Marco Polo.

The Target novelisation.

 Marco Polo is unfortunately the first of many early Dr. Who stories which no longer exist thanks to the BBC erasing them to resuse the tapes. Though we can always hope one day a copy is found. For these episodes there are three options out there if you want to experience the story in some form. The Target novelisation, the original audio tracks (all of which still survive); or a fan made video recreation using production stills from the episode alongside the audio. Initially for Marco Polo I went with the Target novelisation also written by the serial's writer John Lucarotti. It's a really good read that follows the episode faithfully. Because I decided to start this blog after I was already pretty deep into watching the First Doctor's run (The Ark); instead of reading the book again I chose to go with the recreation by Loose Cannon Studio for my second "viewing" of Marco Polo.

When we last left the TARDIS crew they had just discovered a rather large footprint in the snow. Picking up from there the TARDIS is broken (again). This time a power circuit has blown out affecting the lights, the water dispenser; and most importantly the heat. On top of a snow covered mountain if the ship isn't fixed soon our travellers will freeze to death. They don't have the time to however because soon a man dressed in furs is seen to be watching them. He is a scout for the Mongol warlord Tegana who himself arrives on the scene with his men whom he orders to kill the TARDIS crew; claiming that they are evil spirits. Lucky for them (and us) he isn't the leader of this little expedition. A Venetian named Marco Polo is.

Like the Indiana Jones movies, this serial
is framed by map sequences that showcase
just where our travellers are.

In the Doctor's first adventure (that we saw) the crew was brought into the distant past of 100,000 B.C. In the second we were brought to the far future and introduced to the alien Daleks and Thals. Now in this third outing we're brought to the less distant year of 1289 in Cenrtal Asia on the Plain of Pamir. Like 100,000 B.C. the story of Marco Polo is essientally a power struggle; only this one has nothing to do with the TARDIS crew themselves but instead the people they encounter here; namely the villainous Tegana and the heroic but conflicted hero Marco Polo.

Marco Polo
played brilliantly by
Mark Eden.

Marco Polo takes our travellers in, providing them with shelter from the cold. The Doctor himself is suffering from mountain sickness (and later heat sickness and later still arthritis) and is in no condition to fend for himself. Polo soon has an ulterior motive however. He has been in the service of Kublai Khan, the Emperor of China for years and is homesick for Venice. The problem being that Khan has found him too useful and doesn't want to let him go. To help with this Marco soon devises a plan to present the TARDIS; which Ian has foolishly told him is a flying caravan; to Kublai Khan as a gift in the hopes of gaining his own release.



The ever villainous Tegana
played by
Derren Nesbitt

The warlord Tegana is travelling with Marco Polo under his protection. He is an emissary of Khan Noghai who Kublai Khan is at war with; on a mission of peace. From the outset it is made clear to us that Tegana is the villain of the story. He is ruthless, sly and cunning; and will kill without a moment's notice with no need of provocation. He soon has a plan for the TARDIS as well. He wishes to use it with Khan Noghai to destroy Kublai Khan and take over China (probably for himself). Tegana is important to the history of Dr. Who because he is the show's first real villain. The Daleks were an alien race with no real standout leader and while Kal and Za both wanted fire for various reasons neither could be said to be truly evil. Tegana however will stop at nothing to get what he wants and will gladly kill all our heroes afterward just for fun.

Stuck in the middle of this of course are our time travellers who are cut off from their one chance at salvation in this dangerous and alien world; the TARDIS. The Doctor is continually frustrated and melancholy over the fact that such lesser creatures as Polo and Tegana could so easily claim his ship and keep him from it. He tries desperately to get inside of it to fix it only to be thwarted at every turn. Ian Chesterton is the advocate of the crew throughout trying to plead with Marco's nobler side to no avail. While Polo knows that taking these stranger's ship is wrong; he also sees it as his only source of salvation. Barbara aides him in this but seems at times just as lost as The Doctor. She uses most of her resources to undermine Marco's trust in Tegana. A tenuous trust at best already.

Ping-Cho played
by
Zienia Merton

Susan Foreman meanwhile befriends a young Chinese girl named Ping-Cho who is also under Polo's protection. Cho is on her way to become the bride of a member of Kublai Kahn's court in an arranged marriage. A man of importance old enough to be her grandfather. Susan balks at the idea of this. Their friendship throughout this story is touching and you really get a sense that under her bubbly persona Suan is really a lonely young woman and here with Ping-Cho she meets what may be her first real friend her age. She states that while being held prisoner with her is "the happiest time of her life." Kind of sad really.

