Day 346: Planet of the Daleks Episode 3

The Doctor has allied himself with some soldiers who have arrived on the planet to fight the Daleks. These soldiers are Thals, making a return appearance after ten years away from our screens. This shows that Nation is keen to revisit the past, even if the past is too far away for the normal viewers. A child of nine years old watching the first Dalek serial would be 18 now. How much do you remember from 10 years ago? It's clear to me at this point that the only people who would know who the Thals were would be those who would go on to be obsessed with the minutiae of the series, and continue loving it for years and years hence.

But for those who weren't around when the first serial was broadcast, there's a helpful reminder of who the Thals are. Alongside this, Nation mentions that that first Dalek serial has now become a legend of the Thal people. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan are now mythical creatures, who only exist in fairytales and the like. Doctor Who is playing with its own mythos here, and it's quite fun to see the result.

And as I wrote this entry, I suddenly realised something. When the repeat series of Doctor Who began on the ABC, I watched the first Dalek serial. I would have been 9 at the time, easily impressionable. By the time that I reached the age of 18 and watching Planet of the Daleks, I knew who the Thals were because I had spent all that time loving and discovering about the minutiae of one of my favourite programmes. In the first paragraph I asked a question. My answer is that nine years ago I was watching a weird TV series. There were these creatures called the Daleks (everyone knows who they are), but there are also these kindly aliens called the Thals. And, of course, the Thals would stay with me across those nine years until I saw their return in Planet of the Daleks.