Doctor Who Story 104 Destiny of the Daleks by Ken Grieve (1979)
6 March 2008A mediocre Tom Baker adventure as Doctor Who. Enjoyable that it has the Daleks and is the first episode of the second Romana (Lalla Ward who had just played Princess AStra in the Armageddon Factor and who ended up marrying Baker for a short period), but obviously low budget, and not too hard workout out. I love when for set pieces they have little spot lights on stands. I mean that doesn’t throw you out at all does it? Still it was Tom Baker Doctor who, so I still had fun watching it.
Using the randomizer so as not to run into enemy hands, the Tardis lands a planet that is strangely familiar to the Doctor (Tom Baker). K-9 is suffering from Laryngitis, and Romana (Lalla Ward) comes out in the form of Princess Astra having just regenerated, the Doctor wants her to take another form, but this is the one she wants, so he relents, and the two head out. The planet has very high levels of radiation, so they take pills and head out, but their are seismic disturbances and explosions. They watch some humanoids burry a body, and then watch a spaceship come and land and half burry itself in the sand, they are going to investigate, but explosions make them enter ruins, where a girder falls on the doctor. Romana goes back to get K-9, but discovers that the Tardis has been partially burried, and when she returns, the Doctor is gone. The Doctor has been taken by a silver haired high tech race called the Movellans. Romana sees a man, and runs to hide and ends up captured by the Daleks.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
The Doctor talks to Sharrel (Peter Straker) the commander of the Movellans, who tells them they are on planet Skaro, and the Doctor knows that is the home of the Daleks.
The Daleks put Romana to work in a drilling site under the ruins. ANd she eventually plays dead so she can be thrown out, and hopefully found by the doctor.
The Movellans take the man who was following Romana prisoner, this is Tysan from Earth Tim Barlow) and he tells the Doctor of Romana’s capture, so they go to rescue her, and manage to get her out of her grave, and she is of course fine.
The Doctor realizes that the Daleks are digging to find Davros (David Gooderson) who must have survived their last encounter somehow. And they use a secret entrance he knows to go and find him. The Doctor hides with Davros and sends out Romana to get help. The Doctor and Davros talk about what is going on, and realzie that the Movellans are also a robotic race, and that the battle computers of the 2 races are not able to defeat the other, as they are too logical, so they need that living spark to be able to win the hundred year old battle, so the Daleks want Davros, but so do the Movellans. When the Daleks come, the doctor manages to escape with an explosive.
Meanwhile the Movellans have knocked out Romana and put her in a chamber with a device that could destroy the planets whole atmosphere, and they use it to lead in the Doctor, who they will use to defeat Davros. The Doctor is taken, but the bomb was not set.
The Doctor knows what he needs to do to stop the stalemnate, but won’t do it. Davros sends the Daleks on a suicide mission to kill the Movellans. The Doctor, Romana and Tyssan disable the Movelans and head to stop Davros and the Movellans planet destroying bomb. Romana stops the bomb, and the doctor stops the Daleks, and captures Davros. THey lock Davros in the ship with Tyssen and the other prionsers to stand trial for his crimes, and the Doctor and Romana leave.
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Overall a silly but fun Doctor who adventure.