The story itself is filled with various twists and turns as the time travellers attempt to get the TARDIS back whilst the warlord Tegana plots to steal it for his own ends. He isn't above killing the crew or Marco Polo himself. Upon the crew's arrival to the Plain of Pamir Tegana orders their deaths but is stopped by Marco who is in command on the journey. And that's where alot of the tension in this story comes from.

Go ahead Polo.
Show him your pimp hand.

Tegana is a very Shakespearean villain. He lies in wait, he plots and manipulates; and most importantly he is adroit in keeping himself just on the edge of being revealed as a traitor. It's obvious Marco Polo never really trusts him but at the same time as a messenger from Khan Noblai on a peace mission, Polo has been given the job to protect him and would need concrete evidence to take up any action against him.

In the second episode of the serial "The Singing Sands" a curious Susan and Ping-Cho follow Tegana out into the Gobi Desert. The girls begin talking about Susan's travels to other worlds including the metal seas of Venus. One strange thing Susan mentions is that she's "never seen a moonlit night." Odd because we've already seen he in one. A vicious sandstorm soon hits and the music in this scene is incredibly eerie; apparently made up of shrill laughter. We get a real surprise when Tegana actually saves them, likely to keep in Marco's trust. He later slices the party's water gourds and blames bandits for the act. Ian and Marco enact a desperate plan to reach an oasis before disaster strikes and when they cannot go on any further it is that snake Tegana who offers to trek out to the oasis alone. While they await his return, relying on him as their only salvation; the episode ends with Tegana at the oasis callously pouring water into the sand and stating triumphantly "Here's water Marco! Come for it!"

 


"Here's water Marco!
Come for it!"



Luckily for our travellers The Doctor was too weary to travel from heat stroke and allowed to stay inside the TARDIS along with Susan; because we soon get a lesson about: Condensation! While Tegana was busy being a prick, the rest of the party spent a cool night in the desert. It remained warm in the TARDIS however and in the morning there was drinkable water dripping from the inside of its walls saving the day. This ends up pissing off Marco Polo who claims The Doctor was holding out on him, so he demands that The Doctor hand over the TARDIS key (which we soon learn is a fake). Ian tries to explain, but it's no use. They then travel to the oasis where Tegana gives a bullshit story about how he couldn't get to it because bandits were camped out by it all night. Barbara thinks his story is a lie and asks if there were bandits there on such a cold night; then where are the remnants of their fire? That Ms. Wright sure is a smart cookie.

The crew listens to Ping-Cho's
tale of Aladdin.

Thanks to the marvels of condensation Tegana's plans are thwarted and they arrive at the waystation at Tun-Huang where Ping-Cho entertains everyone (except the audience at home) with the story of Aladdin which runs on a bit too long. On the verge of dying from boredom Tegana slips away to the Cave of a Hundred Eyes, a reputed old haunt of Aladdin's gang. There unaware that Barbara has followed him; he meets with agents of Nohai Khan. She is soon captured by the assassins. Luckily Ian and Marco notice Barbara's absence because after Tegana leaves her captors begin to play dice with the winner earning the right to kill her!

While Ian and Marco are off searching for Barbara, The Doctor gets a hunch (he read the script) that Ms. Wright went off to the Cave of a Hundred Eyes and takes Susan and Ping-Cho with him. Inside the cave they find Barbara's handkerchief and Susan screams when she thinks she sees the eyes of one of the painted faces move. This shriek brings out the villainous Tegana who says there's no reason for their friend to be in the cave. He boisterously yells to the "evil spirits" of the cave in an attempt to warn his associates. Soon Marco and Ian arrive on the scene as well after receiving a tip and the secret passage where Barbara is being held is discovered. Only one of the assassins is still with her and to ensure his silence Tegana slays him. The Mongolian army has a great retirement package.

Back at the caravan Tegana tries to undermine Polo's trust in the strangers telling him that "Only a fool trusts his enemies. They'll set us at each other's throats." Pot meet kettle Mr. Tegana. Unfortunately when Barbara soon tells Marco about how she was only at the cave because she followed Tegana there incriminating him; Polo starts to believe the Warlord's lies. He separates Ping-Cho from Susan because the duo have become too close and isolates the time travellers from the rest of the camp. Looking to improve her friend's situation Ping-Cho tells Marco that she can prove Tegana lied about being in the cave previously; because he somehow knew about the secret passageway. This only angers Marco however who believes Cho's allegiance to him has been compromised. To cement their fate thanks to Tegana's plotting, Marco catches The Doctor leaving the TARDIS and Polo confiscates the real key before confining the entire group to their tent.



