Oh the Dalekanity!

An epic 7-parter that picks up exactly where "The Faceless Ones" left off.

With Ben and Polly gone, Jamie steps forward to pick up the slack. He's a real mensch here. Not only does he do the classic things such as going off to save the pretty girl, but he also shows pity on his enemy and gives the Doctor a piece of his mind a couple of times. Jamie is a man of action here, a companion that doesn't just stand around waiting for direction from the Doctor.

The recorder makes a return here - it is 7 parts and so has plenty of time to fill - and the Doctor has that aura of all-knowing as he has figured out things before most of the others/comprehends more than they do, having met the Daleks before. Plus, he throws in plenty of indignation and Troughton does it louder than Hartnell.

I love the Dalek Emperor in looks and sounds. (It would return to battle the Ninth Doctor in 2005.) But, overall, the Daleks are rather wimpy here. They may have overcome the need for sucking up static electricity from the floors, but they were not the mini-tanks that they would become as we see Jamie and Kemel (R.I.P.) throw one down into a drawing room from a 2nd floor hallway and it explodes like a Pinto that has had its bumper gently tapped.

Here the Daleks snare the Doctor and force him to help them with an experiment. They want to isolate what they call the "human element", those human characteristics which help we Earthlings defeat the Daleks time and again. (No help from the Doctor, mind you.) This idea would return to the show in 2007 in "Evolution of the Daleks". It was simply pure fun to see Daleks infected with some humanity frolicking here, giving the Doctor a ride, joyously spinning in circles, etc.

We've also got the scientist blinded by his lust for power along with a fine beard and big mad scientist hair. And we get a new companion - Victoria, who is orphaned like Nyssa.

It's also the end of Troughton's first season, a.k.a. - series 4. His corridor running alone makes his tenure feel, if not exactly modern, then not so ancient. Hartnell went into gremlin mode every once in a while and put a lighthearted spin on the proceedings occasionally but Troughton alternates between a goofy trickster and simply indignant rather often. While Polly did her fair share of screaming, Ben and Jamie are quite often men of action, even if they don't give their actions proper consideration.

I enjoyed the wire work and we got to see something a little different from the Daleks, who bookended the season. Is "The Highlanders" the final pure historical for a while? I think so.

Series 2 to commence soon.