"If they call us mutants, what must they be like?"
'About time too,' I hear you cry and quite right. You'd think it had been Christmas and New Year in between the last blog and this one. I've left you dangling in suspense without so much as a by your leave and poor Susan has been standing looking out at that scary forest for weeks. So I'll just wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year and move swiftly on.
Susan finally steps out to a marvellously chilling flash of lightning and huge crash of thunder.
And there is Alydon, looking like a giant, as Susan cowers down against the closed TARDIS doors. Carole Ann Ford is great in this scene, as always, and I wonder again why she didn't have more of an acting career after Dr Who.
The direction of this episode (Richard Martin instead of Christopher Barry) is even stronger with some great shots. I was struck by how metal everything is in the Dalek world, even the tray and the food bowl which give it a very alien feel. The metaltron makes another appearance being carried around by one of the Thals like an ornamental lion. Was there a suggestion that they were going to use it to power their lights somehow? And what reason might Ganatus' brother have to be scared of the dark? Hmm. Perhaps it's the black and white and the brilliant lighting, but the Daleks actually look metal in this story.
I love the easy banter amongst the Thals, a far cry from what our guys are going through in their cell; and I love the plotting, scheming Daleks. An interesting point is raised when the Daleks reveal that they force vegetables. They're either doing it because they knew the Thals were coming or, intriguingly, perhaps they need them for themselves. It makes sense that the Dalek creatures need some sort of nutrient intake to live.
The scene where the Doctor and co sabotage the Dalek still makes me tense as I watch it now. And the very best bit? When Ian and the Doctor react to the Dalek creature inside the shell and send Susan and Barbara outside to spare them the horror. We're very much encouraged to use our imagination in this story, both here and when we were left wondering for a whole week what could be so terrifying to Barbara at the end of the first episode. Great stuff.
Next episode: The Ambush
