Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story): Difference between revisions

The [[Seventh Doctor]] and his [[companion]], [[Ace]] have landed [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] in [[London]], [[1963]], where they are noticed by a [[Judith Winters|young girl]] at [[Coal Hill School]], presumably due to Ace's ghetto blaster. Outside the school, there is a black van with no mark which the Doctor decides to examine, but Ace is more interested in going to a cafe. Investigating the school playground, the Doctor finds some strange scorch marks on the asphalt, unaware of the girl watching him. The Doctor returns to the van and enters, much to the surprise of the van's occupant, [[Professor]] [[Rachel Jensen]]. Before she can know who the Doctor is, she gets a call from her superior.

At Totter's Lane, [[Ian Gilmore|Group Captain Gilmore]] and his men have had one of their soldiers, Matthews, killed by an unknown force. The Doctor inspects the body, and determines he was killed by some kind of energy weapon. As two soldiers begin to take Matthews' body away, the unseen force that killed him also shoots and kills another soldier. Certain that they are dealing with a Dalek, the Doctor tries to tell Gilmore to retreat, but Gilmore refuses. Mike and Ace appear to help with the situation. When Mike attempts to radio for more help, the unseen force fires at Mike, just narrowly missing him. Gilmore then orders three rocket propelled grenades to be fired where the unseen force is hiding. Even though Gilmore tries to assure the Doctor by saying nothing remotely human could survive that explosion, the Doctor states that is the point; that thing in there isn’t even remotely human.

Whilst the Imperial Daleks are watching from [[Imperial Dalek mothership|their Mothership]], the Renegade Daleks dispatch Ratcliffe and his men to retrieve the Hand Of Omega. Ratcliffe receives information from their informant about the school. This informant is revealed to be Mike.

Ace gets bored of being cooped up in the boarding house and heads out to the school on her own so she can retrieve her ghetto blaster. Mike phones his mother to discover Ace is no longer there. The Doctor and company immediately go to try and find her. Ace arrives at the school, and is promptly chased by an Imperial Dalek, which Ace is able to blind by destroying its eyestalk with the baseball bat. Ace attempts to escape but is promptly cornered by three more Daleks who all circle her and prepare to exterminate her.

Ace travels with the Doctor to locate the location of the Renegade Daleks’ HQ. They find it, and the Doctor shows Ace the Battle Computer. He tells her that if the Daleks are over-reliant on rationality and logic, the solution would be to get [[Judith Winters|a young, imaginative child]] to enslave to the battle computer. The Doctor tinkers with the [[Time Controller]] to 'manipulate the enemy'.

=== Part 4 ===

* [[Kaufman]] - [[Derek Keller]]

* [[Davros]] - [[Terry Molloy]]

=== Uncredited cast ===

* [[Visual Effects]] - [[Stuart Brisdon]]

=== Individuals ===

* Mike Smith is placed under close arrest on suspicion of offences contrary to the [[Official Secrets Act]]. He is guarded by a [[Corporal (Remembrance of the Daleks)|corporal]].

* [[Roy Skelton]] is credited as "Voices" for parts one to three, and as "Dalek Voices" for part four.

* [[Royce Mills]] and [[Brian Miller (actor)|Brian Miller]] are credited as "Voices" for parts two and three, and as "Dalek Voices" for part four.

* The ''[[Radio Times]]'' programme listing for part one was accompanied by a black-and-white publicity shot of the Doctor and Ace in an open alley doorway with the accompanying caption: "Behind the times? The ever-fashionable Doctor ([[Sylvester McCoy]]) and Ace ([[Sophie Aldred]]) take a leap back to the swinging 60s to meet an old enemy... / BBC1, 7.35 p.m. ''Doctor Who''". ''(original published text)'' For part three, the programme listing was accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of Ratcliffe standing with his hands raised before a foreground Renegade Dalek with the accompanying caption reading: "Exterminate... Exterminate... Will Ratcliffe ([[George Sewell]]) die at the nozzle of a Dalek? / BBC1, 7.35 p.m''. Doctor Who''". ''(original published text)''

* This is the first instance of a Dalek levitating up a staircase on screen. However, [[Davros]] appears to have the power of flight in ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]]'', achieved with the same [[special effect]]. In ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'', a Dalek is seen to elevate from sand and it is implied they can move between the decks of the ''[[Mary Celeste|Marie Celeste]]''.

** With regard to the omnibus editing, the videotape recordings were produced in a way that made the editing out of the credits jarring. A few notes of the [[Keff McCulloch]] theme remain audible between the cuts to black. Another complication was presented within the first episode, displaying the words "PART ONE" superimposed over filmed material crucial to the episode. Although it is possible to digitally edit out the words, the process is notoriously time-intensive and delicate, requiring editors to edit each separate frame of film that contains the lettering. For simplicity's sake, it was ignored and left intact upon rebroadcast.

** For an as yet unknown reason, unlike the other stories that accompanied the ''Revisited'' specials, it was not shown when the special aired in the [[United Kingdom]] later in [[2013 (releases)|the year]] on [[2 November (releases)|2 November]] on the [[Watch (TV channel)|Watch]] channel. Instead, ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]'' was shown in its place.

