1 episode
Aired 9th October 1965
Written by Terry Nation
Produced by Verity Lambert
Directed by Derek Martinus
You can watch an incredibly good animated version of the episode here and part 2 of the episode here
Synopsis
An astronaut is lying on the ground, on the jungle planet of Kembel. He awakes and remembers that he must kill...
Elsewhere on the planet, two other astronauts from the UN Deep Space Force Group 1 (the same outfit at the killer astronaut) are repairing their ship. The first astronaut, Lowery, is full of scorn to his companion, Cory for landing on the planet as it's a notoriously hostile jungle planet. Cory makes it clear that he's been placed in charge of the mission.
He goes inside for more tools, and their third crew member, Garvey, turns up saying he must kill and approaches Lowery with a gun. Out of nowhere, Cory turns up and kills Garvey, retrieving a strange thorn from behind his neck. Lowery is distraught as Garvey was his co-pilot for the last ten years and Cory just killed him.
Cory explains that Garvey was spiked by a Varga plant, a ruthless biological weapon that converts anyone who gets stuck, into a killing machine that eventually turns into a plant, just like them. Cory allows Lowery to collect the dead astronauts personal items, but advises that they get inside the ship to talk.
Once inside, Cory reveals that he's part of the Space Security Service.
He asks what Lowery knows about the Daleks. Lowery says they invaded Earth a thousand years ago, but were defeated. Cory explains that the Security Service have discovered that the Daleks are still out there, and have begun to conquer planets in the outer galaxies, but a Dalek saucer has been recently spotted in the Earth's solar system. Cory was ordered to take this ship and go and find out what the Daleks were up to. He has been searching the outermost planets, and now that they've discovered the Varga plants, he's convinced they are in the right place. Lowery asks why he's so sure and Cory reveals that the Varga plant is native only to the planet Skaro, where the Daleks originate. This means that there must be a Dalek base on Kembel!
Outside the ship, Garvey's body starts to twitch, whilst thorns and hairs push their way out of his skin.
On the said Dalek base, the Dalek Supreme knows that humans have landed on the planet. It orders that the Daleks go out and destroy them before the delegates from the seven planets arrive for the "conference".
Back at the human ship, Cory speculates that they've blundered into the middle of things, and that the Daleks will be onto them. He decides the best course of action is to hide in the jungle and send out a distress signal for nearby ships to intercept and relay back to Earth. They begin to implement their plan and move outside the ship, and realise that they're now surrounded by Varga plants.
As they discuss their next move, a large ship comes down onto the planet in the distance, and Cory speculates that it's not from any colony in the Earth's solar system.
The astronauts slink away into the jungle, narrowly escaping a Dalek assault team that obliterate their rocket ship. The men resign themselves to getting on with the mission and run off into the jungle. Unfortunately, Lowery is too busy looking back to see if the Daleks are pursuing them and runs straight into a Varga plant, impaling his hand on a spike which immediately becomes infected.
Back at the Dalek base, the delegates have arrived, and the Dalek Supreme is keen to get the meeting underway, but one of the delegates is worries that there is a traitor on the planet.
The Dalek Supreme admits that some human forces have landed on the planet, but assures the delegate that they will be dealt with. The delegates seem satisfied with the assurances and begin discussions, finally agreeing to join together in an evil alliance that will conquer the Earth's solar system, beginning with Earth itself!
Out in the jungle, Lowery is in a bit of a state, desperately trying to suck the poison out of his blood before he turns into a Varga, but it's too late. Cory returns from scouting ahead and says that he found the Dalek base, and heard their Supreme ruler on the loudspeaker, announcing their evil alliance with the other races and intent to conquer the solar system. Cory realises that Lowery has been infected by a Varga and doesn't hesitate to kill him. He grabs the message recorder and distress beacon, and hastily begins recording the message whilst Daleks emerge from the jungle and close in around him.
He is exterminated before he can send the message, and the Daleks are happy that the information will not get out. They leave the bodies in the jungle along with the recording, and return to the base, triumphant.
Trivia
- As if you couldn't tell by watching it, this story is the only episode of Doctor Who not to feature the Doctor (before you say anything, the Series 3 episode, "Blink" does have the Doctor in it, no, I'm not counting Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures).
- It's also the second time on screen when the Daleks actually win (the second being Victory of the Daleks).
- This was Verity Lambert's swan song. From this point, Doctor Who had a new production team in the for of script editor Donald Tosh, and Producer John Wiles. Wiles and Hartnell's relationship was..explosive at best, and over the next few stories, they would be going head to head to see who the show's real leader was
What worked
- You can't apply it to the episode itself, but the animation on this was really great
- The Varga plants were quite good and scary
- It's brilliant to see the Daleks win for once
What didn't work
- The delegate's costumes!
- The Dalek's seismic detector is back, and now it can pick up on radio signals
Overall Feelings
James Bond in space. The Doctor is out of this episode, so the production team need someone who can step up to the plate and give us all the information we need, and that's Cory. But Cory isn't the star here. This episode exists solely to build up anticipation for the massive Dalek epic coming up in the following month, and so it's real star is... yep, the Daleks! And this is great for us, because the story is wonderfully dark and gritty. There's no happy ending to be had here unless you come from Skaro.
The Daleks are allowed to strut their stuff and show just why people should be scared of them. Even the Varga plants and their terrifying effect on humans can be accredited to the Daleks because they are the ones that introduced them to the planet Kemble. This is a very bleak and dark story, and if you think that the Doctor will make sure that it's going to get better when the Daleks implement their master plan, you are very much mistaken.
Rating
8 out of 10
The story is lovely and dark, and shows how deadly the Daleks should be. The plants are genuinely scary, and there's even an orchestral element to the soundtrack.
Rewatchability Factor
4 out of 10
Quite good, but once you've seen it, then you're ok for a good while
Watch this if you liked...
Consulting the Matrix
Should there have been more episodes without the Doctor? Should they have focused on the Daleks or on other companions?
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