2.08 The Chase - Part Two
(continued from Part One)
Episode five, 'The Death of Doctor Who', is all about the robot Doctor, which was a good strong idea in concept the first time the Doctor has ever come up against a doppelganger, but by no means the last but it falls down in practice largely because of the direction and technical limitations of the doppelganger scenes. It was necessary for a lookalike actor to be hired, although he really doesn't look that much like William Hartnell, because with the episode being filmed 'as live' it simply wasn't physically possible for Hartnell to run back and forth between stages to act both roles still less for him to act both roles when the two were in the same scene. It's just a shame the blocking couldn't be improved so that it wouldn't be quite so obvious that it's a different person! Anyway, we simply have to handwave it and pretend that the duplicate is an exact replica of the Doctor and leave it at that.
The TARDIS has landed on a planet called Mechanus, which is populated by enormous ambulatory fungoids that are quick to attack anything that gets too close. They are scared away by light, however, and on leaving the TARDIS our intrepid heroes quickly stumble upon a useful corridor of light offering them safe passage to a nearby cave. Here they find at least a temporary refuge and ponder on the mystery that this planet poses I really enjoy the Doctor's certainty that there is a reason for everything in the universe and it is simply a matter of finding it. In the cave they find a very long glass stick with a very tiny light at the end and get disproportionately excited about its potential as a weapon against the fungoids (seriously, it's the tiniest light imaginable), but I very much enjoy seeing Ian and Barbara both so gung-ho about going into battle just look at Barbara making machine gun noises while pretending to aim her light-stick at imaginary enemies! Can you imagine that from the Barbara we first met? They've both relaxed into their adventures, gained enormous confidence, and although they are scared of the Daleks and worried for Vicki, they have learned both to take each moment as it comes and that they are capable of taking on any foe. The Doctor brings them back down to earth, however, when he reveals that his vaunted weapon can't be used in an enclosed space like this cave as it will trigger an explosion, besides which they wouldn't want to be cornered here in a fight anyway, so they decide to look for the switch to turn off the light corridor, so that the Daleks won't track them here.
It's rather unfortunate that the lights are turned off just as Vicki, having stealthily crept out of the Daleks ship, was following the path toward the cave. Vicki is made of stern stuff, of course, and copes well at first with the fungoid attacks, determinedly not screaming because she doesn't want to alert the Daleks to her presence but with the lights turned off and the fungoids closing in, she can take no more, yells loudly in fear and faints. In the cave, the other three TARDIS travellers hear her scream and Ian and the Doctor rush off to the rescue leaving Barbara alone, easy prey for the robot Doctor, who coolly informs her that Ian is dead! Watch Barbara's reaction, how shocked she is, how she struggles to believe it could possibly be true, determinedly insisting that he must be wrong and demanding that he take her to the place where it happened because she will not believe that Ian is dead without proof. Ian and Barbara are the cornerstone of each another's existence and always have been, throughout the show.
So the duplicate Doctor leads Barbara out into the fungoid woods and somehow they manage to avoid running into the real Doctor and Ian as they bring the unconscious Vicki back to the cave, marvelling at her resourcefulness in stowing away aboard the Dalek ship and worrying because they now know the Daleks have landed. Of course, the primary reason Vicki was made to faint was to delay the moment she saw the Doctor and panicked, believing him to be the duplicate it isn't until she realises Ian is also there that she is convinced of the Doctor's authenticity, and they all then realise that the duplicate must have Barbara and Ian panics and runs, which is pretty much Ian's standard reaction to the notion of Barbara in danger, but it sets my heart aflutter every time. When Barbara is in danger, Ian loses all sense of reason, can't stop and think things through, can't wait to rationalise a course of action, he just has to act, immediate and impulsive.
Oh, look at the delight on Barbara's face when she hears Ian calling her name and knows that he is all right after all. The duplicate Doctor promptly attacks her, Ian rushes to the rescue with the real Doctor and Vicki hot on his heels, and suddenly they find themselves with two Doctors on their hands and can't be sure which one is real! The confusion might be easier to believe if the duplicate weren't played by such an obviously different actor, but we'll go with it. The duplicate eventually gives himself away by referring to Vicki as Susan, which confirms that this Dalek faction do come from immediately after their thwarted invasion of Earth and draw their information about the Doctor and his companions from that encounter.
With the duplicate Doctor destroyed, the travellers retire to the safety of the cave to rest for what remains of the night, where Ian and the Doctor have rather a sweet little man-to-man talk, admitting that things don't look good. I do so love their relationship. Ian then sends the Doctor off to get some rest while he keeps watch and promptly proceeds to fall asleep himself! Some guard!
The Daleks, meanwhile, have captured the TARDIS and are methodically searching the planet slightly hampered by the fungoids and it just kills me to see the way they freak out whenever the fungoids attack them! I think I might rather love these comedy Daleks!