* When the Doctor gives Ace her baseball bat, script pages are visible sticking out of the left pocket on his jacket. According to [[Sylvester McCoy]] on the audio commentary, he always carried "Scenes To Do" in the left-hand pocket and "Scenes Done" in the right.

* In the rehearsal script, a near-retired Gilmore referred to his group as the Special Incursions Counter-Measures Unit and that the Army wished to take over. He said they had "some bright boy, [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Captain Tunbridge-Steward or something]], [who had] worked for the SOE during the war," lined up for the role of commander. If included in the final episode, this would have contradicted a large number of older [[UNIT]] and Brigadier stories. ([[DWM 464]])

* [[Michael Sheard]] was chosen to play the Headmaster as he would be familiar to children. Sheard had to be released from his regular role as Mr Bronson on ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grange_Hill Grange Hill]'' to participate; [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tilbury Peter Tilbury] was briefly considered for the role if Sheard could not make it.

* [[Andrew Cartmel]] was particularly proud of the scene where Ace finds a <small>NO COLOUREDS</small> sign in the window of Mrs Smith's boarding house. When it was screened to the BBC Head of Drama, he rewound the tape because the Head of Drama had missed the sequence due to a phone call. The Head of Drama felt that Ace should have torn the sign down, and Cartmel agreed it was a missed opportunity. [[Andrew Morgan]] wanted to cut the scene, but [[Sylvester McCoy]] and [[Sophie Aldred]] argued that it was the essence of the story, as it was about racism.

* Ratcliffe was originally called Gummer. However, there was a cabinet minister in [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s government with the same name, so it was changed. It was also considered too similar to Gilmore.

* [[Sylvester McCoy]] wanted to perform the stunt where the Doctor slides down a wire with his umbrella, but he wasn't allowed to.

* [[Sylvester McCoy]]'s favourite scenes are the one in the cafe where the Doctor weighs on the decisions he must make and Ace finding the <small>NO COLOUREDS</small> sign.

* [[Tom Adams (actor)|Tom Adams]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Ball_(actor) Nicholas Ball], [[Tom Chadbon]], [[Michael Cochrane]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Collins Lewis Collins], [[Del Henney]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Ogilvy Ian Ogilvy], [[Tim Piggott-Smith]], [[Neil Stacy]], [[Simon Ward]] and [[James Warwick]] were considered for the role of Captain Gilmore.

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Ackland Joss Ackland], [[George Baker]], [[Keith Barron]], [[Steven Berkoff]], [[John Carson]], [[Kenneth Colley]], [[Kenneth Cope]], [[Peter Gilmore]], [[Del Henney]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Hill Bernard Hill], [[Glyn Houston]], [[Stratford Johns]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Lacey Ronald Lacey], [[T. P. McKenna]], [[David Warner]] and [[Frank Windsor]] were considered for the role of Ratcliffe.

* The Imperial Daleks were built with bigger wheels that would roll easier on location.

* [[Ben Aaronovitch]] expected the Dalek ship to be cheap-looking and achieved with [[CSO|colour-separation overlay]], and was surprised when a model ship was constructed and "landed" with the help of a crane.

* The junkyard gate was part of [[ITV]]'s storage facility, and the pyrotechnics not only destroyed it for the effect of the Special Weapons Dalek blowing it up, but also smashed windows in the nearby building.

* A thermal imaging camera was used for Dalek perspective shots.

* [[Ben Aaronovitch]] felt that destroying Skaro at the end seemed like a logical conclusion, but he noted that it might not be the best decision in the long run.

* [[Ben Aaronovitch]] considered making use of other elements of Dalek continuity — including the [[Thal]]s and the [[Ogron]]s — but eventually rejected these for fear of over-complicating the story.

* [[Ben Aaronovitch]] had overwritten his scripts for this serial, and therefore several subplots were eliminated. These included a threatened nuclear strike on London, a dangerous trip from Totter's Lane to Coal Hill School for the Doctor and Ace, and Harry's extermination by the Daleks.

* Rachel's surname was originally Israel instead of Jensen.

* [[Andrew Cartmel]] watched previous Dalek stories for research and felt that only ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]] ''made the creatures look menacing. He decided to use similar shots and shared his ideas with [[Andrew Morgan]] - shoot low and lots of ceilings. He also told [[Ben Aaronovitch]] that there must be no capturing and no corridors.

* According to [[Andrew Cartmel]], the superstitious [[Andrew Morgan]] was alarmed to learn that the street location for Coal Hill School was called Macbeth Street.

* While filming the scene where Ace attacks the Dalek, [[Sophie Aldred]], sensitive to cigarette smoke, asked [[John Nathan-Turner]] if he would stop smoking for the next take. He obliviously lit up another one and blanked her. While looking at her on the monitor, he said, "Find the camera, you dizzy cow". He also objected to her adding badges to her jacket, as it caused continuity problems and took umbrage with her request for a taxi to take her home from rehearsals.

* The Hand of Omega was originally called The Hand of Rassilon.

