The Power of the Daleks
Previous: The Tenth Planet
The Power of the Daleks
Wow. The opening music for this recon sounds like an old GameBoy game. *nostalgia...*
Oh crap. The way this screen is oriented, I might not be able to read the scrolling text. TO THE BBC PHOTONOVELS!
Also, I'm going to have to get used to seeing Hartnell's opening but not subsequently seeing Hartnell for a few serials.
"His face, his head, look at it!" Aaaaaaaaaaaand HELLO PAT!
FOOTAGE!
"'This old body of mine is wearing a bit thin'..."
"So he just gets a NEW one?"
You can hear it Patrick...the drums...when will it stop?
I'll bet that's what the old BBC sheet meant about regeneration having the effect of a bad acid trip.
Actual footage of Two moving! "...It's over..." (and he's got his creepy face on. Or maybe it's just the lighting.)
I'm delightfully impressed with how frequently this episode has random clips of surviving footage.
And there goes One's ring. But wait, how does he already have the Lucky Charms Marshmallow Suspenders on?
"It's not just his face that's changed, he doesn't even act like him!" But you haven't even seen him DO that much yet.
"The Doctor kept a diary, didn't he?" AHA! So THIS is where the 500 year diary comes in...
OH WAIT THERE'S THE RECORDER! And I feel like I should recognize this tune.
Wow. Ben most certainly does not approve of Two. Don't worry, you'll have almost a whole season to get used to him.
Hello there, Two's Giant Hat!
Crap, I've got Two's tune (twone?) stuck in my head now.
"So you've come at last. I'm from Earth. I'm the Examine-" *BANG* ...wow. That was one of the fastest deaths I've seen on this show.
Oh, hello unexpected!bum-shot.
I'm impressed that Polly finds beauty in this alien mercury swamp of death.
Aaaaaaand now she's getting ill. #thingsthatshouldntsurprisemeatall
Well, at least they were rescued by locals pretty quickly.
Is Two just hitting sour notes, or does he just aim for really high pitches to intermittently shut Ben up?
"What is your brief?"
"I am the Examiner."
"Why are you here?"
"...To examine."
So Two's pretending to be the dead guy while trying to solve the mystery of his murder. Crafty crafty Doctor.
Looks like they've about got that mysterious capsule opened...
Ah yes, those are definitely Dalek-shaped doorways.
Waaaaaaaait why does that one telesnap look like Polly isn't wearing pants.
*looks at bigger version* Oh. She's wearing tight shorts, that's why.
"Polly, Ben, come in and meet the Daleks." And said so CALMLY too.
Wait, was that a live Dalek mutant scuttling across the floor?
Okay, this next one is a more recent fan-made recon because I couldn't get the usual one to work. Let's see how it goes.
Ah, they're using the official release audio with Anneke Wills doing the linking narration. I just hope it doesn't become a distraction.
Wow. Their use of zooming and jump cuts is remarkably effective! Automatic kudos.
PAT. YOUR FACE. I LOVE YOUR FACE.
FOOTAGE "IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED TO WIPE OUT THIS ENTIRE COLONY!"
They're even shifting the focus around based on who's talking. I might just keep up with this person's recons. They're quite impressive!
"Lesterson listen Lesterson listen Lesterson listen Lesterson listen Lesterson listen Lesterson listen Lesterson listen Lesterson listen..."
Ah, this must be the first big never-underestimate-Two moment.
Lesterson shall revive the Daleks...FOR SCIENCE!
Apparently Two just almost ate a hidden microphone. In a piece of fruit. What will they think of next?
Considering where that Dalek's sucker-arm is, I'd almost say it was trying to cop a feel.
Ooo, we even get Dalek-eye vision!
Scientists surrounding a Dalek and running experiments on it...this reminds me distinctly of the episode Dalek.
Sir, you have been DALEK'D. You're very very very lucky to be alive.
Oh wait, the BBC is telling me otherwise.
Polly, I really don't believe what you say about how you can tell some people are good "just by looking at them."
On the other hand, the characters keep saying that the guy ISN'T dead. MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, PEOPLE.
Footage! The Doctor through Dalek-vision!
"I. AM. YOUR. SER-VANT." But I thought tame!Daleks didn't happen until Evil of the Daleks. Although, they were in Victory of the Daleks too.
So the Dalek is conveniently forgetting to be evil and no one will listen to Two. I predict that those who survive will regret it later.
"The Daleks are the important thing."
"AH! Congratulations Ben!"
"Whadid I do whadid I DO?"
"You just used your brains that's what you did!"
For some reason, I always find myself bugged by subplots in Troughton serials that just focus on the local characters. Show me more Two!
Sorry Ben, but I don't think your plan to steal people and hide them would go over very well.
And now the BBC presents, Chemistry: by A Dalek.
So now I'm going to be That Terrible Person who points out that the removal of a Dalek's gun could be symbolic of castration.
And now it's official: Resno IS actually in fact really dead.
"Can I leave it to you? I'm going to go back to the restroom."
"But..."
"Somebody's got to clear it up!"
#dodgyimplicationsinsomecountries
So last time Polly was told by the locals to just Stay In The Kitchen, but now she's actually being CHLOROFORMED. Really, guys? Really?
