One of the things that I like about these 60's stories is that they knew how to leave themselves some wriggle room. Ian deduces that the Roboman's helmet is meant for communications but it could be anything really. Or it could be for communications but the Daleks never decided to put their own satellites in orbit so each receiver needs to be incredibly powerful to communicate over large distances or through certain materials.
I always assumed that the Dalek in the water was there to harvest any of those roboman bodies that get thrown into the river. It might be that the components are easily recyclable, so it's more efficient for the Daleks to harvest them then to make new ones. Or it could be that this dalek is a spy watching the waterfront because they've heard of resistance activity there. A Dalek underwater could just push its eyestalk out and it wouldn't have a very large profile.
I really love that the creators decided to leave so many familiar locations in this story despite the fact that it's set 200 years in the future. The bleak, post-apocalyptic feeling to the story relies on those familiar elements. Seeing London actually occupied by Daleks just adds so much to the ambiance that they're trying to establish.
I know that you're not looking to far behind the scenes but did you know that Jenny's character was originally the idea for a replacement for Susan? I really love the relationship that Barbara and Jenny strike up and I think that would have been an amazing dynamic change to have this jaded freedom fighter on the TARDIS instead of the "let's try to copy Susan but only slightly different" that we get in Vicki.
I adore Tyler. He's a man of such contrasts. I worried when I watched this one because I couldn't remember much about the character but he just felt so sinister. When he says "I wasn't shooting at a man," when they note that his gun was fired he sounds just a tad to defensive as well. Yet he seems genuinely worried about the Doctor and he feels so responsible for the men that he lead into danger on their foolish raid in which they didn't even test the bombs first. I'd really love to see more done with that character.
One of the things that I notice about that scene after the Doctor has been arguing with Susan about whether or not to follow David's plan is that when David returns he defers to the Doctor. Hartnell does such a great job of showing that he doesn't quite know how to respond to that. I think that he was all set to have an argument with the man. Yet then David was very conciliatory and you can tell that the Doctor is re-evaluating what to do. The Doctor has always been susceptible to a little buttering up and I love that he totally revises his opinion of the man on the spot and Susan's gratefulness is so cute.
Another one of those behind-the-scenes things is that this is the first serial to move to the larger facilities in television centre. That's why they sometimes get those wonderful shots that seem to convey a lot of size like when you see the Chelsea heliport complete with landed saucer and the entire interior set within the saucer. They also get those nice high shots where they're looking down, something they couldn't do in the old studios in Lime Grove. Visually this one seems to be a leap ahead of the earlier stories and I think that combined with some excellent writing is part of the appeal.
That scene with David and the fish and then the Doctor saying "I can see that's something cooking," when he may or may not actually have seen them kissing is perhaps one of the best moments for Hartnell ever.
I tear up every time I watch that scene after the TARDIS dematerializes when they play that sad music and Carole Ann Ford acts her brains out conveying someone whose whole world has literally faded away. The simple act of David taking her hand and leading her away is just beautiful.
One of the things that I like about these 60's stories is that they knew how to leave themselves some wriggle room. Ian deduces that the Roboman's helmet is meant for communications but it could be anything really. Or it could be for communications but the Daleks never decided to put their own satellites in orbit so each receiver needs to be incredibly powerful to communicate over large distances or through certain materials.
I always assumed that the Dalek in the water was there to harvest any of those roboman bodies that get thrown into the river. It might be that the components are easily recyclable, so it's more efficient for the Daleks to harvest them then to make new ones. Or it could be that this dalek is a spy watching the waterfront because they've heard of resistance activity there. A Dalek underwater could just push its eyestalk out and it wouldn't have a very large profile.
I really love that the creators decided to leave so many familiar locations in this story despite the fact that it's set 200 years in the future. The bleak, post-apocalyptic feeling to the story relies on those familiar elements. Seeing London actually occupied by Daleks just adds so much to the ambiance that they're trying to establish.
I know that you're not looking to far behind the scenes but did you know that Jenny's character was originally the idea for a replacement for Susan? I really love the relationship that Barbara and Jenny strike up and I think that would have been an amazing dynamic change to have this jaded freedom fighter on the TARDIS instead of the "let's try to copy Susan but only slightly different" that we get in Vicki.
I adore Tyler. He's a man of such contrasts. I worried when I watched this one because I couldn't remember much about the character but he just felt so sinister. When he says "I wasn't shooting at a man," when they note that his gun was fired he sounds just a tad to defensive as well. Yet he seems genuinely worried about the Doctor and he feels so responsible for the men that he lead into danger on their foolish raid in which they didn't even test the bombs first. I'd really love to see more done with that character.
One of the things that I notice about that scene after the Doctor has been arguing with Susan about whether or not to follow David's plan is that when David returns he defers to the Doctor. Hartnell does such a great job of showing that he doesn't quite know how to respond to that. I think that he was all set to have an argument with the man. Yet then David was very conciliatory and you can tell that the Doctor is re-evaluating what to do. The Doctor has always been susceptible to a little buttering up and I love that he totally revises his opinion of the man on the spot and Susan's gratefulness is so cute.
Another one of those behind-the-scenes things is that this is the first serial to move to the larger facilities in television centre. That's why they sometimes get those wonderful shots that seem to convey a lot of size like when you see the Chelsea heliport complete with landed saucer and the entire interior set within the saucer. They also get those nice high shots where they're looking down, something they couldn't do in the old studios in Lime Grove. Visually this one seems to be a leap ahead of the earlier stories and I think that combined with some excellent writing is part of the appeal.
That scene with David and the fish and then the Doctor saying "I can see that's something cooking," when he may or may not actually have seen them kissing is perhaps one of the best moments for Hartnell ever.
I tear up every time I watch that scene after the TARDIS dematerializes when they play that sad music and Carole Ann Ford acts her brains out conveying someone whose whole world has literally faded away. The simple act of David taking her hand and leading her away is just beautiful.
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