Desperate now the captives form a plan to escape. Sneaking out of the tent Ian intends to overpower the guard and take Marco Polo hostage to force him into letting them leave in the TARDIS. He is in for a surprise however because the guard is already dead. He rushes off to warn Marco and along with Tegana and The Doctor they search the camp for bandits swords in hand. (interesting to see Hartnell with one) Surmising they will soon attack the camp Ian attempts to scare them off by throwing bamboo onto a fire; hoping that when it explodes the noise will run them off. This takes too long however and the bandits attack the camp. They are more of Tegana's men and just as their leader is about to blow his cover; Tegana again kills him. Finally the bamboo explodes and the remaining bandits run off. Though in typical Hartnell fashion he gives no credit to Chesterton for his exploding bamboo trick; claiming that instead it was because "Their leader was killed. That's why they broke up and ran." Ingrate.

The messenger Ling-Tau
played by
Paul Carson.

Afterwards Ian admits to Polo he only saw the dead guard because he was trying to escape; but because he was honest about it and saved his life he grants them their "freedom" to move about the caravan again. The messenger Ling-Tau soon arrives and tells Marco Polo that Kublai Khan wishes for him to speed things up. To this end they travel to the city of Shang-Tu on horseback with their belongings (including the TARDIS) to be sent after them. Ever plotting Tegana uses another of his contacts Kuiji to go off and steal the "Warlord's Tomb" (aka the TARDIS) for him. Before the crew is seperated from their ship Ping-Cho confides in Susan that she knows where Marco keeps the TARDIS key hidden, though she has promised him she won't tell them where it is. Susan respects this and says she won't ask; but Cho takes it upon herself to steal the key for her friends. Thrilled to finally be leaving The Doctor, Ian; and Barbara board the TARDIS late that night only to find that Susan isn't with them. She has gone off to keep her promise to Ping-Cho and say goodbye. And of course she ends up captured by Tegana. D'oh!

Smooth move Susan.

Unable to leave because of Susan, The Doctor is forced to once again hand over the TARDIS key to Polo. Ian Chesterton takes the blame for stealing the key not wanting to cause trouble for Ping-Cho. He then tries to reason with Marco by coming clean about their origins and tell him that the reason they can't get home in anything other than the TARDIS is because they're from another time and that their caravan is really a time machine. Macro however doesn't believe him because he thinks Ian is a liar. He knows he lied about stealing the key and that it was really Ping-Cho. He tells Ian though that "If I did Ian. I'd give you the key." To Mark Eden's credit he makes you believe he really would have.

Ping-Cho has overheard this conversation and has run off. Ian volunteers to go find her much to the chagrin of Tegana who claims Chesterton is just using this as an excuse to run off and steal the TARDIS. True to his word however (isn't he always?), Ian finds Ping-Cho who has had her money stolen by Tegana's contact Kuiji. She confides in Ian that she didn't just run away because of the key, but also because "she can't marry a man old enough to be my grandfather." She pleads with Ian not to take her back but he must keep his promise to Polo. He soon learns however that Kuiji is taking the TARDIS in the wrong direction! Meanwhile back at the camp Tegana has convinced Marco to let him go in search of Ian and Ping-Cho playing on Polo's mistrust of the stranger's yet again.

"Kowtow!"
Kublai Khan
played by
Martin Miller

Marco, The Doctor; and the girls meanwhile meet with Kublai Khan as the serial takes a comedic turn when we learn that the mighty and powerful Khan is in fact a feeble old man. They are instructed by the vizier to kowtow (bow) to the emperor of China and The Doctor says he cannot and bellyaches about his back; and how he'll break into pieces if he gets down that low. An old man himself Kublai Khan takes pity on The Doctor's condition and the two become fast friends passing their time playing backgammon and hiding from the Khan's overbearing wife. Marco learns that Kublai wanted him to hurry because the Khan Noghai's army has assembled nearby despite Tegana's mission of peace on their behalf.

Ian and Ping-Cho meanwhile have caught up with Kuiji who confesses that Tegana hired him to steal the TARDIS. Tegana himself soon arrives and things aren't looking good for our heroes when Ling-Tau arrives and kills a fleeing Kuiji. He then takes the surviving trio to the palace where Kublai Khan is awaiting them. Back at the palace the Khan has lost half of China to The Doctor at backgammon. They agree to one more game where The Doctor puts everything he's won so far on the line against the TARDIS. And he loses! For the first time the Khan rightfully owns the ship. Polo hears about this and the Khan laughs about how he was intending to bribe him into letting him go. He will not let Marco go home. He needs him too much.

