Day of the Daleks
Previous: Season 8: The Daemons
Day of the Daleks
So we open in a mansion and...what's the point of holding a guy at gunpoint if you're just going to teleport away after five seconds?
Ah, that's the point: freaking the living daylights out of your target.
Cut to the Brig on the phone with the Minister of Defense. It's always weird being reminded that the Brig *does* actually have superiors.
Aw, Jo's such a doll in that cowgirl outfit. (Seriously she looks like 12.)
"This won't do at all." YEAH, I HAD A FEELING THAT DUPLICATES OF YOU AND JO RANDOMLY APPEARING "WOULDN'T DO," AS YOU PUT IT. #what
And then the Brig walks through that same blank, yellow doorway...so is he from another timeline too?
So I wonder if the politics of this serial were legitimate Cold War worries or just the writers operating on UNIT Time. Or both.
PPPFFFFFFFTT, the camera angles they picked for the would-be assassin's face are just what.
Hello, Aliens of the Week. You're the Ogrons, aren't you? If shrunken heads were normal-sized and had bodies, they'd probably look like you.
Found: Dead body (x1)
Meanwhile in space...
Yep, these are the Orgrons. They kinda remind me of pre-Sontarans. Except I much prefer the Sontaran speech patterns.
"It's our duty to protect you!" Which is why we're pointing at you with the gun that some random nutter threatened you with. Clearly.
Okay, so the guy wasn't dead, he was just "severely injured."
"You say this wasn't made on Earth. Do you mean it comes from another planet?" A+ deduction skills, Brigadier. You win a gold star.
Oh. Actually it seems that it was made on Earth from Earth materials BY someone from another planet. Well then.
Benton has a captive on a stretcher simply vanish right in front of him. And yet all his expression says is "well...that happened...?"
"RE-PORT." Oh hi, Dalek!
"Jo? How would you like to spend the night in a haunted house?"
"O___O"
Three sitting down in a mansion with wine and fancy cheese. All he's missing is a pipe, a fireplace, and a pair of slippers.
Also his dialogue in this scene might as well be "BOY I SURE DO LOVE WINE. HEY JO DID I MENTION THIS IS GOOD WINE. BECAUSE IT IS GOOD WINE."
Is there a word for food-related cockblocking? Because that's what just happened between Benton and Yates. Poor Benton, he just wants foods.
You know, this whole bit with the Benton/Yates/food/wine has nothing to do with the plot, but I'm glad it's here. Adds a sweet familial touch.
I kinda love how Three is the more certain of the existence of ghosts but much calmer, while Jo is the opposite.
Um, Jo, I'm really not sure how you're asleep right now. That position looks kinda uncomfortable.
Poor Nameless UNIT Chaps, zapped by a ray gun that...sounds suspiciously like a Dalek gun...
WOAH. HOLD UP. IS THAT THE BRIG WITH HIS JACKET UNBUTTONED. IT IS, OH MY GOD.
Okay stop stop stop stop. You can't just throw WWIII at us with just one previous mention of it and no build-up. You're doing it wrong.
Looks like Three's got that little box up and working again. It sounds like a growling dog.
Hah, forget cheese, you know what else goes great with wine? Ass-kicking. #timefu
Well. I guess this is what everyone meant about the Dalek voices in this story. Gah.
(And before anyone asks, Netflix only sent me Disk 1 which doesn't have any of the special feature options for watching with the updates.)
The way these guys keep talking about the "twentieth century time zone" makes it feel like I'm watching The War Games in color.
Wow. They didn't even bother taking out the ending sting and start of the credits music from the last episode. Really?
For the briefest of seconds, I thought that dude in the black suit was Ainley!Master. No idea why, this guy's clean-shaven.
I was going to mention this last time and forgot: it's great to see a woman in charge of a field operation instead of sitting at a computer.
Said the woman sitting at a computer.
Apparently her name is Anat. She's pointing a gun at Three, but I already like her.
