The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)
The Evil of the Daleks was the ninth and final story of Season 4 of Doctor Who, and was the first story to feature companion Victoria Waterfield, played by Deborah Watling. It was at the time intended to be the Doctor's final battle with the Daleks, which, aside from a few cameos, did not appear again in the series for five years. Only episode two remains intact, while the rest of the story has been lost.
Synopsis
The Daleks draft the Doctor into distilling the Human Factor which, once implanted, would make the Dalek race invincible. Jamie's faith in the Doctor is stretched to the limit as he appears to be collaborating with the Daleks. The Doctor has a few tricks up his sleeve, but then again so might the Daleks...
Plot
Episode 1
Having bidden farewell to Ben and Polly, the Doctor and Jamie discover that the TARDIS has been stolen on the back of a lorry. They pursue the thieves, encountering a less-than-helpful air mechanic (Bob Hall), who is actually working for someone named Kennedy. Kennedy himself is under the employ of an antique dealer, Edward Waterfield, a specialist in Victorian antiques and reproductions. While Kennedy knocks out Hall and leaves clues for the Doctor to find, Waterfield explains to his assistant Perry that the Police Box is a special request for a particular client. He asks Perry to meet the Doctor and Jamie, and to invite them to meet Waterfield at 10pm at the antique shop. Kennedy notes how Waterfield appears to have a secret back room in his office. He sneaks in to find a safe as well as a mysterious machine featuring a large platform. As he focuses on opening the safe, he fails to notice a Dalek materializing on the platform. The Dalek demands the terrified Kennedy identify himself.
Episode 2
Kennedy flees and is shot down by the Dalek. Waterfield is horrified at the Dalek’s callous indifference to human life, but the Dalek demands that he follow orders. Despite his shattered nerves, he lays a trap for the Doctor and Jamie involving a photo of the two of them ripped in half.
The pair enter the antique shop and note the antique clocks: too perfect to be reproductions, but too new to be genuinely Victorian. They also find a bill dated 1866, but again seemingly too new to be genuine. They soon discover Kennedy’s body and one half of the photo. The Doctor quickly finds the secret room, and the second half of the photo sticking out of a box on the teleport platform. Jamie impulsively opens the box, releasing a gas grenade that knocks them both out. Waterfield moves their prone bodies onto the platform, and the three disappear.
They awake in the country house of eccentric Professor Theodore Maxtible in the year 1866. Maxtible and Waterfield explain that they have been researching time travel through the use of static electricity and a chamber lined with mirrors. They inadvertently summoned a group of Daleks who took Waterfield’s daughter Victoria prisoner and forced them to kidnap the Doctor. The Daleks threaten to destroy the TARDIS unless he assists them with an experiment. Jamie is to be subjected to a series of potentially lethal tests in order to identify the Human Factor, a theoretical group of attributes possessed by humanity that have caused so many Dalek defeats at their hands. Implanting the Human Factor into the Daleks would create an invincible race of Super-Daleks.
The test is due to start immediately, but then Jamie is nowhere to be found.
Episode 3
Jamie has been kidnapped by a ruffian Toby at the behest of another houseguest, Arthur Terrall (a suitor of Maxtible’s daughter Ruth). Terrell is under the control of the Daleks, and his behavior vacillates wildly from calm to violent.
The Daleks prepare for the test to begin, moving Victoria to one end of the west wing of the house. A mute Turkish muscleman Kemel, a servant of Maxtible, demonstrates his strength by bending an iron bar. He is told that Jamie is a vicious ruffian, and is instructed to guard the house from him.
Jamie is puzzled by the Doctor’s behavior, claiming Daleks are in the house and appearing to collaborate with Maxtible and Waterfield, but succumbs to the Doctor’s reverse psychology forbidding him from attempting a rescue of Victoria. He has, after all, become seemingly smitten by a painting of Victoria’s late mother, whom he’s told resembles her daughter exactly. Jamie is soon in the west wing, and soon squares off against the fearsome Kemel.
Episode 4
Jamie and Kemel fight each other, but in the struggle Kemel falls through an open window. Once Jamie pulls him back in, they come to a truce. Despite Kemel’s muteness, they are able to communicate with each other. They’re both fond of Victoria, and they work together to avoid fatal booby traps lain by the Daleks. The Doctor gleefully notes how Jamie’s compassion, courage, and instinct have allowed him to survive. Meanwhile, Waterfield is increasingly unnerved by the Daleks’ ruthlessness, and Maxtible demands that the Daleks fulfill their end of the bargain… the alchemical secret of transmuting base metals into gold.