That thorn Tegana however is still plotting and looks to have Ian and the others prosecuted for attempting to steal the TARDIS which belongs to Kublai Khan. When Marco attempts to defend the strangers, the Khan says he has betrayed him for witholding the information about the attempted theft and that Polo will have to now regain his trust. Ping-Cho manages to catch a break in that her husband to be has drank an elixir and died. So her marriage is off and when asked if she'd like to return home she decides to stay; now having eyes for the messenger Ling-Tau herself. Defeated Marco retires to a nearby hallway where he has an amazingly tense and curt exchange with the victorious Tegana. Polo admits that "I underestimated you Tegana." To which the warlord bluntly tells him "No, you overestimated yourself." It's beautifully acted and set-up. But man way to kick a guy when he's down Tegana.

The crew of the TARDIS haven't been idle. They've put two and two together, figuring out that Tegana has been delaying Marco Polo to give his master Khan Noghai more time to move into striking distance of the palace. They believe he plans to assassinate Kublai Khan to assure their victory and they rush to warn Marco. This time he believes them and storms in to save Khan just in time to see Tegana kill the royal vizier. The two men square off and Marco disarms Tegana who Kublai Khan orders must die. In a final act of defiance the warlord grabs a lance from one of the guards and kills himself.

Acting on his own Marco finally does the right thing and returns the TARDIS keys to The Doctor allowing them to enter the ship and escape after Suan makes a quick goodbye to her friend Ping-Cho. Polo then apologizes to Kublai Khan who tells him "If you hadn't, the old man would have won it at backgammon. And it is true. A flying caravan. There's something for you to tell your friends in Venice." Marco has finally gained his freedom.

Marco Polo reflects "No, my lord. They would not believe half the things that I have seen in Cathay. But what is the truth? I wonder where they are now? The past or the future?" A great line to end any episode of Dr. Who, a show where our protagonists can indeed end up anywhere or in anytime.
It's a shame Marco Polo has been lost. It may not be the serial that started it all like "An Unearthly Child" or that introduced one of its most iconic villains like "The Daleks;" but it was indeed probably one of the best written episodes with some of the most fully realized supporting characters in the show's history. Though adimittedly at the expense of excluding The Doctor himself from the story alot of the time. Hartnell can't complain however as he'll have lots to do and more than one key to obtain this time as he searches for...





The Edge of Destruction.



 

The Beginning Boxed Set
includes the first 3 serials.
For around $20
you can't go wrong.

It's very easy to overlook this episode. Unlike many episodes of Dr. Who there are no monsters, no mad scientists; and no historical backdrops. The Edge of Destruction is a character piece and a very important one for Dr. Who.

The music is very ominous in this episode which as you'll see is very fitting. Last episode we left our time travellers just as an explosion had hit the TARDIS and this episode starts appropriately enough with the repercussions of that. Ian Chesterton, Susan; and The Doctor are all unconscious when our story begins. Barbara Wright is awake and doesn't seem to remember who any of them are. Soon Susan and Ian awaken with a similar ailment.

We see alot more of the TARDIS
in this serial.

We soon learn that the equipment on the TARDIS is acting strangely. The food machine is claiming to be out of water when it isn't, the view screen is randomly displaying their past adventures; and the doors of the TARDIS keep opening and closing on their own. The Doctor has a gash on his head and he seems as out of it as everyone else. Something is amiss amongst our adventurers and none of them can quite put their finger on what it is.



BARBARA: Yes, but, but where would it hide?
SUSAN: In one of us.

Barbara is as usual right on the money when she questions if something has snuck aboard the ship. Susan agrees suggesting that maybe something came aboard inside one of the crew. (wonder if a young Ridley Scott saw this episode?) And they're both right because the crew is being slowly poisoned and scared by energy fluctuations (the explosions) on the ship. As they become more frightened they begin acting more and more irrational and giving vent to their very real suspicions of one another. The danger in this episode comes from within.

Susan attacks Ian (and the weird TARDIS bed) with a pair of scissors. The Doctor himself accuses Ian and Barbara and of tampering with his ship, threatening to throw them out of it. And disturbingly Susan believes he will. In fact she seems to know that The Doctor is suggesting this very act by merely saying he will treat the school teachers as his enemies. Makes you wonder who has been thrown out of it in the past.

