3.04 The Daleks' Master Plan, Part I: episodes 1-4
First Doctor with Steven, Katarina and Sara
Follows on from Season One, Season Two, Galaxy Four, Mission to the Unknown and The Myth Makers
DOCTOR: Well, I suppose you might say that I am a citizen of the universe and a gentleman to boot.
Overview
The Daleks' Master Plan is an epic, by any standard: a sprawling tale spanning both galaxies and centuries, told over 12 action-packed episodes the longest Doctor Who story ever made with a single director and production code. The stakes are high and the losses painful and losses there are: not one but two of the Doctor's companions, the first of only a handful of such deaths in the show's long history. The deaths are real and hit hard; they can't be undone and have significance both within the context of the adventure and, more personally, for the survivors, the Doctor and Steven, who feel the losses keenly.
Only three of the 12 episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan still exist, episodes two, five and ten; the other nine are all lost, but may be experienced either as audio or reconstruction. Like The Myth Makers before it, my first entry into this epic adventure was the novelisation, told over two separate but sequential books, due to the length of the story, and beautifully written by John Peel. It really is a fantastic read, one I'd recommend to anyone.
The plot, in a nutshell, is this: following on from the events of the standalone episode Mission to the Unknown earlier in the season, the Doctor, Steven and new companion Katarina land on the planet Kembel just as the Daleks are reaching the final stages of their master plan to achieve total universal domination. The TARDIS travellers must join forces first with Space Security Agent Bret Vyon and later with his sister, Space Security Agent Sara Kingdom, to thwart this terrible plan.
The story also encompasses the total TARDIS travelling time of two new companions, Katarina and Sara, both of whom lose their lives along the way.
Katarina is often criticised by fans as the companion who was written out almost as soon as she arrived, too primitive to function effectively as a permanent character on the show, yet she manages to play a fairly active role in her scant few episodes. To be sure, as a naïve and sheltered handmaiden from the 13th century BC, she understands barely anything she encounters, but that doesn't mean she is useless. She might interpret her experiences through the filter of superstition and religion, but she makes herself useful nonetheless, nursing Steven through his sickness and learning how to operate various high-tech controls, whether she understands them or not. She is observant enough to give early warning when enemies approach and bright enough to both follow instruction and use her own judgement when necessary, applying the lessons she has learnt in unexpected ways up to and including the sacrifice of her own life to save those of her companions. A true hero.
Sara Kingdom is equally controversial, with fans having argued for almost five decades now over whether or not she 'counts' as a Doctor Who companion, given that she appears only in one serial. To my mind, she counts, just as Katarina does. Both travel with the Doctor in the TARDIS Katarina sadly for only one trip but Sara for multiple journeys over a period of time, during which she is living aboard both fulfil the sidekick role of the companion in support of the Doctor, and, whatever was going on off-screen, in-story both would have remained with him on his travels longer-term had they not died. Thus they are both companions, however short-lived, and two more different women you would struggle to find anywhere: the innocent primitive from pre-history and the bold security agent from the future; they never meet yet each has a role to play in this epic battle, for which both lay down their lives. Viewed side-by-side, they really do symbolise the range and depth of what Doctor Who is capable of.
Writer Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner
Director Douglas Camfield
Script editor Donald Tosh
Producer John Wiles
Aired 13 Nov 1965-29 Jan 1966
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
Episode one: 'The Nightmare Begins'
When Susan left and again when Ian and Barbara left, time was devoted to the aftermath of these partings in the episode that followed, and this both generated a sense of continuity and reinforced the relationships. Here, however, there is little time for anyone to spare a thought for Vicki, who has just been left behind in the 13th century BC to build a new life with a lad she's just barely met. Instead, the sense of continuity comes via the crisis that picks up exactly where the last episode left off. Katarina has just stumbled from a warzone in pre-history into the high-tech TARDIS interior and is utterly bewildered, Steven has been stabbed in the shoulder and is weak and feverish, and the Doctor is trying to cope with everything at once: piloting the TARDIS while trying to tend Steven while gently coaxing Katarina through her culture shock. He encourages her to keep busy by looking after Steven for him, which is as good a distraction as any from her cultural confusion and is something practical she is able to do that will help him. Bless her, she might not understand much of what just happened to her, but she is a sweet, trusting girl and is only too willing to help.
Steven's wound seems to have festered tremendously quickly I can only hope that Troilus, who was injured in the same battle, didn't develop a similar infection, else he's toast and poor Vicki will be stranded in pre-history with no one! Steven's infection appears to be highly virulent, and the Doctor has no medication aboard the TARDIS with which to treat it, so he decides to land in hopes of finding help. Perhaps it's after this incident that he starts collecting medications for all ills, so that this never happens again!
Meanwhile on the planet Kembel, previously seen in Mission to the Unknown (the second point of ongoing continuity in this episode), we meet actor Nicholas Courtney for the very first time better known, of course, as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, but here playing Space Security Agent Bret Vyon. Bret came to Kembel looking for the unfortunate Marc Cory but instead discovered the Daleks planning intergalactic conquest, and is now trying desperately to get a warning through to Earth before he and his wounded comrade are found and killed.
Back on Earth, a conversation between two duty officers at Central Communications delivers a bit of exposition about Bret's mission and also about Earth's leader, Mavic Chen, 'Guardian of the Galaxy', who is revered by his subjects and, we learn in a televised interview, is about to go on an 'intergalactic holiday' in his Spar 740, the ultimate in space travel. This information will become relevant soon enough. It's a functional scene which conveys a fair amount of world-building information about this future civilisation of the year 4000, and its culture and politics, which are founded on an intergalactic non-aggression pact signed in 3975, ushering in an age of peace and prosperity. Throughout all this talk, a small light has been flashing, signalling Bret Vyon's attempts to make contact, but the officers are too busy chatting and watching the vid-screen to notice it. Talk about dereliction of duty!
Bret's wounded comrade Kert Gantry forces a reluctant Bret at gunpoint to leave him behind, sacrificing himself to the Daleks in the interests of the greater good i.e. the survival of the one most likely to succeed in getting their warning back to Earth. It's a good, tense scene, nicely juxtaposed with the relaxed atmosphere back on Earth, really underlining the severity of the situation they've uncovered and how critical it is that they get their message back to Earth, which is utterly unprepared to defend itself against attack. That mission will remain Bret's primary focus and this scene is a good introduction to his personality, telling us that he is a good man who cares about human life but is pragmatic enough that when push comes to shove he is capable of prioritising the needs of the many over the needs of the few. When he trips and drops his precious transmitter, breaking it, he despairs and it is at this crucial moment that the TARDIS materialises, right before his eyes.
Bret hides and watches as the Doctor and Katarina step out of the TARDIS. Katarina may not understand what has happened to her, but she is pretty chill about it all, innocently placing her trust in the Doctor who was, after all, introduced to her as a god. She is intrigued to find herself in such a strange place, asks if the Doctor is sure he can find help here, and agrees to stay and look after Steven. The Doctor is just lovely with her by bringing her aboard, rescuing her from the fall of Troy, he has taken responsibility for her, a brand new surrogate granddaughter; this Doctor likes having young people to care for. He doesn't talk down to her, but he does use language she will be able to understand, teaching her how to operate the door control so that she can seal it after him. I can see why the writers thought it best not to keep such a primitive character in the cast long-term, as it would have meant significant investment in her gradual learning curve, an investment they weren't willing to make, but watching the Doctor teach her to adapt to her new circumstances could have been so sweet and rewarding. It worked well with the similarly primitive Leela, a decade later, although she was admittedly a much more open-minded and forward-thinking character from the start.
Anyway, alas for the Doctor, Bret Vyon is watching and now has designs on the TARDIS, desperate as he is to escape Kembel and get his warning back to Earth. He confronts the Doctor and threatens to kill him if he doesn't hand over the key, and we've already seen how hard Bret tried to save his wounded colleague, we know that he values life, so this drives home just how desperate he is and how ruthless he is prepared to be in pursuit of his goal. It also demonstrates how unwilling he is to trust anyone he meets on this planet a very militaristic mind-set, one that seeks to requisition a needed supply rather than requesting aid from strangers. If only he'd asked the Doctor for help from the start instead of confronting him like this, they all could have been spared a lot of trouble!
As Katarina nurses the feverish Steven, she explains her belief that they are all dead and on their journey through the Underworld, which is no doubt the reason she's so calm: she thinks the worst has already happened. Steven doesn't understand where Vicki is (the one mention of her in this episode) or how Katarina came to be aboard, and passes out again just as the doors open and Bret Vyon walks in. He is rather staggered by the TARDIS interior, but recovers quickly to bluff that the Doctor sent him. He tries to get Katarina to show him how the TARDIS works, but she can't of course. Meanwhile, the Doctor has reached the TARDIS, furious at having the key taken from him by force and finds that Bret has carelessly left it in the lock in his hurry. His habit of monologuing his own narrative comes in handy for the recon!
Inside the TARDIS, Steven comes round and sees the intruder, grabs a spanner and hits Bret with it, and then promptly collapses again, because Steven is the damsel in distress of this episode. By the time Bret wakes up, the Doctor has got him neatly trapped in a very special chair his own invention, he claims, with a forcefield strong enough to contain a herd of elephants. It's a shame he seems to lose this chair later, as I'm sure it would have come in handy in later adventures! Bret is well and truly stuck. The Doctor then turns his attention to Steven and Katarina, and I love the way he lowers his voice so as not to disturb Steven and becomes so gentle and conspiratorial as he discusses the situation with Katarina. Significantly, he points out to Katarina the switch that operates the forcefield around Bret's chair, and Katarina may be primitive but she isn't stupid, she retains the information that's explained to her. She was trained to be diligent and obedient.
