In 1966 Doctor Who was at a key point in its history. Innes Lloyd, the producer at the time was trying to shift the series in a new direction with a focus on science and more of a spotlight on menace. Many elements were modified, but the last ingredient to change was William Hartnell as the Doctor; the man who had made the show a success. He was struggling increasingly with his health, was unable to remember his lines, and as such things were unable to go on as they were. Patrick Troughton was introduced with the Doctor rejuvenating his body which redefined the series entirely. The Daleks were an obvious choice to bring in a new Doctor, with Patrick Troughton’s Doctor having to prove himself against the Doctor’s greatest enemy. What you have is one of the best Dalek stories that homes in on and explores the Dalek’s Nazi roots and personifies them with a good message on the danger of the tolerance of fascism. It’s a big moment in Doctor Who’s history with the first regeneration and I thought it was worth talking about.
The Power of the Daleks is set on a human colony on the planet Vulcan, in the then far future of 2020. In that world COVID hasn’t caused havoc to people’s lives, but it doesn’t matter because the Daleks manage to do that instead. You have a mining colony with a lot of political tensions and conflict, with a rebellion against Governor Hensell. Bragen is the head of security trying to assert his power as things slowly turn against Hensell. Lesterson, the chief scientist of the colony, has discovered a space capsule containing three Daleks that he brings back to life. The Daleks all offer their help being very willing to serve. The Doctor warns Lesterson and the rest of the colony of the danger of their evil, but nobody seems willing to listen. Eventually, the Daleks use the technology of humanity as their chance to reproduce and take control of the colony creating havoc.
I think what works about the pace and the structure of this story is its slow and methodical nature. This is a story where the six parts are earnt and totally justified. Every episode in this serves a purpose; if you removed an episode you would lose something vital.
There is a constant sense of dread and suspense which David Whitaker and Dennis Spooner inject into the script really well. It’s intelligently written so that the audience is always one step ahead of the characters, yet at the same time they are still on the edge of their seat not knowing quite what will happen and how it’s all going to unfold. It’s like a painting where you have to wait till it’s fully completed to be able to appreciate all the individual components.
There is a strong inevitability across the story. The audience very much accepts the idea that there will be an eventual confrontation between Bragen and Hensell. What David Whitaker and Dennis Spooner do a really good job of in surprising you is the fact they organise the story so the Dalek and the rebel takeover both happen at once. This isn’t necessarily surprising in itself, but it creates a real satisfying catharsis of a final episode where all the building blocks are drawn together at the same time. There’s an explosive feel to the whole conclusion creating a feeling you didn’t expect, that is both satisfying and crushing with all the death at the end. The big story and character developments are almost all drawn together and to a close at the same time, and there is something admirably concise and clever in the way that is done.
The point of the Power of the Daleks is that within the colony on Vulcan you have a society that is slowly leaning into fascism and is falling for the corrupt nature of power and greed. It powerfully shows the naïve failings of society being unable to recognise the roots and early warning signs of an authoritarian power and the acts which put dangerous and oppressive people in positions of authority.
You have good performances from all the guest cast and the characters all play a significant role in the main message of the story. Governor Hensell who is played by Peter Bathurst, brings a strong and likeable hardworking ethic and inner frustration to the character. However he is still fittingly flawed as he does not consider the external threats and powers building up against him which works well. His blindness to the fascist mindset growing in his society is an effective and clever piece of commentary and sends a very clear message on how easily and fast fascism grows. You feel sympathy for him as a man with good intentions trying to do his best with the colony, but simply a tragic victim of horrific circumstances.
The main human villain of the cast in the Power of the Daleks is Bragen played by Bernard Archard, who is just a brilliant presence throughout. Bragen is a fittingly and entertainingly warped and dangerous man who desires power at all costs, and will do whatever he can to get that power no matter what betrayal and death it requires which means he fits the villain role rather well. You see powerful echoes, at the beginning of his time as leader, of the danger which would have been ahead if he hadn’t been stopped. Martial law implies an oppressive and exploitative system which disregards human rights. Bragen’s ability to enforce military control at this level, right at the start of his run as Governor, shows him scarily and strongly as a man who simply sees people as tools in a fascist system for his control. The story does a clever job in laying the groundwork for exploitation and control and showing how dangerous and cruel Bragen is. Bernard Archard plays him well as a cruel and ruthless fascist, with the Daleks representing the ultimate cost of that in a powerful thematic way.