This leads to one of the best parts of the serial when Barbara tells off The Doctor, accusing him outright of kidnapping them; and telling him he should drop down on his knees thanking them for saving him so many times since. Not that he'd know anything about gratitude. Yet. We also see more of Ian's concern for Barbara. His biggest problem with the preceding events were the fact The Doctor hurt her feelings and wants him to apologize to her. Nearly getting stabbed with scissors is apparently nothing to him next to her feelings. He also questions whether the Doctor's adventures and research are conducted in the name of good or evil. Something not really clear at this point in the show. And as usual The Doctor gives an ambiguous answer to keep us all guessing.

DOCTOR: Oh, a mere harmless sleeping drug.
IAN: I thought so.
DOCTOR: Yes, you rather suspected
I was up to some mischief.

He then shows up whistling with drinks. To which Ian tells him that he doesn't get him. "One moment you're abusing us, and the next, you're playing the perfect butler." Real nice summary of The Doctor really. Of course the drinks are drugged and he puts everyone, Susan included to sleep. That rascally Hartnell. The first episode ends with a great cliffhanger as a pair of hands come from offscreen and wrap themselves about The Doctor's throat. Is this the mysterious visitor Barbara and Susan alluded to earlier?

Longwinded and somewhat
confusing monologue time
bitches!

We soon learn that it is loveable Ian Chesterton?! He seems in the mood to strangle anybody now even going for Barbara. Luckily that doesn't work because Ms. Wright once again discovers the cause of all the strange goings on. She mentions that the TARDIS appears to be alive and is attempting to warn them with all of these minor malfunctions. The Doctor is incredulous at first but as more energy explosions wrack the ship he begins looking for an answer.

Much like Batman;
The Doctor labels everything.

He realizes that the TARDIS' fault locator is telling them that the entire ship is at fault. But how can that be? He informs the others that if the answer isn't found soon the result will be the total disintegration of the ship! With the help of Ian he learns that the problem stems from the Fast Return Switch on the TARDIS. He hit it after their encounter with the Daleks and apparently it got stuck. A broken spring nearly sent our travellers hurtling toward the brink of destruction at the beginning of the universe. The Doctor fixes the switch and the crisis is averted.

But the damage has been done among our travellers. Many hurtful things had been said over the course of the episode. Many suspicions and grudges uncovered. Susan suggests to her grandfather that he should apologize to the schoolteachers but he doesn't seem to know how. One fascinating aspect about The Doctor is that with all his vast knowledge and resources; he really doesn't know how to interact with other people. He must've been a social outcast prior to his adventures. Perhaps it was his reason for leaving.

 

BARBARA: What do you care what I think or feel?
DOCTOR: As we learn about each other,
so we learn about ourselves.
BARBARA: Perhaps.

Easy going Ian overhears this and as usual he goes with the flow. He tells The Doctor sometimes he can read on his face what he wants to say even if he doesn't say it and accepts his "apology." The two have a good laugh at this. (Ian's a ham) Barbara as usual is a tougher sell but after a fairly heatwarming scene with her alone with The Doctor they seem to at least put their differences aside; with The Doctor acknowledging that disaster was averted because of Barbara. Maybe he really does need help sometimes.

And with them ends the first major storyarc of Doctor Who. The

David Whitaker
screenwriter of
The Edge of Destruction, The Rescue,
& The Crusade; among others. 

Edge of Destruction was written as a throw away filler episode; and it easily could have been. But to David Whitaker's credit he turned it into something very important to the series. Because this is the episode where the companions give voice to the fact The Doctor is fallible (something the new series could use more of), that his companions aren't just pests; and where the time travellers aboard the TARDIS begin to feel like an actual crew. They aren't friends yet; but they're getting there.

With these admissions the show can now move forward in new directions. On their first stop they need some heavy jackets because it's snowing outside... and Susan just found a huge footprint in the snow. This looks like a job for...




Figured this would be a good time to show off
the custom figures of Barbara, Susan; & Ian I made.



The Dead Planet.

The second serial The Daleks is about discovery; for both the audience and the time travellers aboard the TARDIS. In this episode we get to see more of the TARDIS itself as Ian explores it with The Doctor after landing on the planet Skaro. We learn that there's a computer on board that catalogues and maps out all their adventures where they've been. Though this can't get the school teachers home according to Susan; because The Doctor is forgetful or some silly reason or another. My guess at this point would be he simply doesn't want to and fed his granddaughter some line of bull. ;-)

We also get to see that this amazing ship that can travel through space and time is also filled with the mundane. Every expect to see a coat rack on a space ship? The TARDIS has one. Besides the TARDIS we also get to see several other devices employed by The Doctor. There's a TARDIS food processor which will make a small pill taste like any food you can dream up and The Doctor has a pair of spectacles with binoculars attached to them. There's also one device within the TARDIS which I forgot to mention; which is alright as the crew doesn't pay it much mind either. It only detects radiation levels on the planets they visit. And while Susan does attempt to look at it; that impatient Doctor fellow hurried her out the door before she got to see the dial reveal this planet they're on Skaro; is filled with dangerous levels of radiation. Silly humanoids.

