Un-exterminated.
It’s an odd thing, but there are almost 100 episodes of Doctor Who that are currently presumed lost. The tapes the episodes lived on were deleted and their back-ups otherwise destroyed mostly between 1967 and 1978 because the BBC somehow didn’t see the value in saving them. But over the years, fan recordings and the such have turned up, miraculously returning to life tiny bits of previously lost history of the classic show. And now, in a unique twist, the 50-year-old serial “The Power of the Daleks” has returned to us, as if by time-travelling TARDIS, although it has done so in a, shall we say, regenerated form.
This six-part serial from Doctor Who’s fourth season, which happens to be the first story for the Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, debuted 50 years ago this month. And while the video for the story has mostly been lost, the complete audio from 1966 exists. That remastered recording has now been combined by the BBC with a mix of hand-drawn and computer animation to bring “The Power of the Daleks” back in a whole new form.
The first thing you need to know is that this isn’t exactly state of the art animation. It’s not even TV-level animation. No, it’s very much of the herky-jerky, “Look, Mom, I made a movie!” variety. That said, it’s also pretty cool in its design, bringing a black-and-white classicism to its low budget trappings that are actually a good fit for the source material. It’s not like Doctor Who of yesteryear -- or really, any Doctor Who -- has ever been big budget.
So when the Doctor regenerates in the TARDIS at the episode’s start, or when the Daleks start building new Daleks in their factory, or even when a slooooow dialogue scene between plain old human guest stars kicks in, this stylized approach brings a sheen to the whole enterprise. If you’re willing to roll with it, that is.
The other thing modern Who fans need to know is that old-school Doctor Who is quite a different experience. The story of “The Power of the Daleks” probably could’ve been told in two or three episodes, but instead it’s dragged across six 25- to 30-minute segments here. Of course, back in the day you watched an episode and then waited breathlessly for the next one to come a week later, and then again, and again... and then the BBC deleted the episodes! So that slow and steady pace each week wasn’t as noticeable as it is to a modern audience that’s going to power through the whole serial in one shot.
Daleks!
William Hartnell makes a very brief appearance in animated form at the start of the first episode as the dying First Doctor, with Troughton’s Second Doctor immediately taking over as the titular Time Lord. It’s actually fairly remarkable to see Troughton slip into the part -- mid-season no less -- as this is the first instance of regeneration on the show (although it’s referred to as “renewal” here instead). He even refers to his previous incarnation as “the Doctor” while his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) are surprised and disturbed by this abrupt turn of events. Ben goes on about “the real Doctor” while Troughton stands off to the side amusingly just playing the recorder or otherwise being distracted. That’s become something of a trope in Doctor Who -- the Companion’s having to acclimate to regeneration -- but these guys did it first. And man, audiences at the time must’ve been wondering what the heck was going on. “When will the real Doctor be back?”
The trio don’t have too much time to worry about this change, however, as they soon find themselves on the planet Vulcan (no relation, Spock!). There they encounter a colony of humans who have in turn happened upon a downed spacecraft of… Daleks. What follows is an ultimately tragic story as the humans are too busy fighting amongst themselves that they can’t see the real threat that’s living among them. The Doctor can, of course, and he’s oddly slow to do much about the Dalek threat. But hey, give him a break -- he’s just getting up to speed in this new body. And surely viewers must’ve accepted Troughton’s new ragtag take on the character fairly quickly, particularly when they saw him pulling off stunts like playing a glass of water to generate the correct tone in order to open his prison cell. That’s the Doctor alright.
The TARDIS arrives in Doctor Who: “The Power of the Daleks."
The Verdict
This story is a fascinating glimpse into the history of the half-century old franchise, and it’s actually remarkable that “The Power of the Daleks” can be reborn in this manner. While the animation is very limited, there are moments of brilliance such as the Dalek creation scene, and the design of the “sets” and characters is beautiful. The script, meanwhile, while slow and of its time, offers a tale that is relevant even today: Be careful not to selfishly overreach without paying attention to the needs of those around you, the story seems to say. Your slaves may not serve you forever.
Doctor Who: “The Power of the Daleks” premieres on BBC AMERICA on Saturday, November 19.
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