Doctor Who: "Destiny of the Daleks"

"Also, I'm a very dangerous fellow when I don't know what I'm doing." --Tom Baker as the Doctor.
 

You know, with two Doctor Who episodes underneath my critiquing belt, it's remarkable that I haven't touched upon the most universally known Doctor.  Known as the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker is recognizable for many reasons.  First, he was the youngest man at the time to play the Doctor.  Second, he was the one who played the role the longest at seven years, two less than his predecessor, John Pertwee.  And third, he was the one that many Americans saw as the first Doctor, thanks to PBS.  And, before I get into it, he is the only Doctor from the early days of the show whose stories still exist in their original forms.

To many people, Tom Baker is the Doctor.  He changed the form of 'old man giving advice and experience' to 'younger man who makes it look easy.'  He was a hybrid of what the series was and would become, turning the Doctor into a more madcap genius that always enjoyed a good laugh and belittled his enemies with a humor (or 'humour?') that still makes me chuckle more than twenty years after it was made.  Plus, he had that really nifty scarf that was probably a mile long.

Plus, in this review we also cover the most important factor of Doctor Who's longieity that even came into play before the Regeneration premise was even thought of:  The Daleks.   Probably the most famous monster ever created in Doctor Who, the Daleks are still hailed as being terrifying despite looking like 'pepper pots.'  The key lies in the voice, barely human, that shrieks "Exterminate!! EXTERMINATE!!"

Truly frightening the way it grates on the nerves.  Also frightening what happened to them later on in the series.

Anyway, this story is one of the last gasps of life the Daleks had in them before being reduced to mere 2D representations of their former selves.   Taking place after the "Key of Time" season (in which the Tom Baker Doctor spent five stories trying to reassemble the "Key to Time" for an omnipotent being while dealing with a new and unwanted companion in the shape of a female Time Lord named Romana), "Destiny" starts with the Doctor trying to diagnose K-9 (yes, a robotic dog) who has a severe case of laryngitis while Romana undergoes a regeneration.  Now this is probably one of the biggest flubs in the series (which is known for it's lack of continuity), Romana keeps regenerating different forms of herself for the Doctor's 'approval.'  This results in many different actresses coming out of a doorway, modeling outfits that would make Gene Roddenberry blush or approve of, and disappearing until finally Romana returns to her new old self (the one she had at the very beginning, I mean...I think).  While this humor is characteristic of the later Tom Baker years, it does make those who try to put "Doctor Who" in perspective quite frustrated.   Later in the series ("Mawdryn Undead" to be exact), it is revealed that ANY Time Lord only has 12 regenerations before they finally expire.  So, for Romana to go through five regenerations only to return to the one she wanted for a joke seems quite wasteful.  Of course, then again, the "Mawdryn Undead" rule is about five years away from this story, so it hardly matters.

Man, this is complicated, isn't it?

Well, anyway, now with Romana in her final state (but showing no signs of what usually the Doctor goes through after Regeneration), the both of them leave K-9 in the TARDIS, take some 'anti-radiation pills' (??) as they go out to explore whatever planet the TARDIS Randomizer has left them on (see the last story of the "Key of Time" series, called "The Armageddon Factor" for specifics), they just a lot of rocks and lack of life.  The planet, it seems, is just hard rock all over with a lot of seismic activity, particularity underneath what used to be a building.  Suddenly, a spaceship lands on the planet, attracting the Doctor and Romana's attention.  After burrowing itself in the ground for what the Doctor describes as "a way of defense," the ship opens fire on them and the Doctor and Romana escape with their lives.

On their way back to the building from which the weird seismic activity is occurring, they witness a group of people bury a corpse underneath a pile of rocks.  After they leave, the Doctor examines the body and finds that it died of malnutrition and exhaustion..which is odd, since the radiation from the planet (the Doctor explains) would have killed him first.    So, they head into the building itself.

A sudden seismic blast leaves the Doctor trapped underneath a pillar.  Unable to move, the Doctor asks Romana to fetch K-9 so he can either lift it off or...something (if you see K-9, you know the lifting part ain't that possible...maybe he could shove it off or blast it with his nose-laser...yes, a nose-laser.  Welcome to Doctor Who-Land).  Romana departs, to arrive at the TARDIS only to find another slight blast as buried the TARDIS in rubble.  Unable to reach K-9 or even to get him to respond, she turns back to the building.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is reading while he finds a group of strange people with silver braided hair (once again, welcome to Doctor Who-Land.  These things are normal, I assure you) pointing strange guns at him.  With his usual wit, he asks them for help.  When Romana finally arrives at the building, she finds the Doctor gone.  Searching the immediate vicinity, she is startled by a man I swear reminds me of the first zombie you see in "Night of the Living Dead" and falls through a hole in the floor and is knocked unconscious.

Cut back to the borrowing spaceship.   It's apparently the silver-braided aliens, who identify themselves as Movellians.  The Doctor asks them where he is and is horrified to find that he is on the remains of Skaro, the Dalek Homeworld.  When he asks about the Movellians mission, he is only met with silence.   Romana, however, is greeted by a group of several screeching Daleks, who then capture her and take her below the surface, where other Dalek prisoners are cleaning up after several burrowing machines that the Daleks are using to burrow deep into the old Dalek bunkers.  Seeing no way to escape, Romana feigns death, and is carted off to the surface again.

The Movellans reveal that they are fighting the Daleks.  Before the Doctor can get any more information, an escapee of the Dalek camp named Tyson is found.  He is revealed to be the one who accidentally scared Romana.  The Doctor learns that the Daleks are indeed trying to find something hidden on the third floor of the bunker.  The Doctor has a funny feeling he knows what it is, and convinces Tyson to take him down there.  The Movellans interrupt and send three of their own with them, despite the Doctor's wishes.

