1. "Escaping from the Daleks, Jo
and the Doctor and the Thals
move through the jungle,Copy !req
2. "hunted by Dalek patrols,
and the ferocious life-forms
of the hostile planet." (Radio Times)Copy !req
3. This episode, first shown on
28 April, 1973 was seen by
8.3 million viewers, which made it
the serial's ratings low-point.Copy !req
4. This episode's draft title was:Copy !req
5. ESCAPE OR DIECopy !req
6. The full-size, double-sided jabolite
door was made by the contractor
Art Ideals.Copy !req
7. The Daleks are "baffled",
according to the script,
and "start to ferret around everywhere".Copy !req
8. The actors got stuck halfway up
the chimney and ended up swinging on
their kirby wires.Copy !req
9. Jon Pertwee made a manly effort to bump
into Rebec,Copy !req
10. but he only managed to achieve
a close encounter with Taron.Copy !req
11. The bulbous rod on each Dalek's dome
is the creature's eye.Copy !req
12. This sequence was filmed at Ealing on
4 and 5 January, 1973.Copy !req
13. The actors were hoisted up using
flying gear supplied by Eric Dunning.Copy !req
14. The camera was mounted on a crane and
was elevated in synch with the actors.Copy !req
15. Though eight Dalek props were used
in this episode, the cast includes
only three Dalek operators.Copy !req
16. This means that you will only ever see
three moving Daleks in any shot.Copy !req
17. The Dalek in the background is
an empty casing, designated
a "Dalek Goon" in the camera script.Copy !req
18. Another hapless Dalek falls foul
of the planet Spiridon's bumpy terrain.Copy !req
19. In the next shot, see if you can spot
how the map is cunningly attached
to the Dalek's sucker.Copy !req
20. Double-sided sticky tape
has many useful applications,
even in a hostile alien jungle!Copy !req
21. The script calls for
"a small slither of pebbles" to
"rattle down harmlessly onto the Dalek"
as it probes the rock face.Copy !req
22. The first Dalek operator is a little
heavy-handed moving his dome.Copy !req
23. Working inside a Dalek involved
a good deal of multi-tasking.Copy !req
24. The operators here have one hand up
to turn the dome, and the other
on the button that flashes the lights.Copy !req
25. The rock face was made by the firm
Zircon out of eighteen large sheets
of PVC.Copy !req
26. The four bombs cost £70.
The moving parts made them
relatively expensive.Copy !req
27. You're about to see Jo get a knock
on the head. But if you look carefully,Copy !req
28. you'll also see Katy Manning
brace herself beforehand.Copy !req
29. Her scripted line is, "The only time
I ever want to travel in the air again
is on a rocket that will take me
off this planet."Copy !req
30. Note the colour
of the anti-gravity disc.Copy !req
31. It will look different in the shaft
shots later on: The design was changed
after the model filming was done.Copy !req
32. In a moment, we'll cut to a close shot
to conceal the stage hands lifting
the Dalek "goon" from beneath.Copy !req
33. The first plan was to shoot this
from above, zooming in down the chimney
to suggest the stationary Dalek
rising up it.Copy !req
34. A short chimney scene was cut here,
in which the Doctor mentions
the possibility of a Dalek patrol
at the top.Copy !req
35. 'Planet of the Daleks' entered what you
might call pre-pre-production before
the script was written.Copy !req
36. The preliminary booking for
the rehearsal room was made
on 21 July, 1972.Copy !req
37. In September, David Maloney put in
the usual batch of requests for
the personnel he wanted.Copy !req
38. He didn't get his first choices
for vision mixer and designer,
respectively John Gorman
and David Spode.Copy !req
39. Maloney had worked with Spode
on The Last of the Mohicans, and later
got him as designer
for 'Genesis of the Daleks'.Copy !req
40. But this time, the Design Department had
already organised its work roster
and had taken noteCopy !req
41. that John Hurst had wanted to do
a Doctor Who for some time
- so he got the gig.Copy !req
42. This is a model.Copy !req
43. Jon Pertwee makes a small
but significant error in his next line.Copy !req
44. He means "ascent", not "descent"!Copy !req
45. Pre-production included two key scenic
servicing meetings to discuss
the sets and props.Copy !req
46. These took place on
7 and 19 December, 1972.Copy !req
47. Terry Nation imagined a brickwork
structure here, not a metal one.Copy !req
48. David Maloney asked for a shot down
the shaft using in-and-out
camera movements.Copy !req
49. He was hoping to recreate an effect used
by Alfred Hitchcock in Vertigo (1958).Copy !req
50. And indeed, fear of heights is
this week's common phobia.Copy !req
51. Have you been paying attention to
the model Dalek's anti-gravitation disc?Copy !req
52. It is now clear, enabling you to see