Come morning, the TARDIS travellers realise that they are close to an enormous and very beautiful city, which is built on tall towers, high in the sky, and marvel at the thought that it was there all the time and they weren't aware of it, in the dark. Before they can attempt to reach it, however, the Daleks are upon them, and they find themselves cornered in the cave just what they'd wanted to avoid! For all their fighting talk, they really haven't proved themselves very good at all at preparing to meet the Daleks in battle. The Doctor's weapon can't be used in an enclosed space, so the travellers panic, not knowing what to do Ian begins to suggest that the Doctor pretend to be the robot and try to throw the Daleks off the scent, but Barbara is quick to shout the suggestion down as suicidal only for the Doctor to slip out and try it anyway, while they are arguing about it. I love this moment because it reminds us again that, as close as they are, Ian and Barbara still both have minds of their own and frequently disagree but are very good at talking through their disagreements and reaching consensus and also because it demonstrates again how far the Doctor has come, willing to risk his own life for his friends he'd never have attempted this back in the early days of the show.
The Daleks see straight through the ruse and the Doctor barely makes it back into the cave with his life. All seems lost but then a section of wall opens up to reveal a compartment beyond in which stands a large spherical robot. This is a Mechanoid and if we listen very, very carefully we can just about make out that it is telling them to enter but the Mechanoids in general are pretty incomprehensible, alas.
Episode six, 'The Planet of Decision', finally brings the story to its conclusion, as the TARDIS travellers dash into the lift compartment with the Mechanoid and are taken up to the city. At first they are grateful to be rescued but their rescuer proves uncommunicative in the extreme. I love that the Doctor attempts to communicate with it, though, because that is just so him. There is no sentience there to reason with, however, it is merely a robot fulfilling its programmed function to bring all human life up to the city and then lock it up for safe-keeping until supplied with the appropriate control codes that will allow new orders to be accepted.
Our intrepid heroes don't realise that they are prisoners at first. They are just happy to be away from the Daleks oh, and listen to Vicki making fun of the incomprehensible Mechanoid speech, irreverent as ever! Then just as they realise that they have only encountered robots, no actual people in this city, an actual person comes downstairs from the roof and boggles at them, and here we say hello to Peter Purves for the second time in this serial; he impressed so much in his guest stint as Morton Dill a couple of episodes earlier that he was brought back to play Steven Taylor. I really enjoy Purves' performance and the way Steven is characterised and introduced to us here we learn so much about him just in this first scene. We learn that he is a pilot who crash-landed on Mechanus two years ago, during a space war, and that he has been trapped here ever since, trying hard not to go mad with the solitude. We see how excited and overwhelmed he is at having actual human company again for the first time in two years, unable to stop talking now that he finally has people to talk with. We see the cynical edge to his personality. We learn about the coping strategies he has employed to counteract the loneliness of his isolation here, finding projects to keep himself busy, with only his little mascot, a stuffed panda bear toy named Hi-Fi, for company and sure, the toy panda might seem silly, but it's very believable that someone who has been so completely alone for so long would derive comfort from an inanimate object and become very attached to it.
At first, Steven is dismissive of the determination of Team TARDIS to escape, because he has been here for two years and knows that it isn't possible but he changes his tune when he hears that they have an operational spaceship in the jungle, having assumed that they'd crashed like he did. Having a way to get off the planet makes all the difference and so does having a few extra pairs of hands! There are long cables up on the roof, offering a possible way of climbing down to the ground, and where Steven was unable to pull them free on his own, the combined strength of several people manages it easily and just in time, too, as the Daleks have made it up to the city, single-minded in their purpose despite being wary of the Mechanoids.
The Doctor sets off his weapon, which produces the tiniest explosion imaginable, which is a bit of an anti-climax. We shall just have to imagine that it was more impressive and destroyed a few more Daleks. It does, apparently, set fire to the whole city, which means our intrepid heroes are facing a race against time to get back down to ground level. Then Vicki, who is usually so brave and level-headed, falls apart completely at the prospect of having to climb 1500 feet down a slippery cable to the ground, but I will take issue with anyone who uses this as a reason to write the character off as a helpless screaming damsel in distress because Vicki has proved time and again how courageous and resourceful she is; it lends depth not weakness to her character to learn that she also has her vulnerabilities. Vertigo is a very real condition and it prostrates Vicki here, adding to the crisis for the rest of the group. They realise that they are going to have to lower her to the ground rather than expect her to climb and the Doctor blindfolds her so that she won't have to see the height she is descending from. Then, just as they are lowering her, Steven realises that the city is on fire, panics and lets go of the rope to run back inside to retrieve his mascot, Hi-Fi causing everyone else to slip and Barbara to almost fall over the edge! Ian grabs her and pulls her back, rather an infamous moment as he seems to grab her by the underwear
The Daleks coming under attack from the Mechanoids, who are every bit as single-minded in their defence of their city as Daleks are in pursuit of their goal, provides a wonderful distraction to allow our intrepid heroes to make good their escape from the city. The climactic Dalek-Mechanoid battle is very 1965 in its execution, but the director did the best he could and the implication is that the two sides pretty much wipe each other out completely.