After working together to destroy a Dalek by flinging it into a lit fireplace, Jamie and Kemel climb the balcony of the trophy room, finding Victoria in the closed room beyond. A hidden panel slides open and a Dalek advances on them.
Episode 5
Jamie and Kemel manage to propel the Dalek off the balcony to explode on the floor below. They break into the room beyond to finally find Victoria.
The Doctor closes in on Terrall, correctly suspecting that he’s under Dalek influence. It is evident that the strain on Terrall is worsening. Meanwhile Waterfield pleads with the Doctor to stop the experiment – surely once the Daleks have the Human Factor, they’ll be invincible. The Doctor continues nonetheless, imprinting the qualities that Jamie exhibited into positronic brains that will be implanted into three test Daleks.
Terrall sneaks into Victoria’s room via a secret passageway and steals her away under Jamie and Kemel’s noses. They follow through the passageway to find her. Having split up, Kemel finds Victoria unconscious in the lab. A Dalek orders him to carry her into the time travel cabinet.
Terrall finally collapses under the strain of the Dalek influence. The Doctor removes the control device, and urges Ruth to take him away to recover. Jamie is furious with the Doctor for his seeming collaboration with the Daleks, and has lost his faith in the Doctor. Then the three test Daleks with the Human Factor activate; rather than invincible killing machines, they are childlike and playful.
Episode 6
The Doctor is overjoyed with the success of the experiment, watching the Daleks enjoy the individual names given to them by the Doctor (Alpha, Beta and Omega) and playing ‘trains’ and ‘roundabouts.’ All the Daleks, including the three humanized ones, are summoned back to Skaro now that the experiment has ended. Maxtible follows to receive his promised reward, though he is greatly aggrieved to learn that the Daleks intend to destroy the house.
Waterfield finds the bomb left behind by the Daleks. The Doctor realizes that they can’t deactivate it in time, so they have no choice but to also follow them to Skaro. They leave just before the bomb explodes and destroys the house.
Kemel and Victoria are in a cell in the Dalek city. Maxtible arrives to explain to them how they’ve been transported across the galaxy. Victoria despairs but Kemel resolves to defend her. The Daleks are furious with Maxtible for not bringing the Doctor with him to Skaro, but an alarm soon rings: the Doctor, Jamie and Waterfield have infiltrated the city. The Daleks force Victoria and Maxtible to scream to lure them in.
Meanwhile, the Black Dalek encounters one of the three humanized Daleks, Omega, proudly boasting how the Doctor gave him his name.
In a tunnel, the Doctor, Jamie and Maxtible meet a Dalek claiming to be Omega, but the Doctor quickly recognizes it’s an imposter and pushes it over a cliff. They eventually reach a vast chamber, the throne room of the giant Emperor Dalek. The Doctor boasts to the Emperor how the humanized Daleks will soon ferment revolution on Skaro (his true goal all along), and that the Daleks are beaten. The Emperor then reveals that he too has a secret. By quantifying the Human Factor, the Daleks have been able to quantify the Dalek Factor, and now that they have the Doctor’s TARDIS, they can then implant the Dalek Factor across the history of Earth.
Episode 7
The Doctor is appalled and refuses to comply. They are all put in the holding cell, Victoria reunited with her father at last. The Daleks lure Maxtible with the secret of turning lead into gold to walk through an archway that implants him with the Dalek Factor.
Later, as they sleep, Maxtible hypnotizes the Doctor into walking through the arch as well. The others wake to see him, and Jamie cries out in vain for him to stop. As he passes through, the Doctor seems to also be mentally converted into a Dalek. Jamie and the others despair, and all hope seems to be lost.
Meanwhile, the Black Dalek orders a work party to stop, but is enraged when one Dalek asks “Why?”
Maxtible and the Doctor work on creating a device that can convert humans into Daleks on a massive scale. When Maxtible leaves, however, the Doctor’s demeanor changes, and he makes a quick adjustment to the conversion arch. He then sneaks back into the holding cell, urging them to walk through the arch. Jamie is still unsure if the Doctor can be trusted. A Dalek comes to bring the Doctor before the Emperor. As he leaves, he gives a subtle wink to Jamie.
The Emperor is informed about the three humanized Daleks beginning to question and defy commands. The Doctor, still pretending to be converted, suggests that all Daleks be passed through the conversion arch so that the humanized Daleks will be re-impregnated with the Dalek Factor.