Outside the ship Barbara and Ian assess their situation. They're scared and want to go home. They don't trust this mad Doctor in his ship and with good reason. So far they've been kidnapped with presumably no hope of returning to their own time and have been nearly killed by cavemen. What other wonders can await them? They now find themselves on an apparently dead planet. They're in a petrified jungle with stone trees and stone animal things and stone rocks. Er; scratch that last one. They soon find themselves on a cliff overlooking a city of amazing design and The Doctor curious as ever wants to explore it; but Ian takes control and tells him no. They aren't potentially risking their lives exploring some city unless they have to. This of course frustrates The Doctor who for the first time questions whether kidnapping these people may have been a mistake. Hmm.

The Dalek City
You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Heading back to the ship Susan stops to look at the stone flowers only to get groped in the woods. She screams and runs back to the TARDIS telling them how she felt a hand, a human hand touch her out there. Nobody believes her. And why should they? They just spent a couple hours exploring a mile of this dead planet. There couldn't possibly be life out there. Could there? Back inside the TARDIS Barbara feels sick and Susan makes her some sort of aspirin. She's still upset about how nobody believes her and treats her like a kid. Being she is probably older than both Ian and Barbara; she should. The night inside the TARDIS is rather uneventful other than the knocking outside the door. Probably by those non-existent life forms. Ian and Barbara this time complain to The Doctor that they want to go home. As usual it falls on deaf ears.

The next morning they discover a box full of vials with strange liquid in them. Susan is vindicated. There are people here and they either left this or dropped it the night before. The school teachers want to go home more than ever now and force The Doctor's hand. He'll take them home and starts up the TARDIS; but it malfunctions because that devious Doctor wants to explore the city and doesn't care if it's dangerous. So he claims the fluid link on the TARDIS which he himself has pulled out has run out of mercury. And there's none left on the ship either. Guess they'll have to see if there's any in that city. Hmm?

Both Ian and Barbara suspect that The Doctor is full of it; but nobody calls him on it. Instead they begrudgingly head down to the city where now The Doctor himself feels ill. Everyone else is tired too but they're still unaware of the radiation. They marvel at the city which appears to be empty and decide to split up. Barbara gets to go off on her own for whatever reason. She is soon introduced to the first alien race in Dr. Who: The Daleks.

The Dead Planet Dalek
by Character Options

The Daleks are amazingly unhuman in appearance. They're robots the shape of pepper pots. They have no legs. They have a single eye which protrudes from the top in a stalk and have what appeas to be a plunger for an arm and what we'll soon learn is a gun for the other. Another thing that separates The Daleks from the humans on the show (other than perhaps The Doctor) is their inhuman disregard for the well-being of anything other than themselves. They have no regard for living things and only keep them alive when they're useful to their plans and consider laughter is nothing but noise. They are The Daleks and they are here to exterminate you when the time comes.

While Barbara is off getting captured The Doctor, Suan; and Ian discover a room full of machines and from a geiger counter learn that the reason they're all becoming ill is because of the high radiation levels on Skaro. The Doctor wants to head back to the ship immediately. Without Barbara. Ian and Susan refuse to go back without her and because he won't leave his granddaughter The Doctor gives in. Doesn't matter however because they too are soon taken prisoner by The Daleks. Ian attempts to escape; but is shot by the Daleks who have temporarily paralyzed his legs. Inside their cell they're reunited with Barbara. The Doctor is questioned by The Daleks where he discovers that the dead planet of Skaro was created as a result of a nuclear war between the Daleks and the monstrously mutated Thals.

Back in the cell the four travellers get sicker. They don't spend their time idly however and together figure out that The Daleks cannot leave the city. That they must move along the metallic floors using static electricity like a bumper car at a carnival. Barbara is the real brains of this outfit and wonders if there's something living inside of The Daleks. Are they really just robots? The Doctor manages to persuade The Daleks to allow one of them to go back to the TARDIS to find radiation gloves... drugs; without which they'll die. Tha Daleks want these drugs. They assume that The Thals have survived outside of the city with them and want to use them for themselves. The Doctor and Barbara are too sick to go and Ian is still recovering from his paralysis; so Susan is elected even though she is "just a child." But is she really? Susan hurries back to the TARDIS where she runs smack into a monstrously hideous Thal.