The Doctor heads off through the jungle toward the city, narrowly avoiding deadly Varga plants. Along the way he stumbles upon a skeleton, the remains of the unfortunate Marc Cory from Mission to the Unknown, and picks up the tape bearing Cory's warning to Earth, although he doesn't know yet what it is. Reaching the city, he finds it crawling with Daleks.
Back aboard the TARDIS, we learn more about the sort of man Bret Vyon is when he questions Katarina about Steven's sickness and then offers her tablets that will cure him. Katarina doesn't understand why an enemy would want to help, because that's the world she comes from, but Bret doesn't view himself as an enemy, he's just a man on a mission, and he values human life, we already know that, admits that he hates to see life wasted. Katarina is right to be wary of him, it could so easily be a trap, but the Doctor's chair is everything he claimed, Bret's intentions are honest and he is a persuasive man. So Katarina makes a judgement call, chooses to trust him. She has never seen tablets before, which confuses Bret, but she follows his instructions anyway, giving Steven the medication that will save his life. She might be short-lived as a companion, but the choices she makes along the way are significant. And I've got to say that I really appreciate all the little throwaway character details of Bret reacting to Katarina he doesn't know her background and therefore can't make head or tail of her, the kind of nuance that isn't strictly necessary to the plot but nonetheless enriches the story by adding extra facets to the characters, allowing them to react to one another as individuals.
Earlier we learned that Earth's leader, the great Mavic Chen, so revered by his subjects, was going off on an intergalactic holiday a good excuse for dropping off the radar for a while. Now we learn the truth as the Doctor watches him arrive at the Dalek city on Kembel to join the conference this great world leader is in fact a traitor, selling his people out to the Daleks for the promise of power. This is actor Kevin Stoney's first appearance on Doctor Who, but he will be back in various other roles over the years.
Perturbed by what he's seen, the Doctor hurries back to the TARDIS only to find it surrounded by Daleks.
Episode two: 'Day of Armageddon'
Live action this is the one extant episode of Katarina's time on the show. It opens with a reprise of the cliffhanger end: the Doctor arriving back at the TARDIS to find it surrounded by Daleks. I've got to say, I love the jungle set, now that I can actually see it in action, so to speak. It looks great. The Daleks, having a useful habit of discussing instruction among themselves, inform us that they are under orders to seek and destroy the occupants of the TARDIS, while putting operation 'Inferno' into action multi-tasking ahoy!
Oh, I like the weird way Mavic Chen holds his pen to write, and the strange back-and-fore nature of his script that's a neat little visual detail that would be lost if this episode didn't exist, a tiny snippet of cultural information about this future society and the way its literacy has developed, conveyed purely by a throwaway visual at the start of a scene. I also love that he has such beautifully manicured nails! He's a 40th century man! The scene itself revolves around Chen's meeting with a hooded being called Zephon, another ally of the Daleks tempted to betray his people by the promise of power; in sounding one another out, they trade a lot of exposition about the composition of their respective power bases and their motivations for joining the Daleks. Reading between the lines of their discussion we learn just how clever and manipulative the Daleks have been, successfully persuading the leaders of numerous galactic civilisations to betray their people, finding and exploiting their weaknesses, convincing them that the promises made will be upheld. We don't usually think of Daleks as political beings, but they've done a masterful job on Mavic Chen, Zephon and their other allies. Chen is more of a realist than Zephon, but even he believes he can control the Daleks and use them to his advantage.
It does bug me, though, that everyone in the story keeps referring to our solar system as The Solar System, as if it's the only one.
Steven, meanwhile, is rather surprised when he wakes up to find himself in the jungle instead of the TARDIS. Primitive she may be, but Katarina manages to give a pretty coherent explanation of the tablets she used to make him well and the reason they had to leave the 'temple' or TARDIS, as she remembers to correct herself because the 'evil ones' came: the Daleks. Bret Vyon taught her that word. Just then the Doctor stumbles upon them bless her, Katarina is so happy to see him; she's done what he asked, has looked after Steven, and can now hand responsibility back to him. The Doctor, for his part, is shocked to find his companions in the jungle instead of the TARDIS. Katarina explains that Bret saw the Daleks approach on the scanner and persuaded her that they had to escape from the TARDIS before it could be destroyed the second big judgement call she has had to make, and evidence that she is paying close attention, as she remembered both which switch would turn off the forcefield to free Bret and which switch would open the door. She is anxious for assurance that she did the right thing and the Doctor realises that neither she nor Bret could be expected to know they'd been perfectly safe in the TARDIS also, he is still teaching her, gently telling her the correct words to use when her limited vocabulary interprets events in religious and superstitious terms. I really like their dynamic. I love this side of the Doctor in general, in fact, his paternal instincts well and truly to the fore as he fusses over Steven and is relieved to hear that his friend is recovering he's come such a tremendously long way since An Unearthly Child.
Bret Vyon himself is off scouting and sees Daleks armed with flamethrowers setting fire to the jungle Operation Inferno. He rushes back to the clearing where the Doctor and Katarina are helping the still-weak Steven to stand. From antagonists to allies, neither the Doctor nor Bret wastes any time on recriminations of any kind. The Doctor immediately says thank you for healing Steven while Bret relates what he has just seen. They're all in this together now. The Doctor wants to go straight back to the TARDIS, where they will be safe, but Steven fears it could be a trap and they bicker a little because they are stressed. Even Katarina is confident enough to join in. Bret Vyon yells at them all to shut up because his priority is warning Earth, above all else, but the Doctor feels that actually stopping the Daleks is more important than sending warnings in the hope that someone else will take action. That's a good demonstration of the contrast between the two: Bret placing his faith in the system he just wants to get his warning to Earth, that's his mission, and then, if he's still alive afterward, someone else will take responsibility and issue him with new orders accordingly whereas the Doctor doesn't believe in chains of command, he believes in taking responsibility and direct action oneself. It's a nicely tense scene, selling the stress and heightened emotions; only the Doctor and Steven know each other here, the rest are all strangers to one other, thrown together by circumstance, each with a strongly-held opinion of what to do for the best.
Man, scenes involving fire in the studio-set must have been a nightmare for the production team! Douglas Camfield's artistic directorial touch is apparent throughout the extant episodes, he does a marvellous job with some really creative shots and angles it's just a shame we can only see a fraction of his work.
The Doctor and Bret continue to argue about the best course of action talk about the clash of alpha males, and with Steven thrown in for good measure, hot-head that he is! Katarina doesn't have much of a voice here, which is a shame but makes sense for her character. I really like that Steven is still running around with his arm immobilised in a sling, carrying an injury from an earlier adventure it underlines the continuity of the series, the progression of one adventure following on from another, no time to rest and recover. Even many modern shows don't follow up on injuries sustained like that, instead resetting for the next episode as if they never happened.
As they are cut off from the TARDIS by Daleks and forest fire, the Doctor leads the way to the Dalek city, reasoning that it's the last place they'll be expected to go typical Doctor logic! When they reach the city, Steven is thrilled to see so many spaceships gathered together, he thinks they look beautiful a reminder that Steven is not a contemporary of the audience but comes from the future, he was a space pilot before meeting the Doctor, so it's a really nice little character touch that he gets excited at the sight of spaceships. Bret Vyon recognises one of the ships as Mavic Chen's and while he is still pondering the implications of that, the Doctor is already a few steps ahead, deciding that if Bret can fly the ship, that means they can steal it and take their warning to Earth. I really enjoy the dynamic between the three men throughout this episode, they're really well written, with their differing knowledge bases and goals and points of view. It is also fascinating to me that the Doctor would suggest leaving the TARDIS behind to go on an extended space voyage in another vessel it makes sense, because he can't pilot the TARDIS accurately so couldn't risk using it for the journey even if they could get to it safely, but still. He doesn't usually leave it quite so far behind, not by choice at least.
Our gang hide when Zephon comes out for a walk, testing his importance to the Daleks by defying them. The Doctor quickly takes Bret's gun off him, to prevent any killing, and encourages him instead to jump out and capture Zephon, which he does. This allows the Doctor to take Zephon's robes so that he can sneak into the conference to spy on the Daleks, because what use is their warning to Earth if they don't know any details of what the Daleks are planning? Katarina can barely bring herself to look at the alien creature, but the menfolk are all accustomed to aliens and make short work of securely binding him, although Steven agrees with Katarina that Zephon is hideous! While the Doctor gives Bret the tape he found in the jungle before heading into the conference, in the background we can see Steven deep in conversation with Katarina, which I like; it adds texture to the scene to see the characters active rather than passive even when not at the forefront and it's nice to see them bonding, having been thrown together by circumstance. Unlike Bret, Steven knows only too well where Katarina came from and now that he's recovered from his fever he is taking responsibility for her, following the Doctor's lead. Bret, meanwhile, protests when the Doctor says they must leave without him if anything goes wrong he admires bravery and is not willing to leave a man behind but the mission has to come first, Earth has to be warned, and the burden of that responsibility is heavy on his shoulders, we can see that plainly.
