Cast : The Doctor : Peter Davison
Turlough : Mark Strickson
Tegan : Janet Fielding
Davros : Terry Molloy
Stien : Rodney Bewes
Styles : Rula Lenska
Lytton : Maurice Colbourne
Mercer : Jim Findley
Osborn : Sneh Gupta
Galloway : William Sleigh
Kiston : Leslie Grantham
Professor Laird : Chloe Ashcroft
Col. Archer : Del Henney
Sergeant Calder : Philip McGough
Written By : Eric Saward
Produced By : JNT
First UK Broadcast : 14 – 21 Feb 1984.
Length : 2 x 45 minute episode.
Plot : The Doctor, Turlough and Tegan; materialize the Tardis, in a derelict warehouse-district. Next to Tower Bridge, in London. Here, they come under Dalek attack. Meanwhile, Davros is reawakened and forced to work, on a Dalek cure – to the Movellan plague.
Whats good : Depending on your viewpoint; Tegan leaves. Davros mind-controlling everyone, who wanders into his lab. Eastender’s ‘Dirty Den’ – as Davros’s helper/mechanic.
Whats bad : Depending on your viewpoint; Tegan leaves. The Human-Dalek army uniforms, look terrible. Rather pedestrian story. The Doctor isn’t given any stand-out moments. Dalek ‘Movellan Virus’ death – is just shaving-foam, squirted out of the Dalek costumes.
Review With Spoilers : Each incarnation of the Doctor, is usually defined, following a rumble with either, or both of the two biggest monsters; Daleks and/or Cybermen.
Peter Davison had already definedp, his much more accessible humanistic take – on the Doctor. Following the previous season’s skirmish, with the Cybermen; in Earthshock. Especially, his “human” emotional-argument, about “life’s small things” – with the Cyberleader.
So, when it came time – for the Fifth Doctor to face another great nemesis; the Daleks. Did this further define the Fifth Doctor?
Well, in a word – no! Not really and this is due, to a pretty pedestrian-story about the Dalek liberation, kidnapping, cryogenic-reviving of Davros; to fix the Movellan plague issue.
The story bumps along, the humans have Davros, the Daleks kidnap him back, Davros agrees to work on a cure but secretly begins to build a resistance force, etc, etc.
Sure, the Fifth Doctor is here and takes part in the events but doesn’t really offer, any grand moments of insight – in this caper, other than being present.
Even when the Doctor, grabs a Dalek-gun and decides it’s time to kill Davros, for good. Nothing really comes of it. No great moments, no great speech – nothing.
[The Doctor points a gun at Davros]”You hesitate, Doctor. If I were you, I would be dead!” Davros
I blame the writing, for this. We want the Doctor to show us his worth. Just like [Tom] Baker did, in Genesis Of The Daleks. When he reasoned with the quandry, behind whether he could blow up the Dalek embryos; and decided he couldn’t.
Even McCoy had a career-defining moment, in Remembrance Of The Daleks. When he became the dark and broody destroyer-of-worlds. Setting off the Hand-Of-Omega super-weapon – without hesitation.
Davison doesn’t get this privilege, in Resurrection Of The Daleks; they just allow this moment – to pass, without statement.
That is not to say that Resurrection Of The Daleks – is a bad story or Davison himself, is bad. It’s reasonably entertaining enough, as a Dalek-yarn and would probably, finish as a respectable mid-table finisher; in terms of best-to-worst ever.
For the story itself though, it never really gets out of second-gear. We get plenty of exploding Daleks and humans exterminated and poisoned but it never really builds – to anything substanial.
The only other thing of note here, is the final departing of companion Tegan – at the end. Plus, the escape of Dalek-crony; Lytton (who reappears in Attack Of The Cybermen).
Average fare.
🔵🔵🔵⚪️⚪ (3/5)
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