To a certain extent, Resurrection of the Daleks had little pressure to succeed as a Dalek story compared to other Dalek stories of the late 60s and early 70s. The last good Dalek story, Genesis of the Daleks, had aired all the way back in 1975. Tom Baker's only other Dalek story, Destiny of the Daleks, had been, more or less, a failure; It is better known for its poor production and writing rather than anything having to do with Daleks. Romana's regeneration scene upheaved everything the audience had been led to believe about regeneration (to the point that many Doctor Who fans refuse to accept it as cannon), the writers had to stand on their heads to provide an explanation as to how Davros survived, and why the Daleks would need him, and the realization of the Movellans was distinctly unimpressive.
As the Daleks entered into their third decade of existence on the television screen then, there was not necessarily any demand for Resurrection of the Daleks to live up to the standards set by Dalek stories in the 60s and Genesis of the Daleks. In this context, Resurrection of the Daleks does quite well. Although it is a bit cluttered, and there are too many on-screen deaths, in general, it is an enjoyable cinematic experience, and as usual Peter Davison gives 110% as the Doctor. Stacked up against other Dalek stories, this story comes out to somewhere in the middle of pack. Here are three things we learned from watching Resurrection of the Daleks....
As the Daleks entered into their third decade of existence on the television screen then, there was not necessarily any demand for Resurrection of the Daleks to live up to the standards set by Dalek stories in the 60s and Genesis of the Daleks. In this context, Resurrection of the Daleks does quite well. Although it is a bit cluttered, and there are too many on-screen deaths, in general, it is an enjoyable cinematic experience, and as usual Peter Davison gives 110% as the Doctor. Stacked up against other Dalek stories, this story comes out to somewhere in the middle of pack. Here are three things we learned from watching Resurrection of the Daleks....
1) Dying on-screen actually requires acting skills... skills that this cast sadly lacks. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of on-screen deaths. I haven't counted, but I would be willing to bet that this serial has the most deaths of any story in Doctor Who up to this point. As I was watching the first episode, and the death toll was beginning to mount, a Gary Larson Far Side cartoon sprung to my mind. There is a sheriff and his posse who are preparing for a shootout. To a man taking up a position at a window on the second story of a building, the sheriff yells out something to the effect of, "if you do happen to get shot, don't just slump over the railing. Add some drama to the situation by hurling yourself out the window, screaming". I feel like the actors in Resurrection of the Daleks must have looked at this comic before filming and really bought into the concept. In all my time watching Doctor Who I have never seen such an array of awkward, theatrical, and laughable deaths. Below is a video that counts all the on-screen deaths, Dalek and human. The quality is somewhat bad, and I don't like that they mute the audio for the story, but it still gets my point across fairly well; there is a lot of dying...... not very good dying, but dying nonetheless.
Which one is your favorite? The completely emotionless looking man with a mustache in the first scene? When the Daleks burst into the space-ship and kill several guards before being killed themselves by explosives? Number 32's delightful ballet turn before crumpling to the floor? The list is almost endless.
2) There is only one Davros, and his name is Michael Wisher. Genesis of the Daleks did a lot of things right. However, the one thing that really made it a Doctor Who masterpiece, as opposed to just a great story was Michael Wisher, the actor who played Davros. Genesis of the Daleks is not about the Doctor or his companions; it is the story of Davros. Davros keeps the story moving, and without Wisher's captivating performance, the story would not be what it is today. While Terry Molloy certainly improves on David Gooderson's performance in Destiny of the Daleks, he still cannot compare to Wisher. Davros' scene with the Doctor (seen on the right) is quite good, but other than that Molloy is disappointing and overbearing, especially considering the high standard set by Wisher. Rather, Molloy comes across as a one-dimensional raving lunatic, who acts more and more like his creations, and less like the clever and ruthless scientist he was originally written to be. When he goes into one of his monologues, he is hardly understandable; rather than coming across as threatening, he sounds like a drunken tyrant with a lisp. Molloy is simply not good enough: if you can't get an actor that can live up to the expectations that a character like Davros sets, don't do a Davros story.
3) In 1984, Doctor Who still had plenty of money. In the blog I wrote two blogs ago, I talked about how over the course of Tom Baker's last few seasons the show's spending power significantly decreased. In general, the production team did a decent job adjusting, but it would be inaccurate to say that these budget cuts did not hurt. This continued into the Fifth Doctor's era. Resurrection of the Daleks, however, represents an exception to this trend, and shows that Doctor Who still had plenty of funds to draw upon when it felt like it. In John Pertwee's Day of the Daleks it was painfully clear that the production team only used four Daleks. In Resurrection, the Doctor pushes a full-size Dalek out a window!! The result is quite dramatic; the Dalek smashes into the pavement like a broken submarine, and promptly bursts into smoke and flames. In total, this serial has fifteen on-screen Dalek deaths. Fifteen!! Though Doctor Who has historically never been very good at producing shoot-em-up stories, Resurrection of the Daleks gives it a pretty good go. Several scenes are reminiscent of Star Wars, particularly the scene where the Daleks burst through the cargo bay doors of the human space-ship, only to encounter stiff resistance from the ship's well-entrenched defenders. Resurrection of the Daleks proves that even in 1984 Doctor Who was still plenty popular, and still had plenty of money left in the tank to work some magic.
Coming up next blog, we will be discussing Peri, the Doctor's first "American" companion. Until next time!
Coming up next blog, we will be discussing Peri, the Doctor's first "American" companion. Until next time!