Disguised in Zephon's robes, the Doctor infiltrates the Daleks' conference, although it's just as well no one looks down at his feet, the only part of him visible they are nothing like Zephon's! At least he thinks to keep his hands hidden, swathed within the robes. The Daleks announce to their assembled allies that something called 'The Time Destructor' is now completed and only awaits the fitting of a power core to be made operational. The various allies start pounding the tables by way of applause on hearing this, and even if they are just men in rubber suits, I really like how differently they all move, the various species differentiated by more than just appearance the show had no CGI to fall back on in these days, so had to rely on simpler means to convey different alien beings, and the producers did the best they could with the resources available to them, finding imaginative solutions to the challenges they faced. Mavic Chen has only just joined the alliance and brings with him the vital core, composed of taranium, 'the rarest mineral in the universe', found only on one dead planet of 'the solar system', apparently Earth's solar system, that is Uranus, to be precise, and it took 50 years' work to harvest even this small amount. So that tells us that this taranium core is both vital and cannot be replaced, and that the Time Destructor will not operate without it. This is just the sort of information the Doctor was hoping for.
The crewmen left in charge of Mavic Chen's Spar 740, meanwhile, are rather surprised when Bret Vyon, Steven and Katarina burst into the spaceship, tie them up at gunpoint and haul them out into the jungle where they won't be found. The intrepid trio begin to prepare for take-off, just waiting for the Doctor to re-join them but, abandoned outside, Zephon has come round and manages to hit an alarm button.
This sparks general panic at the conference; Daleks do tend to get a bit hysterical when things don't go quite to plan. Amid the general confusion, the Doctor grabs the taranium core and runs for it.
On the Spar 740, pragmatic Bret Vyon decides that there is no option but to take-off while they still can, but Steven argues vociferously against leaving the Doctor physically blocking Bret's efforts as best he can one-handed while Katarina, despairing, prays to the 'great one' not to leave them. She still believes the Doctor is a god. This is plot conflict driven by characterisation pragmatic Bret's mission focus, hot-headed Steven's loyalty to the Doctor, gentle Katarina's culture shock and dependence; we've been building toward this stand-off all through the episode. When Bret shoves the still-weakened Steven aside, Katarina takes his place, protesting that without the Doctor they can't reach 'The Place of Perfection' this is how she has rationalised her experiences. But Bret is adamant that the mission must take priority and continues to prepare for take-off. It's a strong, tense scene for the cliffhanger episode end.
Episode three: 'Devil's Planet'
Back to the recons! The Doctor just barely makes it aboard the Spar 740 before it takes off, neatly resolving the cliffhanger end without any let-up in the tension as the group make their escape from Kembel just in the nick of time but the Daleks aren't far behind because the Doctor has the taranium core they so urgently need for their plan to be successful. The chase is on.
I do like the way the concept of this story calls back to The Chase, in structural terms but while The Chase was primarily played for humour, The Daleks' Master Plan is a solid drama, tense and atmospheric.
The Doctor brings everyone up to speed on what he has learned. Bret is gobsmacked to learn of Mavic Chen's duplicity, Steven is anxious to get their warning to Earth but Katarina doesn't understand how they can return to Earth when they've already left it. It amuses me that when Bret finally cracks and asks Steven what Katarina's deal is, unable to make her out, Steven doesn't really explain at all, simply saying that she'd helped them in Troy leaving Bret, who doesn't know about time travel, more confused than ever!
Back on Kembel, there's a lot of finger pointing as the Daleks, Zephon and Mavic Chen are all keen to blame each other for the loss of the taranium core. The Daleks, of course, have the upper hand, always, and settle the argument by executing Zephon, who has outlived his usefulness. That'll leave a nice power vacuum in the Fifth Galaxy. It should also serve as a warning to Mavic Chen about just how loyal the Daleks aren't to their promises and their allies, but he is too arrogant to heed it.
The Doctor and his friends are still debating the taranium and what to do with it, Steven asking incessant questions for which the Doctor has no answer. Steven seems to have taken his arm out of its sling in between episodes, judging by the telesnaps perhaps Bret's tablets miraculously healed the stab wound as well as the infection! A brief clip of moving action shows us that he is still favouring the arm, though, holding it awkwardly and rubbing it a visual detail thrown in by the actor as a note of continuity that would be lost if this short clip hadn't survived. The Doctor decides now would be a good time to play the tape he found in the jungle on Kembel, and I like the way he calls Katarina over to show her another 'wonder', still trying to teach her, to help her adjust to her new situation, a little at a time. Bret realises that the body the Doctor found must have been Marc Cory and the tape confirms it; the message doesn't tell them anything more than they already knew, really, but it's a nice note of continuity from Mission to the Unknown and allows a good little moment of character insight for Bret, who knew Marc and mourns the confirmation of his death, as well as providing a rallying call for the whole group. Marc Cory never got his warning through to Earth but they must! Bret suggests that a man named Karlton is the most obvious person to go to with their warning, as he is in charge of space security, but worries that Karlton is close to Chen and may be part of the conspiracy; after Chen's betrayal, Bret has to decide who he now trusts.
Unfortunately for our heroes' hopes of reaching Earth, the Daleks have a device called a 'randomiser' fitted aboard Mavic Chen's ship and use it to cause a crash landing on a planet called Desperus a prison planet. Luckily the Daleks don't want the ship to be destroyed, because they want the taranium core intact, so remote control a soft rather than a hard crash landing, but our heroes feel it nonetheless, and realise what this means: that the Daleks are coming after them again.
Desperus is aptly named typical of a Terry Nation script. It is a penal colony without guards because none are needed: the convicts dropped here have no means of escape and not much more means of survival. They live like savages. There are women along them we are shown two, cowering in a corner but the men are dominant and have all the speaking parts. This is not a story that has any interest in passing the Bechdel test and the dearth of female roles is perhaps its greatest weakness. We spend a good few minutes of this episode getting to know a few of the convicts and their social structure, which pretty much amounts to 'dog eat dog' and 'survival of the fittest'. These scenes are mostly filler and could have achieved the same result much more swiftly had a shorter story required compression, but this is a more leisurely story that takes time to flesh out even the supporting characters, if only a little, and the point is made: these people are desperate and brutal and will do anything to survive and to escape. They see the Spar 740 landing in a nearby swamp and are excited, making plans to kill the crew and steal the ship.
While Katarina stands at the door, gazing out at her second alien planet in as many days, the other three are busy trying to repair the ship. The Doctor is disdainful of the Spar, which to him seems primitive startling Bret, to whom this is the very latest in spacecraft design. Steven promptly makes things worse by pointing out the TARDIS's flaws, which is typical Steven hot-headed, cynical and outspoken, with a knack for putting his foot in it! Typical men, bickering about their vehicles but the quality or lack thereof of the Spar isn't really what they are fighting about; they are stressed and worried and this is how that manifests. It's good character work.
Leaving the others to it, the Doctor goes to see what Katarina is doing and she tells him she can see lights out in the swamp the first warning of oncoming danger in the form of armed and desperate convicts. The Daleks, meanwhile, have calculated the location of the crashed ship and are already on their way to retrieve it so our intrepid heroes are under pressure from two directions as they frantically work to repair the ship and make good their escape.
The Doctor takes care of the approaching convicts by setting a trap for them, utilising the natural resources available, namely the swamp itself, into which he tosses the end of a cable. He continues to encourage Katarina to play an active role by showing her a switch he wants her to pull when the time is right Bret and Steven are both busy with repairs still, after all but discourages her from asking questions, which is a shame, as it denies her the opportunity to really learn. But time is of the essence here. Katarina is keen-eyed and observant, the first to spot movement out in the swamp after the approaching convicts have doused their lights. The Doctor waits until they are close, then instructs her to throw the switch, sending 'catic energy' through the cable and into the swamp water: a nasty shock for the convicts, knocking them out without killing them. The Doctor makes this point very clearly to Bret: that he has no interest in killing, not even these wretched attackers. Katarina is delighted by their success and tells the Doctor that she knows she is safe with him. Talk about tempting fate.
Repairs complete, the ship takes off, but during take-off Bret notices a flashing light to indicate that the outer door is still open the Doctor forgot to close it after pulling the cable back inside. Bret is quick to close it remotely, from the control console but no one has thought to check the airlock, presuming that all the attackers were beaten back, that they are safe. It is a fatal mistake. The group are jubilant as they take off, especially when they see the Daleks crashing their own ship, having misjudged their landing. Then the Doctor tells Katarina to check that the airlock door is secure, now that they are in flight, thereby unwittingly sending her to her doom, as no sooner has she opened the inner door than she is grabbed one of the convicts made it aboard after all.
Episode four: 'The Traitors'
Chaos reigns as the convict called Kirksen holds a terrified Katarina hostage, while the others react with impotent fury. Kirksen demands that they change course Earth is the last place he wants to go. He suggests Kembel instead, as the nearest planet, not knowing what Kembel has become or who the Daleks are. The others try to reason with him, but Kirksen's time on Desperus has made him desperate and deranged. He cannot be reasoned with.
Steven and Bret pretend to change course, but Kirksen isn't buying it. Then Bret pushes a control that makes the ship lurch violently, no doubt hoping to throw Kirksen off balance enough for Katarina to escape, but instead he drags her into the airlock and seals the door, threatening to space them all if they try to open it again. The Doctor attempts to negotiate with Kirksen over the intercom and in the process of this conversation, crucial details about the airlock function are discussed. Katarina is screaming and whimpering, but she is also listening and we have seen that she is quick to take such information on board. A surviving clip allows us to witness the scene in full as Bret reasons that Kirksen can't risk killing Katarina or he'll lose his hostage, but Steven is panic-stricken, rushing around yelling at the hostage-taker, beside himself he barely knows Katarina, and yet is desperate to save her life. It's good characterisation for Steven, always so hot-headed, who became like a big brother to Vicki and then awoke after his injury to find her gone, who we have seen taking on similar responsibility for Katarina, allowing her to fill that gap. She tended him when he was wounded, sweet and gentle and so very far from her own time. He knows where she came from, how little she understands of her new situation. He is absolutely frantic with fear for her.
