Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Master Plan recap
William Hartnell faces the deadly pepperpots at their most cunning in this newly rediscovered gem from the 1960sWith the unexpected return of two William Hartnell episodes to the BBC archive,...
By Martin Belam · The Guardian Culture
William Hartnell faces the deadly pepperpots at their most cunning in this newly rediscovered gem from the 1960s With the unexpected return of two William Hartnell episodes to the BBC archive, Whovians can now, for the first time since 1965, enjoy the first quarter of the 12-part adventure The Daleks’ Master Plan. The surviving five episodes are now on iPlayer, and the first three make for a stirring introduction to the adventure, with large impressive sets for the Earth control centre and the Dalek ship, contrasting with the dense forbidding foliage of the planet Kembel. Frequent tight closeup shots from director Douglas Camfield on the faces of the cast add to a claustrophobic feel in the jungle sequences. Courtney will later go on to play Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, and – assuming you count him and Colin Baker bellowing at each other over a helicopter during Comic Relief skit Dimensions in Time – is the only actor to have appeared opposite all seven original classic Doctors. This story was the last of William Hartnell’s appearances with Daleks as the main enemy. They would feature in two of Patrick Troughton’s season four stories, and then enjoy a long rest. They did not appear between 1967’s Evil of the Daleks and 1972’s Day of the Daleks, when they featured in colour on television for the first time. A one-off Dalek cutaway episode – Mission to the Unknown – served as a prequel to this story in October 1965, and this is the only episode of Doctor Who to date not to feature any members of the regular cast. It is missing, but in 2019 it was remounted by students at the University of Central Lancashire with the BBC’s blessing. It can be watched here . Continue reading...