Alydon
played by
John Lee

But he isn't hideous. He's perfectly human in appearance. And the Thals are the ones who left the vials for the travellers. They're anti-radiation drugs. D'oh. The Thal's name is Alydon and he doesn't trust The Daleks. He gives Susan a second set of vials to hide on herself figuring that The Daleks only want the drugs for themselves. An interesting thing of note. At this point the Thals and Daleks haven't seen one another in years and don't even know what one another look like. Their mistrust of one another is entirely based on the unknown. Though the Thals have every reason to be wary.

Susan heads back with the drugs and of course The Daleks take them from her. (good thing she has more of them. though where she hid that giant box is anyone's guess.) Secretly recovered the time travellers hatch a plan to escape. Using a cloak Alydon gave to Susan they overtake their Dalek guard and cut off his connection with the static electrified floor which renders The Dalek completely immobile. Together with The Doctor, Ian opens the Dalek up and in a brilliant move we, the audience don't see the creautre inside of The Dalek. Instead we just see Ian and The Doctor's look of disgust. They tell the girls to go keep look out while they wrap it in the cloak (because they don't even want to touch it) and chuck the creature on the floor where we get our only glimpse of the monstrosity inside them. From beneath the cloak hangs a limp deformed clawed hand.

Ian is really an amazing goof here. Because he actually gets inside of the Dalek shell. It's a wonder anyone found them scary after that. Inside he mimics The Dalek "voice;" actually sounding more the way modern fans are used to them sounding than they do in this episode. They attempt to fool The Daleks by having Ian Dalek lead the way as if he's escorting The Doctor, Ian; and Barbara as prisoners. The plan simply doesn't work. The Daleks aren't fools and the first one they come across spots the imposter immediately; warning upper management who set off an alarm. Did I mention Ian inside the Dalek was silly? Well now he finds himself stuck inside it. Cue laugh track. The others have managed to break one of the doors so the Daleks can't get through; but those pesky Daleks are on top of it. They're cutting through the door with a welder arm attachment. Though they're reluctant to leave him there; except The Doctor of course; Ian persuades the others to escape into a nearby elevator. We're then witness to the biggest waste of a cliffhanger ending in the show's history when The Daleks enter and blast Ian's Dalek!

But that oddly isn't the end of the episode. The death of Ian isn't as gripping as Susan opening the TARDIS doors apparently. We learn almost immediately Ian has made it out and into the elevator. (though we'll never learn how he did it I guess) He soon rejoins his friends inside a small room that looks like an observation tower. There's a strange statue in the room. Odd that The Daleks would appreciate art however ugly this thing is. At this point I wonder if a Dalek can fit inside an elevator. But they can. One at a time. Dalek design flaw if you ask me. Build bigger elevators damn it! So the first Dalek is soon sent after the escaped prisoners. The time travellers can't seem to get the doors in the observation room open and can't escape; so they chuck that weird sculpture down the elevator shaft. Score! And this is the reason we'll probably never see a Dalek owning a statue again.

Back-tracking a bit; at some point during all of this The Daleks hatched a plan to lure the Thals into their city to kill them. The naive Susan believed that The Daleks were sincere in wanting to live in harmony with butterflies and rainbows amongst The Thals and wrote them a letter signed Susan; which is what she agreed with The Thals she would sign if The Daleks wanted to live in peace. The Daleks don't seem to understand Susan is a name; because the members of Project Dalek don't have names. The Thals don't really have that much of a real reason to mistrust of Daleks (other than that whole war thing but that was a long time ago) and accept The Daleks offer to come get food and supplies. While The Doctor and the rest of the gang are throwing ugly statues down Dalek elevator shafts; the Thals have arrived in the name of peace. Susan sees them coming out the window and is horrified now knowing that it's a trap!



And winner of the award
for most awkward looking death
goes to...

 The door finally opens and Ian argues with the others to head back to The TARDIS while he runs off to warn The Thals. Need it be said The Doctor thoroughly backs this plan? We're then taken to where The Thals are to pick up their food. It's a huge banquet hall with a table with a feast laid out. The leader of the Thals Temmosus is thrilled by this; but Susan's friend Alydon is still not so sure. Ian arrives on the scene and sees The Daleks lying in wait while the Thals look at this amazing all you can eat buffet. You'd think Ian would pop out and warn them right? Well he doesn't. Damn it Chatterton! Instead he holds back until almost the last second and by then it's too late. A bunch of Thals including their leader Temmosus are killed.