the Dalek silhouetted on top.Copy !req
53. This was the only television serial to
feature a Dalek flying
on an anti-gravity disc,Copy !req
54. but Terry Nation had previously
introduced the idea of Daleks mounted
on flying "hoverbouts"Copy !req
55. in the 1960s Dalek annuals, where his
imagination was less constrained
by television budgets.Copy !req
56. In the first Dalek serial, a large
sculpture is dropped down a lift shaft,
for similar reasons
and with similar results.Copy !req
57. The script calls for a shot of
the Dalek's explosive landing in
the cooling chamber at the base
of the shaft:Copy !req
58. "The total shattering destruction
of the monster in a cloud of debris".Copy !req
59. Make-up supervisor Jean McMillan was
concerned that the Dalek operators'
heads might be visible through the mesh.Copy !req
60. So she insisted that they had to wear
make-up like everyone else.Copy !req
61. This surprised (and rather irritated)
The cast's two experienced Daleks,
Murphy Grumbar and John Scott Martin.Copy !req
62. As scripted, Jo starts this scene asleep
under cover of some bushes.Copy !req
63. The script calls for Jo to be
"inarticulate with joy".Copy !req
64. Terry Nation often liked to name
characters after members of his family.Copy !req
65. His daughter's name was Rebecca.Copy !req
66. Katy Manning developed this fast-talking
schtick in rehearsal, adding somewhat
to her scripted lines in the process.Copy !req
67. At one point during camera rehearsals,
she and Jon Pertwee decided
they needed a break.Copy !req
68. More schtick: They worked some
"unscheduled silences" into their lines.Copy !req
69. The actors got a rest while
the technicians looked for a fault in
the sound systems!Copy !req
70. Rebec is played by Jane How (born 1951).Copy !req
71. She had a full acting career ahead
of her: This was one of her first jobs
since leaving the Webber Douglas
drama school.Copy !req
72. Younger BBC viewers had seen her
a few months earlier,
playing a French teacher in
A Little Princess (February 1973).Copy !req
73. A season with the Royal Shakespeare
Company followed in 1975-6.Copy !req
74. In middle age she was often cast
at the posher end of the spectrum,Copy !req
75. with notable roles as titled ladies in
Bad Girls (2001), Daniel Deronda (2002),
and Poirot (2008).Copy !req
76. She was also a memorable regular in
EastEnders (1986-7), playing
the mistress of "Dirty Den".Copy !req
77. Every so often, the two sides of her
repertoire came together in a series
of roles as royal "indiscretions",Copy !req
78. from Alice Keppel (mistress of
King Edward VIl) in Graham Greene's
The Return of A. J. Raffles (RSC, 1975)Copy !req
79. To Camilla Parker-Bowles, the future
Duchess of Cornwall, in
Charles and Diana. ; Unhappily Ever After
(1992).Copy !req
80. In the background, you can hear the
original sound effect for the Dalek
control room, created by Brian Hodgson
in the 1960s.Copy !req
81. Here's another thing reworked from
the first Dalek serial,Copy !req
82. in which the Daleks plan to use
radiation to wipe out all non-Dalek life
on the planet.Copy !req
83. All the effects work on the serial was
contracted to an outside firm,
Westbury Design and Optical.Copy !req
84. Clifford Culley was one of
the firm's directors.Copy !req
85. He had a preliminary meeting with
Barry Letts and the Head of Effects,
Jack Kine, on 7 December,
and did a costing overnight.Copy !req
86. Casting was well under way in
early December as Terrance Dicks put
the finishing touches
to the revised scripts.Copy !req
87. The first actor to be cast was
Prentis Hancock (Vaber): His contract
was issued on 5 December.Copy !req
88. Next up was Hilary Minster (Marat) on
7 December, followed the next day by
the trinity of Dalek operators.Copy !req
89. By the time Bernard Horsfall (Taron)
Got his contract on 14 December,
he had already attended two
of his four costume fittings.Copy !req
90. Also contracted on 14 December were
Jane How (Rebec), Tim Preece (Codal)
And Michael Wisher (Dalek Voice).Copy !req
91. Roy Skelton (Wester/Dalek Voice)
Came on board the next day, 15 December,Copy !req
92. and the main cast was completed on
18 December, when Alan Tucker (Latep)
Was contracted.Copy !req
93. When production started in January 1973,
one principal contract remained
to be issued:Copy !req
94. Tony Starr (Supreme Dalek) wasn't
required until the final studio session,
so he got his contract on 15 February.Copy !req
95. The Spiridon extras were supplied by
the Associated Plays and Players Agency.Copy !req
96. They were typically engaged only a few
days before they were needed in studio.Copy !req
97. As the scripts came in, Terrance Dicks
pointed out to Terry Nation that,
