Synopsis:
As the resistance members begin their attack on the saucer, the Dalek commander orders that the Doctor's conversion operation continues...
As he lies unconscious beneath the robotising machinery, the Doctor is guarded by a Roboman. Another approaches, but he is actually one of the rebels - Baker - wearing a captured helmet. He attacks the guard, who is killed by Tyler. He instructs Baker to get the Doctor off the ship.
Unfortunately, Dortmun's bombs have proven to be ineffectual. Many of the rebels are killed. Ian has been freed from his cell, but is unable to evacuate the saucer due to the Daleks blocking the main access ramp. He decides to hide on board.
His friends become separated in the confusion. David and Susan go to hide by one of the old plague cemeteries, whilst Barbara makes her way back to their hideout with Jenny.
Tyler arrives and tells Dortmun of his failure. Convinced that the Daleks will now destroy London, he decides to leave on his own.
Barbara elects to stay and help Dortmun, who suggests that they relocate to a secondary base at the old transport museum. Jenny reluctantly agrees to accompany them. The journey will mean crossing the city and traversing one of the bridges.
The saucer takes off and Ian decides to come out of hiding beneath a floor plate. He is confronted by a Roboman who proves to be Craddock - the man who had shared a cell with him. He is saved by the intervention of a man named Larry. Craddock falls against the robotising equipment and is electrocuted. Larry and Ian dispose of the body out of a waste chute. Larry explains that he has stowed away deliberately. This ship is heading for Dalek mine workings in Bedfordshire, and he believes that is where his brother has been taken.
Susan is reunited with her grandfather when Baker brings him to the cemetery. He is still groggy from being sedated on the saucer. As Baker leaves, intent on heading out of London, he stumbles into a Dalek patrol and is killed.
Barbara, Jenny and Dortmun make a hazardous daylight journey across central London, electing to cross the river at Westminster Bridge. Their journey takes them up Whitehall, through Trafalgar Square and west to Kensington, where the transport museum is located.
Ian is told by Larry that his brother had a theory that the Daleks were seeking to isolate the Earth's magnetic core, which is why they are mining in Bedfordshire. The saucer lands and they slip out via the waste chute, then seek somewhere to hide.
A patrol of Daleks approaches the museum and Dortmun elects to go outside alone with a brace of his bombs. They fail to destroy the Daleks, and he is exterminated.
At the cemetery the Doctor is annoyed that Susan is following David's guidance. The young man disarms him, however, by deferring to his advice. The Doctor decides to follow David's plan anyway - to head north to Bedfordshire in search of other rebels. They will rest for a time before setting off on their trek.
They fail to notice a pair of Robomen placing a massive explosive device at the head of the alleyway, only a few metres from where they are hiding...
Next episode: The End of Tomorrow
Written by: Terry Nation
Recorded: Friday 2nd October 1964 - Riverside Studio 1
First broadcast: 5:40pm, Saturday 5th December 1964
Ratings: 11.9 million / AI 59
Designer: Spencer Chapman
Director: Richard Martin
Additional cast: Graham Rigby (Larry)
Critique:
This episode is the one which most people remember from this story, thanks to the considerable amount of location filming on show. This depicted the Daleks at a number of famous London landmarks. It was this material which was used to create a TV trailer for the opening instalment.
Filming took place on Sunday 23rd August, first thing in the morning to try to avoid the activity of the waking city. As there would be no dialogue, Richard Martin dispensed with a sound crew.
One of the series' iconic images is of a quartet of Daleks trundling across Westminster Bridge, with the Houses of Parliament in the background. Watching the actual episode, you might be very disappointed to find that this image does not appear. All we get is a long-distance view of the top of a Dalek moving along the bridge.
What we do see are shots of a Dalek on the Albert Embankment, on the south side of the Thames. Filmed next to St Thomas' Hospital, this allows a view of the Parliament buildings opposite.
The action had begun at dawn in Trafalgar Square. Spencer Chapman had used 'Blanco' (a type of whitewash) to mark certain of the landmarks, suggestive of Dalek signposting. This proved harder to wash off than Spencer thought.
Dalek operator Nick Evans explained on the DVD documentary that there were some people ("Hippies") sleeping in the square from their Saturday nights out, and police had to move them on. It was quicker and easier for the operators to move the Daleks manually from Trafalgar Square to the Embankment via Whitehall, rather than take them apart and put them on a truck to transport to the new location. Evans also explained that he and his fellow Daleks made use of their casings to secretly relieve themselves, taking turns to position themselves over a drain.
The final location was around the Albert Hall and Albert Monument, by Hyde Park. This was too far for the operators to move their Daleks manually, so this time they did have to be transported by lorry.
Despite the early start, the cameras picked up some unwanted movement in the back of some shots. A vehicle can be seen passing St Martin-in-the-Fields at Trafalgar Square, and a group of pedestrians can be seen in the distance as the trio run round the Albert Hall.
Ann Davies wears a balaclava for these scenes. This is because she still had her dark hair and knew that it was to be dyed blonde for the studio work (to differentiate her from Susan). Thus, the balaclava simply hid this fact.
A major mishap occurred during the studio recording. As Richard McNeff (Baker) supported William Hartnell down the saucer ramp during the afternoon camera rehearsals, the ramp bounced and McNeff stumbled forward. He and Hartnell collided with a camera - Hartnell's back hitting its pedestal. The ramp had been damaged by the Robomen extras and others failing to break step when marching up and down it (wobbly bridge syndrome).
Paralysed momentarily, Hartnell was seen by the BBC doctor. He recovered sufficiently to make the recording in the evening but next day he went home and saw his own doctor, who prescribed a week in bed. As such he would miss rehearsals and recording for the fourth instalment, and David Whitaker took the lead on rewrites.
This episode sees the first appearance of the Black Dalek, after the oddly coloured "Saucer Commander" from the week before. This would become the senior Dalek for the remainder of the Hartnell era, before a return in the Davison era. It is sometimes referred to as the Supreme Dalek / Dalek Supreme. It is claimed to be the commandant of the mine workings (another allusion to World War II and Nazi POW / labour camps). However, we also see it on the saucer before it has left London - suggesting it was on the ship all the time. The "Saucer Commander" has simply disappeared.
- Audience figures actually fall by half a million now that the Daleks have arrived. This might have been down to families engaged in Christmas shopping and other festive events.
- This is one of the longest episodes we've seen so far at nearly 27 minutes (26' 50").
- The filming of the iconic Westminster Bridge scene was recreated for the 50th Anniversary drama An Adventure In Space And Time (below). Written by Mark Gatiss, this featured his partner Ian Hallard as director Richard Martin. The sequence was also recreated for the 30 Years in the TARDIS documentary in 1993. One of the people operating a Dalek on that day was Mark Gatiss...
- Radio Times carried a second feature on the story to accompany Day of Reckoning, this time concentrating on writer Terry Nation and his creations:
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