Ian heads back to the Thal village along with Alydon where they find The Doctor, Barbara; and Susan already there lounging about. The Doctor is having a ball learning about Thal history where we learn about the war between the (at the time) warrior race of The Thals and the scientifically minded Dals. We get to see the Thal ancestors; but in another deft move; the viewer doesn't get a glimpse of the forebearers to the Daleks. The Thals as a race have evolved into a bunch of pacifist Jesus types. If the Daleks exterminate us; we shall turn the other cheek. This annoys Ian but The Doctor says that's their choice. Leave them to their fate. That is until of course Ian informs The Doctor that in all the madness of the Dalek City; the fluid link was taken from him by The Daleks. But then why is he checking his pockets to begin with? Silly Mr. Chemberton.

The Doctor now wants the Thals to fight back against The Daleks. He doesn't care if they're killed. He needs that damned fluid link. Ian as the moral center of the show flatly disagrees. He'll have none of the Thals' deaths on his conscious. Barbara however soon sides with The Doctor. She wants the hell off this planet and she's ready to use the Thals to do it if that's what it takes. Ian is disgusted by the two of them but reasons maybe he can get the Thals to want to fight for their own reasons after some guilt-tripping from the tag-team of The Doctor and Barbara.

Ian spends some time trying to rally the troops. Will they fight for their own lives? Survey says no. Alydon would rather die the better man. Will they fight for a tin can then? A can full of the history of the Thal people? Again no. They don't believe Ian will give the can to The Daleks but if he does they'll let him. Damned tree huggers. Fine then. Will the Thals stand up if Ian takes their women and gives them to The Daleks? Bingo. Suddenly Alydon grows a pair and knocked Ian upside his head. Suddenly the Thals realize there is something worth fighting for. Each other. So they hatch a plan to attack the Dalek city on two fronts. One team will hang out at the front gate while the other team will head through deadly marsh lands and caves filled to the brim with mutants and dangers unknown.

Ganatus
played by
Philip Bond

If I were Ian;
I would've cut the rope.

The Doctor brave as ever decides to wait at the gate while Ian and Barbara head around back. Barbara seems smitten by one of the Thals Ganatus who apparently gave her a pair of his pants. Smooth operator that one. From here the story follows the team actually doing something and several Thals are killed. One is sucked into a whirlpool and Ganatus' whiny, annoying brother sacrifices himself when he falls into a precipice within the cave and nearly drags Ian down into the hole with him. He cuts the rope saving Ian and in turn us from having to watch him. Through it all they soldier on eventually finding their way into the Dalek city.

While the Thals have been hard at work getting into their city; The Daleks being no dummies have already figured out they'll soon be attacked. They however make the mistake of taking the anti-radiation drug which kills not only the Daleks who take it but seems to have gone airborne and kills many more of them putting the entire city into a state of chaos. This works well for our heroes who now no longer have hundreds of Daleks to worry about. This however has brought the surviving Daleks to the conclusion that they need the radiation to survive and have decided to drop another neutron bomb to ensure their survival.

The Doctor however hasn't been idle. Together with the Thals he's taken out the Dalek's communication systems. Afterward he and Susan sneak into the Dalek city to destroy The Daleks static electrictity control box. While they're somewhat successful they also alert The Daleks to the fact that they're in the city and are taken prisoner. While in captivity The Doctor learns that The Daleks have changed their plan and decided that being building a neutron bomb takes too long; they will instead blow up some of their nuclear reactors to ensure their way of life. Growing desperate The Doctor offers to help them build and use a TARDIS. The Daleks are interested in the idea of his ship; but reason that after they irradiate the planet they can learn about the TARDIS at their leisure without The Doctor's help.

Luckily both teams of Thals soon storm the city and overpower the remainder of the Daleks. Together they storm the Dalek control room with Ian and Barbara and free Susan and The Doctor while they destroy The Dalek equipment. Several Thals are killed in the battle but once the Dalek control room is overtaken they are rendered immobile and they beg The Doctor to fix their equipment otherwise they will die. He refuses and allows The Dalek race to perish. He then concentrates on repairing his ships while the victorious Thals lament the fact things couldn't have ended without all this death and destruction.

We're soon taken back to the TARDIS where the Thals ask The Doctor to stay but he refuses telling them he never gives advice. Certainly there's never any meddling from him. He then shakes and with Alydon and boards the ship. Ganatus obviously doesn't want Barbara to leave and there's a touching scene where they say thier goodbyes and she kisses him. Good thing Ian didn't see that one. Back inside the TARDIS The Doctor takes off but soon the ship is wracked by an explosion and we learn that the time tavellers are most certainly headed toward...