back in 1964, the original Thals
had been pacifists.Copy !req
98. He suggested to Nation that they had now
become excessively militaristic through
their fear of the Daleks.Copy !req
99. Dicks asked Nation to write in a scene
in which the Doctor makes the point,Copy !req
100. "that it's too high a price to pay to
defeat your enemy if it means
you become like him,Copy !req
101. "and that some Thals are in danger of
becoming as ruthless as the Daleks".Copy !req
102. One thing Nation didn't accept was
Dicks's idea of how this conversation
might come about.Copy !req
103. He proposed that Taron should face
a situation in which the success
of the missionCopy !req
104. depends on sacrificing the lives
of his fellow Thals.Copy !req
105. Taron opts to be ruthless,Copy !req
106. but the Doctor intervenes and persuades
him to take a more humane point of view.Copy !req
107. That was Dicks's preferred scenario,
but Nation felt it didn't fit his
characterisation of Taron,Copy !req
108. so in the event, Taron only talks
hypothetically of such a situation,
rather than actually encountering it.Copy !req
109. It was also Dicks's idea to variegate
the setting here, moving the action away
from the jungle into more open country.Copy !req
110. Dicks was also keen to introduce
a romance for Jo and it would have to
be with one of the Thals.Copy !req
111. As he told Nation, "I don't think
she can build up much of a relationship
with a Spiridon!"Copy !req
112. Latep was originally named Patel.Copy !req
113. The consonants were shuffled at
a late stage to avoid having two Patels
in two consecutive serials.Copy !req
114. One person watching with pleasure
on 28 April, 1973 was the BBC's Director
of Television Programmes,
Alasdair Milne.Copy !req
115. At the executive review
the following Wednesday, he commended
"another successful episode".Copy !req
116. When the camera pans left, see if you
notice anything peculiar
about the foliage.Copy !req
117. And who's that in blue sneaking around
in the background?Copy !req
118. If you missed it first time, look at
the plants to the right of Jo.Copy !req
119. They seem to be growing in large tubs.Copy !req
120. In the next shot, see if you can spot
a mysterious intruding shadow
on the sky backdrop.Copy !req
121. It appears momentarily to Jo's right.Copy !req
122. It's an unplanned early appearance
of a mechanical device used for
an effect coming up.Copy !req
123. Here's the scheduled shadow shot.Copy !req
124. Later in 1973, sound effects man
Dick Mills incorporated the distinctive
animal background noises from this sceneCopy !req
125. in a track entitled 'The World
of Doctor Who', compiled from
the various electronic soundscapes
used in the series.Copy !req
126. This was released on vinyl by
BBC Records as the B-side of the theme
music to the Barry Letts series
Moonbase 3.Copy !req
127. Taron is played by Bernard Horsfall
(born 1930).Copy !req
128. He was an actor David Maloney admired
and cast as often as he could,
usually in commanding, imposing roles.Copy !req
129. His career in the classical theatre
began in the 1950s, and included
the ghost in the 1954 Old Vic production
of Hamlet.Copy !req
130. He was the first actor to play
Margery Allingham's detective
Albert Campion on television, in
Dancers in Mourning (1959).Copy !req
131. When David Maloney was casting the part
of Lemuel Gulliver in his first
Doctor Who production,
'The Mind Robber',Copy !req
132. he remembered Horsfall's stature - he
stood 6'3" tall - and hired him.Copy !req
133. Maloney used him in three more
Doctor Who serials, twice as a Time Lord
(in 'The War Games'
and 'The Deadly Assassin').Copy !req
134. In 1970, Horsfall also played
the Black Knight in Maloney's production
of Ivanhoe.Copy !req
135. Regular television viewers would also,
according to age and taste,
have recently seen him playingCopy !req
136. a courtier in Elizabeth R,
a Scandinavian villain in
The Persuaders! and the storyteller
in Jackanory (all 1971).Copy !req
137. Later in 1973, he was the "token adult"
hero in the final series of the junior
spy thriller Freewheelers.Copy !req
138. His television career peaked with his
leading role in the Second World War
series, Enemy at the Door (1978-80),Copy !req
139. in which he played a compromised doctor
on the Nazi-occupied island of Guernsey.Copy !req
140. The focus of his work shifted back to
the theatre in the 1980s, including
a long run with the Royal Shakespeare
Company (1984-90),Copy !req
141. where his roles included
a choleric Capulet in Romeo and Juliet
and a fence-sitting Duke of York
in Richard II.Copy !req
142. The 21 st century saw him mainly in
semi-retirement in the Western Isles
of Scotland,Copy !req
143. but in 2009 he returned to England to
