N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
Rodney Bewes a Dalek agent? A ‘likely‘ story!
It’s hard to disagree with the conclusion reached by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker in Doctor Who: The Television Companion that with Resurrection of the Daleks it seems as though Eric Saward is trying to do for Daleks what he did so successfully for the Cybermen in Earthshock: in short, re-invent them as a gritty and genuine threat.
Some of the tropes and characteristics it shares with the former story are as follows:
“The universe is at war, Doctor. Name one planet whose history is not littered with atrocities and ambition for empire. It is a universal way of life.”
Davros, Resurrection of the Daleks: Part Two
Indeed Resurrection of the Daleks is a bloodbath from start-to-finish (the 80’s was the time of the violent action hero movie after all).
Most of the 50+ onscreen deaths are of the ‘mow ’em down in the line of duty’ kind, but even amongst such wholesale massacre a few stand out: in particular the gruesome leprotic deaths as a result of the gas grenades, the fake policeman brutally shooting an unfortunate metal detectorist when chasing Tegan and Lytton’s ruthless dispatching of the final trooper with a ‘They’re dying. And so are you.’
Davros’s grim summation of the state of the universe, in which war and atrocity are the ways of life, captures the pervading mood.
Yet, for all of this, Resurrection of the Daleks is never quite as engaging as it should be. Perhaps it’s the sheer level of desensitising slaughter that drags it down? Or that the Daleks and Davros never really feel quite threatening enough? (Unlike Lytton, who’s obviously a complete bastard.)
Casting Rodney Bewes as a Dalek agent is perhaps not quite as batshit-crazy as casting Beryl Reid as a starship captain (although it’s getting up there) but, as with the story in general, it never quite works for me.
Yet Resurrection of the Daleks is almost saved by a brilliant final scene. After so many deaths you can hardly blame Tegan for leaving, although I can’t help but think, on a practical note, she might have taken the time to pack a few things before she left.
And I still wonder what questions she had to answer regarding the death of her Aunt Vanessa. (Eric Saward’s unexpected coda to his recent novelisation doesn’t really make things any clearer.) Will Tom Georgeson be getting a phone call saying a woman matching Miss Jovanka’s description has been spotted near Tower Bridge?
