Planet of the Daleks

[dbskyler]

So I've finished watching 'Planet of the Daleks." I liked it a lot, but why do I get the feeling that the Doctor Who production team ran out of money for this episode? Let's just say that I've been trying to imagine the conversations in the production office. I think they may have gone something like this:



"Barry, we have the latest script from Terry Nation. You knew he would have Daleks, right?"

"Well, of course. That's why we hired him, to write us a Dalek episode. Don't worry, we can afford Daleks."

"And Thals? You knew there would be Thals, too?"

"I suspected it. You know how Terry likes to go on about Thals. Not to worry, though, because the Thals look just like humans. We won't have to spend money on alien make-up for them. We'll scrounge some space suit outfits and they'll be fine."

"Okay, but now he's added a third type of alien."

"A third type?"

"Yes. They're the natives of the planet the Daleks have invaded. They're called Spiridons."

"We don't have the money for a third type of alien. Can we just make them look like humans too?"

"No. See, it's fine if Thals and humans and Time Lords all look exactly the same, but once you add Spiridons, it starts to get silly."

"Okay, make them invisible. That'll solve it."

[pause]

"I'm sorry, did you say 'invisible'?"

"Yes. That way we don't have to have any make-up or costumes at all! It'll save a fortune."

"But how will the audience know where the Spiridons are?"

"Have them carry around sticks. They're stick-carrying invisible aliens. They love sticks. We'll hang the sticks on wires, and the floating sticks will show where they are. Oh, and make them clumsy, so they're always pushing branches aside, stuff like that."

"Okay, but sometimes we do have to see the Spiridons for the sake of the plot."

"What costumes do we have left in stores?"

"Just a bunch of blue rugs that nobody wanted. The BBC foisted them off on us."

"Great. When a Spiridon has to be seen, stick him in a blue rug."

[pause]

"Why would Spiridons wear blue rugs?"

"Because they're cold! They're cold, rug-wearing, stick-carrying invisible aliens! Do I have to think of everything around here?"

* * *

But other than that, I thought it was a great episode. Terry Nation knows how to keep the tension ramped up, filling his script with tons of small cliffhanger moments. He's also excellent at giving us well-rounded original characters, each with their own backstories and motivations.

And hey, does anyone know the story on that Thal romance that Jo turned down? Because if I didn't already know that her last episode was "Green Death," I would've said that the script was heading for a classic "companion falls in love and leaves the Doctor" ending there. Of course, that's exactly what we did get one episode later, but with Jo staying on Earth instead of going to Skaro. Was this originally going to be Jo's last episode? Or was Terry Nation just playing with the audience?

Comments

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

No invisible spaceship, but they did have an invisible Dalek. There was a scene where the Thals opened up the casing to get the actual Dalek out, then the camera cut away, then we heard a splash to let us know it had been thrown into the river. We didn't even get to see a hint of a rubber tentacle. You'd think the production team would have some extra Dalek-mutants hanging around the place, but apparently not . . . *g*