R is for... Recon Dalek

An obscure 9th Century legend told of a powerful creature which devastated the land. It took the combined might of three armies to defeat it. Its armour was destroyed, whilst it was cut into three parts which were to be buried in different parts of the world, ranging from England to an obscure Pacific island. Custodians were employed to guard over each of the pieces for all time. Unfortunately, the English Custodian was waylaid by bandits and killed before he could bury his piece in the designated place. It lay abandoned and ignored, eventually being buried beneath what would become Sheffield's City Hall. 

In 2019 a group of archaeologists uncovered the remains and subjected them to ultraviolet light. This reanimated the creature, and it was able to teleport its other parts to its location and reconstitute itself. It then mentally enslaved one of the archaeologists - a young woman named Lin - to use her to build new armour for itself.

First, it had to retrieve one of its old weapons which was being guarded in a special vault - locating it after having Lin access UNIT files.

The creature then had her take it to a remote farm where it could force her to construct its new shell from whatever material lay to hand.

The creature was a Reconnaissance Dalek - a special breed sent out as an advance scout to planets which the Daleks planned to invade and colonise. They were amongst the first Daleks to leave Skaro.

The TARDIS had landed at the dig site and the Doctor had identified the creature. She traced the Recon Dalek to the farm but was too late to prevent it gaining its new piecemeal shell and armaments. An army unit then tried to stop it, but was completely destroyed.

The Recon Dalek needed to fulfil its original mission, and so travelled to GCHQ, the UK Government's communications centre, so that it could contact Skaro and summon an invasion force.

The Doctor was able to employ an adapted microwave oven to destroy its shell. The mutant survived, but was sucked out of the TARDIS and into a supernova.

Some genetic material survived in the remains of the shell, and the businessman Jack Robertson arranged for it to be hijacked. He then reverse-engineered it to create Defence Drones, based on its design. These were sold to the UK Government to be employed as an additional police and security force. They were purely robotic. However, the scientist working with Robertson on the project - Leo Rugazzi - had cloned the Recon Dalek mutant from its genetic traces, and it took over his mind. He was compelled to set up a secret laboratory where thousands more mutants could be bred. These were brought to life with ultraviolet light and teleported into the Defence Drone shells. Faced with a new Dalek army already established in Britain, the Doctor decided to fight fire with fire and invited a Dalek Death Squad to come to Earth. 

They saw the new Daleks as genetically inferior creatures and wiped them out.

 

Appearances: Resolution (2019), Revolution of the Daleks (2020)

• The Recon Dalek was the first fully remote-controlled design, with no human operator inside.
• To conceal its involvement in the 2019 New Year's Special, it was codenamed "Kevin" in the scripts.

R is for... Rebec

Around the year 2540, the Thals sent a mission to the planet Spiridon to investigate a Dalek scientific outpost which had been established there. The ship crashed and the commander was killed, and next in seniority was the medical officer Taron. The Thals then learned new intelligence about the Daleks' activities on the planet but contact with the first mission had been lost, and so a second ship was sent. A young woman named Rebec was a member of this party.

They had come to warn Taron's group that there was actually a huge army of Daleks being gathered on Spiridon, some 10,000 strong. The Daleks were experimenting with invisibility techniques -  a natural ability of the natives on this hostile world.

It transpired that Rebec was the lover of Taron, and had so volunteered for the second mission to be with him. However, he proved unhappy that she had come - explaining that his feelings for her might adversely affect his decision-making and ability to lead. The second spaceship had also crashed, so for all they knew this had become a suicide mission. Taron had reconciled himself with this likely outcome, but Rebec's presence now complicated matters for him personally.

The Thals were able to get into the Dalek base with help from the Doctor. At one point Rebec hid inside a captured Dalek casing, with some of the others disguised using the huge furry cloaks the Spiridon slave workers were compelled to wear.

A well-placed bomb activated an ice-volcano, which flooded the chamber in which the Dalek army was stored - and the Thals were able to escape the planet by stealing the spaceship of the visiting Dalek Supreme.