"It's none too warm a day, is it, sir?" Oh Benton, you wouldn't be saying that if you were where I am now. #epicamericaheatwave
Also, I would've thought you and Yates would be smart enough to check out that mysteriously slightly-open door just down the hall.
Yates, with due respect, I don't think the Brig would have a change of priority if Three and Jo went missing during an international crisis.
Pertwee must've had fun trying to get that gag out of his mouth.
I know she was just trying to reach the ropes, but Jo rubbing her head against Three's back like that was just awwwww...
You know, I'm a bit surprised the Doctor doesn't meet people with amateur time machines trying to change the past more often.
"AC-TI-VATE. THE. MAG-NA-TRON." Oh, you mean that pair of big metal balls? Okay.
Maybe my understanding of military works is completely wrong, but...
...I find it odd that Benton and Yates, as commanding officers, do so much hands-on work themselves instead of sending scouts or something.
On the plus-side, it means more Favorite UNIT Chaps action for us at home.
Is that...*gasp* a BOMB in...*gasp* PLASTIC WRAP? #gasp
I wonder if the music reverb from the Ogron's hand-chop was meant to represent the ringing in that guy's ears after the impact. #idk
no seriously guys HOW DO YOU KEEP MISSING THAT DOOR
Can we all just give a round of applause for Nick Courtney's acting in this scene? Because seriously, this man is amazing.
The second Jo said "go back to September" my mind immediately jumped to 9/11. Then I remembered that hadn't happened yet.
So of COURSE Three gets cut off right before he gets to explain the Blinovitch Limitation Effect.
Brig's on his way and he knows something's up. I wonder if this will ultimately be a hindrance or a help to the situation.
Ouch. Jo finally gets her knots undone and it seems to be a rather inopportune moment for doing so.
Woah wait, so that...wait...that happened. Okay, Jo's on the enemy ship now. But she wasn't even pressing any buttons. How do.
Well at least the boss has the courtesy to offer her his chair. And I just remembered that this is only Jo's second trip through time.
wait why does he suddenly remind me of @stephenfry in that Australian Soap sketch
Ahhhh I see what you did there. You asked Jo for the "exact date" but she still didn't give you the year. #UNITdatingatitsfinest
(and by finest I mean worst because you can't have an "exact date" without a year)
NO SERIOUSLY WHY DOES THIS GUY'S FACE REMIND ME OF STEPHEN FRY. He doesn't even have a crocked nose.
Also, I think it's time I mentioned: yes, the Dalek voices in this story ARE pretty bad. They all just sound remarkably uninterested.
Rather bold of Three to start cutting at his ropes while his captors were still leaving the room.
And I love how he prioritizes retrieving his cape over getting out before the aliens come in through the window.
Here we go: more material for the "but the Doctor would never use a gun!" crowd. Also, hi Brig! Good timing.
I love how the Brig doesn't even really make an effort to stop Three from taking his Jeep. Just a yell, a headshake, and that's it.
A wild DALEK appeared! What will DOCTOR 3 do?
Again, they didn't even bother taking the ending musical sting out. Huh.
DOCTOR 3 used RUN! It's not very effective...
"This may come as a shock to you, but you've just traveled two hundred years through time." Actually it won't. Because Doctor.
So I didn't realize this until after I'd finished the last episode, but isn't this the Daleks' first appearance in the show since Evil?
Considering that, I'm surprised they didn't give them a grander re-entrance.
A bit amused at how Jon Pertwee's hair kinda makes him look like a dirty blond in this light.
Either the Ogron's battle armor is REALLY loud, or that field of weeds is paved with broken glass. ALL of the broken glass.
The phrase "human guerrillas" just came up. It looks fine in writing, but try saying it out loud and see if it doesn't sound a bit odd.
In the meantime, hello Periscope With Mysterious Flashing Red Circles!
Now I'm honestly starting to wonder whether or not the women at the computers are supposed to be androids. They just...don't act human.
The fact that they all have shiny makeup doesn't hurt the android argument either.
How To Argue In The Future: sit down with your cohorts and bitch about the mission's failures while angrily smoking cigars.