The Doctor yells at Bret to change course and head back to Kembel, reasoning that they will just have to take their chances with the Daleks, but Bret, pragmatic Bret, frets that he can't risk the entire mission for the sake of one girl. Steven argues passionately for him to do as the Doctor says, they can deal with one problem at a time and he will not allow Katarina to be harmed. Katarina, though, takes the decision out of all of their hands, scratching at her captor's face and twisting away from him, reaching for the door controls Steven screams through the door for her to stop, not that switch, but she hits it. The airlock operates. Katarina and Kirksen are both sucked out into space, killed instantly.
Three seasons into the show, this is the first time a companion of the Doctor has died and it is an awful moment. The three men are horrified, unable at first even to speak. Steven has been so loud up till now, frantic and furious, but his voice becomes very small as he dazedly laments that she hit the wrong switch but the Doctor doesn't think so, offering as an alternative that perhaps Katarina wanted to save all their lives. And the kicker is that no one will ever know did Katarina know what she was doing or not? Did she think she was opening the door back into the ship, trying to get back to the friends she trusted to save her? Or did she know that she was killing both herself and her captor, making an active choice to spare everyone else? I like that it is ambiguous because that feels very real; things aren't always clear-cut. The Doctor likes to believe the latter, murmuring that he hopes she's reached her Place of Perfection, but Steven finds no comfort in the thought, utterly desolate. The Doctor sadly eulogises that he will always remember her as one of the daughters of the gods, and it is a beautifully written scene, full of emotion without being manipulative. Poor Katarina: she may have been written out prematurely as a character who couldn't have worked long term, but her death is allowed to have weight and meaning regardless.
On Kembel, meanwhile, the Daleks' alien allies are growing restless, but the Daleks remain resolute, convinced that no matter what happens they will succeed and conquer the universe, nothing shall stand in their way. It's a pointless enough scene, simply re-establishing Dalek plans and motive, but it provides a needed break from the aftermath of Katarina's death. By the time we return to the stolen Spar, it is fast approaching Earth and the intrepid trio have pulled themselves back together because they have a job to do that isn't going to be easy, although their mood remains sombre. They have to find a safe place to land, away from any public places, since they are travelling in Mavic Chen's own spacecraft, stolen. Bret suggests an experimental plant somewhere near to 'Central City', where he has a friend he thinks will be willing to help them.
Famous last words. Mavic Chen is the Guardian of the Galaxy and has made it back to Earth first. Whose word is more likely to be believed? Even as the Doctor and his friends prepare to land, Chen is already in a meeting with Karlton previously named as head of space security and a female agent named Lizan, studying a 3D projection of Bret Vyon, who Chen has named as a traitor. Lizan spouts off a ream of interesting biographical data about Bret, who comes from Mars Colony 16, and we learn that Chen believes Bret is still working with his partner Kert Gantry, as the space agency knows that they never reported in from Kembel as yet, no one knows about Gantry's death or about the Doctor and Steven. Lizan reckons that their computer systems contain precise chemical details of every man, woman and child within the solar system, 40 billion people, with no scope for error talk about Big Brother! Chen gives orders for Bret and whoever he is with to be shot on sight, rather than arrested. Then comes the twist as Lizan scurries off to relay these orders, Chen continues his discussion with Karlton who, we learn, is a fellow conspirator, in it up to his neck. Amusingly, Chen chides Karlton for training his agents too well, scoffing that if Bret (and Marc Cory before him) weren't so good at his job, there wouldn't be a problem! Cory's mission was unauthorised, we learn. He acted on a hunch, and then when his distress signal was received, Karlton was unable to stop rescue missions without revealing himself.
I really like that although we only met Marc Cory in one episode earlier in the season, although he never met the Doctor, he remains a driving force in the story as his mission and his death continue to have meaning, their repercussions playing out in ways he never could have predicted. If not for Marc Cory, Bret Vyon would not have travelled to Kembel, would not have provided the medication to save Steven's life, and would not have joined forces with the Doctor to steal the Spar and pilot it back to Earth. None of them would be where they are now.
The Spar isn't in good shape, after the crash landing on Desperus, and Bret isn't sure he can avoid another crash now. Sweetly, Steven protests that they can't crash as they have such a valuable cargo on board and he isn't talking about the taranium, but the Doctor. Bless. The Doctor heard that and blusters not to worry about him. The taranium is what matters.
Mavic Chen is becoming agitated about the stolen taranium, which is the only bargaining chip he has, the only reason the Daleks allowed him onto the council, the necessary key to unlock the power he craves. Because ruling an entire solar system simply isn't enough. Via conversation with Karlton, we learn that an agent named Kingdom is in command of the mission to eliminate Bret Vyon, an agent Chen approves as ruthless, hard and efficient, and who does exactly as ordered. We meet her soon enough: Sara Kingdom, played by Jean Marsh in her second role on the show a woman about to embark on a tumultuous character journey. For now, she is exactly as described, a dedicated agent who knows her duty and is utterly committed to it, no matter what. Chen takes the time to brief her personally on the importance of recovering the taranium. Once she has gone, Chen and Karlton gloat that she believed every word and Chen exults that 'a heroic war cry to apparently peaceful ends is one of the greatest weapons a politician has' it's awful because it rings so true, of so many war-leaders and dictators throughout history. Sara Kingdom believes in Mavic Chen and his cause, believes absolutely that Bret Vyon and his associates are traitors. She is a soldier following orders and it would never for a second occur to her to question those orders.
The Spar crash lands at the experimental station, but its crew emerge unharmed and Bret quickly ushers the Doctor and Steven into the office of his friend, Daxtar, who he is sure will be willing to help them. Daxtar doesn't appear to be around, however, and the Doctor and Steven soon grow agitated by the wait, worried that the crash will have attracted attention, worried that they are wasting time. Bret, though, is certain that he can trust his friend to help them, too certain to consider any other options he has figured out that Chen will have made it back to Earth first and put out a warrant for him, which is why he believes this experimental plant is the safest place, as access is tightly restricted. The Doctor is worried that the place is too empty, fears that they may have walked into an ambush and he isn't far wrong.
Daxtar finally shows up and listens with apparent incredulity to the travellers' tale of intrigue and Daleks. Steven isn't interested in how incredible the tale is, he just wants assurance that they can finally start to do something about it, while the Doctor is at pains to point out that he and Steven must return to Kembel to retrieve 'some equipment' they left there. Daxtar, surprised, asks if he left the taranium there and thus gives himself away as yet another traitor, as none of the travellers had mentioned that the core is composed of taranium. Our intrepid heroes just can't catch a break. The Doctor demands to know how many others are involved in the conspiracy, while Bret struggles to get his head around it he's known Daxtar for years, trusted him just as the entire population trusts Mavic Chen. How do we know we can truly trust the people we trust? That's the question posed by this episode. Betrayed again, Bret's anger boils over and he shoots Daxtar dead incurring the wrath of the Doctor, who rails against killing of any kind and points out that they could have learned more from Daxtar about who else is involved, but now they have no way of knowing who they can trust. Hartnell puts in an excellent performance, even just in the vocals. Everything about this story so far succeeds in creating an atmosphere of high stakes tension that continues to build and build.
Mavic Chen gets a bit ahead of himself, reporting back to the Daleks on Kembel that he will return in two days with the taranium and also making false allegations of treachery against the representative called Trantis, who is his biggest rival for power. So many little games afoot, all this juggling and jostling for position. Trantis protests his innocence but the Daleks are keeping an open mind. Of course they are. They're planning to kill all their allies in the end anyway.
At the experimental plant, the travellers brainstorm for ideas, desperately trying to think of a way to both escape with their lives and raise the alarm about the Daleks, despite not knowing who they can or can't trust. I like that when the Doctor continues to needle Bret about killing Daxtar, Steven defends their new ally by pointing out that they could never have been certain they could trust anything Daxtar said anyway, which is a fair point. I really enjoy the debates between these three they are all so argumentative, each offering a different perspective on their situation.
Before they can reach any workable conclusions, Sara Kingdom comes storming in. Bret is delighted to see her, bless him, he thinks she is just the person they need like Daxtar, this is someone he believes he can trust, without question or hesitation, despite the lesson he has only just learned, despite having realised that there must be an arrest warrant out on him by now. And he expects Sara, in turn to trust him. But she doesn't. Her conditioning and training are too strong. She believes Bret to be a traitor and is utterly focused on the mission at hand: recovering the taranium. You can hear utter dismay in Bret's voice, his deep sense of betrayal, as he realises that Sara too is against him, part of the conspiracy. He shoves her aside, buying enough time for the Doctor and Steven to escape, but Bret himself is trapped as Sara recovers and turns her gun on him, demanding the taranium. Only now does he reach for his own weapon and she shoots him dead on the spot, just like that. This is a brutal episode! Bret has been almost like another companion to the Doctor for four episodes now, so his death on top of Katarina's hits hard.
Sara searches his body but does not find the taranium core, so she heads after the Doctor and Steven, determined to fulfil her mission, and orders her subordinates to shoot to kill.