Played by Jane How. Appearances: Planet of the Daleks (1973)

• Rebec was named after Terry Nation's daughter Rebecca.
• Jane How is best known for playing Jan Hammond, the mistress of Den Watts, in EastEnders.

R is for... Reapers

Large winged reptilian creatures which were attracted to "wounds in time", or temporal breaches - such as when Rose Tyler changed the timeline by saving the life of her father, Pete. He should have died when she was a baby, but she intervened to stop him being hit by a car.

The Doctor described them as "antibodies", come to clean the wound - though he also described them at one point as bacteria, infecting it. He claimed that they targeted the new, and age was a defence against them, which is why he gathered a wedding party - which included baby Rose and her parents - inside the church.

The Reapers had scythe-like tails and a second mouth in their chest, which they used to consume their victims. They targeted sentient beings, and physical structures could act as a barrier against them. They could, however, attack a TARDIS. They reduced the Doctor's to its external Police Box shell.

When Rose handled her baby self, it created a new paradox which gave the Reapers the strength to break into the church, and the Doctor was consumed by them.

They could not be destroyed - only banished back to their own domain once the temporal breach had been closed, by time resuming its intended course. Pete Tyler achieved this by sacrificing himself in front of the car that should have killed him.

With the breach healed, their victims were returned with all memory of them forgotten.

Appearances: Father's Day (2005)

• The Reapers are never named on screen.
• The scythe-like tail is a remnant of an earlier production design, where they looked more like the traditional image of the Grim Reaper.
• Spin-off material claims that they usually inhabit the Temporal Vortex, and are related to Chronovores.
• See also "What's Wrong With... Father's Day" for some inconsistencies regarding the Reapers.

R is for... Ray

A young woman from South Wales whose friend Billy worked as handyman at the Shangri-La holiday camp. Regarded as a bit of a tomboy, she was a skilled mechanic and she and Billy had a shared passion for motorcycles - though she had originally taken this up as a means of attracting his attention. 

The Doctor and his companion Mel met Ray when they visited the camp in 1959. Mel had been travelling on an alien tour coach which crash-landed here after colliding with a satellite, and the Doctor had been forced to follow them down. Onboard the coach was Delta, a refugee from the Chimeron race who were being hunted to extinction by the Bannermen, led by Gavrok.

Ray quickly realised that Billy was falling in love with Delta. She helped the Doctor defend Delta and the Chimeron princess whom she was guarding, after the Bannermen arrived on Earth.

Billy left Ray his prized motorcycle when he elected to leave Earth with Delta and the princess.

Played by: Sara Griffiths. Appearances: Delta and the Bannermen (1987)

• As Season 24 was being put together, both Ray and Ace were developed as potential companions to replace Mel, as Bonnie Langford was planning on leaving. Sophie Aldred had auditioned for both roles.
• Lynn Gardner was originally cast as Ray, but suffered a serious accident whilst rehearsing with the motorbike and was forced to withdraw. As she was under contract, she was instead given the role of the Iceworld announcer in Dragonfire.
• Big Finish would later make Ray a companion of the Seventh Doctor, after she stowed away aboard the TARDIS some years after the events at the holiday camp.

John Leeson 1943 - 2026

It has been reported this evening that John Leeson, the voice of K-9, has died.

He took on the role of the robot dog in The Invisible Enemy but left at the end of Season 16, only to return for Season 18 to see K-9 out of the show.

He made a swift return, however, in the K-9 & Company spin-off, then reprised the role for the revived series as well as a number of the later Sarah Jane Adventures. There was also an Australian series of K-9 adventures.

As well as K-9, he also played refinery technician Dugeen The Power of Kroll.

You can add to this all his audio appearances. Only recently it was announced that he would be playing opposite Tom Baker once more - as Dr Watson to Baker's Sherlock Holmes on an audio project.

RIP.

