Genesis of the Daleks
Previous: The Sontaran Experiment
Genesis of the Daleks
Written by Terry Nation! Cool! He gets to retcon his own material!
Those are remarkably colorful gas masks. Red and yellow? Really, guys?
Huh. I didn't even see those guys get hit...oh hello Four!
I knew that guy in the black cloak looked familiar...
"We ask you to do something for us."
"I won't do it. Whatever it is, I refuse!"
"Daleks."
"Daleks...tell me more."
So he's been given an item and told not to lose it because it's his "lifeline"? I think I can tell now exactly where this thread is going.
Hello Sarah Jane and HARRY! Haven't seen you in a long time! Oh wait, watch out for the falling s'plosions.
Uh, Four's standing on a LANDMINE. Don't those usually, you know, go off when you step on them?
That was a very simple scene, but it seemed to say a lot about the relationship between Harry and Four. I wish he'd gotten to stay longer.
Why am I slightly uncomfortable with how obvious a switch from location filming to studio video that was?
Woah gassing and ambush and gunning down and grabbing and SO MUCH STUFF IN 20 SECONDS.
Uh oh, Sarah Jane's been left outside...
"They don't look like Thals..." *thinks back with exceptionally pre-emptive nostalgia to the original Thals in The Daleks way back when...*
So I'm guessing these guys must be the Kaleds.
"Turn out your pockets."
"This might take some time..."
So...when is anyone going to ask what happened to Sarah Jane?
"Our battle cry will be TOTAL EXTERMINATION of the Thals!" Okay, I think I'm beginning to see how this fits with the original Dalek story.
Clever Four for noticing that "Kaled" is an anagram of "Dalek." And I thought they weren't going to bother mentioning that.
Well Sarah Jane's up, but...don't you think you should leave that gas mask...on?
"Now what?"
"Keep running!"
"What?"
"KEEP. RUNNING!"
I'm only just noticing that Four, Harry, and Sarah Jane are kinda color-coded. Four = red, Harry = blue, Sarah Jane = yellow.
"It's an etheric beam locator." Huh. And I'd thought that was just made up as a double-entendre in The Curse of Fatal Death.
"Davros is never wrong about anything."
"Well he must be exceptional, even I am occasionally wrong about some things who is this Davros?"
OH MY GOD THERE HE IS. WHY HE'S JUST SITTING ALONE IN RUINS ON A MOUNTAINSIDE FULL OF MIST I DON'T KNOW. BUT STILL. DAVROS.
(Last time I saw this guy, Ten was watching him burn in Journey's End.)
"Observe the test closely, my friend. This will be a moment that will live in history." Oh, I get it now. THE FIRST DALEK!
And I just remembered that Sarah Jane would've seen them already with Three in Death to the Daleks.
"Halt. Turn right. Halt. Now: Exterminate." ......So. ......Frigging. ......COOL.
Yup, something happens to the bracelet. Called it.
So it looks like Sarah Jane's been taken in by one of the mutos and a Thal patrol. This'll be interesting...
And Four and Harry STILL haven't tried to figure out what happened to her. For shame, guys.
"It is an established scientific fact that in the seven galaxies only Skaro is capable of supporting intelligent life."
"It is also an established scientific fact that there are more than seven galaxies."
Guys, I cannot BEGIN to describe how hard Four is just OWNING the Skaro scientist in this scene.
Doctor, this is Davros. Get used to seeing this guy. He'll be showing up at least once in most of your subsequent regenerations.
Now that's interesting: the Dalek from before didn't have a plunger, but this one doesn't have a gun.
Oh wait, THERE'S the gun.
"A-LI-ENS! I. MUST. EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" And the scientist intervened! Davros is going to be piiiiiissed...
"MY CREATURE SHOWED A NATURAL DESIRE, AN INSTINCT TO DESTROY! AND YOU INTERCEDED! YOU. WILL. BE. PUNISHED FOR THIS!"
Sarah Jane seems to be quite adept at NOT getting horribly damaged by radiation. Then again, we'll see where this goes...
Well, it looks like Four and Harry have found their champion of sorts in this Skaro scientist from before. Let's see how long he lives.
So we hear growling and see a lot of green light, but I'm guessing we won't get to actually see the mutants until later? If at all?
Smart Sarah Jane has a plan! This must be the ultimate companion test: how do you handle getting out of imprisonment, without the Doctor?
Actually, I'm only just remembering that Liz got to do this too in The Ambassadors of Death, to debatable success.
Ah yes, convenient man-sized ventilation ducts! Perfect for escaping in any circumstance!
Unless of course that circumstance happens to involve filling the ventilation ducts with gas. Or water. Or fire. Or something.
Sarah Jane Smith is blowing my mind right now. She's scaling that scaffolding like nobody's business. AND IN A SKIRT. AND HEELS.
And now they're being shot at. People are dropping dead left and right...(actually, more like up and down)
AND SHE FALLS.
So NATURALLY she just lands on a lower level of scaffolding.
Awww, and they were SO CLOSE to getting out...
