Season 21- Resurrection of the Daleks

One of the aspects that distinguished the Hinchliffe/ Holmes era was that, however bleak the scenario, lively dialogue, character interaction and some dark humour gave it more depth. Eric Saward seems to have watched that era but perhaps not as closely as a script editor should because while he brings the nihilistic grit, he omits the nuances that made it more palatable. Sometimes this works giving the show an unexpectedly dark thematic palette. Sometimes however it can be too unrelenting. The Daleks were never a barrel of laughs so one expects their stories to skew grimmer than others and `Resurrection of the Daleks` definitely does that.  

 

Having already given viewers `Warriors of the Deep` in which every character except the regulars end up dead, a few adventures later we have another bloodbath (albeit without any blood) as sundry characters most of whom we know less about that we might  are similarly mown down. It is an exciting, pacy story whose weaknesses are largely overwhelmed by the battery of good things thrown out way. This is really how we want the Daleks to be, agile, dangerous and looking like something unique.

The story isn’t complicated but it is presented in a complicated manner after an atmospheric opening in the rain-soaked environs of a pre development London Docklands and a very impressive interior warehouse set. It does occur to me that the whole thing might actually work well as a story without the Daleks at all as its building up well before they appear. The earlier parts of the story work better; as soon as the Daleks properly arrive any subtlety the story is blown away along with the wall they crash through. It also feels like a story built around it’s cliffhangers rather than allowing them to evolve naturally- the most prominent example of this is when the Doctor is put in the duplication machine (itself a less than convincing prop) and the watching Daleks have to leave to do something else. Like what could be more important than the cloning of their biggest enemy? They leave of course to allow the Doctor to talk Stein down from pulling those levers and it works. “I can’t stand the confusion in my mind” declares the traitor turned helper in a scene unfairly undermining what has otherwise been a great performance from Rodney Bewes. He nails the transition from stammering innocent to unmasked double agent well. In fact Stein is the only guest character who is given much  background or depth. Even the much heralded Lytton is merely a mercenary in this story albeit an effective one thanks to Maurice Colbourne’s steely performance.

Matthew Robinson certainly knows how to get the best shots making good use of the sets and locations as he interprets Eric Sawards’s pessimistic narrative. From the opening in which what appear to be two policeman shoot down a number of futuristically clothed fugitives against a moody incidental score the production looks good. Its actually quite a provocative image which surprisingly made it through producer John Nathan Turner’s rigorous guidelines on what could and couldn’t be shown. The sets are excellent for the time and at least there’s some space between two sides shooting at each other! Robinson is a good fit for the show elevating some of the implausible parts of the story with a more artistic approach. The interior warehouse sets are excellent and while the Daleks control rooms are somewhat over lit, the corridors of the spaceships are more subtly highlighted.

One aspect that might have made more of an impact in 1984 is the multi racial crew of the space station. Something that would be taken from granted nowadays it is pleasing to note that Doctor Who gave this high profile opportunity to some actors who might otherwise have found their career opportunities limited. Sneh Gupta in particular gives a cool, characterful performance making a lot of a limited screen time and it’s a shame Osborn is killed too soon. She even has companion potential though would probably have to kick the smoking habit!

This is actually the second story where the Daleks have sought a sleeping Davros out and there’s some neat continuity referencing the Movellan war but it becomes increasingly unclear exactly how Davros might think of something the Daleks themselves could not. It’s a committed hyper performance from Terry Molloy suggesting that despite being cryogenically frozen for ninety years, Davros’s blood pressure has risen considerably and he now says most things with the ranting tone he used to reserve for speeches.

The narrative allows only one direct confrontation between the Doctor and Davros, hardly a chance to properly catch up, Some stories weave a philosophical undertow to their exchanges but `Resurrection` is not one of those save for a brief couple of sentences about the inevitability of war. The Doctor’s stance against it is undercut by the fact he’s holding a weapon, quite a bold moment that is more reminiscent of the modern show. Their debate never gets off the ground though because its not really what Saward is interested in; he’d rather have characters meandering around endless corridors before their efforts are all for nothing and they are killed off.

This is not such a good story for the three regulars. Peter Davison gets less opportunity to sparkle his lighter magic on a plot in which the Doctor is crowded out by others and is a more a generic character rather like the soulless Annual stories in which they use his likeness but not his usual performance. He has a few moments but this is a disappointment after his barnstorming performances this season to date.  Considering it’s her last story, Janet Fielding is sidelined; a long way from the crucial role she has played in stories like `Kinda` or `Logopolis`. Tegan’s departure at the end is well played though the idea that “its stopped being fun” is rich coming from a character who has moaned her way through her Tardis tenure giving the impression she would rather be anywhere else. Mark Strickon too is underused though his furtive expression serves Turlough’s sneaking about well. They make for a somewhat niggly, unwelcoming trio – who exactly is the viewer supposed to relate too?

You do feel `Resurrection` is aiming to be some sort of magical combo of `Earthshock` and `Genesis of the Daleks` and though the script falls short of such lofty ambition, it’s still a great dust up with the Daleks and has plenty of thrills for all.