Doctor Who: Resurrection of The Daleks

What can truly be said about 'Resurrection,' really? Within the first 60 seconds of its runtime, half a dozen people are slaughtered in the middle of a cold, rainy street. It doesn't let up there! By the time the four 25 minute episodes have run their course, the body count surpasses that of the entire first Terminator film (as confirmed by the episode's creators).

'Resurrection' picks up loosely where 'Destiny of the Daleks' left off. Since his capture by human forces, Davros has been tried and incarcerated for the creation of the Dalek scourge which has already claimed billions of galactic lives. Cryogenically frozen and imprisoned on a deep space station, Davros is jailbroken by an incoming Dalek task force led by a human commander, Lytton. Once revived, Davros learns that the war with the Movellans remained in stalement until the Movellans were able to develop a virus which specifically attacks Dalek DNA. The Daleks have sprung Davros from his prison so that he may create a cure for the virus and reassert their dominance throughout the galaxy. Wary of past betrayals, Davros reluctantly agrees, but begins concocting his own sinister plan to re-establish his power over his own creations to subjugate the galaxy as supreme ruler.

'Resurrection' is very dark. There's little comedy to be had here, especially when the killing starts. The nihilism of the story makes it run black, but it's an effective storytelling method nonetheless. The action sequences are plentiful (albeit flawed in execution at times), and the special effects have taken a step up, while failing miserably at other times. It's hit or miss, but like all classic Who episodes, the story is the main focal point. The Time War is reintroduced in this episode by allowing the Daleks to make the next aggressive move on the Time Lords themselves, something which has never happened before. All of a sudden, the stakes become much higher as the Doctor is thrust right into the middle of the conflict to act as a possible retaliatory strike for interference in Dalek activities. And, for the first time, we clearly see the Doctor's regret at having spared the Daleks from total annihilation in 'Genesis of the Daleks.' This marks a turning point in the Doctor's development as the seeds of hatred towards the Daleks are sown quite clearly. The Doctor's internal conflict about murdering another being is echoed almost note-for-note in the 2005 series reintroduction.

'Resurrection' marked the return of the Daleks after a very long hiatus, and it couldn't have been a bigger homecoming. Amidst all the bloodshed and violence is a very intricate story which shouldn't be missed.

Resurrection of the Daleks is the beginning of a phasing out trilogy. In May 1983, Peter Davison (The Doctor) decided that the upcoming season would be his last one, so scripts were rewritten to phase out Tegan, Turlough, and the Doctor. When it happened, it took place in the last Peter Davison stories.

In 1984, a series of mysterious cylinders have been found in a London warehouse and are under investigation by Colonel Archer of the Bomb Disposal Squad. This was also the same scene where a pair of policemen gun down all but two of a group of escaping fugitives. The survivor, the cowardly and wounded Stien, meets the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough, who have been dragged down to Earth by a time corridor.

In space, a group of commandos led by Lytton and some Daleks lead an attack on a space station holding Davros prisoner. It's not too difficult, as the low morale and a lackadaisical attitude observed by recently-arrived Lieutenant Mercer lead to nearly all the crew being killed.

The seeds for the Dalek schism that would plague both remaining Dalek stories are set here, as Davros, who has been freed to help the Daleks develop an antidote to a virus that led to their defeat in a war against their foes the Movellans (q.v. Destiny Of The Daleks), has decided to create some new Daleks obedient to him and not to the Supreme Dalek. He gains followers in his circle, including human troops, whom he conditions. Yet, he rants and raves throughout most of this story, and at times, his dialogue is unintelligible, maybe because of microphone troubles beneath the mask or it being drowned by the music.

Interesting effects in this story is a scary scene of someone's whose face is rotting away, and the way the Daleks succumb to the virus.

Maurice Colbourne (Lytton) and his two bodyguards would reappear in Attack of the Cybermen where they would be killed off. The character of Lytton, the ruthless and no-nonsense mercenary unafraid to tell the Daleks off, is one of the few interesting ones. Same with Stien, a cowardly, uncertain, and later on, divided personality, and Rodney Bewes does a good portrayal to that effect. All the other characters seem unimportant, as many are unnamed or unidentified until later episodes.

As this is Tegan's departure story, Janet Fielding has a good emotional leaving scene, where her character is sickened by the carnage that has taken place. Indeed, only three humanoid characters survive in this extremely high body count story.

This story has been compared to Earthshock, which was also written by Eric Saward and featured the Cybermen, and has been criticized for being all gloss and no substance. While the action sequences and regular characters are good, the lack of strong characters, and maybe too many characters who just fill up the story and get killed off.

This was the 4th story of the 1984 Season 21 and the action continues on directly from "Frontios" where the 5th Doctor (Peter Davidson) and his companions Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson) are desperately trying to free the TARDIS from a "Time Corridor". Meanwhile, in London in the 1980's, a tramp is horrified to witness a strange group of men burst out of an abandoned warehouse and get machine-gunned down by a couple of police officers. Somewhere in the future a prison space station holding the evil Davros, creator of the Daleks, comes under attack from a battle cruiser.

Materializing on Earth, the Doctor discovers that one end of the time corridor is located in the warehouse and the other end is on the space cruiser which belongs to the Daleks and is being used in an attempt to free Davros so that he can work on an antidote to a virus which is killing them off. As the episode progresses the Doctor is horrified to find out that he has walked into a trap and that the Daleks intend to replicate him and his companions so that their doubles can travel to Galifrey and assassinate the High Council of the Timelords. A frantic battle for survival takes place with the surviving space station crew fighting for their lives while the Daleks and their evil replicant soldiers attempt to complete their dastardly plan. By the time the smoke clears only the Doctor and his companions are left alive with the exception of the leader of the Dalek's replicant troops who manages to slip quietly away with two of his men (later to return in Attack of the Cybermen). Disgusted by the slaughter, Tegan decides to leave the TARDIS and runs from the warehouse in tears...

As Dalek stories go, this is one of the best and considering the budget it comes across as an extremely enjoyable and polished piece of classic science fiction. The acting is excellent despite the use of certain actors in roles you would never expect to see them in (Rodney Bewes as Stien is particularly worthy of note as he was known as a comedy actor but managed to play the part of the Dalek double agent remarkably well). Also worth mentioning is the wonderful commentary track with Peter Davidson (Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan) and Mat Robinson (Director) who enjoy themselves throughout and give us a real insight into the making of the story. The ending where Tegan makes her tearful goodbyes lingers in the mind for long after the final credits have rolled...