HOLY CRAP. HOW DID THAT DROP NOT DISLOCATE HER ARM.
Hey! It's the clam! Hello clam!
Ah yes, the famous giant-cave-clam-tries-to-eat-Harry's-foot scene :D
"Why is it always ME that puts a foot in it?" Wait a sec, Harry, what OTHER dangerous animals have you put your foot in before?
NOW they've acknowledged that they've got to find Sarah Jane, but Four seems to have greater priorities first.
Looks like Ronson's found a like-minded colleague, but the information he has doesn't sound right. I wonder if he's lying...
Oh! Looks like he was right after all!
For some reason, I'm in love with Four's speech here. He's just relaying information, but he does it so damn WELL.
"Some of what I will tell you related to events in the future. Not only on this planet but on others whose existence you don't even know of. But my knowledge is scientific fact. Now, Davros has created a machine creature, a monster, which will terrorize and destroy millions...and millions of lives and lands throughout all eternity. He has given this machine a name: a Dalek. It is a word new to you, but for a thousand generations, it is a name that will bring fear and terror. Now undoubtedly, Davros has one of the finest scientific minds in existence. But he has a fanatical desire to perpetuate himself and his machine. He works without conscience, without soul, without pity, and his machines are equally devoid of these qualities."
I'm not even sure why I bothered posting that whole thing when 90% of it is in Tom Baker's delivery. Sir, I salute you.
Looks like Davros and company are onto Ronson's activities. I'm just a little surprised that they're letting him live for now.
"That was a very impressive speech, Doctor."
"Yes, it was meant to be."
That was quick. Now Four and Harry know where Sarah Jane is within seconds of bringing it up.
Wow. Davros is taking the news of his work being both investigated AND suspended pretty damn well. This guy has a plan...
Said plan appears to be something along the lines of, "They know my secret. I must KILL EVERYONE EVER."
"What's Davros doing here in the Thal city?" That's...an excellent question, actually.
"Excuse me, could you help me? I'm a spy!" *bashes heads together*
SARAH JANE FOUND! PRISONERS FREED! ROCKET SABOTAGING TIME!
Wait...WHY would they have a button for sending electrical charges through the scaffolding? That's...VERY bizarrely specific.
Four has less than 5 seconds to stop a rocket launch, so of COURSE he risks getting shot to pieces to hit the abort button.
And then there was a s'plosion, unfortunately. Let's see how Four reacts, now that he thinks his companions are probably dead.
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" That wasn't the Daleks. That was Davros. In perfect Dalek-voice. I'm kinda scared now.
"Did you have friends in the Kaled city?"
"Yes. Two people very dear to me."
Four is taking it pretty calmly, but he looks REALLY pained.
Actually, the way the light is reflecting off his skin, it almost makes his face look slightly tear-stained.
"It'll mean creatures without conscience! No sense of right or wrong! No pity! They'll be without feeling or emotion!"
"Correct!"
Wow, and Four's already putting on a smiling face for the soldiers who don't have to fight anymOH MY GOD WHERE DID THOSE DALEKS COME FROM.
Thank goodness for eyestalks only offering vision in one direction.
Considering how tall Tom Baker is, I'm surprised he's able to curl himself up into a ball like that. And HARRY'S ALIVE AND KICKING (ASS)!
Well, the trio's back together now. Off to go time-ring-hunting!
"Are you scared?"
"Of course not!"
"I am."
Again, really really brief moment, but seemed to say a lot about the characters.
Completely immobile cave clams! RUUUN! "I'll never eat oysters again!"
I knew it. That guy with the glasses was just way too sketchy to be trusted. (Not to be confused with That Guy With The Glasses, of course.)
That sounds like ventilation ducts rattling. I guess Sarah Jane's quip about "something waiting for us in there" was somewhat accurate.
The speed at which they cut from the crew coming out to Four strapped to a chair seems almost too comical for a Davros scene.
"What mistakes do they make? YOU WILL TELL ME."
"No."
"YOU. WILL. TELL. ME!"
"NO. I. WILL. NOT!"
I may forever be in awe of Tom Baker for that SPECTACULAR face he gives Davros for accusing him of having conscience as a weakness.
"YOU! WILL! TELL! ME! YOU! WILL! TELL! ME!" Guys, Davros' screaming is drowning out the CREDIT SCREAM. THAT IS HOW HARDCORE THIS MAN IS.
I think I can safely say by this point that Davros is very quickly working his way up the rungs of my Favorite Doctor Who Villains.
Oh wow. He's actually giving Davros the information he wants so Harry and Sarah Jane won't get hurt. This can NOT end well. At all.
"Let us talk together now, not as prisoner and captor, but as men of science!" And suddenly Davros is cool as a freaking cucumber. This guy.
Well, now they've established that the interrogation tapes could be lost or destroyed. I think I see where this is going.
If the Daleks become the dominant life form to create peace, there won't be a point in living because there won't be anything else.
