure. The thought of a Dalek carrying drinks in on a tray is beautifully incongruous, and a little unsettling in its oddness. "Have you finished your liquid?" asks the seemingly servile Dalek to Bragen. Even he finds it uncomfortable.

Dalek voice artist Peter Hawkins continues to add so much nuance and flavour to the creatures' usually monotonous lines, such as in the scene where Janley speaks to the Dalek at the capsule. "We help them, they help us," Janley tells Valmar. "Yes," replies the Dalek. "We are your ser-vants...", with a telling emphasis on the dot-dot-dot. There's something beneath the surface of what these Daleks say, a barely hidden threat. A smugness.

Patrick Troughton continues to grow into the part of the Doctor, becoming full-on Second Doctor in the scene with Bragen. "Oh what a nice new uniform," he smiles. "I would like a hat like that!" This Doctor's preoccupation with hats wouldn't last very long, but it's a hallmark of what this new incarnation was like - playful and puckish, but never to be underestimated.

The Doctor continues to make some classy Sherlockian deductions, such as fathoming out that there's a secret code on the noticeboard (perhaps it's written by infamously disgraced fan Nicholas Pegg, who hid an offensive message in his DWM column and got sacked for it), and attempting to escape from his jail cell by using a dog whistle on the sonic lock. He fails, but we do hear dogs barking somewhere in the colony, which is a big surprise! Dogs on the planet Vulcan!

First broadcast: November 26th, 1966

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Robert James plays a blinder as Lesterson starts to unravel, and the subtleties in Peter Hawkins's vocal performance as the Daleks add such drama and tension!
The Bad: Those toy and cardboard Daleks spoil an otherwise fantastic sequence.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★★☆

NEXT TIME: Episode Five...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode 1; Episode 2; Episode 3; Episode 5; 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/2013/12/the-power-of-daleks.html

The Power of the Daleks is available on BBC DVD in both animated form and as a telesnap reconstruction. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Power-Daleks-DVD/dp/B01LOC83Y2