Remembrance of the Daleks - The First Review

Starring Sylvester McCoy & Sophie Aldred, with Dursely McLinden, Simon Williams, Pamela Salem, Karen Gledhill, George Sewell & Terry Molloy.

Written by Ben Aaronovitch.

Directed by Andrew Morgan.

The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) is surrounded by Imperial Daleks in this promotional photo for "Remembrance of the Daleks".

London, 1963, and the Doctor returns to Coal Hill School with his new companion Ace, where he has unfinished business. His oldest foes, the Daleks, are on the trail of Time Lord technology - an artefact the Doctor himself left behind on Earth. Enlisting the assistance of the local military, the Doctor must protect the Gallifreyan secret of time travel as two opposing Dalek factions meet in an explosive confrontation, with the fate of the entire universe at stake!

"Remembrance of the Daleks" is, singlehandedly, the story that saved Doctor Who. That might sound like a controversial statement, but, trust me, it's very true. Back in 1988, before the transmission of the show's twenty-fifth season, I suspect many might have felt that Doctor Who was very much on the brink of its natural end. After many years of success, the show in the mid 1980's had started to lag: a lack of direction after the departure of Tom Baker, a mixed reception for Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor, behind the scenes conflict between script editor Eric Saward and producer John Nathan-Turner, BBC One controller Michael Grade's desire to get the show cancelled, an eighteen month hiatus that reduced the viewership of the series by nearly half, a troubled 23rd season that saw Colin Baker dismissed from the role and a rushed 24th season that, while showing some promise, also showed signs of a show struggling to find itself in amongst turmoil, and mounting fan criticism. All of these things combined to make Doctor Who's future pretty bleak at that point. Had "Remembrance of the Daleks" not delivered, I honestly don't believe there would have been much will to revive Doctor Who in 2005. But, fortunately for us, "Remembrance" proved to be one of the best Doctor Who stories in the show's history, with a smart, fast paced script; great characters; some fantastic social commentary and some top notch production, that makes this not only the best story since 1984's "The Caves of Androzani", but also one of the most beloved and most significant stories in the show's history. 

The Doctor and Ace (Sophie Aldred) must make
sure that the right Daleks get their 'grubby little
protuberances' on the Hand of Omega. 

Taking the show back to its roots in celebration of Doctor Who's 25th anniversary was an inspired move, but also could have lead to an over excessive indulgence in continuity (as was demonstrated in "Attack of the Cybermen", which also revisited the setting of "An Unearthly Child", the very first Doctor Who story). However, "Remembrance of the Daleks" uses this continuity to tell a new, forward-thinking story that calls back to the past, but never in a way that makes it feel like its just rehashing it. It puts a completely new slant on that very first story, and what the Doctor and Susan were even doing in London 1963 in the first place. Settings like Totter's Lane and Coal Hill School are revisited, but only because they add to the story writer Ben Aaronovitch is trying to tell. This is a tale of history coming back to haunt the present, of destroying the myth of a 'golden past' where everything was rosy, and showing the natural evolution of both the Daleks and their creator Davros. Despite its action-heavy content, this still manages to be an incredibly layered piece, with so much subtext you could spend years picking it apart. Aaronovitch keeps all these threads part of the story, however, while, at the same time, keeping it pacey and exciting, which is no mean feet. This has all the snap, crackle and pop of a New Series story, and, to be honest, packs in even more content than most New Series stories. If you've never seen any Classic Doctor Who before, and you're looking for a good place to start, then I would highly recommend starting here, as this will have all the elements you are familiar with from Modern Who, including a cold open, massive effects and a dynamic Doctor/companion duo. At the same time, the new dynamic of the Doctor and Ace also hues back to past companion dynamics like the Fourth Doctor and Sarah, the Second Doctor and Jamie, and even the First Doctor and Susan; once again, using these past dynamics to create something brand new. Even the Daleks have gone back to their roots, with the Nazi-inspired origins of the pepper-pots never clearer than here. Picking up on the two different Dalek factions established in "Revelation of the Daleks", in many ways this feels like a natural end point for the Daleks, as they become so caught up with their own purity, they go to war against creatures that are basically them, save for minor differences. And putting these racially aggravated Daleks in Britain in the early 1960's, when an almost second wave of fascism was sweeping the country, is a masterstroke. The contrast between Ratcliffe and the Daleks is wonderfully pointed, and the script is littered with moments that draw the contrast between the human capacity for evil and the Daleks. Never in the TV series have the human race been shown to be so like the Daleks, and it works really well, especially in this story rich in the history of the show, and with such a punch and pace.

"Taxi! Yes, can you take me to the Inferno
nightclub? I'm meeting a hot Imperial Dalek."

