I, Mavic Chen, will decide when the alliance is at an end!
It is probably best when kicking off the later portion of this story to just pretend Episode Seven didn't happen. That leaves a better narrative flow. Of course, jumping over Episodes Eight and Nine wouldn't hurt either.
Plot Summary
Episode Eight continues the journey of the TARDIS crew. They note a pursuing time ship and, after a few hops, land on a volcano in a far galaxy. There they are confronted by the Meddling Monk, last seen trapped in 1066 at the end of The Time Meddler. He sabotages the TARDIS lock but the Doctor manages to get it open and take off. The Doctor then lands in ancient Egypt to make repairs to the lock. The Monk follows along with a Dalek time ship. The Daleks confront the Monk but Mavic Chen convinces them to allow the Monk to steal the weapon core in exchange for his life. The Monk confronts the Doctor but the Doctor gets the drop on him. He is found by Steven and Sarah and together they look for the Doctor but are captured by the Daleks. Mavic Chen trades the hostages for the weapon core. The Doctor and his companions flee, having stolen the directional unit from the Monk's TARDIS. This allows the Doctor to fly back to planet Kembel while the Monk can only wander aimlessly.
Back on Kembel, the Doctor rushes into the jungle. Steven and Sarah pursue him but lose track of him. They enter the city but find it deserted except for the delegates who have been betrayed and locked up. Sarah releases them and they return to their respective galaxies to order their armies to turn on the Daleks, except Mavic Chen who fakes his own death. He captures Steven and Sarah and takes them to see the Daleks, demanding that the Daleks obey his commands. The Daleks stun him, carry him away from the Time Destructor weapon and exterminate him. While they are away, the Doctor enters and activates the Time Destructor. The Daleks cannot fire on him as they risk destroying the weapon and themselves. The Doctor orders Sarah and Steven back to the TARDIS while he follows. Steven makes it back but Sarah leaves Steven and doubles back to the Doctor. The Doctor is slowly aging as is the planet around him. Sarah follows the Doctor but the effects of the Time Destructor cause them both to collapse outside the TARDIS. Steven sees them on the scope and heads out to help them. He manages to reverse the flow of the Time Destructor, sending time backwards and reverting the Doctor back his regular age. Sarah had already turned to dust and was not revived. Steven drags the Doctor into the TARDIS while the Time Destructor regresses the Daleks to the point of non-life. Eventually the Time Destructor burns itself out and Steven and the Doctor leave Kembel.
Analysis
This is probably the point where Dalekmania started to wain. The first six episodes were a fairly well paced story. Episode Seven is a comedy detour but it's lack of involvement in the overall story allows it to be bypassed. Picking things back up in Episode Eight, one would expect things to dive back in to the previous pace. Instead we get very obvious padding. Not only is it padding, but it is light, comedic padding as well since Episode Eight coincided with New Year's and the powers that be felt that it also should be easy on the audience. Unlike The Feast of Steven though, Episode Eight actually continues the plot and can't be overlooked readily. It marks a very strong contrast with the first six episodes which moved well. I found myself starting to doze at a few points, especially in Episode Nine which has long portions of minimal dialogue. That might work if the episode existed, but sound effects only in a recon does not make for attention grabbing storytelling.
Episode Ten brought us back in to the realm of moving pictures and it is a welcome improvement. It also helps that the Monk stopped being an antagonist and more of a treacherous ally (like the Master in a few notable stories). The return of the Daleks and Mavic Chen especially as the focus villains improved things a good deal.
Things wrap up well, although it's obvious that William Hartnell goes on holiday for Episode Eleven. But, Sarah and Steven make it so that the Doctor's absence is less noticeable, despite mentioning him in every other sentence. It is a real shame that Episode Twelve does not exist as I would have been very interested to see how they handled the rapid aging of Sarah and the Doctor and then the rapid de-aging of the Daleks. I imagine it would have also landed a greater emotional impact.
In the comparison between Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner, I'd say Terry Nation comes up better in this one. Spooner had the dramatic resolution in Episode Twelve, but Episodes Eight through Eleven have moments that drag and it just feels less tense than the first half. Story fatigue may also play a factor, although I think if the villain focus had not shifted in the middle, it would have done better.
Overall, it's a good story, but the drag factor is hard to ignore. I think if all episodes were recovered I'd enjoy watching this again, but with nine of twelve episodes being recons and one of those being the complete oddball that is The Feast of Steven, I can't see myself picking this one up again anytime soon. I was leaning towards a 3.5 for the first half and if they had then jumped to the resolution in Episode Twelve, it probably would have stayed there as a solid seven-part story. But it is hard to overlook how the other five episodes drag it down.
Overall personal score: 2.5 out of 5
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