Doctor Who Rewind - The Evil Of The Daleks

Just one recon away from the first complete Troughton story, but first small Treadwell sits in and manages to endure six, yes six CGI filled reconstructions and one glittering original.

Small Treadwell's interest in watching the classic doctors has never wavered, but I never wanted to subject him to the black hole of missing stories I have just endured over the past few months. I fear we both would have lost touch with reality. But a succession of deliveries from the mailman, revealing several DW DVD's (the next few in Troughton's treasury) ignite a desire in him and I'm not the man to put it out. I tell him I need to watch another story before watching the DVDs and he eagerly joins me on the sofa to start the adventure...

We start where the last story ended, Gatick airport 1966, where the TARDIS has been taken away in the back of a lorry. With a bit of detective work and some help from some dark forces they end up at an antique shop run by Edward Waterfield, which is full of curious items which seem brand new.

The Doctor and Jamie come across a secret panel while snooping around the shop which reveals a strange room full of futuristic equipment. Waterfield is in league with the Daleks and traps the Doctor and Jamie in the room which is filled with gas. The machine is activated and they are transported through time to a Victorian house a hundred years earlier, owned by Theodore Maxtible, Waterfield's partner.

At this point we reach live action Troughton and things get really good. The Doctor learns that both Waterfield and Maxtible had haphazardly invented a time machine using only mirrors and static electricity, as you do.

The Daleks came through the time machine and took Waterfields daughter, Victoria hostage, demanding he travel forward in time to lure the Doctor into a trap by taking the TARDIS.

The Daleks need the Doctor to conduct experiments to isolate what they call, the human factor. Certain characteristics imbedded in the human psyche that have allowed humans to resist and defeat the Daleks. The Daleks want to combine these attributes with their own to create a super Dalek.

The Daleks want to test Jamie, by subjecting him to a test to bring out those qualities they want to take. The task will be to rescue Victoria, who is being held in another part of the house. As Jamie isn't to know the real reason for the test, the Doctor willing agrees to persuade him.

During his rescue attempt Jamie meets the huge mute man-tower Kemel, who has been instructed to protect Victoria at all costs. After a lengthy fight, Jamie saves Kemel's life when he is dangling from the roof. The two become friends and help each other to eventually find Victoria.

Meanwhile the Doctor manages to extract the human factor and place it into three young Daleks who become very child like in nature. It's a little off putting to say the least to see these Daleks acting like giggling minors, they take the Doctor for a ride, and then start dancing, Dalek Dancing!

So Troughton, the clever sod has imbued the creatures with human qualities which will make them friendly to humans. He names them Alpha, Beta and Omega. Soon the three metal softies are ordered to return through the time machine to Skaro.

Waterfield discovers that Maxtible has bargained with the Daleks for the secret of the Alchemical process to turn metal into gold. Maxtible follows the Daleks through the time machine. But the Daleks torture him, for not bringing the Doctor through with him.

The Daleks plant a bomb in Maxtible's house, Jamie, Waterfield and the Doctor manage to escape to Skaro using one of the Daleks time machines.

Once in the Dalek city they are taken to the Emperor Dalek, who reveals the real reason they had the Doctor isolate the human factor, to also highlight the Dalek factor! Bloody hell, I hope they don't want the X Factor.

As if that's not enough the psychopathic tin pots want the Doctor to spread the Dalek factor through human history, converting humans to Daleks.

Maxtible is tricked into walking through a conversion arch which turns him into a Dalek human, rendering him completely mad. Meanwhile, the Doctor also is forced to walk through, but the conversion doesn't work on him (probably as he is not human) but he pretends to be converted to fool the Daleks.

The Doctor plants a device in the conversion arch so that it will infuse Daleks with the human factor. He recommends to the emperor that all Daleks go through it. As they do they are converted to human Daleks and rebel against the emperor.

There begins a battle between human Daleks and the evil emperor's black Daleks. Waterfield sacrifices himself to save the Doctor from being exterminated by throwing himself in front of a black Dalek. Before Waterfield dies, the Doctor promises to take care of Victoria for him.

The emperor is attacked and exterminated by the human Daleks while Maxtible goes completely OTT exclaiming the glory of the Daleks as the city goes up in flames.

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria flee to the TARDIS and watch the city burning before going inside and dematerialising.

Despite being mostly static pictures and some very well executed CGI, not to mention using stand in actors, the Loose Cannon recon managed to hold both me and young Max's attention throughout. This is mostly down to the story. Which, while being a bit thin in places (I mean, a time machine built out of mirrors!!) still had excitement, action and the downright bizarre.

All the performances were excellent but particularly Marius Goring as the power crazed Maxtible. He really brought out the self obsessed side of the character as he realises he's dealing with a power to great to handle.

I must say that of all the assistants so far Frazer Hines as Jamie has to be one if my favourites, probably on the same par as Ian Chesterton. Him and Troughton really make a great team and you can see that they are really enjoying themselves. There is a comical very laid back quality to Jamie that really appeals. And he never seems to get spooked by anything he comes up against, taking everything in his stride.

Troughton however really excels in this story, and we really start to see him getting into his stride as the Doctor. He's funny, clever, completely confident, and a little mad. All qualities that we have come to love in the Doctor.

In the bits that we see live action, he really gives the performance his all and when he starts shouting at the Daleks that he won't carry out their evil plan you really believe he won't. I think this story, and the next one, have really convinced me that he was the right man to take over from Hartnell.

It's a shame that this story doesn't fully exist (at this time anyway), because it would be even better to see it in all it's glory. Some of the finale, the battle between the good and bad Daleks does exist though, and it really does look like they have wiped themselves out at the end.

Of course, we all know better don't we!

Next time on Doctor Who Rewind an absolute Who classic, and the third outing for the silver nemesis's themselves, The Cybermen.