Review of Resurrection of the Daleks: SE (#133)
DVD Release Date: 12 Jun 12
Original Air Date: 08-15 Feb 1984
Doctor/Companion: Five, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough
Stars: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson
Preceding Story: Frontios (Five, Tegan, Turlough)
Succeeding Story: Planet of Fire (Five, Turlough, Peri)

The TARDIS crew unravelled pretty quickly at the end of Five’s tenure. First – here – Tegan bows out, then Turlough immediately thereafter. Having picked up Peri during Turlough’s swan song, Five then completes his last adventure with her. Bam, bam, bam! In quick succession, two Companions and a Doctor were all out; everything was completely changed up by the end of the series.

So in a sense, Resurrection marks the end of an era. Tegan’s been with Five since the beginning, and with this, she’s gone. Change is on the wind (“and not a moment too soon,” if you believe some folks). Of course, as some things change, others stay the same.

First, the Daleks are back. They (and their minions) are more effectively brutal than before – the body count in this story is insanely high; just about everyone dies (including some innocent bystanders), excepting about three baddies and our heroes – but they’re still Daleks, and as such are somewhat predictable. I have to say the new helmets they’ve forced their troopers to wear are good for a laugh, though.

Also, Turlough’s in fine form, doing his best at every turn to follow his instincts for self-preservation over altruism. He’s the quintessential reluctant hero. Having been conveniently separated from the rest (more business-as-usual) within the first few minutes, that penchant for saving his own skin is allowed to run rampant.

The Doctor gives me awkward, contradictory vibes, though. He’s his usual we-must-save-the-universe-from-the-Daleks self, but his methods are a bit vicious, too. I suppose one could argue he still never does violence except in defense of himself or another, but he seems to have no qualms about emptying a clip into an un-cased Dalek or infecting … hundreds? thousands? of them. Maybe that’s part of his Thing. But what, then, is the difference between these actions and shooting Davros? He hesitates, and more than long enough for Davros to bait him. I know – plotting! But it still bugged me.

And what of Tegan? With all this Dalek foolishness, there’s precious little time to devote to her in what should probably have been a bit more of a Tegan-specific story. There are some interesting moments, though. For instance, I love that she is clever (and seasoned) enough to notice a relatively subtle clue – a gun belt – that tells her all is not well.

My previous viewings have left me wondering exactly why this time is so different for her. What made her choose now to leave? Sure, there’s a ridiculous amount of death, but she’s seen such things before. This time, I think I pinpointed the moment that cemented her decision: the death of the man with the metal detector. The idea of her somehow being important enough – influential enough – that others would be killed to force her into a certain course of action must have been horrifying to her (and having her female co-conspirator slaughtered soon thereafter can’t have helped). So that’s my new take: Tegan got a clearer view of what it means to be a Player than ever before, and she didn’t much care for it. She didn’t want to give anyone else the opportunity to use her to further their ends that way. Time to go.

I know some folks don’t like Tegan – the “mouth with legs” – but I’ve always been rather fond of her. So the end of Resurrection – as I’ve said before – always makes me a bit sad. Whatever else this story did, at least it gave her an emotional parting scene.

[On a completely side note, my daughters watched about half of Episode 1 (4-part version) with me one day. While one girl declared that she “did not like it at all!” the other said both that it was “a little too scary” (as she cuddled tightly next to me) and that “I loved it!” I may make a Whovian out of her yet…]

DVD Extras (highlights)

Alternate Four-part Version

Personally, I prefer my pre-Hiatus Who in four 25-minute parts instead of two 45- or 50-minute parts, so I enjoyed this option. The Ep. 1 to Ep. 2 cliffhanger that resulted is actually quite good, in my opinion, but the 3 to 4 offering is a bit blah. Go with your personal two- or four-part preference, as both are available and each has its advantages.

Come In Number Five

Since a “making of” had essentially already been done for the first release in 2002 (“On Location”), the Special Edition needed something else. Enter David Tennant, to narrate a nearly hour-long piece on Peter Davison’s time in the TARDIS, from casting to “Time Crash.” The wide array of varying opinions is actually rather fascinating to watch tripping out of various people’s mouths, and there are more of the behind-the-scenes tidbits than came out of “On Location.”

Tomorrow’s Times: The Fifth Doctor

This installment of one of my favorite series of extras is narrated by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon, Companion to Two). As usual, the snark of the fickle press is fascinating to explore in hindsight. (I find it interesting that it was widely reported that Davison’s replacement would be a woman…)

Casting Far and Wide

Toby Hadoke takes another turn as interviewer of random bit-players, discussing how their appearances in this particular Who story fit into their various, varied careers. Included are Roger Davenport (“Dalek trooper”), Del Henney (“Colonel Archer”), Leslie Grantham (“Kiston”), Jim Findley (“Mercer”), and William Sleigh (“Galloway”).

While I can’t honestly say this is one of my favorite Dalek stories, there are certainly worse. It’s adequate, serves its purpose, and even if there was a totally random and immediately-forgotten subplot early in Episode 2 (or 3, in the four-part version), at the time it would probably have been seen by the audience as a welcome return of a favorite villain after a four-and-a-half-year absence. If only we were given the time to miss them like that these days.