play the jailer Frosch in Die Fledermaus
for the London Lyric Opera.Copy !req
144. Never mind what the Daleks are saying,
and never mind what's inside the box:
Just look at the box itself.Copy !req
145. On the right you can see the reflection
of somebody moving about in the studio.Copy !req
146. Preliminary plans to make the box in
Perspex were shelved, and vitrone,
a PVC-based compound, was used instead.Copy !req
147. In January 1972, six months before
this episode was written,Copy !req
148. the BBC's Audience Research Department
published a report on
television violence.Copy !req
149. Doctor Who ranked as the BBC's single
most violent "dramatic fiction" series.Copy !req
150. "Violence" was defined,
in bureaucratic English, asCopy !req
151. "any act(s) which may cause physical
and/or psychological injury, hurt,
or deathCopy !req
152. "to persons, animals, or property,
whether intentional or accidental".Copy !req
153. The researchers found that each episode
of Doctor Who featured an average of
four such "act(s)".Copy !req
154. The Head of Audience Research,
B. P. Emmett, wasn't surprised.Copy !req
155. He told the press: "Any adventure serial
would be pretty sure to come high up
on the list.Copy !req
156. "Action, after all, tends to mean
resolution by means of violent
incidents and action is what you put
into adventure series."Copy !req
157. Even so, the production team had to
tread carefully, and that meant changing
Nation's plans for the upcoming
cliffhanger.Copy !req
158. His original intention was that Taron
should lead all the surviving Thals on
the expedition to stop Vaber.Copy !req
159. The episode was to end with a massacre
by the Daleks, leaving the Doctor and Jo
to carry the last two episodes alone.Copy !req
160. Terrance Dicks vetoed the mass
He wanted most of
the Thals kept alive for the conclusion.Copy !req
161. He suggested that they should find a way
to repair their spaceship, enabling them
to return to Skaro after all.Copy !req
162. The Head of Serials, Ronald Marsh,
always kept a close eye on Doctor WhoCopy !req
163. and Dicks knew that he would insist upon
a safe homecoming for the heroes.Copy !req
164. "In the present climate of opinion,"
he explained ruefully to Nation,Copy !req
165. "we have to be very careful about
violence, massacres, and gloom."Copy !req
166. And that's why you're not seeing
a massacre right now!Copy !req
167. Also unseen in this episode were:Copy !req
168. David Billa,
Terence Denville (Spiridons)Copy !req
169. Ronald Gough, Kevin Moran,
Geoff Witherick (Spiridons)
be honest, you're afraid.Copy !req
170. Miro would have taken action by now,
he was a real commander,Copy !req
171. and he wouldn't have had her
hanging around our necks.Copy !req
172. Latep!Copy !req
173. I am still in command hereCopy !req
174. and, like it or not,
you will obey orders.Copy !req
175. And believe me, Vaber, if you don't,
I shan't hesitate to kill you.Copy !req
176. Now, let's all get some rest.Copy !req
177. Latep, go back to your post.Copy !req
178. The bacteria are multiplying.Copy !req
179. We have calculated that
after the release of the cultureCopy !req
180. into the atmosphere,Copy !req
181. it will totally contaminate the planet
within the space of one Spiridon day.Copy !req
182. All plant life
will wither and die.Copy !req
183. All un-immunised
animal life will dieCopy !req
184. within one hour of inhaling
the contaminated air.Copy !req
185. Approved.
Continue with preparations.Copy !req
186. The most virulent
form of the bacteriaCopy !req
187. will be ready for release
in half a Spiridon day.Copy !req
188. Report.Copy !req
189. Spiridon slaves reportCopy !req
190. aliens believed to be hiding
at the Plain of Stones.Copy !req
191. Order
all search units into that area.Copy !req
192. I obey.Copy !req
193. (SOFTLY) Latep! Doctor!Copy !req
194. Codal! Codal!Copy !req
195. - Where's Vaber?
- He was sitting over there.Copy !req
196. - Doctor, the bombs have gone.
- What?Copy !req
197. He left this.Copy !req
198. "I'll do what I have to do alone."Copy !req
199. He doesn't stand a chance.Copy !req
200. That's the last of the explosives.Copy !req
201. We've got to stop him.Copy !req
202. I intend to.Copy !req
203. - Codal, will you come with me?
- Hmm.Copy !req
204. Doctor, would you stay here?Copy !req
205. - If that's what you want.
- Thanks.Copy !req
206. He'll be heading
for the ventilator shaft.Copy !req
207. Yeah. We'll be back as soon as we can.Copy !req
208. Latep, stay here. Come on.Copy !req
209. Be careful, Taron.Copy !req
210. - Have you still got your guns with you?
- Yes.Copy !req
211. That's good. Keep them handy, will you?Copy !req
212. Look around you.Copy !req
213. Take him to the Daleks.Copy !req