After sneaking down the hole Romana fell down, the Doctor and the group are interrupted by Daleks and escape, save one Movellan who is crushed by falling debris.  The other Movellans refuse to let the Doctor even examine their fallen comrade, claiming it would disgrace their "Code of Honor."  The Doctor confides his doubt of the Movellans to Tyson and continue on to the hidden room where the goal of the Daleks is:  And it's Davros!

Davros was the creator of the Daleks and introduced in the previous Tom Baker/Daleks story, "Genesis of the Daleks."  He's basically a cyborg, confined to a wheelchair and only has the use of one arm.  Despite looking like a zombie (and possibly a mutant), he has held up for what seems to be centuries underground.  Of course, this is where the story could be tighter....Davros, even if he's a mutant, could be a bit more decayed then he turns out to be.  But never mind.  The Doctor and the group kidnap Davros by playing cat-and-mouse throughout the complex until they are boxed in and cannot carry Davros through a hole in the complex that leads outside.  The Doctor urges Romana and Tyson to go through while he stays with Davros to buy some time, via a handmade time bomb.  Meanwhile, the Doctor and Davros converse and verbally battle until the Daleks blast in.  The Doctor then pulls the old "gun to the temple" trick while Romana goes to the Movellans for help..and finds that they know full well about Davros.

The Daleks decide to feign the Doctor out of his hostage attempt by executing their own prisoners one by one until the Doctor finally relents and starts making demands.  The Daleks refuse and threaten to continue the executions until Davros intervenes, telling them to let into the Doctor's demands.  The Doctor escapes and one of the Daleks is able to freed Davros from the time bomb at the risk of it's own life.  Then Davros demands to know of Dalek victories and defeats so to make them perfect.

As Romana brags about the Doctor's knowledge of the Daleks, the Movellans keep her put and knock her out in order to feign the Doctor out, to counteract Davros' influence on the Daleks.  The Doctor makes his way through Dalek sentries and meets Tyson, who is grateful that the Doctor freed the prisoners during the Davros incident.  Just then, they are found by a Dalek sentry which is blown up by a Movellan agent, who turns on the Doctor and Tyson.  The Doctor then distracts the Movellan by playing a game of "Monkey in the Middle" with the Movellan as the monkey (and some sort of jammer as the ball), which causes her to collapse.  The Doctor examines her and finds her to be a robot, just like the Daleks (which are really just cyborgs--this is stressed in "Genesis of the Daleks").  Arriving at the Movellan reveals Romana in a clear tube-like cage with a Nova Device inside.  As the Doctor tries to free her, he is knocked unconscious by a Movellan as the Nova Device's detonator times out and resets.  It was just a ruse, or rather a foreshadowing of when the Movellans will thwart the Daleks plans by blowing up Skaro altogether.

Inside the Movellan ship, the Doctor reveals that the Movellans and Daleks are caught in an impasse of logic, meaning that the two are so equally balanced that, logically, they are stalemated move for move.  Any slight advantage could make the other side superior, so the Daleks needs Davros...and the Movellans need The Doctor.

Tyson hijacks a Movellan using the Doctor-made jammer while Davros plans to destroy the Movellan ship by sending out a horde of Daleks armed with several bombs each for a suicide run.  Tyson is able to sneak aboard with several other prisoners as they storm the Movellan ship and take it over.  It's revealed that the jammers are nothing more than power packs that the Movellans wear on their belt that power main circuits....not a bad weakness, ya think?

Anyway, the Doctor then goes after Davros who is still nice and snug in his bunker and confronts him as Romana stops the last Movellan from setting off the Nova Device by knocking his arm off.  Apparently, he was made in Taiwan.  Okay, enough of that, back to the story.  A Dalek comes up behind the Doctor and Davros announces his intention of taking the Doctor with him (possibly for trial).  The Doctor then blinds the Dalek with his hat (which ain't hard..what makes these Movellans and Daleks so tough?) and blows him up.  Then, the Doctor then blows up the Kamikaze Daleks and places Davros in suspended animation and leaves him with the prisoners so they can take the Movellan ship back to Earth where Davros will be placed into a prison and come back in "Resurrection of the Daleks."  Then the Doctor and Romana dig out the TARDIS and take off once again into time and space.

Whew.  Only, let's take a deep breath.  That's a pretty long review.

The main problem with writing about a Dalek story is the backstory that goes behind it.  Without watching "Genesis of the Daleks," you might be slightly lost with some of the scenes in "Destiny," such as the whole bunker storyline with the Doctor knowing about which shafts lead elsewhere and the Davros/Doctor connection.  Also, there's a scene in Episode 3 where the Doctor finds a lump of clay which is a result of the Kalid Mutant evolution which is best left to a dissection of "Genesis of the Daleks" where I could note all of these things and more.

But "Destiny," despite all the backstory (which the lack of continuity makes somewhat void, anyway), is a good story based strictly on it's strengths and idea that two massive computers are so evenly matched they cannot outthink each other is quite interesting, as well as the hidden shock of the Movellans, who turn out to be another cybernetic race that want to rule over everything.  Quite a small universe.  Plus, this is one of the first of the Tom Baker/Lalla Ward episodes, showcasing one of the finest duos of Doctor Who history.  They play off each other quite well, causing some quite comical moments that were lacking with the "Key of Time" season and the first Romana.

RATING:  It's good, but the lack of backstory might affect some.  Three and a half stars out of Four.  Quite worth watching.  Maybe something for a newbie.