Episode 230: The Krotons (3)

Synopsis:

Jamie has entered the Dynatrope, and has been captured by the newly reanimated Krotons. Assuming him to be a "high brain" like the Doctor and Zoe, he is subjected to their mental analysis machine - the power of which will kill him if he lacks their intelligence level...

The Krotons cancel the process before he can be harmed, as they realise he may prove useful in helping recapture his friends.

Having left Jamie looking after Vana, the Doctor thinks him safe as he leads Zoe to the TARDIS. 

They are watched on a monitor by the Krotons in their machine. Jamie sees them enter the ship, and worries that they are leaving him behind. The Krotons then begin questioning him.

Beta is visited at his home by Eelek and Axus, who have come to consult him on attacking the Krotons.

As much as he would like to see the Gonds free, the scientist urges caution as he has heard the Doctor speak of how powerful they are. They have many gaps in their knowledge, thanks to the aliens - and he can see how these must point to techniques which the Krotons deem dangerous to themselves.

He tells Eelek of how the Doctor and Zoe entered the machine.

When Eelek insists they must attack the Krotons, Beta states that they should hear what Selris has to say first - only to be told that they will no longer obey their leader.

The Krotons can destroy the TARDIS remotely with their dispersal units, but wish to obtain the Doctor and Zoe unharmed. One of them is sent out into the wasteland to fetch them, armed with a dispersal unit. They are blind outside the Dynatrope, and the other has to guide it.

At Selris' house, Vana is recovering. The leader tells his son that the strangers have all gone into the machine and a council meeting has been arranged. Thara wants actions, not words.

He tells his father that Eelek has taken over and plans to attack the Krotons. Selris is horrified as he fears the reprisals which will follow. He thinks there may be another way to attack them - one where they may not realise they are being attacked until it is too late...

In the Dynatrope, Jamie is formulating an escape plan - asking the lone Kroton questions about why they need the Doctor and Zoe whilst it is concentrating on the monitor as it guides its co-pilot closer to the TARDIS. The Kroton simply states that they need "high brains" to operate the Dynatrope, and there are none among the Gonds.

Beta attends the council meeting where it is confirmed that Eelek has taken over. He tries once more to warn the Gonds against taking action - reminding them of the wasteland. Their weapons are primitive compared to those of the Krotons.

The Doctor and Zoe emerge from the TARDIS. He is armed with a carpet bag and a specimen bottle.

Tests on the liquid in the tank aboard the Dynatrope have revealed that it and the creatures themselves are all composed on tellurium. The Doctor informs Zoe that he needs some sulphur, whilst she gets the feeling that they are being watched...

Jamie sees them on the monitor, urging them to go back inside or move away as the other Kroton has almost reached the TARDIS. 

Distracted as they collect sulphur samples, they fail to see the Kroton approach. It orders them back to the Dynatrope. Jamie seizes one of the dispersal units and tries to use it on the Kroton guarding him.

The one is the wasteland is rendered blind as the other struggles to subdue Jamie - allowing the Doctor and Zoe to run and hide.

With scanner control restored, it is instructed to destroy the TARDIS and so prevent the "high brains" leaving the planet.

Zoe is horrified to see the Kroton fire its dispersal unit - leaving only bare ground where the TARDIS had stood...

The Kroton departs back to the Dynatrope, where Jamie feigns unconsciousness.

Selris attends the council chamber but fails to dissuade Eelek from attacking the aliens. He takes Beta aside and tells him of what he saw earlier in the under-hall - of how the machine is supported only by three large pillars.

Zoe is surprised that the Doctor does not seem unduly upset by the loss of the TARDIS - and then sees it rematerialise on a ledge halfway up the mountain above them. The Doctor explains that he had remembered to set the HADS - Hostile Action Displacement System - which causes it to relocate when it comes under attack.

They set off for the Gond settlement.