There are others that contribute to the theme of rising fascism in less obvious ways with Janley played by Pamela Ann Davy, being a clear accomplice to fascism. The role is played well as this fierce, dangerous and independent figure and she suffers the cost of her actions appropriately. The problem I do have with the handling and characterisation of the rebels across the story, is that you never learn any specific details of what the rebels want and what their overall objective and intentions are. It feels like it’s a missing part of the story as I am unable to fully understand the context of their takeover. I know it’s implied they simply want power but for me the reasoning is too vague and invites too many unanswered questions. It would have been better to get some insight into their reasoning for rebellion to be able to sympathise with or root against them, although it does work as a mechanism for the story. Valmar played by Richard Kane is a little underserved in the first half of the story but is given some good presence in the second half. I appreciate him being the one to confront Bragen at the end which is very satisfying, with him being willing to see, and turn against fascism.
Quinn, played by Nicholas Hawtrey, is by far the most reasonable and logical person in the colony, which is why he is a threat to Bragen. Hawtrey brings a likeable and generous personality, but he is clearly a realist, being able to see the threat of the rebels and see Hensell’s ineffectiveness in dealing with them which I like. Quinn strongly shows that those who are willing to act against fascism are often a danger to it and are dealt with and put out of the way swiftly which is an important part of fascism to present.
The character of Lesterson; the colony's chief scientist, played by Robert James, is probably the most interesting character in the story. It's quite scary seeing the Daleks exploit Lesterson to their advantage and power. I think Lesterson has some concerns and doubts in the back of his mind regarding the Daleks, but he believably simply does not let them affect his judgement which he really should. Lesterson’s reaction to the Daleks is one of understandable human nature, he simply thinks of the opportunities of the colony and how the Daleks could be useful to them as they simply want to serve which is fairly relatable and truthful of people.
Lesterson is a sympathetic and naïve character because he allows himself to get manipulated by the Daleks. Slowly and gradually, it begins to sink in that they might be untrustworthy and could have dangerous intentions and James sells that fear and sense of dread incredibly well. I love his reaction when he discovers the Daleks have been using their resources to reproduce. There is a horror and well-played surreal panic in Robert James’s character during his breakdown. You have a terrific performance as he develops into this terrified state where he accepts the Daleks as the new race taking mankind’s place, and has a fascinating trajectory which is given time to play out. Lesterson is the character that highlights well the issue of the tolerance of fascism.
This is by far one of the stories which personify the Daleks best. The Daleks exploit and take advantage of one of humanity’s biggest weaknesses and pitfalls and that is selfishness and greed in a very satisfying way. It gives something different for the Daleks to do and feels refreshing, and whilst also being ruthless the Daleks are excellently observant and curious. The scene when you see the Daleks rebuilding themselves is simply thrilling, and a highlight moment within the story as the Dalek mutants are placed within the casings and the conveyor belt of Daleks become ready for action. It starts to build the fearful stakes of the story very well as you see the consequences of the character’s actions. The Daleks across the story pretend to be friendly and appeasing on the surface with nothing but generosity, but there is also a clever undercurrent of prickly intent and evil under the surface the audiance is keenly aware of which is good to see in the Daleks.
I enjoy the Daleks incredibly curious and tactical nature and the way they cleverly use that to their advantage. I love the line: “Why do human beings kill human beings?” It shows a genuine interest and confusion at humanity’s inner conflicts with each other which is alien to the Daleks, and I enjoy that contrast. I like that they only use this for their own power and in order to conquer and in the end wipe out and destroy the colony. After so much cunning manipulation it’s both satisfying and crushing to see their hatred and evil displayed at the end of the story and it is memorably upsetting.