And now we come to possibly the most famous villain speech in the whole series:
"To hold in my hand a capsule that contained such power, to know that life and death on such a scale was...my choice...To know that the tiny pressure of my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end...everything! ...Yes! I WOULD do it! That power would set me up above the gods! AND THROUGH THE DALEKS, I. SHALL. HAVE THAT POWER!"
Holy crap. Holy crap, holy crap. Four has Davros by the arm. And he's threatening to press a button. This is...I can't even...
THAT BUTTON IS DAVROS' LIFE SUPPORT. AND THE DOCTOR IS LEGITIMATELY THREATENING HIM WITH IT. GUYS. THIS SCENE. I NEED TO STOP PAUSING.
And at the very last second, Four gets taken out by That Guy With The Glasses. ...MOTHER. FUCKER.
HAH. The way the light's angled in that scene, you can actually see the silhouettes of the heads of the people operating the Daleks.
HOLY...WHEN DID HARRY GET HOLD OF A GUARD UNIFORM. THAT WAS AWESOME.
"Our intention has always been to make a bloodless revolution." Ummm...I'm not quite sure that's possible at ALL. EVER.
"We've the backing of a good 80% now!"
"Good, good! What about the hardcore Davros people?"
I would like to take a Tweet to appreciate the fact that the phrase "hardcore Davros people" was actually just used in a part of dialogue.
"The Time Lord gave me three options, and there's only one still open: genocide. I'm going to kill everything in the incubation room."
"I'm going to destroy the Daleks forever!" I think I can tell what other famous speech this is going to lead to...
Don't give him time to consider! He's going to turn his back and press some suspicious buttons!
Wow. From a distance, the Dalek embryos actually sound like crying babies. There's NO WAY that was unintentional.
And now we finally get to see the embryos in the chamber. There's been no dialogue, and little time elapsed, but it feels *so powerful*.
OH GOD ONE OF THE BABIES IS STRANGLING HIM I CAN'T EVEN WHAT
He's holding the two wires, here comes that speech...
"Just touch these two strands together and the Daleks are finished. Have I that right?"
"To destroy the Daleks? You can't doubt it!"
"But I do! You see, some things could be better with the Daleks. Many future worlds will become allies because of their fear of the Daleks!"
"It isn't like that!"
"But the final responsibility is mine, and mine alone! Listen: if someone who knew the future...pointed out a child to you and told you that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who will destroy millions of lives...could you then kill that child?"
"We're talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented! You MUST destroy them! You must complete your mission for the Time Lords!"
"Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other, and that's it...the Daleks cease to exist. Hundreds of millions of people, thousands of generations can live without fear, in peace...and never even know the word 'Dalek'."
"Then why wait? If it was a disease or some sort of bacteria you would destroy it, you wouldn't hesitate!"
"But if I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent life form, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks."
I'm probably over-quoting this whole story, but...DAMN. That was some pretty seriously heavy business.
And with that, the Doctor tears out the fuse and gives up his one chance to destroy the Daleks in their breeding tanks, once and for all.
I know I say this a lot in a joking capacity when really weird stuff happens, but now I mean it in all genuine admiring seriousness:
Guys, this show.
Sarah Jane, Harry, and Four seem to be perfectly positioned to sneak their confiscated items back. And right in the middle of Davros' trial.
Also, I LOVE that Davros actually has a huge red button labeled "Total Destruct" on his desk.
On a more serious note, I'm impressed that there are advocates for letting Dalek mutation continue if their consciences are left alone.
So the crew's FINALLY captured Nyder (that struggle was really satisfying to watch)...but the time ring fell off again...
TAPE DESTROYED! And now Nyder's getting away.
Have I mentioned yet that Davros yelling "EX-TER-MIN-ATE" EXACTLY like a Dalek is REALLY freaking me out?
Time Ring relocated! Now I wonder what they're going to do with the last 8 minutes or so...
"I'm going back to the incubator room. This time I'm going to blow it up." You might want to hurry up with that. A LOT.
Four's suddenly got his hat and overcoat on, with no explanation. And his second attempt to destroy the Daleks is foiled by, guess what?
Yup, that's right! A Dalek.
OH WAIT. IT WASN'T FOILED. IT RAN OVER THE TWO WIRES AND OH MY GOD THE DALEK BABIES WERE DESTROYED BY A DALEK. #GLORIOUSIRONYFTW
And after all this, Nyder finally FINALLY gets his comeuppance.
Four finally made it out...time for a S'PLOSION!
The Daleks have turned on their creator! "WE. O-BEY. NO-ONE. WE. ARE. THE SU-PERIOR. BEING!" THIS WILL ALL END WITH...
..."EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!!" *INSERT EPIC DAVROS "DEATH" SCREAM HERE*
"Failed? No. Not really. You see, I know that although the Daleks will create havoc and destruction for millions of years...I know also that out of their evil, must come something good." And off they go, swirling into time and space on a new journey...
Well, I can say with all confidence that this story lives up to its "classic amongst classics" standing. A truly remarkable piece of work.
Next: Revenge of the Cybermen