| THE DOMINATORS by Norman Ashby |
| Story 44 Synopsis: Some Dulcian youths travel to the Island of Death for excitement. All but one are brutally killed by Quarks, robot servants of the alien Dominators, who have just secretly landed on the island. Soon after, the TARDIS arrives, and the Doctor is surprised to find relics of atomic experiments in an old war museum. They also meet two scientists, who are baffled by the island's lack of radiation. The Doctor and Jamie go to spy on the Dominators, but are found and taken for assessment. Zoe and the surviving youth, Cully, are sent away to the mainland. But they don't hang around for long. The Doctor and Jamie escape, as some Dulcians are taken as specimens by the Dominators, to be used as slave labour. Jamie and Cully set about destroying the Quarks. The two Dominators are in regular disagreement. The Doctor eventually discerns their ship runs on radiation, and they are responsible for the island's sudden lack of it. They plane to drop a bomb into the core of the planet, creating a new fuel source. By digging an extra tunnel, the Doctor manages to catch the bomb, and plant it back on the departing Dominator spaceship, which explodes. A small explosion triggers a volcanic eruption, leading the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to rush back to the TARDIS... |
| Review:- Once again, we have a story not well received by posterity. Season 6 on the whole gets rather overlooked, after the popularity of the previous season's monster-fest. This opening adventure takes us away from Earth, and the human race, for the first time in far too long. Dulkis suffers from a name too suggestive of the word dull. Which wouldn't obviously be a problem, were it not for the fact that dull is the adjective most associated with this story. In fact, although possibly too simplistic, this is rather entertaining. The Dominators are convincing villains, as far as they go, with their vicious hench-robots, the Quarks, managing to provide terror and wanton destruction. Their plan is straightforward, and their attitude is strikingly clear-cut. That they could become "masters of the 10 galaxies" seems not just an idle boast, but another statement of fact. It's fortunate that there are only two of them, and they are prey to being hoist by their own petard (in an ending 5 years ahead of similar in Death To The Daleks). The Dulcians are generally a rather placid and spineless bunch, whose laudable anti-war aims are useless against warmongering invaders. This message alone makes this a worthy story. That Senex takes his name from a Latin word meaning "old man" is just a subtle joke - all the Dulcians have an inadequate mindset, and only the younger generation (Cully et al) have the spirit to fight back. Jamie spends most of the story helping Cully to destroy Quarks, which is a chance for him to show some muscle and beat the baddies. Zoe is rather diminished by being treated as a slave, and largely overlooked by everyone. The Doctor has the wisdom to outwit the Dominators, the daring to attempt to divert the bomb, and the dash to plant the bomb in the best place for it. His knowledge of radiation plays an important role in events, and he manages to retain his dignity at all costs. A strange tale, true, but better than many claim. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book, and seen the video. |