Doctor Who (1963) 2.02.03

Day of Reckoning

(aka The Dalek Invasion of Earth - Part Three)

The attack on the Dalek flying suacer doesn't go well. Many of the rebels are killed. Barbara makes her way back to the rebel base of operations with Jenny, one of the rebels. Susan escapes with David. Ian gets the Doctor out of the flying saucer after a couple rebels rescue the Doctor from the operating table.

Ian retreats back into the flying saucer. A rebel named Baker gets the Doctor away from the flying saucer and eventually meets up with Susan and David.

The flying saucer takes off. Ian hides in a crawl space aboard the flying saucer. He helps Larry, a rebel who is also still aboard the flying saucer, to fight off a Roboman.

Baker parts ways with Susan, David, and the Doctor, who is still recovering from the attempt to operate on him. Baker gets killed by Daleks soon after he leaves the others.

Barbara, Jenny, and Dortmun travel across London in search of other rebels. Dortmun, when the others aren't looking, takes his bomb and attacks three Daleks. His bomb proves to be ineffective. They kill him.

The Daleks decide to destroy London and send a couple Robomen to place a firebomb that will destroy the city. The ticking bomb is dropped near where the Doctor, Susan, and David are hiding.

Thoughts

Gary Russell (interviewer), Verity Lambert (producer), Richard Martin (director), and Carole Ann Ford (Susan) are on the commentary track for this episode.

The moment where Ian and Larry hide in the crawl space between decks reminded me very much of a similar moment from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). Did this moment in this story inspire Lucas or was their something earlier that may have inspired them both?

I like the fact that Ian and Barbara have been split away from the Doctor and Susan and from one another in this episode. I really like the drum music that is played while Barbara, Jenny, and Dortmun and traveling across London trying to avoid any contact with the Daleks.

This episode doesn't carry a lot of weight on its own but it does seem to be setting things up for future installments.