Doctor Who - Destiny of the Daleks (Episode 104)
Starring: Tom BakerStudio: BBC Warner
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
DVD Release: March 4th 2008
Buy DVD:
DVD Review
The newly regenerated Romana and the Doctor land on an unidentified planet to investigate evidence of drilling deep underground.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
Production Notes
User Reviews
Daleks are back, but not with a vengeance - Rating: 2/5
Destiny of the Daleks was the beginning of the end for the Tom Baker era. Terry Nation always wanted to write his own Dalek stories because no one else could write to his satisfaction. This, the last of the Terry Nation Dalek episodes, could have been good, but it ultimately failed.
The plot is basically this: the Daleks have become embroiled in an intergalactic war with the Movellans, and race of androids who operate completely logically. The Daleks' and the Movellans' logic operate to bring the war to a stalemate, leading the Daleks to the conclusion that they need their creator Davros to introduce some surprise into battle strategy so the Daleks can win the war. The Daleks return to Skaro to unearth Davros who was exterminated at the end of Genesis of the Daleks some several centuries earlier. The Movellans follow the Daleks to Skaro to determine their purpose to prevent them gaining an advantage. Meanwhile, Romana has regenerated into a look alike of the Princess Astra (The Armageddon Factor). The Doctor and a newly regenerated Romana arrive on Skaro at a time after the Daleks have begun searching for Davros.
There are several problems with this episode as it was produced and written. The regeneration sequence for Romana was untenable and silly thanks to new script editor Douglas Adams of Hitchikers's Guide to the Galaxy fame. No explanation for Romana's regeneration was offered and her ability to regenerate several times to obtain the body she wanted was incredible to say the least. I'm not saying that a Time Lord can't choose what he or she looks like. That this is possible is apparent from The War Games. But note that the in The War Games, the Time Lords gave the 2nd Doctor choices regarding his appearance BEFORE he regenerated. Undoubtedly, the regeneration can be controlled as a biological process, and Time Lords undoubtedly can regenerate as basic facsimiles of other humanoids using some DNA replication process. But regeneration is surely a process that wouldn't occur as it is depicted in this episode.
To the basic plot elements of the episode. (1)The Daleks are not logical beings. The Daleks are completely illogical in fact. They hate and fear every being not Dalek. They are predictable only to the extent that if you are not a Dalek, you can predict they will attempt to exterminate you. But they would not become outgamed by a logical process. Some have argued that while the Daleks themselves are not logical, their battle computers as computer would be. Not necessarily and probably not as they would have been designed by Daleks. The Daleks once attempted to gain an advantage over humans by attempting to introduce "the human factor" into Daleks (Evil of the Daleks). Humans were too unpredictable for the Daleks to effectively fight as that story went. The Movellans on the other hand, being completely logical, should have been completely predictable and easy to defeat.
(2) Michael Wisher was unavailable to play Davros. Davros should have been written out of the script immediately. Davros as a character was effective only because of the way Michael Wisher was able to portray him on camera. David Gooderson wore the same costume and sat in the same chair Michael Wisher had used in Genesis of the Daleks. None of it fit him properly. The voice distortion used for Daleks had been used for Davros in Genesis of the Daleks, but no voice distortion was used in this episode. And David Gooderson simply could not bring off the character, especially with the costuming and voicing flaws. Davros was a good character in Genesis of the Daleks, but he needed to stay dead. He was so used and abused after Genesis of the Daleks and no one could pull it off except Michael Wisher.
All in all, this episode is entertaining. For the die hard fan, it is a must have for the Doctor Who library. For the passing observer, it might or might not be an episode you want to spend money on. If you're new to the Daleks, I recommend these stories as well worth the money: (1) The Daleks (1963-64 1st Doctor) - this episode introduced the Daleks to the world; (2) The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964 1st Doctor); (3) Planet of the Daleks (1973 3rd Doctor) and (4) Genesis of the Daleks (1974 4th Doctor). Sadly, Power of the Daleks and Evil of the Daleks are not available in their entirety due to short-sightedness at the BBC in the 1970s, but these other stories are great to watch.
If you only watch 1 Dalek episode, choose Genesis of the Daleks. While the story is short on Daleks on long on Davros, it isn't too long, it introduces you to what the Daleks are and where they came from and it properly characterizes Davros as the maniacal evil genius he was supposed to be.
That's what you get for fiddling about with a randomiser. - Rating: 5/5
The Key to Time season has just wrapped, and the Doctor decides to evade possible payback by the Black Guardian of Time by fitting his TARDIS with a randomiser. Lo and behold, where does this device dump him first? On Skaro, of course.
Trailed by a newly-regenerated Romana in a suspiciously familiar outfit, the Doctor wastes no time in getting into trouble, and soon finds himself at the crux of a deadlocked war betwen his old foes the Daleks, and a new race, the Movellans. And he isn't the only one being counted on to break the stalemate.
Some complaints: It's a real shame that Michael Wisher could not return to reprise his role, he was still the best Davros in my mind. That, and last minute re-writes get you some campy dialogue by then-script-editor Douglas Adams, but Doctor Who is always a blast when the Daleks are involved. As with any Tom Baker serial during the later part of his tenure, it's best not to over-think it; just sit back, relax and enjoy it.
Overall: an enjoyable second romp with the Daleks and the Doctor's most popular classic incarnation. This one should be on your list, whether you are a casual fan or a collector. Enjoy!