By the time our intrepid heroes make it down to the ground, the top of the cable is on fire, which means Steven can't use it to climb down after them even if he did make it back up to the roof; they all assume that he must be dead and are sad, but can't waste too much time grieving for someone they just met, as they still have to make good their escape. They rush back to the TARDIS and find the Dalek time machine parked alongside it, abandoned. Ian's impression of a Dalek here is very cute, and their celebration of the Dalek defeat is absolutely adorable. They are all just so happy and so fond of each other, and that makes it all the more of a sucker punch when Barbara suddenly realises that they have the Dalek time travel machine at their disposal now, and it is more accurate than the TARDIS which means that perhaps she and Ian can use it to get home at last
These last few scenes absolutely crackle with emotion. Barbara and Ian discuss the possibility among themselves at first, admitting that they'd all but given up all hope of going home, but now that they have the opportunity they realise anew just how much they want to reclaim their old lives. The Doctor, however, is absolutely distraught at the very suggestion that they should leave him and his distress manifests as anger more than that, rage. He is such a proud character, he can't bring himself to say that he loves them and doesn't want them to go, so instead he absolutely rages at them for the very suggestion that they might entrust their lives to Dalek technology, refusing to countenance the idea for a moment, and they rage back at him, their determination to take the chance growing all the more as he rails against it, and it is fascinating to compare this scene to their first encounter with the Doctor. Both scenes involve furious arguments, but where that first row, in An Unearthly Child, came from a place of mutual fear and mistrust, here the emotion derives from the fact that they love one another dearly but want very different things from life and must separate to achieve them. Character journeys and development and emotion, this era of the show has them in spades!
It is Vicki who persuades the Doctor to help Ian and Barbara get back to Earth, and her heartfelt declaration that she is staying with him is salve to his wounded heart. There is no scene of him saying goodbye to them William Hartnell was himself so upset at their departure that he could never have managed to film such a scene but instead we see him and Vicki standing back as the Dalek time travel machine de-materialises. Vicki watches it go, but the Doctor keeps his back turned, he can't bear to watch his beloved friends leave him, and his pain is written all over his face bless him, and that emotion was so very real.
Steven, meanwhile, has somehow made it out of the city and the last we see of him for now is him struggling through the fungoid jungle in search of the Doctor.
Despite the Doctor's dire warnings, Ian and Barbara make it back to Earth in 1965, two years after they left, but they aren't worried about that and their joy is a wonderful, wonderful thing to behold. Honestly, those scenes of Ian and Barbara just revelling in being back on Earth, together and happy, are the most adorable thing ever.
Then we pan back to reveal that the Doctor and Vicki are watching them on the space-time visualiser, to assure themselves that they made it home safely. Bubbly Vicki, characteristically, is overjoyed for Ian and Barbara that they made it home and are happy but the Doctor can barely bring himself to watch, absolutely inconsolable that they have left him, and Hartnell's performance is so raw and so real, I defy anyone to watch it without a tear in their eye. To Vicki he quietly admits that he will miss them, the silly old fusspots, and the proud dignity in his bearing and delivery of the line is more moving than any amount of tearful scenery-chewing could ever be.
The final shot of the story sees the TARDIS tumbling through the vortex once more, moving forward into a new era of the show.
Quotable Quotes
(Ian is reading Monsters from Outer Space)
VICKI: Is it good?
IAN: Yes. A bit far-fetched.
DOCTOR: It was an unfortunate juxtaposition of the sonic rectifier with the lineal amplifier.
IAN: Oh, of course. I should have known.
BARBARA: Doctor, what is this machine?
DOCTOR: I've already told you, my dear. It's a Time and Space Visualiser.
BARBARA: Yes, but apart from making that dreadful noise, what does it do?
DOCTOR: It converts neutrons of light energy into electrical impulses.
IAN: Oh, wonderful. I've always wanted one.
DOCTOR: Do I detect a hint of sarcasm, dear boy?
IAN: I'm sorry, Doctor, but you rattle off explanations that would have baffled Einstein and you expect Barbara and I to know what you're talking about.
VICKI: Doctor, you're kidding! Why didn't you tell me? I could have fixed it for you instead of you fiddling about like that.
IAN: Vicki, I had no idea you knew about the Beatles.
VICKI: Of course I know about them. I've been to their Memorial Theatre in Liverpool.
BARBARA: Well, what do you think of them, Vicki?
VICKI: Well, they're marvellous, but I didn't know they played classical music!
BARBARA: Classical music?
IAN: Get with it, Barbara. Get with it. Styles change, styles change.
VICKI: You never know. Over that sand-dune there might be a city or a space-station or anything.
DOCTOR: The child's just like me, you know. Always wants to know what's on t'other side of the hill.
BARBARA: What's that awful noise?
DOCTOR: I beg your pardon? Awful noise? That's no way to talk about my singing!
BARBARA: No, Doctor, not that awful noise, the other one.
DOCTOR: I have the directional instincts of a homing pigeon.
DOCTOR: Oh, my dear, you think I'm being callous do you?
BARBARA: Yes, I do.
DOCTOR: And I think it's pure supposition that they've been caught by those Mire Beasts. After all, we weren't. You haven't much faith in Ian's infallible self-preservation, have you?
IAN: Oh, er, Barbara, could, I, er, have your cardigan?
BARBARA: Oh, not again.
IAN: It's for the Dalek, not for me.
BARBARA: Here.
VICKI: I hope it suits him.
BARBARA: You're from Earth.
MORTON: No, no, Ma'am. No, I'm from Alabama.
