Day 1 – The Dalek’s Master Plan
What an epic day to start my Doctor Who viewing diary. This particular adventure consists of 12 episodes. The only bad part being that 9 out of the 12 episodes are missing video, but I made it through it nonetheless. In these diaries I’m just going to mention anything that may change majorly (such as changes in the Doctor and companions) and anything of interest in the adventures.
Companions
– Katarina (2 Adventures)
1st companion from the past.
I’ve listed Katarina as being in two adventures, but she more accurately was only a companion for “The Dalek’s Master Plan.” She gets taken hostage by an escaped prisoner aboard a spaceship and sacrifices herself by ejecting both her and the prisoner out of the airlock. This becomes the first companion death on the show, but it will not be the last. On a personal note, I think it was a good decision for her having such a short run. Being from ancient Troy made her kind of annoying since she knew nothing of technology. This made for very boring explanations and annoying exposition.
– Sara Kingdom (1 Adventure)
The Doctor’s 7th companion
Sometimes Sara is not listed as being one of the Doctor’s companions probably due to the fact that she only appears in one adventure. I’ve listed her as a companion because she has traveled through time and space in the TARDIS. Also, she spans multiple episodes (9 out of the 12 in this adventure) and replaced Katarina once she was gone (out into the coldness of space). Sara is a Space Security Agent and is the most aggressive of the female companions yet. Up to this point many of the women on the show have been the stereotypical damsels in distress. It was a welcome change but she becomes the 2nd companion who dies (more on that later).
Adventures
There’s a lot that happened in this epic adventure, but I’ll hit only the important parts. This is the 5th appearance of the Daleks in three seasons and in that time the Doctor has been able to take advantage of a major design flaw. Mainly you can run away from a Dalek if you put mud over the one eye they have (it’s the second time it has been done on the show so far).
The Daleks’ plan for this adventure was to enlist the help of a corrupt government official to obtain the extremely rare mineral taranium. This ore is to be used to power a device named the Time Destructor, whose purpose is a mystery. The Doctor, posing as another diplomat, steals the taranium and takes off in the TARDIS for about half of the adventure while the Daleks try to get it back.
The Daleks with a corrupt government official.
The Doctor, while in ancient Egypt, runs again into the only other Time Lord in the show yet the Monk. During this encounter the Doctor steals the directional unit from the Monk’s TARDIS and is actually able to tell his ship where to go (it’s about time). Needless to say the Daleks eventually get the taranium to power their dangerous device. The Doctor orders Steven and Sara to return to the TARDIS while he activates the Time Destructor himself. Sara disobeys and goes back to help the Doctor, because she thinks he needs the help. The device’s true power is to rapidly age everything in it’s immediate vicinity. This includes both the Doctor and Sara. Since it has been previously mentioned that the Doctor is an alien of some sorts (though this is still a mystery as to his true nature) he is fine, but Sara unfortunately withers to nothing but bones. This device even deteriorates the casings of the Daleks. The only survivor is the Doctor who is left weak. After the device has used up all the taranium Steven exits the TARDIS and brings the weakened Doctor back in. This leaves us with the universe saved and the Doctor down two more companions.
Quote of the Day
“This place is a madhouse. It’s all full of Arabs.” – The Doctor
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