Planet of the Daleks (TV story)
Synopsis
The TARDIS materialises in a hostile jungle on the planet Spiridon. Jo sets out alone to find help for the Doctor, who has fallen into a coma. She meets a party of Thals and is left in hiding aboard their crashed spaceship while they go to the Doctor's aid. The Time Lord, now recovered, learns of their mission to destroy a party of Daleks sent here to discover the native Spiridons' secret of invisibility.
Another Thal spaceship crash-lands in the jungle, and the survivors bring news that somewhere on Spiridon there is an army of ten thousand Daleks. Jo meanwhile meets a friendly Spiridon named Wester, who cures a deadly fungus disease that she has contracted.
It transpires that the Daleks' army is frozen in suspended animation in a cavern below their base. The Doctor, with the help of the Thals, explodes a bomb in the cavern wall and thereby causes one of the planet's natural ice volcanoes to erupt, entombing the army in a torrent of liquid ice.
The newly-arrived Dalek Supreme and his aides are left stranded on Spiridon as the Thals steal their ship and the Doctor and Jo depart in the TARDIS.
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
- Jo Grant - Katy Manning
- Taron - Bernard Horsfall
- Vaber - Prentis Hancock
- Codal - Tim Preece
- Rebec - Jane How
- Wester - Roy Skelton
- Dalek Voices - Michael Wisher, Roy Skelton
- Dalek Operators - John Scott Martin, Murphy Grumbar, Cy Town
- Marat - Hilary Minster
- Latep - Alan Tucker
Crew
- Assistant Floor Managers - Sue Hedden, Graeme Harper, John Cook
- Costumes - Hazel Pethig
- Designer - John Hurst
- Film Cameraman - Elmer Cossey
- Film Editor - Dave Thomas
- Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
- Make-Up - Jean McMillan
- Producer - Barry Letts
- Production Assistant - George Gallaccio
- Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
- Special Sounds - Dick Mills
- Studio Lighting - Derek Slee
- Studio Sound - Tony Millier
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Clifford Culley
References
- The Dalek Supreme makes an appearance.
- The Doctor mentions Ian, Barbara and Susan in confirming he was the Doctor to visit Skaro and to be known to the Thals.
- The Daleks have stored their greatest ever invasion force, about 10,000 strong, on Spiridon.
Story Notes
- This story had a working title of: Destination Daleks.
Ratings
- Episode 1 - 11.0 million viewers
- Episode 2 - 10.7 million viewers
- Episode 3 - 10.1 million viewers
- Episode 4 - 8.3 million viewers
- Episode 5 - 9.7 million viewers
- Episode 6 - 8.5 million viewers
Myths
to be added
Filming Locations
- Beachfields Quarry, Redhill, Surrey
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- The Doctor seems to have forgotten that he was following the Daleks to their base of operations in episode one.
- The Daleks seem to have forgotten their plot to try and start a war between the empires of Earth and Draconia. (DW: Frontier in Space).
- If the lake that the Daleks are pushed into is so cold, then why does it not affect the thals standing in it?
Continuity
- Spiridon is revisited in BFA: Return of the Daleks.
DVD, Video and Other Releases
to be added
Target Novelisations
- Novelised as Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks in 1976.
See also
to be added
External Links
- BBC Planet of the Daleks page
- Outpost Gallifrey Planet of the Daleks page
- Planet of the Daleks detailed sypnosis at Doctor Who Reference Guide
- A Brief History of Time (Travel) Guide to Planet of the Daleks