BARBARA: What time is it?
MORTON: Three after twelve, Ma'am.
BARBARA: I really meant what year is it?
MORTON: What, you mean you have different years here?
BARBARA: Well, what year is it in Alabama?
MORTON: 1966 Ma'am.
VICKI: Probably vampires, if you ask me.
IAN: Oh, charming.
DOCTOR: Where's your spirit of adventure?
IAN: It died a slow and painful death when those bats came out of the rafters.
DOCTOR: You know, when I was coming down those stairs, I knew that thing was going to move. I knew it.
IAN: Oh, did you? I didn't notice you standing around to check your premonition.
DOCTOR: I never stay where I'm not wanted.
IAN: What an extraordinary place. More spooks to the square mile than the Tower of London.
DOCTOR: Running away won't solve our problem. But as soon as we've reached the final decision to stand and fight, there'll be no turning back. It'll either be them or us.
DOCTOR: It's my fault. All my own stupid fault. I shouldn't have moved the TARDIS. I have should have checked up first to make sure that everybody was inside. I shall never forgive myself.
DOCTOR: We're helpless, and you of all people should know that the TARDIS can't land in the same time and place twice!
IAN: We've never stayed long enough in any one place to repair the time mechanism of the TARDIS. If we did, is there a chance of going back for Vicki?
DOCTOR: Yes, of course, it's possible, but it might take months, even years.
BARBARA: But Doctor, if we all worked together, if Ian and I helped you, surely it's worth a try?
BARBARA: Doctor, we have nothing to lose and now we have even more reason to stop and fight.
IAN: What do you say, Doctor?
DOCTOR: I say yes. Yes, yes! Our next landing will be our battle ground and we shall fight. We shall fight to the death!
DOCTOR: I think this is the moment when discretion is the better part of valour. Let's get back into the ship.
STEVEN: Stay where you are! You real?
IAN: Who are you?
STEVEN: You are real. From Earth?
IAN: Yes. Who are you?
STEVEN: From Earth, that couldn't have happened! I worked out the odds. Two thousand to one against.
STEVEN: Well, this is great! I mean, it's ridiculous. I'm lost for words. I thought if ever I met anyone again, I wouldn't stop talking for a week!
DOCTOR: Yes, well, you haven't.
STEVEN: We're all prisoners. Help yourself to a piece of eternity.
DOCTOR: My dear boy, I could kiss you!
BARBARA: Don't waste it on him, kiss me instead!
BARBARA: Ian, do you realise we could get home?
IAN: Home? Yes. Do you want to?
BARBARA: Yes. I never realised it before.
IAN: Neither did I. We may never get another chance.
DOCTOR: I don't want to know! I want none of this! I've never heard such nonsense in my life! You'll end up as a couple of burnt cinders, flying around in space. You idiots! You are absolute idiots!
BARBARA: We are not idiots! We want to go home!
IAN: Yes, home! I want to sit in a pub and drink a pint of beer again. I want to walk in a park and watch a cricket match. Above all, I want to belong somewhere, do something, instead of this aimless drifting around in space.
DOCTOR: Aimless? I've tried for two years to get you both home!
IAN: Well, you haven't been very successful, have you?
DOCTOR: How dare you, young man. How dare you, sir! I didn't even invite you into the ship in the first place. You both thrust yourselves upon me!
BARBARA: Oh, Doctor, stop it!
DOCTOR: Oh, for heavens sake, I've never heard such nonsense.
BARBARA: Look, I know we thrust ourselves upon you, but we've through a great deal together since then. And all we've been through will remain with us always. It'll probably be the most exciting part of my life. Look, Doctor, we're different people, and now we have a chance to go home. We want to take that chance. Will you help us work that machine?
DOCTOR: No! No! I will not aid and abet suicide.
IAN: Oh, he's as stubborn as a mule.
VICKI: Doctor? Doctor, you've got to let them go if they want to. They want to be back in their own time.
DOCTOR: Don't you want to go with them, child?
VICKI: What for? What would I want to be back in their time for? I want to be with you. Doctor, you've got to help them.
DOCTOR: Don't you realise, child, the enormous risks?
VICKI: But it's up to them.
DOCTOR: Do you both realise the enormous risks?
IAN: We do. We still want to go.
IAN: London 1965!
BARBARA: Hey, we're two years out.
IAN: Oh, what's two years amongst friends? We're home!
BARBARA: Goodbye, Doctor! Thanks for the ride!
IAN: It was fun, Doctor! Goodbye!
DOCTOR: I shall miss them. Yes, I shall miss them, silly old fusspots.
The Verdict
Overall and taken as a whole, The Chase has flaws abundant. Of course it does. This story was made in 1965 and it shows, so if you're looking for a sophisticated and emotive, tightly plotted and well-structured drama made to the modern style, you are going to be disappointed. The Chase was never trying to be any of those things, however. It is a piece of 1965 children's telly constructed as a six-part serial that was only ever intended to be funny, zany and exciting, the build-up to Ian and Barbara's departure, and in that it succeeds brilliantly. Overall, it is super fun, moves at a brisk pace, has some wonderful character interaction, and builds up to one of the best companion departures ever. What's not to love?