On to Part II
Follows on from Season One, Season Two, Galaxy Four, Mission to the Unknown and The Myth Makers
DOCTOR: Well, I suppose you might say that I am a citizen of the universe and a gentleman to boot.
Overview
The Daleks' Master Plan is an epic, by any standard: a sprawling tale spanning both galaxies and centuries, told over 12 action-packed episodes the longest Doctor Who story ever made with a single director and production code. The stakes are high and the losses painful and losses there are: not one but two of the Doctor's companions, the first of only a handful of such deaths in the show's long history. The deaths are real and hit hard; they can't be undone and have significance both within the context of the adventure and, more personally, for the survivors, the Doctor and Steven, who feel the losses keenly.
Only three of the 12 episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan still exist, episodes two, five and ten; the other nine are all lost, but may be experienced either as audio or reconstruction. Like The Myth Makers before it, my first entry into this epic adventure was the novelisation, told over two separate but sequential books, due to the length of the story, and beautifully written by John Peel. It really is a fantastic read, one I'd recommend to anyone.
The plot, in a nutshell, is this: following on from the events of the standalone episode Mission to the Unknown earlier in the season, the Doctor, Steven and new companion Katarina land on the planet Kembel just as the Daleks are reaching the final stages of their master plan to achieve total universal domination. The TARDIS travellers must join forces first with Space Security Agent Bret Vyon and later with his sister, Space Security Agent Sara Kingdom, to thwart this terrible plan.
The story also encompasses the total TARDIS travelling time of two new companions, Katarina and Sara, both of whom lose their lives along the way.
Katarina is often criticised by fans as the companion who was written out almost as soon as she arrived, too primitive to function effectively as a permanent character on the show, yet she manages to play a fairly active role in her scant few episodes. To be sure, as a naïve and sheltered handmaiden from the 13th century BC, she understands barely anything she encounters, but that doesn't mean she is useless. She might interpret her experiences through the filter of superstition and religion, but she makes herself useful nonetheless, nursing Steven through his sickness and learning how to operate various high-tech controls, whether she understands them or not. She is observant enough to give early warning when enemies approach and bright enough to both follow instruction and use her own judgement when necessary, applying the lessons she has learnt in unexpected ways up to and including the sacrifice of her own life to save those of her companions. A true hero.
Sara Kingdom is equally controversial, with fans having argued for almost five decades now over whether or not she 'counts' as a Doctor Who companion, given that she appears only in one serial. To my mind, she counts, just as Katarina does. Both travel with the Doctor in the TARDIS Katarina sadly for only one trip but Sara for multiple journeys over a period of time, during which she is living aboard both fulfil the sidekick role of the companion in support of the Doctor, and, whatever was going on off-screen, in-story both would have remained with him on his travels longer-term had they not died. Thus they are both companions, however short-lived, and two more different women you would struggle to find anywhere: the innocent primitive from pre-history and the bold security agent from the future; they never meet yet each has a role to play in this epic battle, for which both lay down their lives. Viewed side-by-side, they really do symbolise the range and depth of what Doctor Who is capable of.
Writer Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner
Director Douglas Camfield
Script editor Donald Tosh
Producer John Wiles
Aired 13 Nov 1965-29 Jan 1966
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
Episode one: 'The Nightmare Begins'
When Susan left and again when Ian and Barbara left, time was devoted to the aftermath of these partings in the episode that followed, and this both generated a sense of continuity and reinforced the relationships. Here, however, there is little time for anyone to spare a thought for Vicki, who has just been left behind in the 13th century BC to build a new life with a lad she's just barely met. Instead, the sense of continuity comes via the crisis that picks up exactly where the last episode left off. Katarina has just stumbled from a warzone in pre-history into the high-tech TARDIS interior and is utterly bewildered, Steven has been stabbed in the shoulder and is weak and feverish, and the Doctor is trying to cope with everything at once: piloting the TARDIS while trying to tend Steven while gently coaxing Katarina through her culture shock. He encourages her to keep busy by looking after Steven for him, which is as good a distraction as any from her cultural confusion and is something practical she is able to do that will help him. Bless her, she might not understand much of what just happened to her, but she is a sweet, trusting girl and is only too willing to help.
Steven's wound seems to have festered tremendously quickly I can only hope that Troilus, who was injured in the same battle, didn't develop a similar infection, else he's toast and poor Vicki will be stranded in pre-history with no one! Steven's infection appears to be highly virulent, and the Doctor has no medication aboard the TARDIS with which to treat it, so he decides to land in hopes of finding help. Perhaps it's after this incident that he starts collecting medications for all ills, so that this never happens again!
Meanwhile on the planet Kembel, previously seen in Mission to the Unknown (the second point of ongoing continuity in this episode), we meet actor Nicholas Courtney for the very first time better known, of course, as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, but here playing Space Security Agent Bret Vyon. Bret came to Kembel looking for the unfortunate Marc Cory but instead discovered the Daleks planning intergalactic conquest, and is now trying desperately to get a warning through to Earth before he and his wounded comrade are found and killed.
Back on Earth, a conversation between two duty officers at Central Communications delivers a bit of exposition about Bret's mission and also about Earth's leader, Mavic Chen, 'Guardian of the Galaxy', who is revered by his subjects and, we learn in a televised interview, is about to go on an 'intergalactic holiday' in his Spar 740, the ultimate in space travel. This information will become relevant soon enough. It's a functional scene which conveys a fair amount of world-building information about this future civilisation of the year 4000, and its culture and politics, which are founded on an intergalactic non-aggression pact signed in 3975, ushering in an age of peace and prosperity. Throughout all this talk, a small light has been flashing, signalling Bret Vyon's attempts to make contact, but the officers are too busy chatting and watching the vid-screen to notice it. Talk about dereliction of duty!
Bret's wounded comrade Kert Gantry forces a reluctant Bret at gunpoint to leave him behind, sacrificing himself to the Daleks in the interests of the greater good i.e. the survival of the one most likely to succeed in getting their warning back to Earth. It's a good, tense scene, nicely juxtaposed with the relaxed atmosphere back on Earth, really underlining the severity of the situation they've uncovered and how critical it is that they get their message back to Earth, which is utterly unprepared to defend itself against attack. That mission will remain Bret's primary focus and this scene is a good introduction to his personality, telling us that he is a good man who cares about human life but is pragmatic enough that when push comes to shove he is capable of prioritising the needs of the many over the needs of the few. When he trips and drops his precious transmitter, breaking it, he despairs and it is at this crucial moment that the TARDIS materialises, right before his eyes.
Bret hides and watches as the Doctor and Katarina step out of the TARDIS. Katarina may not understand what has happened to her, but she is pretty chill about it all, innocently placing her trust in the Doctor who was, after all, introduced to her as a god. She is intrigued to find herself in such a strange place, asks if the Doctor is sure he can find help here, and agrees to stay and look after Steven. The Doctor is just lovely with her by bringing her aboard, rescuing her from the fall of Troy, he has taken responsibility for her, a brand new surrogate granddaughter; this Doctor likes having young people to care for. He doesn't talk down to her, but he does use language she will be able to understand, teaching her how to operate the door control so that she can seal it after him. I can see why the writers thought it best not to keep such a primitive character in the cast long-term, as it would have meant significant investment in her gradual learning curve, an investment they weren't willing to make, but watching the Doctor teach her to adapt to her new circumstances could have been so sweet and rewarding. It worked well with the similarly primitive Leela, a decade later, although she was admittedly a much more open-minded and forward-thinking character from the start.
Anyway, alas for the Doctor, Bret Vyon is watching and now has designs on the TARDIS, desperate as he is to escape Kembel and get his warning back to Earth. He confronts the Doctor and threatens to kill him if he doesn't hand over the key, and we've already seen how hard Bret tried to save his wounded colleague, we know that he values life, so this drives home just how desperate he is and how ruthless he is prepared to be in pursuit of his goal. It also demonstrates how unwilling he is to trust anyone he meets on this planet a very militaristic mind-set, one that seeks to requisition a needed supply rather than requesting aid from strangers. If only he'd asked the Doctor for help from the start instead of confronting him like this, they all could have been spared a lot of trouble!
As Katarina nurses the feverish Steven, she explains her belief that they are all dead and on their journey through the Underworld, which is no doubt the reason she's so calm: she thinks the worst has already happened. Steven doesn't understand where Vicki is (the one mention of her in this episode) or how Katarina came to be aboard, and passes out again just as the doors open and Bret Vyon walks in. He is rather staggered by the TARDIS interior, but recovers quickly to bluff that the Doctor sent him. He tries to get Katarina to show him how the TARDIS works, but she can't of course. Meanwhile, the Doctor has reached the TARDIS, furious at having the key taken from him by force and finds that Bret has carelessly left it in the lock in his hurry. His habit of monologuing his own narrative comes in handy for the recon!
Inside the TARDIS, Steven comes round and sees the intruder, grabs a spanner and hits Bret with it, and then promptly collapses again, because Steven is the damsel in distress of this episode. By the time Bret wakes up, the Doctor has got him neatly trapped in a very special chair his own invention, he claims, with a forcefield strong enough to contain a herd of elephants. It's a shame he seems to lose this chair later, as I'm sure it would have come in handy in later adventures! Bret is well and truly stuck. The Doctor then turns his attention to Steven and Katarina, and I love the way he lowers his voice so as not to disturb Steven and becomes so gentle and conspiratorial as he discusses the situation with Katarina. Significantly, he points out to Katarina the switch that operates the forcefield around Bret's chair, and Katarina may be primitive but she isn't stupid, she retains the information that's explained to her. She was trained to be diligent and obedient.
