Who Review: Revelation of the Daleks

The Doctor takes Peri to the planet Necros, where he plans to pay his respects to Arthur Stengos, whose body lies in the Tranquil Repose funeral home. But along the way they have a rather violent introduction to a man who claims to be the victim of “The Great Healer” and his genetic experimentation. It seems many of the bodies in Tranquil Repose are, in fact, not dead but in suspended animation. “The Great Healer” claims to be experimenting for the good of the people, but this is just a ploy to disguise his real intentions. This “Healer” has prohibited the use of his real name: Davros. His Daleks patrol Tranquil Repose and its environs. There are some who suspect things are not right. “Body snatchers” who try to rescue those “suspended” and designated for Davros’s tests. And the head of food distribution, Kara, who has hired mercenaries to forcefully sever her relationship with Davros. But will their efforts be too little too late? Davros’s genetic experiments have a very sinister, and universe-threatening purpose, one that the Doctor and Peri must find a way to stop.

SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen this serial. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!

Script editor Eric Saward was responsible for bringing the Daleks back in the previous season, and did a good enough job with it that he wrote their return for the finale of the Sixth Doctor’s first full season. This meant he could continue an arc he began with that last story where the Daleks have divided into factions: those loyal to Davros, and those loyal to the Supreme Dalek. For most of this story, we are concerned mainly with Davros’s attempts to rebuild his Dalek army from the almost-dead. He is taking the best and brightest of the sick who have been brought to Necros where they can die, but instead of giving them a peaceful passing, he is curing them, and placing them in suspended animation, where their brains will be used to create Daleks. Not quite the “healing” the inhabitants of Necros expect of “The Great Healer.” Aside from the Daleks, the only support Davros has are those who see him as a great physician, conducting important experiments to heal the planet’s sick. Others pay him lip service, but secretly plot against him. The most successful are the most unlikely: a couple of the guards who tip off the Supreme Dalek, who in turn sends a ship full of his (its?) own Daleks to deal with Davros.

All this makes one wonder where the Doctor and Peri come into the story. And I think it’s true to say that, while the story itself is a good one, our lead characters don’t take the lead on bringing down Davros and his nasty scheme. Rather, they give aid and support to those who are already scheming against him. This is rather odd, but, to be honest, I didn’t find it that big of a deal. The story is interesting enough, and the other characters strong enough, it actually worked. After all, it’s through the Doctor and Peri that we discover what’s happening, so it’s not as if they don’t play an important part in the plot.

“Revelation of the Daleks” continues the season’s theme of darker, edgier stories. This one, set on the planet of death, and centering around a mortuary, is perhaps a little darker and more gruesome than most of the others. Saward doesn’t seem to have too many qualms about killing people off, both in conventional ways (lasers, guns, etc.), and unconventional (a syringe). For Saturday tea-time family viewing, it is pushing the envelope a bit, and I’m sure he was quite aware of that at the time. Indeed, he sets the tone from the beginning with the Doctor being attacked by a man whose body has been deformed by Davros’s “genetic experiments.” When Peri accidentally clubs him to death, the man is grateful for being put out of his misery.

There are a number of good moments. Orcini, the assassin, is a good character, a mix of the mercenary with noble sentiments, as well as a sense of loyalty to his sidekick, Bostock. I like the way he battles to the end, looking for opportunities to get one up on Davros, despite having his fake leg blown off. It’s nice that Bostock, with his dying breath, fires the shot that blows off Davros’s hand. It’s a shame the moment was marred by the fact that Davros’s hand was obviously fake, though I suspect fear of the censors also played into that decision. They make up for it by having his stump wrapped in green-stained cloth (apparently Davros’s blood is green, which I suppose explains his complexion), which, again, for Saturday tea-time, is probably about as far as you want to go with that kind of thing. I also like the continuation of the Dalek factions, which adds another dimension to the story, and an unexpected twist at the end.

I’m not a big fan of the DJ. I appreciate the idea of someone feeding news and events to the suspended bodies so they aren’t ignorant of the world when they are revived. But I think we spend a bit too long with him. And I’m not a fan of Alexei Sayle anyway. His best moment, I think, is when he fights off the Daleks with Peri, though his demise is a bit melodramatic.

All in all, “Revelation” is a good story, second only to “Vengeance on Varos” this season. Definitely worth watching, though it falls short of “classic” for me.