As the Daleks begin moving through the arch, the Doctor urges his imprisoned colleagues to go through also. He reveals his double-cross: he switched the circuitry, and all the Daleks passing through the arch are being humanized (not being human himself, the initial Dalek conversion failed). They go through the archway and are unchanged.
Chaos erupts in the Dalek City. Humanized Daleks begin defying the non-processed Daleks, and are destroyed. The Doctor urges the humanized Daleks to defend themselves and to demand answers from the Emperor. Soon civil war erupts in full force. The enraged Maxtible hurls Kemel over a cliff to his death, before himself being killed in the crossfire. Waterfield sacrifices his life to save the Doctor by hurling himself in front of a Dalek energy blast. The Emperor himself is destroyed by the fighting in the throne room. The Doctor and Jamie escape the melee with the now-orphaned Victoria and watch the city burn, apparently witnesses to the final end of the Daleks
Cast
- The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
- Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
- Victoria Waterfield - Deborah Watling
- Edward Waterfield - John Bailey
- Theodore Maxtible - Marius Goring
- Bob Hall - Alec Ross
- Kennedy - Griffith Davies
- Perry - Geoffrey Colville
- Mollie Dawson - Jo Rowbottom
- Ruth Maxtible - Brigit Forsyth
- Arthur Terrall - Gary Watson
- Toby - Windsor Davies
- Kemel - Sonny Caldinez
- Daleks - Robert Jewell, Gerald Taylor, John Scott Martin, Murphy Grumbar, Ken Tyllsen
- Dalek Voices - Roy Skelton, Peter Hawkins
Crew
- Writer - David Whitaker
- Producer - Innes Lloyd
- Director - Derek Martinus
- Title Music - Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
- Daleks created by Terry Nation
- Fight Arranger - Peter Diamond
- Script Editors - Gerry Davis and Peter Bryant
- Costumes - Sandra Reid
- Make-Up - Gillian James
- Studio Lighting - Wally Whitmore
- Studio Sound - Bryan Forgham
- Film Cameraman - John Baker
- Film Editor - Ted Walter
- Visual Effects - Michaeljohn Harris and Peter Day
- Designer - Chris Thompson
- Dalek fight film sequence directed by Timothy Combe
- Assistant Floor Manager - David Tilley, Margaret Rushton
- Associate Producer - Peter Bryant
- Production Assistant - Timothy Combe
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
References
1854, Battle of Inkerman, Charge of the Light Brigade, Crimean War, gold, James Clerk Maxwell, time cabinet
- This marks the first time the Doctor has visited the same alien world, specifically Skaro, a second time.
- The Dalek Emperor makes its first appearance.
- The Daleks use mirrors to time travel.
Story notes
- Written by former Doctor Who script editor David Whitaker, "Evil" was initially intended to be the last Dalek story on Doctor Who. Writer Terry Nation, the creator of the Daleks, was busily trying to sell the Daleks to American television at the time and it was intended to give them a big send off from the series. Of course, despite the Doctor's pronouncement, this was not to be his last encounter with these most famous of his adversaries. And despite the intention to 'kill off' the Daleks, Lloyd was told, at the last moment before filming the final scene, not to. He did this inserting a light globe inside the Emperor Dalek. This glowed as the Emperor was destroyed, suggesting that something within remained alive.
- This was the last story on which Gerry Davis served as Story Editor.
- "The Evil of the Daleks" was wiped from the BBC's archives in the early 1970s. Only a telerecording of episode 2 remains, returned to the archive in May 1987 after being found at a car boot sale a few years earlier, but a copy of the soundtrack was released in 1992. A second version with alternative narration was released in 2003. A home movie of the filming of the Dalek battle sequence exists and is included on the DVD of The Tomb of the Cybermen.
- This is the first Dalek story in which William Hartnell does not feature, if recaps and images seen in The Power of the Daleks are included.
- In 1993 readers of DreamWatch Bulletin voted The Evil of the Daleks as the best ever Doctor Who story in a special poll for the series' thirtieth anniversary.
- The Beatles' 'Paperback Writer' and the Seekers' 'Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen' are used as background music on the juke box in the coffee bar scenes in the first episode.
- The theme given to the Daleks by Dudley Simpson in his incidental music was based on the series' own signature tune.
- Patrick Troughton and Deborah Watling appear only in film inserts in the fourth episode as they were on holiday during the week when it was recorded.
- Sound effects from The Daleks and The Daleks' Master Plan are reused for the Dalek city.
- Some Louis Marx 'tricky action' toy Daleks are used in model work for the scenes of the destruction of the Dalek city.
