8 September 1979 [23 minutes]
“So that’s what the Daleks have been looking for...Davros, the evil genius who created them.”
It’s an awesome moment. Four years since we last saw Davros on TV. Centuries since Davros died. His body covered in cobwebs; like a forgotten object in an old lady’s attic. The Doctor turns away. Davros hand begins to twitch. We see it but the Doctor doesn’t. The light on his head comes back on.
We knew it was coming. The Earth Dalek warned us in advance. But it’s still one of the great episode endings.
There are three more Dalek stories to come after this one. The revived Davros on trial. The revived Davros turning dead humans into Daleks. The revived Davros and his new Daleks at war with the original Daleks. Dalek schisms and Imperial Daleks and Dalek Civil Wars. Unlimited rice pudding. The Daleks as a former power: post-colonial pepper-pots.
Actors don’t like acting to props; and writers don’t like writing staccato robot dialogue. That’s why K-9 and Orac are both sarcastic robots. The invention of Davros gave the Daleks a face and a voice. But the facelessness and the roboticness of the Daleks is the very thing which made us love them so much.
A pivotal moment. From now on, there will be no more Dalek stories. Only stories about Davros and his mechanical minions.
Once before, the Doctor was sent here, unwillingly, by the Time Lords, at the exact moment of the Dalek's creation. But this time he has arrived at exactly the right place at exactly the right time....according to the principle of pot luck.
Available to Patreons -- The Androids of Tara
Available to Patreons -- The Power of Kroll
Available to Patreons -- The Armageddon Factor
Or read my compleat Key To Time essays in PDF booklet.
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