"Get new orders!."
Great title!
The fire bomb ticks it's way down and the Doctor collapses; a side effect of the drug the Daleks gave him a couple episodes back. David attempts to disarm the bomb, initially failing, but having better luck when he brings out the ultra corrosive acid.
I think that there was something about bombs that really freaked Terry Nation out. Bombs or missiles figure prominently in many of his Doctor Who stories. Maybe it was a product of his time; he was a kid in the UK during the second World War.
One nice touch that I have to point out is the symbols on the bombs countdown. I can't clearly make them out, but they are alien. We've also sporadically seen Dalek symbols painted onto existing human landmarks. It's a small detail, and it shows how much the production crew cared.
David decides to leave the Doctor where he is reckoning that the old man will be safe. The logic is a little fuzzy. David thinks that the Daleks will believe this area to be burning and won't do anything here for at least an hour. But the Daleks have those fancy flying saucers and a tendency towards ruthless efficiency. Wouldn't they confirm that each bomb detonated? If one didn't, wouldn't they send someone expendable (ie robo-men) to figure out what the heck went wrong?
But William Hartnell needed to have a week off so Susan reluctantly agreed to go with David.
The plan is to find a way out of London through the sewer system and then come back for the Doctor. This provides additional private time between Susan and David. These scenes are important. They need to show the connection between these two characters so that Susan's departure doesn't seem contrived. There are other companions who will leave the TARDIS for love. Some barely speak half a dozen lines of dialog with their new love (I'm of course referring to the tower of passion that is the Leela/Andred relationship.)
There have been hints from World's End that this might be Susan's last trip in the TARDIS. In this episode, in the sewers of London, David talks about rebuilding the world after the Daleks are gone. Susan is excited at the prospect; David says that she could stay and help.
She had asked him to go with her and now he's asked her to stay.
The sewers of London are dangerous. The Daleks can't get down here and David says that the robo-men don't (too much interference for their control units?), but there are human scavengers who live down here.
They end up almost getting shot by Tyler. Tyler warns them about the dangers of the sewers. Beyond the human problem there are alligators in the sewers. I'm not talking the urban legend of flushed baby gators growing down there. These monsters were full grown specimens that escaped from zoos when the plague struck. We end up seeing one (well stock footage of one anyway) licking his chops at the thought of Susan falling from a rickety ladder. Then Tyler shows up from above and shoots the bastard.
It was an odd bit of filming. It reminded me of the scene in The Haunting (the 60's version, not the 90's remake) where Nell is climbing up the ancient library staircase and a crazed woman's face suddenly flashes from behind a panel above her. I like the effect in both cases, it's just not the sort of thing that you're used to seeing in Who.
Barbara and Jenny have managed to get a truck ready to go. Literally a museum piece that was driven in parades before the plague hit. A pretty clever way of way of explaining why they're driving a 20th century vehicle in the 22nd.
Jenny is being pessimistic. She knows that the Daleks will hear the engine from blocks away and converge on them. She expects to die and is genuinely angry that Dortmun sacrificed himself. Barbara is, once more, the voice of reasoned optimism.
The two drive out of the museum at a hellish pace. The Daleks know where they are almost immediately and set up a roadblock consisting of four Daleks. Jenny suggests going around them, but Barbara goes right through. She completely crushes at least one Dalek and scatters or destroys the rest.
Barbara for the win!
Realizing that they are dealing with the most dangerous adversary that the Daleks have ever faced, a time traveling history teacher with a lead foot, they send out a flying saucer to deal with the threat.
I suspect that the flying saucer prop may have been damaged since the last time they used it. This time we see a picture of the crappy prop moved around to suggest the ship's movement. Oh those lavish BBC budgets.
The two kick ass women ditch the truck before the saucer picture turns it into flaming wreckage.
Ian and Larry are skulking around the mine area taking in what they can. The Dalek operation is so advanced that they have to resort to stock footage. When they switch back to original material we see a mining cart being dragged by a large number of bedraggled human slaves.
These pathetic wretches make the Monty Python "It's" guy look like Cary Grant fresh from the Oscars. And there are a LOT of them. Between slaves and guards I'd say there are at least 30 extras in this scene. That's huge for this time. And it's location work. I can just see the pound signs scrolling across Verity Lamberts eyes as she watched this one.
Ian and Larry meet up with Wells an inside man who is some sort of a fixer. He manages to semi-successfully smooth talk a robo-man before Ian and Larry have to put it out of commission. Wells tells them about a smuggler named Ashton who trades valuables for food.
When going to meet Ashton they encounter the Slyther. The Black Dalek is the Commandant of the mining camp. He keeps the Slyther, a near shapeless monstrosity, as a pet and lets it roam free to hunt for food and/or escapees.
They meet Ashton. Ian tries to negotiate a trip back to London, but lacks anything to pay for his passage. While the four share a meal, the Slyther busts in. Ian and Larry run one way only to come to a cliff. They turn back to find the Slyther advancing on them,
This story has avoided the dull padding that hurt several earlier serials. Part of it is the need to write Susan out. It's a much more solid "B story" than most of the earlier shows had. Part of it also comes from having a lot of characters. Tyler, Dortmun, Jenny, David, Larry, Wells, Ashton, Baker and Croddock just off the top of my head. Dennis Spooner did something similar when he wrote The Reign of Terror and it looks as though Nation is borrowing a page from Spooner's playbook.
This episode strongly reminded me of The Day of the Triffids. The Slyther had a shape that made me think of the titular plants from the John Whyndham novel. It doesn't hurt that I've just recently read Triffids and there are a lot of little things that seem similar aside from the post apocalyptic London setting.
Next up: The Waking Ally
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