Day 639: Revelation of the Daleks Part 2

There's a lot to talk about with regards to Revelation of the Daleks. There's the brilliant idea behind Davros' plan to save the Universe, where he solves the problem of food shortage in the Universe by selling human bodies as food. There's the questionable acting of Jenny Tomasin, who portrays what could have been the slightly worrying character of Tasambeker too over the top, making her scenes less tragic and more laughable. There's also the implication of a Dalek Civil War, which will be elaborated upon in the next Dalek story, which we'll cover in around a month or so. But in the end, the main thing that draws attention is the ending.

The Doctor and Peri are having a discussion of where they'll go next. He suggests somewhere peaceful, she wants somewhere fun. He's about to suggest a location for the next story, when the camera suddenly freeze-frames and we cut to the credits. There was, it turns out, going to be an ending to that sentence but the audience was destined never to hear it as this was to be the last Doctor Who episode broadcast for eighteen months. This is the first break that the series will undergo, before another one four years later, effectively killing the series. This is the beginning of the end for Doctor Who.

And it's a shame to see it go. Over the past few stories, there have been some misfires of great magnitude (Timelash, The Twin Dilemma) but there have also been some stories that I personally adore, such as The Two Doctors, Vengeance on Varos, The Caves of Androzani, or even this very story, Revelation of the Daleks. There have been some great ideas that have been well executed, but the only problem is that sometimes thing can slip through the cracks, leaving stories that are less than desired. And it's hard to watch Warriors of the Deep and say that this is a television series that deserved to be made.

But the important thing to remember is that this is a break, and maybe it will allow for the production team to come back, refreshed and ready to take on new challenges with a new desire to do well. And even is the show is doomed, I'd much rather see it go out in a blaze of glory with some truly fantastic and ground-breaking stories, than let it fester with some less than desired adventures. We can but hope.