Jamie hears the Krotons speak of a time limit in which they must capture the Doctor and Zoe, before they exhaust. His captor had previously explained that they cannot die - merely revert to their chemical constituents, which can be reanimated again and again.

He slips away as the Kroton continues to guide its fellow back to the Dynatrope.

The Doctor arrives at Selris' home, to find Vana fully recovered and learn that Jamie has gone off looking for him. Thara tells him of his father's plan to attack the Krotons by undermining the machine in the under-hall.

They have attached chains and plan to pull down the supporting pillars.

The Doctor must stop them, but wishes to see Beta first. He gives him the sulphur samples and a set of instructions as to what to do with them, then hurries off to the Learning Hall.

Beta tries to encourage Thara to take Vana to safety in the hills - but she refuses to go.

The Doctor and Zoe enter the under-hall as the Dynatrope begins to sway and sections of the roof start to fall. He tries to warn Selris that they are meddling with things they don't fully understand.

The roof above the Doctor suddenly collapses, burying him in rubble...

Data:

Written by Robert Holmes

Recorded: Friday 6th December 1968 - Lime Grove Studio D

First broadcast: 5.15pm, Saturday 11th January 1969

Ratings: 7.5 million / AI 56

VFX: Bill King & Trading Post

Designer: Raymond London

Director: David Maloney

Critique:

In the draft outline for his story, Holmes had the Gonds attack a power line which fed the Dynatron, as it was then called. This cable ran through a tunnel, and it was this which caved in on the Doctor at the cliffhanger.

Some of Eelek's dialogue was shared with Axus, and there was a third council member present - whose lines were later given to Eelek.

The Kroton which went outside was armed with a "laser carbine" and Jamie used one of these on the other Kroton, which Holmes described as firing white hot energy like a flamethrower. The Kroton smashed the gun to pieces and then picked him up and physically threw him against a wall when the weapon failed to harm it.

This made it through to the stage directions, but the realities of the costume made the moves impossible in studio.

Filming for this instalment took place at Pyx Granite Quarry near Malvern on Sunday 10th November, beginning with the sequences involving the Kroton moving through the wasteland. Operating it was Miles Northover, who would be playing the more junior Kroton 2.

Various POV shots were also filmed, to be viewed on the monitor in the Dynatrope by Kroton 1.

The TARDIS which was attacked and forced to rematerialise elsewhere was the larger of the model versions. 

Also filmed this day were the Doctor and Zoe returning to the TARDIS, and other POV shots to show the disorientation of the blinded Kroton 2.

Work continued at the second location - the West of England Quarry - on Monday 11th, which included more disorientated POV material, and the Doctor and Zoe crossing the wasteland.

Filming then moved to Ealing for the rest of the week. Wednesday 13th saw Kroton 2 emerge from the exit hatch, as well as Jamie's attack on Kroton 1 with the dispersal unit, with other material from this sequence scheduled for the following day. Miles Northover played both Krotons.

Friday 15th was the day on which all model sequences and graphics were to be filmed. For this episode, this included shots of the under-hall roof breaking apart and collapsing.

This episode was recorded at Lime Grove the day before Wendy Padbury's 21st birthday.

Recording began with a restaging of the cliffhanger as Jamie comes under mental assault.

A photo-caption of the TARDIS taken on location appeared on the Dynatrope scanner, and some of the location POV shots were used more than once to extend Kroton 2's journey across the wasteland.

Maloney cut to a shot of Frazer Hines, to avoid having to show the Kroton uncoupling its hosepipe connection.

Padbury cut off her line about tellurium's atomic weight as Zoe sees the Kroton bearing down on them. The weight is 52 but she only gets the "fifty-" part out, making it look like she has got it wrong.

A new set was the under-hall, which had only been described by the Doctor and Selris at the beginning of the previous episode. It comprised elements of the Learning Hall set - not needed this week - covered in latex cobwebs and with chains and a large circular winch installed.

The heads of the Krotons spun as they registered the swaying of the Dynatrope - something which was never specified in the script.