Episode five, 'The Death of Doctor Who', is all about the robot Doctor, which was a good strong idea in concept the first time the Doctor has ever come up against a doppelganger, but by no means the last but it falls down in practice largely because of the direction and technical limitations of the doppelganger scenes. It was necessary for a lookalike actor to be hired, although he really doesn't look that much like William Hartnell, because with the episode being filmed 'as live' it simply wasn't physically possible for Hartnell to run back and forth between stages to act both roles still less for him to act both roles when the two were in the same scene. It's just a shame the blocking couldn't be improved so that it wouldn't be quite so obvious that it's a different person! Anyway, we simply have to handwave it and pretend that the duplicate is an exact replica of the Doctor and leave it at that.
The TARDIS has landed on a planet called Mechanus, which is populated by enormous ambulatory fungoids that are quick to attack anything that gets too close. They are scared away by light, however, and on leaving the TARDIS our intrepid heroes quickly stumble upon a useful corridor of light offering them safe passage to a nearby cave. Here they find at least a temporary refuge and ponder on the mystery that this planet poses I really enjoy the Doctor's certainty that there is a reason for everything in the universe and it is simply a matter of finding it. In the cave they find a very long glass stick with a very tiny light at the end and get disproportionately excited about its potential as a weapon against the fungoids (seriously, it's the tiniest light imaginable), but I very much enjoy seeing Ian and Barbara both so gung-ho about going into battle just look at Barbara making machine gun noises while pretending to aim her light-stick at imaginary enemies! Can you imagine that from the Barbara we first met? They've both relaxed into their adventures, gained enormous confidence, and although they are scared of the Daleks and worried for Vicki, they have learned both to take each moment as it comes and that they are capable of taking on any foe. The Doctor brings them back down to earth, however, when he reveals that his vaunted weapon can't be used in an enclosed space like this cave as it will trigger an explosion, besides which they wouldn't want to be cornered here in a fight anyway, so they decide to look for the switch to turn off the light corridor, so that the Daleks won't track them here.
It's rather unfortunate that the lights are turned off just as Vicki, having stealthily crept out of the Daleks ship, was following the path toward the cave. Vicki is made of stern stuff, of course, and copes well at first with the fungoid attacks, determinedly not screaming because she doesn't want to alert the Daleks to her presence but with the lights turned off and the fungoids closing in, she can take no more, yells loudly in fear and faints. In the cave, the other three TARDIS travellers hear her scream and Ian and the Doctor rush off to the rescue leaving Barbara alone, easy prey for the robot Doctor, who coolly informs her that Ian is dead! Watch Barbara's reaction, how shocked she is, how she struggles to believe it could possibly be true, determinedly insisting that he must be wrong and demanding that he take her to the place where it happened because she will not believe that Ian is dead without proof. Ian and Barbara are the cornerstone of each another's existence and always have been, throughout the show.
So the duplicate Doctor leads Barbara out into the fungoid woods and somehow they manage to avoid running into the real Doctor and Ian as they bring the unconscious Vicki back to the cave, marvelling at her resourcefulness in stowing away aboard the Dalek ship and worrying because they now know the Daleks have landed. Of course, the primary reason Vicki was made to faint was to delay the moment she saw the Doctor and panicked, believing him to be the duplicate it isn't until she realises Ian is also there that she is convinced of the Doctor's authenticity, and they all then realise that the duplicate must have Barbara and Ian panics and runs, which is pretty much Ian's standard reaction to the notion of Barbara in danger, but it sets my heart aflutter every time. When Barbara is in danger, Ian loses all sense of reason, can't stop and think things through, can't wait to rationalise a course of action, he just has to act, immediate and impulsive.
Oh, look at the delight on Barbara's face when she hears Ian calling her name and knows that he is all right after all. The duplicate Doctor promptly attacks her, Ian rushes to the rescue with the real Doctor and Vicki hot on his heels, and suddenly they find themselves with two Doctors on their hands and can't be sure which one is real! The confusion might be easier to believe if the duplicate weren't played by such an obviously different actor, but we'll go with it. The duplicate eventually gives himself away by referring to Vicki as Susan, which confirms that this Dalek faction do come from immediately after their thwarted invasion of Earth and draw their information about the Doctor and his companions from that encounter.
With the duplicate Doctor destroyed, the travellers retire to the safety of the cave to rest for what remains of the night, where Ian and the Doctor have rather a sweet little man-to-man talk, admitting that things don't look good. I do so love their relationship. Ian then sends the Doctor off to get some rest while he keeps watch and promptly proceeds to fall asleep himself! Some guard!
The Daleks, meanwhile, have captured the TARDIS and are methodically searching the planet slightly hampered by the fungoids and it just kills me to see the way they freak out whenever the fungoids attack them! I think I might rather love these comedy Daleks!