Two seems more concerned with his recorder and the Dalek than with the mysterious fate of Polly. I mean, priorities, but still...
"But she is MISSING!"
"Oh no no no no."
"Oh yes yes yes yes!"
"Oh no no no."
I think that's the first time I've heard a Dalek stop itself in mid-sentence to correct itself.
Ah, hello there, small Dalek army.
"When I say 'run,' run like a rabbit...RUN!"
Something in my brain went "ransom note" when that paper was slipped under the door. Amazingly, it was right.
"I would like a hat like that." Oh come on, Two, what's wrong with the hat you have now? It makes you look taller!
"DO. I. BRING. LI-QUID. FOR. YOUR. VI-SI-TORS?" ......depends which liquid you're referring to.
Ah, they seem to still have the Daleks-move-around-by-conduction-in-the-floor thing in effect. Wonder how long that'll last...
NO, DALEKS, STOP IT. WE DON'T WANT TO DRINK YOUR LIQUID.
Congratulations, Two and Ben, you can do maths!
So FINALLY after all this time, Lesterson gets that maybe the Cosmic Hobo is onto something with this "HOLY SHIT DALEKS ARE EVIL D:" thing.
LESTERSON, EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS A LIE. THE DALEKS ARE EVIL, YOUR FRIEND IS DEAD, AND SANTA CLAUS DOES NOT EXIST.
"There's only one explanation: the Daleks are reproducing themselves." Which makes me wonder how a Dalek version of The Talk would go.
"MO-THER. WHERE. DO. BA-BIES. COME. FROM?"
"WELL. SON. WHEN. DAV-ROS. AND. SCI-ENCE. LOVE. EACH. OTHER. VERY. MUCH..."
Aww, I would say that Janley and Lesterson made a cute couple if she wasn't a slightly psychotic manipulative bitch.
If the coded messages are simple anagrams, I'm surprised no one picked up on it before.
Ah, Doctor-in-a-cage. As is to be expected.
I could've sword I heard dogs barking just now...
Footage! It's Daleks on an assembly line! #everyoneisfucked
Yikes. The recon audio quality mixed with a Dalek army all screeching at once almost sounds like a car wreck.
I think Lesterson just reached his Sanity Event Horizon.
I have to admit, with all the black-and-white contrast the close-ups on the Daleks' eyestalks are actually quite chilling.
Ah, there's Polly again! We didn't see any of you last episode, did we?
*sigh* Nobody even listens to the madman.
"You think you're very tough, don't you? Pushing girls around. I'd like to see you come up against a real man."
"Like who?"
"Like Ben."
Ben Jackson is a real man. A real man. #arealman
So of course the real governor comes back and within about 5 minutes, he's dead.
"WHY. DO. HU-MAN. BE-INGS. KILL. HU-MAN. BE-INGS?" That might be one of the most startlingly profound things a Dalek has ever said ever.
Aw crapmonkeys, there's a fight scene going on and I can only half-follow it.
Well, at least now Two and Polly are back together.
Wait, so HOW long have the Daleks just been standing there yelling "EX-TER-MIN-ATE" over and over again?
And now we have FOOTAGE to accompany this endless cacophony!
Ben and Polly back together at last!
Hide yo' Bens, hide yo' Pollys, an' hide yo' Doctahs, 'cause they exterminatin' errebody out here.
"BUT. WE. ARE. YOUR. FRIENDS."
"WE. WILL. SERVE. YOU!"
This is gonna sound completely insane, but the way the shadows are arranged it almost looks like there's a giant bald eagle in the doorway.
Okay, it doesn't look quite that way in the high-res telesnap, but...agh. #myimaginationistoovivid
Guys, Lesterson's creeper-face is truly creeperific. I mean WOW.
Have fun sleeping tonight, kids. #imreallyverysorry
Awww, I think Velmar was in love with Janley. Shame she was kind of a bitch.
The music here would probably be a lot less creepy if it didn't loop for EVERY camera change. Dead people are dead.
So it looks like Bragen's going to be the last to realize that the Daleks are DALEKS. YOU CAN'T PUT LEASHES ON DALEKS.
Wow. Lesterson's not only completely flipped, but I think he thinks he IS Dalek now.
"But you wouldn't kill me...I gave you LIFE!"
"YES. YOU. GAVE. US. LIFE." *exterminates*
And Dalek heads go S'PLODY!
YAY little bit 'o footage so we can actually see some of it!
And the moral of the story is: all corrupt leaders deserve to be shot and you can always save the day by blowing shit up.
"What'd I do? What'd I do?"
"You destroyed the Daleks, that's what you did!"
"Yes, I did that..."
So the locals seem to think that Two and company have caused as much damage as they prevented. Priorities, people, PRIORITIES.
Colony in shambles, countless people dead, and nobody even bothers to thank the heroes. That's a remarkably dark start to the Troughton era.
I really wish this was a surviving serial. I think the only thing keeping me from liking the locals more was that I could barely see them.
But on the plus-side, I won't have to deal with another fully-missing 6-part serial until Fury From the Deep!
Next: The Highlanders