Saturday, October 7, 2023

Doctor Who (1963) 1.02.04

The Ambush
(aka The Daleks - Part Four)

Ian (inside one of the Daleks) manages to trick another of the Daleks into letting them into the room adjacent to the lift. Ian can't get out of the Dalek. He tells the others to go ahead without him. Susan objects but the Doctor and Barbara agree that Ian's suggestion is for the best.

The Doctor, Barbara, and Susan take the lift up to the surface. They send it back down for Ian who escapes in the lift just before the Daleks break down the door.

Temmosus leads the Thals into the city to meet with the Daleks. Temmosus assumes that the Daleks will want to talk. Alydon has doubts, which prove to be accurate. The Daleks kill Temmosus. Most of the other Thals escape thanks to Ian who warns them at the last minute.

The surviving Thals plus the Doctor and his companions return to the forest. Ian tells the Thals that they must prepare for conflict with the Thals. Alydon tells him that the Thals are peaceful and would rather die than fight.

The Doctor and his companions prepare to leave but then Ian discovers that he no longer has the fluid link. The Daleks took it from him.

Thoughts

The commentary track for this episode included Christopher Barry (director), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), and William Russell (Ian). 

The Doctor on more than one occasion seems to want to practice an extreme version of the Prime Directive, from Star Trek. He doesn't think they owe anything to the Thals and doesn't want to go out of his way in the least bit to warn them about how deadly the Daleks can be.

The Doctor isn't worried that the Daleks will follow them into the forest because of the radiation. He says nothing about their inability to navigate on surfaces that aren't flat.

This episode felt a little padded. The first half of the episode was about the escape from the city. The second half was about warning the Thals and conversations in the forest after the escape from the city. On the whole I am still enjoying this story and look forward to how it plays out.

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