Another story by Terry Nation.
I actually can't complain too much about The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Some of the science was pretty crappy and he hand waves the Daleks' survival after their first story. Come to think about it, he also completely ignores the fact that the Daleks need radiation to survive, Aside from continuity issues and some padding, that was a solid story that holds up better stretched out over a longer period of time rather than seeing the omnibus version in one go.
I don't think that this story will be vastly better taken in small doses. It harkens back to the Keys of Marinus serial in that the travelers are going from location to location at breakneck speed. This puts a huge strain on the designers and prop people and things tend not to look that great. It also reduces the amount of character development allowed to the guest cast. Marinus at least had the young couple picked up in Morphoton linking the serial together; this serial (The Chase) doesn't have anything similar.
This serial does have quiet a few things to recommend it. This is the farewell story for Ian and Barbara, it introduces new companion Steven and it has the Frankenstein Monster kick Dalek ass.
The Doctor has been fiddling around with the Time/Space Visualizer that he took from the Morok space museum. Vicki is trying to help, but the Doctor is holding off on telling her what it does. He banishes her from his presence when her whistling becomes too annoying.
Vicki then manages to get under the feet of Ian who is reading a book on space monsters and Barbara who was making a dress for Vicki.
Just then the Visualizer emits a horrible sound that summons the three humans to the Doctor's side so that he can shut it the hell off.
The Doctor explains what the Visualizer does with some technobabble. When Ian (a science teacher) doesn't understand him, the Doctor just uses different technobabble..
Vicki actually understands what the Doctor is talking about, which is either a nod to her future origins or the young woman humoring the crazy old guy with the magic blue box.
Whatever the case, the Visualizer is a magic time television. It can show you anything that has happened. Given the fact that it's now on a time machine that can go to the end of the Universe, it can effectively see everything that ever happened. I think that the writers realized the problems that this could create and dropped it after this story. I can imagine the Visualizer under a thick coat of dust in some random back corner of Matt Smith's TARDIS.
So each of the companions gets to choose an historical period to view.
Ian chooses the Gettysburg Address. I don't know much about the actor who played Lincoln, but he didn't come off as an Englishman doing a fake American accent. If anything he sounded an awful lot like Johnny Cash. Kind of looked like him to.
Barbara choose to look in on Queen Elizabeth the First's court. Francis Bacon and William Shakespeare are attending the Queen. She suggests an idea for the further adventures of Falstaff and Bacon gives the idea for Hamlet.
Vicki's choice is cut from the North American DVD release. It's a shame since it's a nice little scene for Vicki that gets gutted due to copy write issues.
Fortunately, the internet exists and I was able to rewatch the cut scene online.
Vicki wanted to see the Beatles. The Visualizer picks up one of their TV appearances and we are soon treated to "Ticket to Ride." Ian starts flailing his limbs around in a way that always brings a smile to my lips.
Vicki is a bit confused. She's been to the Beatles' memorial theater in Liverpool, but she didn't know that they played classical music!
Originally the Beatles were to film something live for the show. They were to be done up as old men with long white beards playing a reunion/anniversary concert. The Beatles are reported to have liked the idea, but it was nixed by their management.
The TARDIS ends up landing on an arid world with two suns. We find out later that it's named Arridius.
Ian and Vicki go exploring, leaving Barbara and the Doctor to catch some sun. Before they leave the Doctor gives Ian a "TARDIS magnet" that will allow them to find their way back to the ship.
Most of this episode is studio bound, but there are some nice locations shots of Ian and Vicki climbing sand dunes.
The Doctor is singing as he sunbathes (in full frock coat) and doesn't hear the Visualizer going off from inside the TARDIS. Barbara does and goes in to turn it off. She manages to accidentally tune in the Dalek assassin force being dispatched after them.
The pair then try to find Ian and Vicki so that they can leave before the Daleks arrive.
Vicki and Ian come across some oddities in the alien desert. There is a nice shout out to the pools of acid from previous stories. They don't notice the tentacle waving in the sand.
They eventually find a ring in the sand. Ian goes to pull it and Vicki gets a bit freaked. She explains that when she was a little girl there was a similar key in a field near a castle. She always thought that if it got pulled then the drawbridge would lower and out would come some nasty.
Ian pulls the ring. Nothing happens. At least at first. As soon as the pair are heading back to the TARDIS a door opens in the ground. It freaks Vicki out some more, but she's OK to explore.
The two end up trapped underground with some sort of sand octopus thing.
The Doctor and Barbara get buried in a sandstorm. They dig themselves out only to realize that they can't find the ship. As they despair, a Dalek rises from the sand.
I'm going to be generous and say that the Dalek was probably buried in the same sandstorm that caught the Doctor and Barbara. Otherwise it just looks like Nation was reusing the cliffhanger to World's End just substituting sand for water.
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| Ian, getting jiggy with it. |
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