* [[Mike Tucker]] was a fan of the series and had always wanted to build a domed Emperor Dalek prop which would split open to reveal Davros inside. [[Ben Aaronovitch]] had been sceptical of using Davros, whom he felt tended to overshadow the Daleks and reduce them to mere henchmen, but he now adapted Tucker's idea as the serial's climax.

* [[Stuart Brisdon]] was eager to modernise the Dalek props, but [[John Nathan-Turner]] was resistant to his proposed changes; the designer's principal victory saw the manipulator arm revised to be less obviously akin to a toilet plunger.

* It was decided that the Daleks' colour scheme should reflect the liveries seen in ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]].'' As such, the Imperial Daleks would be cream with gold trim (instead of red with black trim) while the Renegade Daleks would be grey with black trim (instead of blue with silver trim).

* Amongst the extras posing as Coal Hill students were the children of [[Simon Williams]], [[Andrew Morgan]] and costume designer [[Ken Trew]], plus the sister of [[Jasmine Breaks]].

* The Coal Hill Headmaster was named H. Parson, in reference to videotape editor [[Hugh Parson]].

* It was originally hoped that [[Terry Molloy]] could voice the Dalek battle computer, as part of the pretence that it was Davros, and not the little girl, who was working with the Renegade Daleks. However, when other commitments prevented him from attending the recording session, [[John Leeson]] agreed to provide a Davros-like performance in his stead.

* Episode one was the first installment to be broadcast in stereo sound, and, indeed, one of the first such programmes on British television.

* Several scenes were cut or edited in production:

* (Formerly appearing in many places on this very page.) There is nothing to indicate that the episode takes place in November 1963. ''(At one point, a calendar indicating this very thing is clearly seen. However, it's true that the weather and the timing of nightfall in part three don't jibe with this. However, in the Special Edition DVD featurette on the making of the story, writer Ben Aaronovitch acknowledges that it was intended to be November, but that the timing of daylight was wrong for that time of year.)''

* The Doctor tells Davros that he is "far more than a Time Lord". ''(This occurs, but in a deleted scene. However, this line may have been included in either the PBS or YTV Canada broadcast of the story, as some fans recall seeing this scene long before it was ever released to DVD. However, this may also have been due to the scene's appearance in the 1993 documentary'' [[More than 30 Years in the TARDIS]]''.)''

=== Filming locations ===

{{discontinuity}}

* The gates to the junkyard bear the label "I.M FORMAN", as a nod to the junkyard seen in [[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''. However, the junkyard gate is labelled "I.M ''Foreman''" here. Though this was later retconned by a couple of books, it was nevertheless a genuine production error, as admitted on the DVD release's production notes extra feature. According to the production notes on the DVD release, the sign had already been corrected once on the day of shooting, as it was originally painted as L.M. rather than I.M., but no one evidently noticed the surname error. (For details of the retcon, see [[Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/Remembrance of the Daleks|the discontinuity discussion]].)

* At the end of part one, the Imperial Dalek is shown to have a wire on its left side in the front shot.

* Although set in 1963, then contemporary houses and a red London bus are visible in the background during the struggle between Mike and the Headmaster at the cemetery.

* In part two, during the scene in the undertaker's, [[Ace]]'s baseball bat appears to suddenly switch from the Doctor's left hand to his right. The error is remarked upon by both [[Sylvester McCoy]] and [[Sophie Aldred]] on the DVD commentary of this story. Similarly, in another scene, the first soldier to be exterminated on-screen has a gun in his left hand then it switches to his right hand when he gets exterminated.

* At another point in part two, when the Renegade Daleks move onto the streets, in a close-up shot, you can see the section between the head and middle section coming off.

* When Ace ducks under the table after damaging the Imperial Dalek with the baseball bat, a director can be vaguely heard saying the next lines for the Dalek operator in the background.

* At one point, a [[continuity announcement]] on a television in the background establishes the time as 17:15. Given that the episode is implied to be set in [[November]] in [[London]], that should make it dark outside. However, it is not only light but the Doctor subsequently asks people out to lunch. While a convoluted narrative extrapolation might be possible, the simplest reading is that the [[continuity supervisor]], among others, dropped the ball.

* The Daleks would reconstruct Skaro by the time of the Doctor's [[twelfth incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]''/ ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'')

* During the incident, [[Imperial Dalek (In Remembrance)|one Imperial Dalek]] travelled to 2018 through a [[Coal Hill Space-Time Rift|space-time rift]]. It learnt about the Daleks' failure and tried to warn other Daleks. However, this attempt was stopped by [[Andrea Quill|Miss Quill]], [[Charlie Smith]] and a future Ace. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[In Remembrance (audio story)|In Remembrance]]'') Another survivor attempted to exterminate the First Doctor in the London evening, but was destroyed by the Seventh Doctor. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Time & Time Again (comic story)|Time & Time Again]]'')

== Home video and audio releases ==

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[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]

[[Category:Dalek television stories]]

[[Category:BFI-exhibited television stories]]

[[Category:The Doctors Revisited stories]]