Oh wow. When that third guy tried to shut them up with "both of you," it sounded distinctly like "no, fuck you" the first time. #iamtired
Slavery of the Future: people in potato sacks carrying small amounts of gravel in very shiny oversized trash cans. Well okay then.
So now I have to wonder if this guy is treating Jo so well in the interest of actually being nice or just as a cover-up.
It's probably the latter, but somehow I feel that this guy is actually trying to be a gentleman to her.
I don't know why I doubted myself: this guy is totally pulling a face and I don't know why I would think otherwise.
Especially since OH DEAR GOD THAT IS ONE OF THE CREEPIEST SMILES I'VE EVER SEEN.
Three is tied up and there's jacketless-ness, a whip, and an unbuttoned shirt involved. A bit kinky, methinks. :/
Ah. Forget what I said last episode about the women wearing shiny makeup. EVERYBODY in this time looks like that, apparently.
This is almost turning into Caves of Androzani. It seems like there's so many different sides that I don't who working towards what anymore.
Also, we've only got about 30 minutes left in a Dalek story in which the Daleks have only had about 5 minutes of screentime. #huh
Well, at least Three and Jo have been reunited.
The controller seems to be going into retroactive pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-curtain mode now.
Also he really has Jo under his thumb, doesn't he? (And I just happened to pause on a nice "bitch *please*" reaction face from Three.)
Ah, finally we get a decent-sounded Dalek. And yes, it would appear that this is their first time seeing Three.
"WE WILL USE. THE MIND. A-NA-LY-SIS. MA-CHINE." #nonotthemindprobe
It's good to know that companion screams can still be put to practical use every once in a while. Also vases of wine.
Now THAT is the beefiest tricycle I've ever seen.
Even better: the InfoText identifies it as an "all-terrain motor tricycle." Does this count as Enhanced Childhood?
And of COURSE putting it in the show was Pertwee's idea. Of COURSE it was.
("Pertwee fell in love with the vehicle and had to be dragged away to continue filming.") Oh WOW. Actual Action Rider Jon Pertwee.
Apparently the Daleks didn't want to be bothered to make their own Doctor Who fanvid, so they just torrented one from ThreeTube.
I'd be lying if I said this image of Three lying *completely* motionless on the table wasn't more than a little unsettling.
I almost love how the Daleks' monotone makes their declaration of having taken over Earth and warped history seem rather casual.
And of course now Three is COMPLETELY recovered and shows absolutely no signs of having been half-dead just a couple scenes ago. Well.
So yeah, Two, what was that you were saying a while back about the late 20th century having "very few wars?"
(I could be remembering that completely wrong, though, so forgive me if I messed that up.)
So 'course I'm only JUST realizing that these guys are living in the post-apocalyptic world caused by WWIII from the first couple episodes.
You know, somehow I think those laser guns might be more effective if they actually, you know, shot lasers.
Oh right, I forgot, these guns don't really shoot, they dissolve.
I REALLY don't think the guerrillas have really stopped to think through the consequences of changing such a crucial point in history.
But never mind the impending war and horrible distortion of history, look at the funny running man with the wounded arm, kids!
Is this an impending Stable Time Loop I see coming up?
Aaaaaand NOW it finally dawns on everyone. #stabletimeloop
So it turns out Three sparing the controller's life paid off after all and now he's returned the favor. Awww.
And he even went back and lied to the Daleks faces and died anyway. Wow, I guess he was made of tougher stuff than I thought. Good show sir.
Hello, Actual BBC Presenter!
So here come our Token Representatives From Around The World and we only have 5 minutes to find and defuse a very literal war-starting bomb.
guys why are you having a Dalek invasion now I just said there's only five minutes left what are you doing
Three minutes left oh my god seriously how are they going to fix this.
For a supposed evacuation, everyone's moving rather slowly, aren't they?
Ah, so THAT'S how they're going to resolve everything. Also, I think that's the first time I've ever seen a Dalek nudge open a patio door.
Well. Rather abrupt ending, but there you go, I suppose.
Next: The Curse of Peladon