The Doctor heads off through the jungle toward the city, narrowly avoiding deadly Varga plants. Along the way he stumbles upon a skeleton, the remains of the unfortunate Marc Cory from Mission to the Unknown, and picks up the tape bearing Cory's warning to Earth, although he doesn't know yet what it is. Reaching the city, he finds it crawling with Daleks.
Back aboard the TARDIS, we learn more about the sort of man Bret Vyon is when he questions Katarina about Steven's sickness and then offers her tablets that will cure him. Katarina doesn't understand why an enemy would want to help, because that's the world she comes from, but Bret doesn't view himself as an enemy, he's just a man on a mission, and he values human life, we already know that, admits that he hates to see life wasted. Katarina is right to be wary of him, it could so easily be a trap, but the Doctor's chair is everything he claimed, Bret's intentions are honest and he is a persuasive man. So Katarina makes a judgement call, chooses to trust him. She has never seen tablets before, which confuses Bret, but she follows his instructions anyway, giving Steven the medication that will save his life. She might be short-lived as a companion, but the choices she makes along the way are significant. And I've got to say that I really appreciate all the little throwaway character details of Bret reacting to Katarina he doesn't know her background and therefore can't make head or tail of her, the kind of nuance that isn't strictly necessary to the plot but nonetheless enriches the story by adding extra facets to the characters, allowing them to react to one another as individuals.
Earlier we learned that Earth's leader, the great Mavic Chen, so revered by his subjects, was going off on an intergalactic holiday a good excuse for dropping off the radar for a while. Now we learn the truth as the Doctor watches him arrive at the Dalek city on Kembel to join the conference this great world leader is in fact a traitor, selling his people out to the Daleks for the promise of power. This is actor Kevin Stoney's first appearance on Doctor Who, but he will be back in various other roles over the years.
Perturbed by what he's seen, the Doctor hurries back to the TARDIS only to find it surrounded by Daleks.
Episode two: 'Day of Armageddon'
Live action this is the one extant episode of Katarina's time on the show. It opens with a reprise of the cliffhanger end: the Doctor arriving back at the TARDIS to find it surrounded by Daleks. I've got to say, I love the jungle set, now that I can actually see it in action, so to speak. It looks great. The Daleks, having a useful habit of discussing instruction among themselves, inform us that they are under orders to seek and destroy the occupants of the TARDIS, while putting operation 'Inferno' into action multi-tasking ahoy!
Oh, I like the weird way Mavic Chen holds his pen to write, and the strange back-and-fore nature of his script that's a neat little visual detail that would be lost if this episode didn't exist, a tiny snippet of cultural information about this future society and the way its literacy has developed, conveyed purely by a throwaway visual at the start of a scene. I also love that he has such beautifully manicured nails! He's a 40th century man! The scene itself revolves around Chen's meeting with a hooded being called Zephon, another ally of the Daleks tempted to betray his people by the promise of power; in sounding one another out, they trade a lot of exposition about the composition of their respective power bases and their motivations for joining the Daleks. Reading between the lines of their discussion we learn just how clever and manipulative the Daleks have been, successfully persuading the leaders of numerous galactic civilisations to betray their people, finding and exploiting their weaknesses, convincing them that the promises made will be upheld. We don't usually think of Daleks as political beings, but they've done a masterful job on Mavic Chen, Zephon and their other allies. Chen is more of a realist than Zephon, but even he believes he can control the Daleks and use them to his advantage.
It does bug me, though, that everyone in the story keeps referring to our solar system as The Solar System, as if it's the only one.
Steven, meanwhile, is rather surprised when he wakes up to find himself in the jungle instead of the TARDIS. Primitive she may be, but Katarina manages to give a pretty coherent explanation of the tablets she used to make him well and the reason they had to leave the 'temple' or TARDIS, as she remembers to correct herself because the 'evil ones' came: the Daleks. Bret Vyon taught her that word. Just then the Doctor stumbles upon them bless her, Katarina is so happy to see him; she's done what he asked, has looked after Steven, and can now hand responsibility back to him. The Doctor, for his part, is shocked to find his companions in the jungle instead of the TARDIS. Katarina explains that Bret saw the Daleks approach on the scanner and persuaded her that they had to escape from the TARDIS before it could be destroyed the second big judgement call she has had to make, and evidence that she is paying close attention, as she remembered both which switch would turn off the forcefield to free Bret and which switch would open the door. She is anxious for assurance that she did the right thing and the Doctor realises that neither she nor Bret could be expected to know they'd been perfectly safe in the TARDIS also, he is still teaching her, gently telling her the correct words to use when her limited vocabulary interprets events in religious and superstitious terms. I really like their dynamic. I love this side of the Doctor in general, in fact, his paternal instincts well and truly to the fore as he fusses over Steven and is relieved to hear that his friend is recovering he's come such a tremendously long way since An Unearthly Child.
Bret Vyon himself is off scouting and sees Daleks armed with flamethrowers setting fire to the jungle Operation Inferno. He rushes back to the clearing where the Doctor and Katarina are helping the still-weak Steven to stand. From antagonists to allies, neither the Doctor nor Bret wastes any time on recriminations of any kind. The Doctor immediately says thank you for healing Steven while Bret relates what he has just seen. They're all in this together now. The Doctor wants to go straight back to the TARDIS, where they will be safe, but Steven fears it could be a trap and they bicker a little because they are stressed. Even Katarina is confident enough to join in. Bret Vyon yells at them all to shut up because his priority is warning Earth, above all else, but the Doctor feels that actually stopping the Daleks is more important than sending warnings in the hope that someone else will take action. That's a good demonstration of the contrast between the two: Bret placing his faith in the system he just wants to get his warning to Earth, that's his mission, and then, if he's still alive afterward, someone else will take responsibility and issue him with new orders accordingly whereas the Doctor doesn't believe in chains of command, he believes in taking responsibility and direct action oneself. It's a nicely tense scene, selling the stress and heightened emotions; only the Doctor and Steven know each other here, the rest are all strangers to one other, thrown together by circumstance, each with a strongly-held opinion of what to do for the best.
Man, scenes involving fire in the studio-set must have been a nightmare for the production team! Douglas Camfield's artistic directorial touch is apparent throughout the extant episodes, he does a marvellous job with some really creative shots and angles it's just a shame we can only see a fraction of his work.
The Doctor and Bret continue to argue about the best course of action talk about the clash of alpha males, and with Steven thrown in for good measure, hot-head that he is! Katarina doesn't have much of a voice here, which is a shame but makes sense for her character. I really like that Steven is still running around with his arm immobilised in a sling, carrying an injury from an earlier adventure it underlines the continuity of the series, the progression of one adventure following on from another, no time to rest and recover. Even many modern shows don't follow up on injuries sustained like that, instead resetting for the next episode as if they never happened.
As they are cut off from the TARDIS by Daleks and forest fire, the Doctor leads the way to the Dalek city, reasoning that it's the last place they'll be expected to go typical Doctor logic! When they reach the city, Steven is thrilled to see so many spaceships gathered together, he thinks they look beautiful a reminder that Steven is not a contemporary of the audience but comes from the future, he was a space pilot before meeting the Doctor, so it's a really nice little character touch that he gets excited at the sight of spaceships. Bret Vyon recognises one of the ships as Mavic Chen's and while he is still pondering the implications of that, the Doctor is already a few steps ahead, deciding that if Bret can fly the ship, that means they can steal it and take their warning to Earth. I really enjoy the dynamic between the three men throughout this episode, they're really well written, with their differing knowledge bases and goals and points of view. It is also fascinating to me that the Doctor would suggest leaving the TARDIS behind to go on an extended space voyage in another vessel it makes sense, because he can't pilot the TARDIS accurately so couldn't risk using it for the journey even if they could get to it safely, but still. He doesn't usually leave it quite so far behind, not by choice at least.
Our gang hide when Zephon comes out for a walk, testing his importance to the Daleks by defying them. The Doctor quickly takes Bret's gun off him, to prevent any killing, and encourages him instead to jump out and capture Zephon, which he does. This allows the Doctor to take Zephon's robes so that he can sneak into the conference to spy on the Daleks, because what use is their warning to Earth if they don't know any details of what the Daleks are planning? Katarina can barely bring herself to look at the alien creature, but the menfolk are all accustomed to aliens and make short work of securely binding him, although Steven agrees with Katarina that Zephon is hideous! While the Doctor gives Bret the tape he found in the jungle before heading into the conference, in the background we can see Steven deep in conversation with Katarina, which I like; it adds texture to the scene to see the characters active rather than passive even when not at the forefront and it's nice to see them bonding, having been thrown together by circumstance. Unlike Bret, Steven knows only too well where Katarina came from and now that he's recovered from his fever he is taking responsibility for her, following the Doctor's lead. Bret, meanwhile, protests when the Doctor says they must leave without him if anything goes wrong he admires bravery and is not willing to leave a man behind but the mission has to come first, Earth has to be warned, and the burden of that responsibility is heavy on his shoulders, we can see that plainly.
