Episode 11: The Rescue

Synopsis:

Antodus has fallen down a ravine, suspended above a sheer drop only by the rope attaching him to Ian who is on the ledge above - being dragged inexorably towards the edge...

Realising that he is placing Ian at risk, the young Thal elects to cut the rope and plunges into the darkness below. Ganatus is grief-stricken at the loss of his brother, but their priority is to continue their mission to access the Dalek city. They are shocked to find that the next stretch of tunnel appears to be a dead-end. They will have to go back and try to find another route.

In the city, the Doctor and Susan are held prisoner next to the control room. They learn that the Daleks are about to release radioactive gases from their reactors, which will kill the Thals and their companions. The Doctor tries to reason with them, even offering to tell them about the TARDIS and offering them time travel technology. When they scoff at his claims, he mentions the Fluid Link as an example of his technology which he can offer them if they suspend the release of radiation. 

In the caverns, the expedition members find that there is light coming into the tunnel. They find an opening and see beyond the power generating chamber of the city.

Alydon leads the rest of the Thals into the city at this time, but without the Doctor to guide them they do not know what to look for. They succeed in meeting up with Ian's party, and work out where the control room is. As the countdown to the release of the radiation approaches zero the Daleks start to close off the intersections to seal off their control area, but the Thals break through. 

After a brief battle, one of the Thals pushes a Dalek against a piece of equipment, wrecking it. Suddenly all of the Daleks begin to lose power. Without the static electricity generated through the floor, they perish. Freed, the Doctor makes sure that there is no risk of radiation being leaked.

Later, back at the campsite by the TARDIS, the Thals offer gifts to the time travellers. Alydon asks the Doctor to stay and teach them, but he declines - saying that he was once a pioneer with his own people, but now his future lies elsewhere. He claims that he might revisit the planet and live with their descendants. He has retrieved the Fluid Link and refilled it with mercury.

Ganatus would also like Barbara to stay, having fallen in love with her. She is touched, but she and Ian want to get back home. After saying their farewells and with everyone on board, the TARDIS dematerialises.

In the console room everything is going smoothly until there is a bright flash and the room is plunged into darkness, the travellers thrown unconscious to the floor...

Next episode: The Edge of Destruction.

Data:

Written by: Terry Nation

Recorded: Friday 10th January, 1964 - Lime Grove Studio D

First broadcast: 5:15pm, Saturday 1st February, 1964.

Ratings: 10.4 million / AI 65

Designer: Raymond P Cusick

Director: Richard Martin

Critique:

The conclusion of this story was almost entirely different, in such a way that the Daleks would have been highly unlikely to have ever returned to the series, and certainly would never have gained their reputation as personifications of evil.

The first drafts of the story had a third party arriving at the conclusion, inhabitants of a neighbouring planet. They had been the ones who started the neutronic war - Daleks and Thal each blaming the other for their sneak attack. This new race had moved on from their old warlike ways and felt sorry for what they had done to Skaro, and had now come to make reparations. The story would have ended with the Daleks and Thals being reconciled, and living in peace together.

Nation didn't go for this conclusion in the end, but he painted himself into a corner just as much by having the Daleks apparently killed off. Everything in the story suggests that these are the only Daleks in existence. There can't be others elsewhere, as they can't leave the confines of their city.

As with the previous episode, the action is very much focussed on Ian and Barbara and their expedition. The Doctor and Susan are seen only briefly before the final battle, secured to the wall in a cell area adjoining the control room.

Does the Doctor really offer the Daleks use of the TARDIS, or a time machine of their own? It may be that he is simply finding a way to make the Daleks show him where the Fluid Link is, to save him hunting for it later. 

A new piece of information about the Doctor's past is that he regards himself as having been a pioneer among them.

Because of the addition of a seventh episode to this story, much of the extra material being a lot of padding of the expedition sequences, the main action in this episode concludes rather early. Already the shortest instalment (see below), the closing sequences at the Thal camp had to be greatly expanded,

We haven't mentioned the music or sound effects so far. The composer selected by Christopher Barry, who was helming the opening chapters, was Tristram Cary. He was a significant catch, having written the music for the classic Ealing comedy The Ladykillers. His soundtrack for this story would be reused for The Rescue, The Daleks' Master Plan, The Ark, and The Power of the Daleks. Two of these would also be directed by Barry. Cary composed for three further stories - Marco Polo, The Gunfighters, and The Mutants (the latter again by Barry).

Special sounds were the responsibility of Brian Hodgson, of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. This was a role he held right through to the end of the ninth season, when colleague Dick Mills of the Workshop took over.

Many of the sound effects heard here were reused in later stories (especially ones directed by Christopher Barry) but certain Dalek related sounds have continued to be used right up to the present day. These include the "heartbeat" sound which is heard in the background of the Dalek control room, and is still used for current Dalek control rooms and spaceship interiors. Another effect is the Dalek doors which is also still in use today. An effect known as "Thal Wind" - used for the petrified forest as well as the city corridors - is also much reused later, not just in Dalek stories.

Trivia:

• The concluding episode of the story generally known as The Daleks.
• This story was the first to be novelised, and was also adapted into a cinema screenplay. It would be released in 1965 as Dr Who and the Daleks, and featured Peter Cushing as a human Doctor.
• This is the shortest of the seven episodes, at 22' 24" - almost two minutes shorter than the previous instalment.
• The audience viewing figure remain the same as the previous week, but we get the highest Audience Appreciation Index figure to date of 65.
• William Hartnell celebrated his 56th birthday during the rehearsals for this episode.
• The novelisation, by David Whitaker, features a leader Dalek at the conclusion which is made of glass - the mutant visible within.
• Only a minimal TARDIS console room set was used, as it only had to feature briefly at the cliff-hanger ending. This comprised the console and two walls, with very little floor space visible.
• We see the TARDIS dematerialise for the first time using a photo-caption rather than the roll back and mix technique. The latter involved the camera having to be locked off whilst a person or object was removed from the set, but with this technique all you needed were two photographs - one with the TARDIS on the set, and one without it.
• One week after broadcast a Dalek operated by Kevin Manser featured in the children's variety show Crackerjack, in which Peter Glaze played an eccentric old professor based on the Doctor. In a few months' time, Glaze would be appearing in the series itself.