Patrick Troughton had by far the most difficult job of any Doctor. Everyone’s perception of who the Doctor was at this point was William Hartnell. At this point, the idea of regeneration wasn’t fully formed. The idea in this story is that the Doctor has been renewed to a younger state by the Tardis. What I like about the way Patrick Troughton plays the part in the early scenes, is that he plays it slightly suspiciously and gives reason for Ben and Polly and the audience to mistrust him. He gives the character an important childlike and immature quality which defines the character, but I like that the audience is left constantly wondering who this man is which adds a good mystery.
I think what works about Patrick Troughton’s Doctor in this and what sells him as the same character that William Hartnell played, is his reaction of pure fear to the Daleks. Before then Troughton plays him as a slightly suspicious figure but his reaction to the Dalek which Lesterson has reactivated is one of pure fright. You get a sense of the history the Doctor has had with the Daleks with all the different encounters in his past during the Hartnell era and it effectively melds the two versions into the same character. Troughton’s performance isn’t entirely strong in this story though. Whilst Troughton nails the undercurrent of cunning deviousness, unfortunately I don’t think he has a strong enough or fleshed-out enough personality to create the fun and likeable character that would later define him. The clownish persona feels a little too engineered here to feel like it has the legs to be a long-lasting character.
Ben and Polly had a lot of strength when they were introduced in the War Machines, and I like how they worked with Hartnell’s Doctor, but they have significantly less chemistry and bounce off Troughton in a less effective way. One advantage is that you do see Ben and Polly react to regeneration, and the Doctor having a new face, for the first time. I like the contrast with Polly being certain and incredibly trusting that this is the Doctor compared to Ben who is incredibly sceptical and cold, wanting to be won over but suspecting that this is some kind of imposter. The contrast and conflict does work well and acts as a good audiance comfort.
Polly played by Anneke Wills suffered a lot from losing her initial strength and feisty qualities. Here Polly just feels overly naïve with little common sense and is given a weak damsel in distress role, Ben works slightly better but not very much. He at least does help out and assist the Doctor and fights on his behalf, but a lot of the time he just feels like he is following him about and falls into the background of the story.
The original story was directed by Christopher Barry. He was a very good director and I’m sure he did a good job, but I feel like I can’t really comment on what he did because beyond a few images, the way he visually presented the story is lost. I will however look at the animation directed by Charles Norton. The original version was made in 2016 for the story’s 50th Anniversary however it was rather a rushed job and the updated version from 2020 is much better. I think some parts of the animation work very well and some parts don’t. The environments and locations are well-designed and integrated, the Daleks work very smoothly with the animation and are incredibly framed to give them a real menace but Ben and Polly have very bland character designs. The movement of the characters, both physical and facial, still feels rather unnatural and awkward and at times the character animation is badly integrated into the main environments. The animation is a mixed bag but still enjoyable and I think the use of the Daleks makes up for a lot of the shortcomings.
So overall, how do I feel about the Power of the Daleks? I think it’s a simply terrific story and not only one of the best stories of the Patrick Troughton era but one of my favourite Dalek stories. The combination of the talents of David Whitaker and Dennis Spooner really made the story succeed. The story does a really good job of building and developing a society within the colony and developing fleshed-out characters which all strongly contribute to a key theme. Bragen is simply an excellent villain, and you have a brilliant performance from Robert James as Lesterson. It’s great to see the progression of his character and where his breakdown takes him reacting to what the Daleks are doing. The early seeds of fascism are cleverly planted in Vulcan, and the Daleks are well characterised as the ultimate cost of that. They are also entertainingly ruthless and cunning. Patrick Troughton also introduces his Doctor very well and his reaction to the Daleks and his history with them sells his take on the character. He isn’t quite perfect though and still clearly figuring out his portrayal of the Doctor. Ben and Polly are very weak characters throughout, and the rebel subplot has some issues with little fleshed-out reasoning or motivations for the rebellion itself. The story however remains a standout Dalek story that demonstrates their Nazi terror. It strongly portrays how the tolerance of fascism presents a (still relevant) danger to humanity.
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