Disguised in Zephon's robes, the Doctor infiltrates the Daleks' conference, although it's just as well no one looks down at his feet, the only part of him visible they are nothing like Zephon's! At least he thinks to keep his hands hidden, swathed within the robes. The Daleks announce to their assembled allies that something called 'The Time Destructor' is now completed and only awaits the fitting of a power core to be made operational. The various allies start pounding the tables by way of applause on hearing this, and even if they are just men in rubber suits, I really like how differently they all move, the various species differentiated by more than just appearance the show had no CGI to fall back on in these days, so had to rely on simpler means to convey different alien beings, and the producers did the best they could with the resources available to them, finding imaginative solutions to the challenges they faced. Mavic Chen has only just joined the alliance and brings with him the vital core, composed of taranium, 'the rarest mineral in the universe', found only on one dead planet of 'the solar system', apparently Earth's solar system, that is Uranus, to be precise, and it took 50 years' work to harvest even this small amount. So that tells us that this taranium core is both vital and cannot be replaced, and that the Time Destructor will not operate without it. This is just the sort of information the Doctor was hoping for.
The crewmen left in charge of Mavic Chen's Spar 740, meanwhile, are rather surprised when Bret Vyon, Steven and Katarina burst into the spaceship, tie them up at gunpoint and haul them out into the jungle where they won't be found. The intrepid trio begin to prepare for take-off, just waiting for the Doctor to re-join them but, abandoned outside, Zephon has come round and manages to hit an alarm button.
This sparks general panic at the conference; Daleks do tend to get a bit hysterical when things don't go quite to plan. Amid the general confusion, the Doctor grabs the taranium core and runs for it.
On the Spar 740, pragmatic Bret Vyon decides that there is no option but to take-off while they still can, but Steven argues vociferously against leaving the Doctor physically blocking Bret's efforts as best he can one-handed while Katarina, despairing, prays to the 'great one' not to leave them. She still believes the Doctor is a god. This is plot conflict driven by characterisation pragmatic Bret's mission focus, hot-headed Steven's loyalty to the Doctor, gentle Katarina's culture shock and dependence; we've been building toward this stand-off all through the episode. When Bret shoves the still-weakened Steven aside, Katarina takes his place, protesting that without the Doctor they can't reach 'The Place of Perfection' this is how she has rationalised her experiences. But Bret is adamant that the mission must take priority and continues to prepare for take-off. It's a strong, tense scene for the cliffhanger episode end.
Episode three: 'Devil's Planet'
Back to the recons! The Doctor just barely makes it aboard the Spar 740 before it takes off, neatly resolving the cliffhanger end without any let-up in the tension as the group make their escape from Kembel just in the nick of time but the Daleks aren't far behind because the Doctor has the taranium core they so urgently need for their plan to be successful. The chase is on.
I do like the way the concept of this story calls back to The Chase, in structural terms but while The Chase was primarily played for humour, The Daleks' Master Plan is a solid drama, tense and atmospheric.
The Doctor brings everyone up to speed on what he has learned. Bret is gobsmacked to learn of Mavic Chen's duplicity, Steven is anxious to get their warning to Earth but Katarina doesn't understand how they can return to Earth when they've already left it. It amuses me that when Bret finally cracks and asks Steven what Katarina's deal is, unable to make her out, Steven doesn't really explain at all, simply saying that she'd helped them in Troy leaving Bret, who doesn't know about time travel, more confused than ever!
Back on Kembel, there's a lot of finger pointing as the Daleks, Zephon and Mavic Chen are all keen to blame each other for the loss of the taranium core. The Daleks, of course, have the upper hand, always, and settle the argument by executing Zephon, who has outlived his usefulness. That'll leave a nice power vacuum in the Fifth Galaxy. It should also serve as a warning to Mavic Chen about just how loyal the Daleks aren't to their promises and their allies, but he is too arrogant to heed it.
The Doctor and his friends are still debating the taranium and what to do with it, Steven asking incessant questions for which the Doctor has no answer. Steven seems to have taken his arm out of its sling in between episodes, judging by the telesnaps perhaps Bret's tablets miraculously healed the stab wound as well as the infection! A brief clip of moving action shows us that he is still favouring the arm, though, holding it awkwardly and rubbing it a visual detail thrown in by the actor as a note of continuity that would be lost if this short clip hadn't survived. The Doctor decides now would be a good time to play the tape he found in the jungle on Kembel, and I like the way he calls Katarina over to show her another 'wonder', still trying to teach her, to help her adjust to her new situation, a little at a time. Bret realises that the body the Doctor found must have been Marc Cory and the tape confirms it; the message doesn't tell them anything more than they already knew, really, but it's a nice note of continuity from Mission to the Unknown and allows a good little moment of character insight for Bret, who knew Marc and mourns the confirmation of his death, as well as providing a rallying call for the whole group. Marc Cory never got his warning through to Earth but they must! Bret suggests that a man named Karlton is the most obvious person to go to with their warning, as he is in charge of space security, but worries that Karlton is close to Chen and may be part of the conspiracy; after Chen's betrayal, Bret has to decide who he now trusts.
Unfortunately for our heroes' hopes of reaching Earth, the Daleks have a device called a 'randomiser' fitted aboard Mavic Chen's ship and use it to cause a crash landing on a planet called Desperus a prison planet. Luckily the Daleks don't want the ship to be destroyed, because they want the taranium core intact, so remote control a soft rather than a hard crash landing, but our heroes feel it nonetheless, and realise what this means: that the Daleks are coming after them again.
Desperus is aptly named typical of a Terry Nation script. It is a penal colony without guards because none are needed: the convicts dropped here have no means of escape and not much more means of survival. They live like savages. There are women along them we are shown two, cowering in a corner but the men are dominant and have all the speaking parts. This is not a story that has any interest in passing the Bechdel test and the dearth of female roles is perhaps its greatest weakness. We spend a good few minutes of this episode getting to know a few of the convicts and their social structure, which pretty much amounts to 'dog eat dog' and 'survival of the fittest'. These scenes are mostly filler and could have achieved the same result much more swiftly had a shorter story required compression, but this is a more leisurely story that takes time to flesh out even the supporting characters, if only a little, and the point is made: these people are desperate and brutal and will do anything to survive and to escape. They see the Spar 740 landing in a nearby swamp and are excited, making plans to kill the crew and steal the ship.
While Katarina stands at the door, gazing out at her second alien planet in as many days, the other three are busy trying to repair the ship. The Doctor is disdainful of the Spar, which to him seems primitive startling Bret, to whom this is the very latest in spacecraft design. Steven promptly makes things worse by pointing out the TARDIS's flaws, which is typical Steven hot-headed, cynical and outspoken, with a knack for putting his foot in it! Typical men, bickering about their vehicles but the quality or lack thereof of the Spar isn't really what they are fighting about; they are stressed and worried and this is how that manifests. It's good character work.
Leaving the others to it, the Doctor goes to see what Katarina is doing and she tells him she can see lights out in the swamp the first warning of oncoming danger in the form of armed and desperate convicts. The Daleks, meanwhile, have calculated the location of the crashed ship and are already on their way to retrieve it so our intrepid heroes are under pressure from two directions as they frantically work to repair the ship and make good their escape.
The Doctor takes care of the approaching convicts by setting a trap for them, utilising the natural resources available, namely the swamp itself, into which he tosses the end of a cable. He continues to encourage Katarina to play an active role by showing her a switch he wants her to pull when the time is right Bret and Steven are both busy with repairs still, after all but discourages her from asking questions, which is a shame, as it denies her the opportunity to really learn. But time is of the essence here. Katarina is keen-eyed and observant, the first to spot movement out in the swamp after the approaching convicts have doused their lights. The Doctor waits until they are close, then instructs her to throw the switch, sending 'catic energy' through the cable and into the swamp water: a nasty shock for the convicts, knocking them out without killing them. The Doctor makes this point very clearly to Bret: that he has no interest in killing, not even these wretched attackers. Katarina is delighted by their success and tells the Doctor that she knows she is safe with him. Talk about tempting fate.
Repairs complete, the ship takes off, but during take-off Bret notices a flashing light to indicate that the outer door is still open the Doctor forgot to close it after pulling the cable back inside. Bret is quick to close it remotely, from the control console but no one has thought to check the airlock, presuming that all the attackers were beaten back, that they are safe. It is a fatal mistake. The group are jubilant as they take off, especially when they see the Daleks crashing their own ship, having misjudged their landing. Then the Doctor tells Katarina to check that the airlock door is secure, now that they are in flight, thereby unwittingly sending her to her doom, as no sooner has she opened the inner door than she is grabbed one of the convicts made it aboard after all.
Episode four: 'The Traitors'
Chaos reigns as the convict called Kirksen holds a terrified Katarina hostage, while the others react with impotent fury. Kirksen demands that they change course Earth is the last place he wants to go. He suggests Kembel instead, as the nearest planet, not knowing what Kembel has become or who the Daleks are. The others try to reason with him, but Kirksen's time on Desperus has made him desperate and deranged. He cannot be reasoned with.
Steven and Bret pretend to change course, but Kirksen isn't buying it. Then Bret pushes a control that makes the ship lurch violently, no doubt hoping to throw Kirksen off balance enough for Katarina to escape, but instead he drags her into the airlock and seals the door, threatening to space them all if they try to open it again. The Doctor attempts to negotiate with Kirksen over the intercom and in the process of this conversation, crucial details about the airlock function are discussed. Katarina is screaming and whimpering, but she is also listening and we have seen that she is quick to take such information on board. A surviving clip allows us to witness the scene in full as Bret reasons that Kirksen can't risk killing Katarina or he'll lose his hostage, but Steven is panic-stricken, rushing around yelling at the hostage-taker, beside himself he barely knows Katarina, and yet is desperate to save her life. It's good characterisation for Steven, always so hot-headed, who became like a big brother to Vicki and then awoke after his injury to find her gone, who we have seen taking on similar responsibility for Katarina, allowing her to fill that gap. She tended him when he was wounded, sweet and gentle and so very far from her own time. He knows where she came from, how little she understands of her new situation. He is absolutely frantic with fear for her.
