N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
Probably because I’d first seen in Revelation of the Daleks its four-part version, by the time Orcini’s leg got blown off, I’d forgotten it was an artificial limb, which caused me to yell ‘F*@k me!’ in expletive surprise at the TV, thinking Doctor Who had gone all Paul Verhoeven.
Lucky for me my mother wasn’t in the room!
“I have a bomb and I would like to explode it.”
Orcini,
Revelation of the Daleks: Part Two
In addition to Orcini’s dismemberment, there’s Tasambeker plunging a syringe into Jobel’s chest (albeit ineptly), Bostock stabbing a guard, Orcini piercing the duplicitous Kara through the heart, Bostock shooting Davros’s hand off (complete with shot of the Dalek creator’s fingers lying on the ground).
Before that there’s the gruesome and genuinely disturbing Stengos glass Dalek in Part One, and Natasha’s subsequent patricide. Throw in Grigory’s alcoholism, Jobel’s creepy pursuit of Peri (and general sleaziness), Davros’s cannibalising (literally) of human body parts and the regular carnage we’ve come to expect from any Dalek serial and you have a story that takes the darker tone of season 22 and ramps it up to 11.
But what a story it is, with Eric Saward spinning about half-a-dozen plates in terms of plot in Part One and bringing them all together in Part Two. Revelation of the Daleks is Saward’s finest hour (and a half) on Doctor Who, no doubt. It helps matters considerably that Graeme Harper is at the helm, with his stylish visuals once again complemented by Roger Limb’s at times militaristic score.
It’s not all grim violence, there’s plenty of wit on display here (‘No arm in trying.’ being another clever punning quip), and excellent performances from many of the guest actors. William Gaunt’s Orcini is a particular stand-out.
“Oh, I suppose anywhere will be peaceful after Necros. All right, I’ll take you to B–“
The Doctor,
Revelation of the Daleks: Part Two
In a parallel universe, this Doctor Who adventure would have been succeeded by Graham Williams’ The Nightmare Fair, in which the Doctor and Peri battle the Celestial Toymaker in Blackpool. Because the production team chose (somewhat unnecessarily to my mind) to mute the Doctor’s last word and end on a freeze frame, it does leaves us with the fun of speculating whereabouts beginning with ‘B’ the Doctor intended to take Peri.
To Bingo? Tobogganning? To bed?
Of course, in another universe, this might instead have been the final Doctor Who adventure. If the show had ended here Revelation of the Daleks would’ve been a hell of a way to go out!