Come morning, the TARDIS travellers realise that they are close to an enormous and very beautiful city, which is built on tall towers, high in the sky, and marvel at the thought that it was there all the time and they weren't aware of it, in the dark. Before they can attempt to reach it, however, the Daleks are upon them, and they find themselves cornered in the cave just what they'd wanted to avoid! For all their fighting talk, they really haven't proved themselves very good at all at preparing to meet the Daleks in battle. The Doctor's weapon can't be used in an enclosed space, so the travellers panic, not knowing what to do Ian begins to suggest that the Doctor pretend to be the robot and try to throw the Daleks off the scent, but Barbara is quick to shout the suggestion down as suicidal only for the Doctor to slip out and try it anyway, while they are arguing about it. I love this moment because it reminds us again that, as close as they are, Ian and Barbara still both have minds of their own and frequently disagree but are very good at talking through their disagreements and reaching consensus and also because it demonstrates again how far the Doctor has come, willing to risk his own life for his friends he'd never have attempted this back in the early days of the show.
The Daleks see straight through the ruse and the Doctor barely makes it back into the cave with his life. All seems lost but then a section of wall opens up to reveal a compartment beyond in which stands a large spherical robot. This is a Mechanoid and if we listen very, very carefully we can just about make out that it is telling them to enter but the Mechanoids in general are pretty incomprehensible, alas.
Episode six, 'The Planet of Decision', finally brings the story to its conclusion, as the TARDIS travellers dash into the lift compartment with the Mechanoid and are taken up to the city. At first they are grateful to be rescued but their rescuer proves uncommunicative in the extreme. I love that the Doctor attempts to communicate with it, though, because that is just so him. There is no sentience there to reason with, however, it is merely a robot fulfilling its programmed function to bring all human life up to the city and then lock it up for safe-keeping until supplied with the appropriate control codes that will allow new orders to be accepted.
Our intrepid heroes don't realise that they are prisoners at first. They are just happy to be away from the Daleks oh, and listen to Vicki making fun of the incomprehensible Mechanoid speech, irreverent as ever! Then just as they realise that they have only encountered robots, no actual people in this city, an actual person comes downstairs from the roof and boggles at them, and here we say hello to Peter Purves for the second time in this serial; he impressed so much in his guest stint as Morton Dill a couple of episodes earlier that he was brought back to play Steven Taylor. I really enjoy Purves' performance and the way Steven is characterised and introduced to us here we learn so much about him just in this first scene. We learn that he is a pilot who crash-landed on Mechanus two years ago, during a space war, and that he has been trapped here ever since, trying hard not to go mad with the solitude. We see how excited and overwhelmed he is at having actual human company again for the first time in two years, unable to stop talking now that he finally has people to talk with. We see the cynical edge to his personality. We learn about the coping strategies he has employed to counteract the loneliness of his isolation here, finding projects to keep himself busy, with only his little mascot, a stuffed panda bear toy named Hi-Fi, for company and sure, the toy panda might seem silly, but it's very believable that someone who has been so completely alone for so long would derive comfort from an inanimate object and become very attached to it.
At first, Steven is dismissive of the determination of Team TARDIS to escape, because he has been here for two years and knows that it isn't possible but he changes his tune when he hears that they have an operational spaceship in the jungle, having assumed that they'd crashed like he did. Having a way to get off the planet makes all the difference and so does having a few extra pairs of hands! There are long cables up on the roof, offering a possible way of climbing down to the ground, and where Steven was unable to pull them free on his own, the combined strength of several people manages it easily and just in time, too, as the Daleks have made it up to the city, single-minded in their purpose despite being wary of the Mechanoids.
The Doctor sets off his weapon, which produces the tiniest explosion imaginable, which is a bit of an anti-climax. We shall just have to imagine that it was more impressive and destroyed a few more Daleks. It does, apparently, set fire to the whole city, which means our intrepid heroes are facing a race against time to get back down to ground level. Then Vicki, who is usually so brave and level-headed, falls apart completely at the prospect of having to climb 1500 feet down a slippery cable to the ground, but I will take issue with anyone who uses this as a reason to write the character off as a helpless screaming damsel in distress because Vicki has proved time and again how courageous and resourceful she is; it lends depth not weakness to her character to learn that she also has her vulnerabilities. Vertigo is a very real condition and it prostrates Vicki here, adding to the crisis for the rest of the group. They realise that they are going to have to lower her to the ground rather than expect her to climb and the Doctor blindfolds her so that she won't have to see the height she is descending from. Then, just as they are lowering her, Steven realises that the city is on fire, panics and lets go of the rope to run back inside to retrieve his mascot, Hi-Fi causing everyone else to slip and Barbara to almost fall over the edge! Ian grabs her and pulls her back, rather an infamous moment as he seems to grab her by the underwear
The Daleks coming under attack from the Mechanoids, who are every bit as single-minded in their defence of their city as Daleks are in pursuit of their goal, provides a wonderful distraction to allow our intrepid heroes to make good their escape from the city. The climactic Dalek-Mechanoid battle is very 1965 in its execution, but the director did the best he could and the implication is that the two sides pretty much wipe each other out completely.