While the story is full of plot and pace, one thing this story is fantastic at is developing interesting characters. Normally, a Doctor Who story would have maybe 3 or 4 really interesting characters: "Remembrance" has at least 6, if not more. There's the characters of Rachel, Gilmore and Allison, who would later go on to be known as the Counter-Measures team. There's the complex character of Mike Smith, who starts out simply as a love interest for Ace, but who becomes a lot more complicated as the story progresses. There's the aforementioned Ratcliffe, who provides a compelling contrast with the Daleks themselves. There's even the sinister little girl, who is utterly chilling, especially when it is revealed that she is the one in the chair of the Battle Computer. Each one is interesting and well-developed, without taking anything away from the main action. The Counter-Measures team instantly show plenty of potential, especially in the comic relationship between Rachel and Allison, and it is no wonder that Big Finish Productions decided to give them their own spin-off. It's a shame they never got the chance to come back in the show, because they have a very different ethos and spirit to them than UNIT did, and would have made for a great contrast with the Jon Pertwee era. As for Mike, well his journey is so fascinating, and he makes for a wonderful anti-villain (if such a term exists). In many ways, despite his attitude, the audience comes to sympathise with Mike, despite his clearly abhorrent views, and his betrayal of the Doctor, Ace and Counter-Measures. The complex nature of his character means you actually find yourself sympathising with the villain; something that, in any previous era, you'd struggle to see happening. Even when Mike Yates betrays UNIT in "Invasion of the Dinosaurs", its absolutely clear to the audience that it is a bad thing. Here, however, you are meant to sympathise with Mike's actions, even if you find them (and hopefully you will find them) morally abhorrent. As mentioned above, the closeness of Ratcliffe with the Daleks is what makes him fascinating, even if he's dressed more smartly and is far more smooth talking than a Dalek. He's still the same as them, however, and that similarity is incredibly well drawn by the script. As for the Girl, well, she's bloody terrifying. Possibly more so than some of the human character's attitude towards fascism, as this is every parent's nightmare, made flesh. Even the rest of the characters are wonderfully fleshed out: despite this being one of his smallest appearances in the show, Davros is used brilliantly, backed by a wonderful performance from Terry Molloy. Honestly, the acting here is off the scale, but particular praise must be reserved for Simon Williams, Dursley McLinden, Sophie Aldred and Sylvester McCoy, who all bring something really special to their parts. McCoy and Aldred, particularly, are wonderful together, and they are what helps to make this story so utterly fantastic. In such a short space of time (don't forget, Ace was only introduced in the previous story "Dragonfire"), they have become one of the best Doctor/companion partnerships in the show's history.

Ace isn't afraid to take on the Daleks, whether it
be with a baseball bat, or an anti-tank gun!

It's impossible to talk about "Remembrance of the Daleks" without talking about the production work. It is amazing how much the BBC were able to achieve with this story, and I think that it just shows that, with the right funds and the right support, all of Doctor Who in the 1980's could have looked as good as "Remembrance". This has the scope and scale of a big-blockbuster movie, and the effects work is stupendously good. The scale of the pyrotechnics work is above and beyond anything the show had done up to this point, and, in fact, probably hasn't been beaten even by the show in its current iteration. Of course, health and safety probably wouldn't let you get away with half of the effects this story does nowadays! Some of them even look dangerous, despite the editing, but that all adds to the grounded feel of the production. The vast array of location work also helps, as it makes the story feel less studio bound and enclosed like a lot of Classic Doctor Who can lean towards. It's part of a real world, and the production enhances that feel in the script completely. The direction from Andrew Morgan is dynamic and pacey: yes, he went very much over-budget, but who cares, right? This is great TV, and that really should be the primary objective. The BBC in the late 1980's was so tight on Doctor Who's budget, at a time when flashy American imports were getting huge amounts chucked at each episode. "Remembrance" manages to look amazing on a tenth of the budget of those shows, and it is all down to the creativity of the team involved. The Daleks look amazing, despite the fact that the props must have been incredibly difficult to manoeuvre on the streets of London. The Imperial Dalek shuttlecraft is stupendous: to think that was a to-scale prop, not a model or CGI still boggles the mind, even today. The cliffhanger to episode 1, in which we finally see a Dalek climbing a staircase for the first time, is brilliant, finally dispelling the myth that they couldn't climb stairs. It shows just how much the show was trying to break out of the belief from the BBC upper management, the press and even the general public that it had had its day, and that it could still have a place in the current world. It was a shame that it perhaps came a little too late, but, honestly, without "Remembrance of the Daleks", I believe no-one would have had the will to bring Doctor Who back. This single story guaranteed the show's future, in my opinion, because it proved that the show still had life within it.

The Seventh Doctor and Ace: a dynamic new team for a new era of adventures.

"Remembrance of the Daleks" is a wonderful story, there's no other way to describe it. Every element, from the script to the actors to the production, is wonderfully put together, to create an exciting, dramatic Doctor Who classic, full of heart and wit and darkness that makes the best of Who the best. You'd be hard pressed to find a finer example of a show firing on all cylinders, making the most of what they have in order to create a genuine classic, and, if you've never seen a Classic Doctor Who story before, there are few better places to start, especially if you grew up with the modern version of the show. An all-time fan-favourite, well deserved.

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