|
Destiny of the Daleks Format Reviewed: DVD Review After the introduction of Davros to the Dalek story in the earlier Genesis of the Daleks story, the temptation must have been there to have many more Dalek stories involving Davros long before Destiny of the Daleks came about. Those temptations were not followed through however, and it fell to Douglas Adams as script editor to deturmine the direction of the Terry Nation scripts. Adams' influence can however be seen throughout, probably far more than the Nation influence. After Romana regenerates into the form of Princess Astra, the TARDIS, with the aid of the newly installed randomiser, arrives on Skaro. Whilst looking around, a rock fall separates The Doctor and Romana, and The Doctor is rescued by the Movellans, who are working against the Daleks, who are also present. What is being done is mining into an old underground city, where The Doctor discovers their target is Davros, who he finds first and reactivates. The Doctor escapes the Kaled bunker, and Davros takes command of the Daleks once again. Eventually, it becomes apparant that both the Movellans and Daleks want Daros for the same purpose, as they are both purely logical creatures dependant on battle computers that have created am impasse, as every action is anticipated and immediately countered by the opposition. The Daleks are stopped by The Doctor who tricks Davros into exploding them, and the Movellans are halted by the Dalek slaves. Davros is then cryogenically frozen and transported back to Earth in the Movellan ship by the slaves, who are returned to their rightful places too. Destiny of the Daleks starts the penultimate season of the Tom Baker era, and provides a long anticipated return for the Daleks, and indeed their creator Davros. It also marks the last script for Doctor Who to be written by Dalek creator Terry Nation. What comes out of this story though is massively camp fayre throughout, and some very comedic scenes that are both intentionally and unintentionally funny. Seeing Tom Baker reading what sound a lot like Douglas Adams lines with a huge grin, Davros visibly propelling his chair with his feet and the very feminine Movellans running about gives perhaps the wrong impression over what could have been a very real portrayal of the difficulties of logic when applied to the real world, or indeed universe. Following the unexpected pregnancy of Mary Tamm, Lalla Ward replaces her playing Romana as companion to Tom Bakers Doctor. I think it is clear from this point that Baker is not neccessarily giving the required performance in his role. He is certainly enigmatic, and given the Douglas Adams influence on this story he is also excellent in executing the more comedic aspects of the script, but he appears to want to go off in directions the story doesn't neccessarily want to take him. Lalla Ward on the other hand seems very comfortable in the role of Romana from the start, and does well in holding the show together opposite Baker. The principal member of the guest cast is David Gooderson as Davros. Unfortunately Gooderson does not quite carry off the role to anything like the extent to which his predecessor, David Wisher, managed. It is unfortunate that this lets the story down somewhat. Of the rest, Tim Barlow as Tyssan does a good job, and the principal Movellans are also good, including Peter Straker as Commander Sharrell, Suzanne Danielle as Agella and Tony Osoba as Lan. Each portrays the mysterious and secretive ways of the Movellans well, adding intreage to the show. Having given my earlier criticism of this story, it is worth noting that Destiny of the Daleks has one key ingredient that is required of a Doctor Who show, fun. From beginning to end it is fun, even the Romana regeneration sequence is reminiscent of Tom Baker chosing his costume in Robot, and the story does barrell along nicely. Sure, there is so much to be critical of if you want to pick at it, the corridor sequences are laughable in places, Davros is just not convincing and the plot seems very derived and forced, but you do find yourself being drawn along with it strangely. Overall, Destiny of the Daleks is what it is, a Doctor Who story in the best traditions of camp. Much of the story is funny, and whilst there are a myriad of points to criticise the show on, it is fun and is actually a pleasant show to watch whilst not getting to in depth. From one perspective, Destiny of the Daleks is a very forgettable story, but it is still a good fun tale to put on every now anad again. Rating:  |