- The first individual visual effects designer credits ever given on the series appears, for Michealjohn Harris and Peter Day. Previously, visual effects had been handled by the series' scenic designers rather than by the BBC's Visual Effects Department, although the Department as a whole did receive a credit on the first story, An Unearthly Child.
Ratings
Original broadcast only
- Episode 1 - 8.1 million viewers
- Episode 2 - 7.5 million viewers
- Episode 3 - 6.1 million viewers
- Episode 4 - 5.3 million viewers
- Episode 5 - 5.1 million viewers
- Episode 6 - 6.8 million viewers
- Episode 7 - 6.1 million viewers
Rebroadcast
The Evil of the Daleks was the first Doctor Who serial to be rebroadcast in its entirety. This occurred between June and August of 1968, when the serial was aired to fill the gap between season 5 and 6. Unlike most reruns, the rebroadcast was actually worked into the narrative of the series, by having new companion Zoe Heriot watching the events unfold via a telepathic projector hidden behind one of the roundels of the console room. For the rebroadcasts new introductions were recorded.
Myths
to be added
Filming locations
- The hangars on Kendal Avenue in Ealing were used for the opening scenes at Gatwick Airport.
- Grim's Dyke Mansion House at Harrow Weald, Middlesex served as the location for Edward Waterfield's estate.
- Warehouse Lane in Shepherd's Bush was used for the scene at the railway arches.
- All other scenes, including the final scenes on Skaro, were filmed at Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing.
- Lime Grove Studios (Studio D), Lime Grove, London
Production errors
- In episode two, part of a camera appears as the Dalek questions Victoria.
- In episode seven, when the "Dalekised" Doctor and Maxtible report to the Emperor, their voices are slightly but audibly "Dalekised" also. Similarly, the echo effect of the Emperor's voice affects other Daleks in the control room.
Continuity
- This story picks up where DW: The Faceless Ones left off. The first two parts take place contemporaneously with part four of DW: The War Machines, which may go some way to explaining why the First Doctor said that he had the same feeling he had when Daleks were around at the start of that story.
- This story introduced the Dalek Emperor. Previously the leader of the Daleks had been either the Black Dalek (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth) or the Supreme Dalek (aka the Dalek Supreme, DW: The Daleks' Master Plan). The concept of a Dalek emperor is referenced again in DW: Remembrance of the Daleks, DW: The Parting of the Ways and VG: City of the Daleks.
- The following story picks up immediately after the events of this story on Skaro, with the Doctor welcoming Victoria aboard the TARDIS as its newest crewmember. (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen).
- The Daleks also use mirrors as a method of time travel in BFA: The Time of the Daleks, as does Donna Noble in DW: Turn Left
- A Dalek Emperor appears in DW: The Parting of the Ways.
- With some speculation, this Dalek Emperor could in fact be the mentally affected Davros from BFA: Terror Firma.
- Alpha, Beta and Omega next feature in DWM: Children of the Revolution.
- The Daleks try a similar plan to create Human/Dalek hybrids in DW: Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks.
Timeline
- This story occurs after: DW: The Faceless Ones
- This story occurs before: DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen
Home video and audio releases
- The surviving episode (Episode 2) was released on the Daleks: The Early Years video.
- It was also released on the Lost in Time DVD (January, 2004).
- Editing of surviving episodes DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.
DVD releases
Lost in Time Region 2 UK
Lost in Time Region 4 Australia
Lost in Time Region 1 US
Lost in Time Region 1 US (Disc 2)
Lost in Time Region 4 Australian re-release
Audio releases
- An audio cassette of the soundtrack, with linking narration by Tom Baker was released in 1992.
- Another audio version of the soundtrack, with linking narration by Frazer Hines, was released by BBC Audiobooks Ltd. in 2004.
Cassette release
- The Evil of the Dalekscd.jpg
CD release
.jpg)
Novelisation and its audiobook
- Main article: The Evil of the Daleks (novelisation)
- Novelised as The Evil of the Daleks by John Peel in 1993. To date, it is the last of the original series serials to be adapted as a novel; there remain almost a half-dozen stories that have yet to be officially adapted: The Pirate Planet, City of Death, Shada, Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks.
See also
External links
- The Evil of the Daleks at the BBC's official site
- BBC - Doctor Who - Classic Series - Photonovels - The Evil of the Daleks
- The Evil of the Daleks at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Evil of the Daleks at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
- The Evil of the Daleks at The Locations Guide
- The Evil of the Daleks transcript
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
