Death to the Daleks Part Three

The one where the Daleks have a bit of root trouble...

The screaming hosepipe thing has a pot shot at Dr Who, and the screeching noise it makes as it swoops in is ear-shreddingly loud. For saying it's literally a big tumble dryer pipe suspended from wire, the root creature is a pretty formidable adversary, and it makes short work of the Dalek, administering its deadly "sting" several times. The Doctor describes the root as an "underground support system for the city", but does he mean the roots are literally supporting the fabric of the building, or that they "support" the city's defense system by acting as "guards"? Bellal clarifies all this a bit more when he explains that his ancestors built their cities rooted into the ground, and which drained electrical energy from the air (hence the power drain).

The Exxilons are an interesting race, the victims of their own technological advancement. They are an ancient race which "solved the mysteries of science" and conquered space travel long before most other civilisations were out of bed. They travelled the galaxies as the "supreme beings of the universe", even apparently visiting Earth to help the Incas build their temples in Peru (which was good of them).

But the more advanced the Exxilons got, the more foolish they became with it, and they created a living city, a sentience we might call Artificial Intelligence in today's terms. And the city no longer required the assistance of its inferior creators, and subjugated and destroyed the Exxilon civilisation, leaving disparate groups, who either feared and worshipped it as a god (led by the bloodthirsty high priest), or feared it but aimed to destroy it (Bellal's pals). It's exactly what I think will happen to Mankind if it carries on down its current path of developing AI, which I'm convinced will be the downfall of our civilisation in the end. I'm not being glib or melodramatic, I genuinely believe that, and you only have to look at the fate of the Exxilons to realise it.

On a lighter note, ain't Bellal sweet? I love the fact Sarah remains wary of him at first, despite his obviously harmless demeanour, because he still looks pretty gruesome, like a walking corpse. In fact, Bellal's faction are even more scary than the robed versions if anything, looking like golems. I still reckon the Exxilons are among the scariest looking aliens of the Pertwee era. But Bellal is harmless, played with such furtive, bird-like charm by the diminutive Arnold Yarrow, who manages to give Bellal bags of personality despite an inexpressive costume. The glowing skin is a nice touch too.

On the surface, the Daleks have the Exxilons as slaves panning for parrinium, overseen by what remains of the Marine Space Corps crew. These Daleks are very highly strung, more so than usual, and repeat their orders over and over, just to make sure everybody fully understands their intent. Why bark "You will obey!" once when several times will do? "Move!" and "Exterminate!" are also popular.

The location filming at the Gallows Hill sand pit is gorgeous, and director Michael E Briant adds so much scale and size to the planet by shooting from up high and from afar. The mining base at the pool is a nice little set-up, and when the root creature rises from the depths, dirty water cascading from it, it's an impressive sight, even if you can see the wires all too clearly. I felt sorry for the poor little Exxilon who got stung by the root (and set on fire), and the bit where the root attacks the Dalek, which then tumbles down the cliff into the pool, is wonderful ("Am losing control!"). It's a little bit epic, for Doctor Who at least. And then the root slides nonchalantly back into the water like a giant alligator. It's all very effectively staged.

The Exxilon hieroglyphs become key in this episode. There are some on the city wall that clearly spell "DAVE", but the symbols Bellal draws on the cave wall by way of example are dangerously close to giving the DVD an 18 certificate. His scribblings are just one letter away from a post-watershed broadcast. "I do have a rough idea what they're intended to convey," says the Doctor. Indeed!

The Doctor and Sarah part company at the city. He wants her to convince the MSC crew to be ready to leave in their ship with the parrinium the moment the beacon is destroyed, while he goes into the city to try and disable the beacon.

There's a lovely moment where it looks like both characters want to say more, perhaps even hug, but feel uneasy. The two perhaps don't know each other well enough yet, and there's a delightful awkward pause before the Doctor says: "Well, take care of yourself, won't you?" and wanders off. But he thinks twice, and returns to Sarah to cup her cheek and tell her that if he doesn't come back, she must go with the MSC ship. I'm not sure it was intended at the time, but for me the scene is very poignant, pregnant with unspoken thoughts, from both sides. The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith have been through a lot together, but despite this, Sarah is no Jo Grant to him, and there seems to be an invisible barrier between them. For now, at least...

The Doctor and Bellal get inside the city by identifying the odd one out in the symbols, but there they find a room full of skeletons, the remains of the Exxilons who tried to penetrate the city before, but only got this far. The Doctor identifies a logic maze on the wall, which he must trace and solve with his finger, but surely a simple maze wouldn't confound a race of people classed as the "supreme beings of the universe"? Even if they failed to solve the maze once, or twice - ten times even - they could go on trying until they succeeded, and surely before they grew old and died? It doesn't make sense. In fact, it ain't logical.

The cliffhanger is appalling. The Doctor and Bellal move along beautifully lit corridors until they come across a colourful red and white floor panel. "Stop, don't move!" barks the Doctor. Cue end credits. What? What's wrong, Doctor? It's just the floor. It's a serious misstep by Briant to not explain what the danger is before leaving viewers for an entire week wondering why the Doctor doesn't like the floor all of a sudden. The final, lasting shot is of the floor. It qualifies as one of Doctor Who's poorest cliffhangers ever (it works much better in the omnibus version, where the cliffhanger is removed and the scene just carries on).

First broadcast: March 9th, 1974

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The root creature's attack on the Daleks at the mining base is well executed (despite the wires!).
The Bad: That cliffhanger is a stinker.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

"Now listen to me" tally: 32
Neck-rub tally: 15

NEXT TIME: Part Four...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Part One; Part Two; Part Four

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.com/2014/06/death-to-daleks.html

Death to the Daleks is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Death-Daleks-DVD/dp/B007EAFV58/