A line of dialogue intended for one of the Gonds in the under-hall was reassigned to James Cairncross, to save on hiring another speaking part. Unfortunately, Beta had just been seen back in his laboratory with Vana - so he appears to be in two places at the same time...

It's the episode everyone remembers, and is regarded by its fans as the best of the four. This is mainly due to the sequence where the Kroton actually comes out of the Dynatrope and onto location, and attacks the TARDIS. The ship appears to have been destroyed - only to rematerialise a few moments later in a different spot - halfway up a mountain. As the Doctor says:

"... what a stupid place to land. You can tell that the captain is not at the helm, can't you?".

He has activated the HADS - the hitherto unmentioned Hostile Action Displacement System - which causes the TARDIS to move to a place of safety when it comes under attack. It is a pity he didn't have it set on the planet Dulkis - though we would have missed out on our trip to the Land of Fiction when it was engulfed in molten lava. Indeed, it may well have been that recent incident which has prompted him to set it this time.

However, it won't be deployed again for a very, very long time - not until the events of Cold War in 2012.

After sitting out last week's episode, we see the return of Eelek and Beta, who are both given a lot more to do. Philip Madoc in particular has been underserved in this story. Here we see Eelek reveal his ambition as he takes control over the ruling council, and he is determined to wage war against the Krotons. This does rather come out of nowhere, however, as he was simply a bit rude and arrogant in Part One. Indeed, he was all for obeying the Krotons in the first episode, arguing with Thara about the dangers to them all should Vana not enter the machine.

Beta, meanwhile, reveals that he has been aware of the significance of the gaps in knowledge given to them by the Krotons - especially in the field of chemistry. He just hasn't done anything with this information.

The development of these characters, especially Eelek, is a failing of the story's structure. They simply aren't given enough screen time, and are one-note characters anyway.

Last time I mentioned that Jamie was taking on more of the female companion role in this story - the one needing to be rescued. Unlike most of the female companions, however, he is able to arrange his own escape without having to be saved by the Doctor. Indeed, the Doctor isn't even aware that he needs rescuing, thinking him still back at Selris' house tending to Vana.

Time now to talk about what the Krotons are up to, and how their scheme doesn't make much sense. As mentioned, they have left gaps in the knowledge they allow the Gonds, and eventually one of them is going to realise the significance of these and so be guided towards a weapon that could be used against them.

Then there is the quest for mental energy. The two smartest Gonds have theirs absorbed by the Dynatrope and are killed immediately afterwards. In effect, they are destroying the very means of achieving their escape by removing the more intelligent Gonds from the gene pool. Better to have them breed than to kill them. At one point Kroton 1 states that there are no "high brains" amongst the Gonds - but this situation is one of their own making. They are hindering the mental development of the race and so are dooming themselves to a very long wait for escape.

And what about their mission? There must have been some purpose behind them being in this region of space in the first place - either exploration or military conquest. They've been suspended in a tank for a very long time, so is their mission even relevant anymore?

Trivia:

• The ratings have fallen by 1.5 million from the opening instalment, but are still strong for the period overall.
• Tellurium (Te) is a silver-white metalloid which is very rare. It is brittle and melts at 449 degrees Celsius, and boils at 988 Celsius. It gave its name to the town of Telluride, Colorado, as the mineral was associated with gold and could indicate its presence.
• Hydrogen Telluride (H2Te) is described as a colourless gas which smells like rotting garlic at low concentrations, and rotting leeks at higher ones. It rapidly decomposes into its constituent parts when exposed to light - so it's odd that it is so noticeable on a planet with two suns...
• When viewers sat down to watch this episode, it would have been in the knowledge that Patrick Troughton would be leaving the series at the end of its current season, as would Frazer Hines. Items appeared in the press on 7th and 9th January: 

DWM Chronicles: 1972

The next Chronicles release from DWM has been announced, and it takes us back to 1972 and Season 9. It's out on 5th November but you can pre-order now from Panini.