By the time our intrepid heroes make it down to the ground, the top of the cable is on fire, which means Steven can't use it to climb down after them even if he did make it back up to the roof; they all assume that he must be dead and are sad, but can't waste too much time grieving for someone they just met, as they still have to make good their escape. They rush back to the TARDIS and find the Dalek time machine parked alongside it, abandoned. Ian's impression of a Dalek here is very cute, and their celebration of the Dalek defeat is absolutely adorable. They are all just so happy and so fond of each other, and that makes it all the more of a sucker punch when Barbara suddenly realises that they have the Dalek time travel machine at their disposal now, and it is more accurate than the TARDIS which means that perhaps she and Ian can use it to get home at last
These last few scenes absolutely crackle with emotion. Barbara and Ian discuss the possibility among themselves at first, admitting that they'd all but given up all hope of going home, but now that they have the opportunity they realise anew just how much they want to reclaim their old lives. The Doctor, however, is absolutely distraught at the very suggestion that they should leave him and his distress manifests as anger more than that, rage. He is such a proud character, he can't bring himself to say that he loves them and doesn't want them to go, so instead he absolutely rages at them for the very suggestion that they might entrust their lives to Dalek technology, refusing to countenance the idea for a moment, and they rage back at him, their determination to take the chance growing all the more as he rails against it, and it is fascinating to compare this scene to their first encounter with the Doctor. Both scenes involve furious arguments, but where that first row, in An Unearthly Child, came from a place of mutual fear and mistrust, here the emotion derives from the fact that they love one another dearly but want very different things from life and must separate to achieve them. Character journeys and development and emotion, this era of the show has them in spades!
It is Vicki who persuades the Doctor to help Ian and Barbara get back to Earth, and her heartfelt declaration that she is staying with him is salve to his wounded heart. There is no scene of him saying goodbye to them William Hartnell was himself so upset at their departure that he could never have managed to film such a scene but instead we see him and Vicki standing back as the Dalek time travel machine de-materialises. Vicki watches it go, but the Doctor keeps his back turned, he can't bear to watch his beloved friends leave him, and his pain is written all over his face bless him, and that emotion was so very real.
Steven, meanwhile, has somehow made it out of the city and the last we see of him for now is him struggling through the fungoid jungle in search of the Doctor.
Despite the Doctor's dire warnings, Ian and Barbara make it back to Earth in 1965, two years after they left, but they aren't worried about that and their joy is a wonderful, wonderful thing to behold. Honestly, those scenes of Ian and Barbara just revelling in being back on Earth, together and happy, are the most adorable thing ever.
Then we pan back to reveal that the Doctor and Vicki are watching them on the space-time visualiser, to assure themselves that they made it home safely. Bubbly Vicki, characteristically, is overjoyed for Ian and Barbara that they made it home and are happy but the Doctor can barely bring himself to watch, absolutely inconsolable that they have left him, and Hartnell's performance is so raw and so real, I defy anyone to watch it without a tear in their eye. To Vicki he quietly admits that he will miss them, the silly old fusspots, and the proud dignity in his bearing and delivery of the line is more moving than any amount of tearful scenery-chewing could ever be.
The final shot of the story sees the TARDIS tumbling through the vortex once more, moving forward into a new era of the show.
Quotable Quotes
(Ian is reading Monsters from Outer Space)
VICKI: Is it good?
IAN: Yes. A bit far-fetched.
DOCTOR: It was an unfortunate juxtaposition of the sonic rectifier with the lineal amplifier.
IAN: Oh, of course. I should have known.
BARBARA: Doctor, what is this machine?
DOCTOR: I've already told you, my dear. It's a Time and Space Visualiser.
BARBARA: Yes, but apart from making that dreadful noise, what does it do?
DOCTOR: It converts neutrons of light energy into electrical impulses.
IAN: Oh, wonderful. I've always wanted one.
DOCTOR: Do I detect a hint of sarcasm, dear boy?
IAN: I'm sorry, Doctor, but you rattle off explanations that would have baffled Einstein and you expect Barbara and I to know what you're talking about.
VICKI: Doctor, you're kidding! Why didn't you tell me? I could have fixed it for you instead of you fiddling about like that.
IAN: Vicki, I had no idea you knew about the Beatles.
VICKI: Of course I know about them. I've been to their Memorial Theatre in Liverpool.
BARBARA: Well, what do you think of them, Vicki?
VICKI: Well, they're marvellous, but I didn't know they played classical music!
BARBARA: Classical music?
IAN: Get with it, Barbara. Get with it. Styles change, styles change.
VICKI: You never know. Over that sand-dune there might be a city or a space-station or anything.
DOCTOR: The child's just like me, you know. Always wants to know what's on t'other side of the hill.
BARBARA: What's that awful noise?
DOCTOR: I beg your pardon? Awful noise? That's no way to talk about my singing!
BARBARA: No, Doctor, not that awful noise, the other one.
DOCTOR: I have the directional instincts of a homing pigeon.
DOCTOR: Oh, my dear, you think I'm being callous do you?
BARBARA: Yes, I do.
DOCTOR: And I think it's pure supposition that they've been caught by those Mire Beasts. After all, we weren't. You haven't much faith in Ian's infallible self-preservation, have you?
IAN: Oh, er, Barbara, could, I, er, have your cardigan?
BARBARA: Oh, not again.
IAN: It's for the Dalek, not for me.
BARBARA: Here.
VICKI: I hope it suits him.
BARBARA: You're from Earth.
MORTON: No, no, Ma'am. No, I'm from Alabama.
