Directed by Christopher Barry
Main Cast-
The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
Polly - Anneke Wills
Ben - Michael Craze
Main Guest Cast-
Lesterson - Robert James
Governor Hensell - Peter Bathurst
Deputy Governor Quinn - Nicholas Hawtrey
Bragen - Bernard Archard
Janley - Pamela Ann Davy
Synopsis-
Ben and Polly are unsure what to make of the man who lies on the floor of the Tardis. Polly seems sure that this is still The Doctor, but Ben isn't so sure. This new Doctor claims to Ben and Polly that he has been "renewed".
The Tardis then lands on the planet Vulcan, where the time travelers discover a dead Earth examiner. This Earth examiner was traveling to Vulcan at the behest of the deputy governor Quinn, to investigate reports of rebels at the colony. The Doctor takes the examiner's badge, and when confronted by security personnel led by security chief Bragen, claims to be the examiner.
The Doctor, Ben and Polly are then take to the Earth colony. The colony's governor, Hensell, is annoyed that an Earth examiner has been called in to look into the problem with the rebels. Quinn is put on trial for summoning the examiner and the governor gives Bragen Quinn's old job.
Meanwhile, one of the scientists at the colony has found what turns out to an old Dalek capsule, with three Daleks on board. The scientist, Lesterson, is detemined to get the Daleks working again. The Doctor wisely advises against this, but Lesterson is undeterred. His assistant, Janely, is secretly working with Bragen, who has plans to take over the colony from Hensell.
The Daleks are soon revived by Lesterson. The Daleks claim to be Lesterson's servants, but the Daleks secretly have plans to create more Daleks and take over the colony. Bragen is planning on using the Daleks in his bid to take over the colony. Before these plans can take shape, the Daleks start an all-out war with the human colonists. The Daleks are winning, and during the battle Bragen kills the governor Hensell.
The Doctor, Ben and Polly, having been thrown in prison by Bragen, escape and return to Lesterson's lab and the Dalek capsule. Lesterson has gone quite mad, but The Doctor is able to turn the Daleks' power source against them, defeating the Daleks. The truth about Bragen comes out, including the fact that Bragen killed the real examiner, and Quinn is made governor of the colony. The Doctor, Ben and Polly then return to the Tardis and resume their travels.
Review:
Whether it was planned or not, it was certainly a shrewd move to have the first adventure with the Second Doctor feature the Daleks. It must be remembered that for us the regeneration of The Doctor is something we expect and can be an eagerly awaited event. Back in the 1960's, this was a brand new concept and there was no guarantee that it would work and that audiences would accept Patrick Troughton as The Doctor. The Daleks, being so popular, would at least guarantee an audience simply by their appearance in the story.
As one might expect with any newly regenerated Doctor, Patrick Troughton is still pretty much feeling his way around the role. His performance, particularly in the first couple of episodes, seems almost subdued. The recorder and the 500 year diary, both trademarks of the Second Doctor, show up almost immediately.
The story itself is a major improvement over the Tenth Planet. While it should come as no surprise that the Daleks are using the humans until such a time as they can take over, it's interesting that Bragen and Janley are hoping to use the Daleks for their own scheme of taking over the colony. Janley, in particular, is quite good at manipulating the trusting Lesterson into reactivating the Daleks, which The Doctor has obviously warned against. It was also quite interesting seeing Lesterson degenerate into madness later in the story.
Power of the Daleks gets the Second Doctor era off to a great start. The story is completely missing from the BBC archives, so you've either got to listen to the audio soundtrack or watch one of the fan-made reconstructions. Even if you aren't a fan of the audio soundtracks or reconstructions, I highly recommend making the effort to listen to or watch a version of Power of the Daleks. It's simply that good.
