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Rememberance of the Daleks Format Reviewed: DVD Review Rememberance of the Daleks marks the first time a famous opponent confronts Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. The Daleks are often 'wheeled out' close to the beginning of a new Doctors reign to help ease the transition from the last incumbant, and Sylvester McCoy is no different here. This story also follows several conventions regarding Dalek stories that have apparantly been in place since Peter Davisons time in the TARDIS. Davros is present, and the story is named R... of the Daleks. Quite predictable really. The story starts with a long shot of Earth and excerpts from famous speaches of the twentieth century meing merged together. The TARDIS then arrives outside Coal Hill School in 1963, and quickly finds the army presence in the area. They end up in Totters Lane junkyard where they encounter a Dalek that the Doctor destroys with Aces Nitro 9 explosives. The Doctor and Ace return to the school, finding that it is the centre of Dalek operations and delay their plans. The following day the Doctor buries a self-powered coffin that Dalek agents find, this is the Hand of Omega. It then emerges that there are two Dalek factions trying to gain control of the Hand which has great power. The Doctor ensures that the correct faction gain control of the device which back fires and sends Skaros sun super-nova, destrying the ancestral seat of the Daleks. Rememberance of the Daleks is unofficially the 25th anniversary story of Doctor Who and is essentially written as a sequel to the pilot episode. The same places are used as locations, i.e. Coal Hill school and IM Forman (mis-spelt in this story, it should be IM Foreman) junkyard in Totters Lane. Most of all though, Ace leaves the room in a guest house as the TV announces a new science fiction series is about to start called Do..... The story is one of those that is truly memorable. We have mystical powers of the Time Lords stretching back to the very start of Doctor Who, Daleks returning and carrying on from the themes of Dalek infighting of the two previous Dalek stories and most of all so many nods to established lore and continuity. Does all this make the story one for fans and fans alone? Not in my opinion. It is probably the best example in this era of a self-contained story that will stand up today as a good example of television drama, not just science fiction or Doctor Who. The pace is fast, the story is gripping and judged so that you really are on the edge of your seat throughout. To match excellent production values the cast must put in good performances. Until now, Sylvester McCoy can be seen as not really knowing the direction he and the production crew wish to take the character. From here on in I feel it is quite well thought through and designed. He gives a great, thoughtful performance that is a juxtaposition to Ace played by Sohpie Aldred who is full of youth, enthusiasm and vigour. The guest cast also works well with good actors playing roles well. Pamela Salem is very reminiscent of Liz Shaw when playing Rechel Jensen, Micheal Sheard once again contributes well to the series as the Headmaster and George Sewell, better known for his role in The Detectives, gives a solid performance as Ratcliffe. I believe to fully appreciate just how good this story is, you have to look at what preceeded it. We had the turbulent era of Colin Baker, an unceremonious sacking followed by a rushed and hastily cobbled first series of Sylvester McCoy stories. To then be presented with a marvellous production, full of great ideas and good execution really is a testament to everyone involved. My only real criticism about the story is that Dalek stories seem to have become too formulaic. Despite the last two and this being great stories in general, the innevitability of Dalek factions and Davros popping up is somewhat distracting. You just know that certain things are going to happen sooner or later, and largely they do here, even with Davros seemingly escaping at the end of the story. From a production perspective, there are also some modern buldings that creep into shot on occasion. This I shall largely ignore though as it is very difficult without 21st century CG and a fair budget to mask these in productions. Overall, Rememberance of the Daleks is rightly viewed as one of the best stories of not only the era, but of probably the entire classic series. A good script and great production values are backed up by some excellent cast parformances. There are some issues about Dalek stories becoming formulaic and predictable, but largely this story should really just be enjoyed every time it is watched. Rating:  |