BARBARA: What time is it?
MORTON: Three after twelve, Ma'am.
BARBARA: I really meant what year is it?
MORTON: What, you mean you have different years here?
BARBARA: Well, what year is it in Alabama?
MORTON: 1966 Ma'am.
VICKI: Probably vampires, if you ask me.
IAN: Oh, charming.
DOCTOR: Where's your spirit of adventure?
IAN: It died a slow and painful death when those bats came out of the rafters.
DOCTOR: You know, when I was coming down those stairs, I knew that thing was going to move. I knew it.
IAN: Oh, did you? I didn't notice you standing around to check your premonition.
DOCTOR: I never stay where I'm not wanted.
IAN: What an extraordinary place. More spooks to the square mile than the Tower of London.
DOCTOR: Running away won't solve our problem. But as soon as we've reached the final decision to stand and fight, there'll be no turning back. It'll either be them or us.
DOCTOR: It's my fault. All my own stupid fault. I shouldn't have moved the TARDIS. I have should have checked up first to make sure that everybody was inside. I shall never forgive myself.
DOCTOR: We're helpless, and you of all people should know that the TARDIS can't land in the same time and place twice!
IAN: We've never stayed long enough in any one place to repair the time mechanism of the TARDIS. If we did, is there a chance of going back for Vicki?
DOCTOR: Yes, of course, it's possible, but it might take months, even years.
BARBARA: But Doctor, if we all worked together, if Ian and I helped you, surely it's worth a try?
BARBARA: Doctor, we have nothing to lose and now we have even more reason to stop and fight.
IAN: What do you say, Doctor?
DOCTOR: I say yes. Yes, yes! Our next landing will be our battle ground and we shall fight. We shall fight to the death!
DOCTOR: I think this is the moment when discretion is the better part of valour. Let's get back into the ship.
STEVEN: Stay where you are! You real?
IAN: Who are you?
STEVEN: You are real. From Earth?
IAN: Yes. Who are you?
STEVEN: From Earth, that couldn't have happened! I worked out the odds. Two thousand to one against.
STEVEN: Well, this is great! I mean, it's ridiculous. I'm lost for words. I thought if ever I met anyone again, I wouldn't stop talking for a week!
DOCTOR: Yes, well, you haven't.
STEVEN: We're all prisoners. Help yourself to a piece of eternity.
DOCTOR: My dear boy, I could kiss you!
BARBARA: Don't waste it on him, kiss me instead!
BARBARA: Ian, do you realise we could get home?
IAN: Home? Yes. Do you want to?
BARBARA: Yes. I never realised it before.
IAN: Neither did I. We may never get another chance.
DOCTOR: I don't want to know! I want none of this! I've never heard such nonsense in my life! You'll end up as a couple of burnt cinders, flying around in space. You idiots! You are absolute idiots!
BARBARA: We are not idiots! We want to go home!
IAN: Yes, home! I want to sit in a pub and drink a pint of beer again. I want to walk in a park and watch a cricket match. Above all, I want to belong somewhere, do something, instead of this aimless drifting around in space.
DOCTOR: Aimless? I've tried for two years to get you both home!
IAN: Well, you haven't been very successful, have you?
DOCTOR: How dare you, young man. How dare you, sir! I didn't even invite you into the ship in the first place. You both thrust yourselves upon me!
BARBARA: Oh, Doctor, stop it!
DOCTOR: Oh, for heavens sake, I've never heard such nonsense.
BARBARA: Look, I know we thrust ourselves upon you, but we've through a great deal together since then. And all we've been through will remain with us always. It'll probably be the most exciting part of my life. Look, Doctor, we're different people, and now we have a chance to go home. We want to take that chance. Will you help us work that machine?
DOCTOR: No! No! I will not aid and abet suicide.
IAN: Oh, he's as stubborn as a mule.
VICKI: Doctor? Doctor, you've got to let them go if they want to. They want to be back in their own time.
DOCTOR: Don't you want to go with them, child?
VICKI: What for? What would I want to be back in their time for? I want to be with you. Doctor, you've got to help them.
DOCTOR: Don't you realise, child, the enormous risks?
VICKI: But it's up to them.
DOCTOR: Do you both realise the enormous risks?
IAN: We do. We still want to go.
IAN: London 1965!
BARBARA: Hey, we're two years out.
IAN: Oh, what's two years amongst friends? We're home!
BARBARA: Goodbye, Doctor! Thanks for the ride!
IAN: It was fun, Doctor! Goodbye!
DOCTOR: I shall miss them. Yes, I shall miss them, silly old fusspots.
The Verdict
Overall and taken as a whole, The Chase has flaws abundant. Of course it does. This story was made in 1965 and it shows, so if you're looking for a sophisticated and emotive, tightly plotted and well-structured drama made to the modern style, you are going to be disappointed. The Chase was never trying to be any of those things, however. It is a piece of 1965 children's telly constructed as a six-part serial that was only ever intended to be funny, zany and exciting, the build-up to Ian and Barbara's departure, and in that it succeeds brilliantly. Overall, it is super fun, moves at a brisk pace, has some wonderful character interaction, and builds up to one of the best companion departures ever. What's not to love?