The Doctor yells at Bret to change course and head back to Kembel, reasoning that they will just have to take their chances with the Daleks, but Bret, pragmatic Bret, frets that he can't risk the entire mission for the sake of one girl. Steven argues passionately for him to do as the Doctor says, they can deal with one problem at a time and he will not allow Katarina to be harmed. Katarina, though, takes the decision out of all of their hands, scratching at her captor's face and twisting away from him, reaching for the door controls Steven screams through the door for her to stop, not that switch, but she hits it. The airlock operates. Katarina and Kirksen are both sucked out into space, killed instantly.
Three seasons into the show, this is the first time a companion of the Doctor has died and it is an awful moment. The three men are horrified, unable at first even to speak. Steven has been so loud up till now, frantic and furious, but his voice becomes very small as he dazedly laments that she hit the wrong switch but the Doctor doesn't think so, offering as an alternative that perhaps Katarina wanted to save all their lives. And the kicker is that no one will ever know did Katarina know what she was doing or not? Did she think she was opening the door back into the ship, trying to get back to the friends she trusted to save her? Or did she know that she was killing both herself and her captor, making an active choice to spare everyone else? I like that it is ambiguous because that feels very real; things aren't always clear-cut. The Doctor likes to believe the latter, murmuring that he hopes she's reached her Place of Perfection, but Steven finds no comfort in the thought, utterly desolate. The Doctor sadly eulogises that he will always remember her as one of the daughters of the gods, and it is a beautifully written scene, full of emotion without being manipulative. Poor Katarina: she may have been written out prematurely as a character who couldn't have worked long term, but her death is allowed to have weight and meaning regardless.
On Kembel, meanwhile, the Daleks' alien allies are growing restless, but the Daleks remain resolute, convinced that no matter what happens they will succeed and conquer the universe, nothing shall stand in their way. It's a pointless enough scene, simply re-establishing Dalek plans and motive, but it provides a needed break from the aftermath of Katarina's death. By the time we return to the stolen Spar, it is fast approaching Earth and the intrepid trio have pulled themselves back together because they have a job to do that isn't going to be easy, although their mood remains sombre. They have to find a safe place to land, away from any public places, since they are travelling in Mavic Chen's own spacecraft, stolen. Bret suggests an experimental plant somewhere near to 'Central City', where he has a friend he thinks will be willing to help them.
Famous last words. Mavic Chen is the Guardian of the Galaxy and has made it back to Earth first. Whose word is more likely to be believed? Even as the Doctor and his friends prepare to land, Chen is already in a meeting with Karlton previously named as head of space security and a female agent named Lizan, studying a 3D projection of Bret Vyon, who Chen has named as a traitor. Lizan spouts off a ream of interesting biographical data about Bret, who comes from Mars Colony 16, and we learn that Chen believes Bret is still working with his partner Kert Gantry, as the space agency knows that they never reported in from Kembel as yet, no one knows about Gantry's death or about the Doctor and Steven. Lizan reckons that their computer systems contain precise chemical details of every man, woman and child within the solar system, 40 billion people, with no scope for error talk about Big Brother! Chen gives orders for Bret and whoever he is with to be shot on sight, rather than arrested. Then comes the twist as Lizan scurries off to relay these orders, Chen continues his discussion with Karlton who, we learn, is a fellow conspirator, in it up to his neck. Amusingly, Chen chides Karlton for training his agents too well, scoffing that if Bret (and Marc Cory before him) weren't so good at his job, there wouldn't be a problem! Cory's mission was unauthorised, we learn. He acted on a hunch, and then when his distress signal was received, Karlton was unable to stop rescue missions without revealing himself.
I really like that although we only met Marc Cory in one episode earlier in the season, although he never met the Doctor, he remains a driving force in the story as his mission and his death continue to have meaning, their repercussions playing out in ways he never could have predicted. If not for Marc Cory, Bret Vyon would not have travelled to Kembel, would not have provided the medication to save Steven's life, and would not have joined forces with the Doctor to steal the Spar and pilot it back to Earth. None of them would be where they are now.
The Spar isn't in good shape, after the crash landing on Desperus, and Bret isn't sure he can avoid another crash now. Sweetly, Steven protests that they can't crash as they have such a valuable cargo on board and he isn't talking about the taranium, but the Doctor. Bless. The Doctor heard that and blusters not to worry about him. The taranium is what matters.
Mavic Chen is becoming agitated about the stolen taranium, which is the only bargaining chip he has, the only reason the Daleks allowed him onto the council, the necessary key to unlock the power he craves. Because ruling an entire solar system simply isn't enough. Via conversation with Karlton, we learn that an agent named Kingdom is in command of the mission to eliminate Bret Vyon, an agent Chen approves as ruthless, hard and efficient, and who does exactly as ordered. We meet her soon enough: Sara Kingdom, played by Jean Marsh in her second role on the show a woman about to embark on a tumultuous character journey. For now, she is exactly as described, a dedicated agent who knows her duty and is utterly committed to it, no matter what. Chen takes the time to brief her personally on the importance of recovering the taranium. Once she has gone, Chen and Karlton gloat that she believed every word and Chen exults that 'a heroic war cry to apparently peaceful ends is one of the greatest weapons a politician has' it's awful because it rings so true, of so many war-leaders and dictators throughout history. Sara Kingdom believes in Mavic Chen and his cause, believes absolutely that Bret Vyon and his associates are traitors. She is a soldier following orders and it would never for a second occur to her to question those orders.
The Spar crash lands at the experimental station, but its crew emerge unharmed and Bret quickly ushers the Doctor and Steven into the office of his friend, Daxtar, who he is sure will be willing to help them. Daxtar doesn't appear to be around, however, and the Doctor and Steven soon grow agitated by the wait, worried that the crash will have attracted attention, worried that they are wasting time. Bret, though, is certain that he can trust his friend to help them, too certain to consider any other options he has figured out that Chen will have made it back to Earth first and put out a warrant for him, which is why he believes this experimental plant is the safest place, as access is tightly restricted. The Doctor is worried that the place is too empty, fears that they may have walked into an ambush and he isn't far wrong.
Daxtar finally shows up and listens with apparent incredulity to the travellers' tale of intrigue and Daleks. Steven isn't interested in how incredible the tale is, he just wants assurance that they can finally start to do something about it, while the Doctor is at pains to point out that he and Steven must return to Kembel to retrieve 'some equipment' they left there. Daxtar, surprised, asks if he left the taranium there and thus gives himself away as yet another traitor, as none of the travellers had mentioned that the core is composed of taranium. Our intrepid heroes just can't catch a break. The Doctor demands to know how many others are involved in the conspiracy, while Bret struggles to get his head around it he's known Daxtar for years, trusted him just as the entire population trusts Mavic Chen. How do we know we can truly trust the people we trust? That's the question posed by this episode. Betrayed again, Bret's anger boils over and he shoots Daxtar dead incurring the wrath of the Doctor, who rails against killing of any kind and points out that they could have learned more from Daxtar about who else is involved, but now they have no way of knowing who they can trust. Hartnell puts in an excellent performance, even just in the vocals. Everything about this story so far succeeds in creating an atmosphere of high stakes tension that continues to build and build.
Mavic Chen gets a bit ahead of himself, reporting back to the Daleks on Kembel that he will return in two days with the taranium and also making false allegations of treachery against the representative called Trantis, who is his biggest rival for power. So many little games afoot, all this juggling and jostling for position. Trantis protests his innocence but the Daleks are keeping an open mind. Of course they are. They're planning to kill all their allies in the end anyway.
At the experimental plant, the travellers brainstorm for ideas, desperately trying to think of a way to both escape with their lives and raise the alarm about the Daleks, despite not knowing who they can or can't trust. I like that when the Doctor continues to needle Bret about killing Daxtar, Steven defends their new ally by pointing out that they could never have been certain they could trust anything Daxtar said anyway, which is a fair point. I really enjoy the debates between these three they are all so argumentative, each offering a different perspective on their situation.
Before they can reach any workable conclusions, Sara Kingdom comes storming in. Bret is delighted to see her, bless him, he thinks she is just the person they need like Daxtar, this is someone he believes he can trust, without question or hesitation, despite the lesson he has only just learned, despite having realised that there must be an arrest warrant out on him by now. And he expects Sara, in turn to trust him. But she doesn't. Her conditioning and training are too strong. She believes Bret to be a traitor and is utterly focused on the mission at hand: recovering the taranium. You can hear utter dismay in Bret's voice, his deep sense of betrayal, as he realises that Sara too is against him, part of the conspiracy. He shoves her aside, buying enough time for the Doctor and Steven to escape, but Bret himself is trapped as Sara recovers and turns her gun on him, demanding the taranium. Only now does he reach for his own weapon and she shoots him dead on the spot, just like that. This is a brutal episode! Bret has been almost like another companion to the Doctor for four episodes now, so his death on top of Katarina's hits hard.
Sara searches his body but does not find the taranium core, so she heads after the Doctor and Steven, determined to fulfil her mission, and orders her subordinates to shoot to kill.
On to Part II