Saturday 18th January 1964 - The Expedition

 

"Get my name right. It's Chesterton."

It's an episode where our space-and-time travellers aren't the focus. Instead, scenes alternate between the Daleks, who realise that the drugs won't work on them as the require radiation as a condition of existence and the Thals, who are nagged by Ian into considering violent. Susan, once again, disappears into the background only popping up to agree with Ian that the Thals shouldn't be manipulated into taking actions just to help the travellers retrieve the TARDIS' fluid link.

The Doctor, on the other hand, seems more engaged and energised by what's happening. He takes more interest in things and seems less distracted. Perhaps this is because he sees an opportunity to lead the Thals in an attack on the Daleks and this makes him purposive. He seems less grumpy when he has something to do.

Despite the way the episode switches back and forth between Dalek city and the dead forest, it's a slow episode. Despite being called The Expedition, the long journey only begins towards the end of the episode.

The Daleks steal the show as far as I'm concerned, particularly:

• reactions of the Daleks to the Thal drug, especially the way that one of the Daleks squeals "Help me!"
• all Daleks in Sections Two and  Three are affected (though it would have been great to see this happen)
• cardboard Daleks in the background to suggest there are more than four of them
• we get a shot from a Dalek's point of view, through the eyestalk
• the Daleks use tickertape readouts, cutting-edge 1960s Earth technology and totally suitable for a creature that interacts with a plunger and laser gun
  
• Daleks don't mess about when some of them are affected by the Thal drug, they send the affected ones to the "sonic chamber" (which sounds ominous).
  

By the end of this episode the Doctor and Susan go with one group of Thals while Ian and Barbara go with another. It looks like next week they'll battle the Daleks.

Next week: The Ordeal.