Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Master Plan – an ambitious epic that surprisingly pays off
By James Aggas
The Daleks’ Master Plan is probably one of the most ambitious Doctor Who stories ever made. But does that make it a strong story?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Daleks’ Master Plan is one of the longest Doctor Who serials in history. But does the serial work well as a whole?
The Daleks’ Master Plan is a Doctor Who story that I definitely have a soft spot for. The last Dalek story for the First Doctor, it was also arguably the most ambitious. At twelve episodes long, it’s one of the longest stories in Doctor Who history.
For comparison, that’s two episodes longer than the epic Second Doctor story The War Games and just two episodes shorter than The Trial of a Time Lord! (Although arguably, that one’s really four stories in one.)
Naturally, there was a lot that could’ve gone wrong by telling a story for that length. It could have suffered greatly from padding, as so many stories of just six episodes tend to do in the Classic Series. It could have ran out of steam, or just come across as a huge let-down.
But it doesn’t. While it’s certainly not without its problems, The Daleks’ Master Plan is a very strong serial that truly lives up to its ambition.
One reason that it’s so successful is the overall tone of the epic. The previous serial The Chase was, overall, rather lighter and sillier compared to the first two Dalek stories. So honestly, while it’s an entertaining watch, it’s a bit of disappointment for Dalek fans.
However, Master Plan on the other hand kicks off as an immediately darker affair. In fact, even before it begins, it’s clearly intended to be an extremely dark story, thanks to Mission to the Unknown.
Mission to the Unknown set the tone for The Daleks’ Master Plan before it had even truly begun!
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
Mission to the Unknown
The only episode in the Classic Series not to actually feature either the Doctor or his companions, this was a prelude episode that focused on brand new characters discovering the Daleks’ new plan. By the end, every single one of the protagonists had been killed off before they could warn Earth of the danger.
However, despite their deaths, it still sets up Master Plan very nicely, as it begins with Space Security Agent Bret Vyon (played by a pre-Brigadier Nicholas Courtney) investigating his friend’s death. He then uncovers a major conspiracy that involves the Daleks, the leaders of several alien races, and the Guardian of the Solar System himself: Mavic Chen.
This brings me to the second key reason that Master Plan is so successful. Kevin Stoney gives an absolutely brilliant performance in the role of Chen. Someone who’s clearly hungry for power, but also dangerously intelligent. But how far will his ambition go? And how long will the Daleks tolerate his lust for power?
Across the whole serial, Stoney continues to give an excellent performance in the role, and gives us one of Doctor Who‘s best villains. Even better, this isn’t the only time he’s done that! Just a few years later, he played Tobias Vaughn in The Invasion.
Once again, at eight episodes, it’s another extremely long serial. Throughout the story, he really helped to sell the ambition and greed of the character, while bringing plenty of charm and class to the role.
Across many episodes and many worlds, The Daleks’ Master Plan had a huge sense of scale, making it a true Doctor Who epic.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
An epic with a huge scale
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There’s another reason why Master Plan is such a good story: the plot keeps moving at a decent rate. For twelve episodes, there’s surprisingly little padding in this serial. Across twelve episodes, the Doctor and his companions – who’ve stolen a valuable part of the Daleks’ greatest weapon, the Time Destructor – travel across so many worlds while running from the Daleks.
These include Kembel, a prison world, Earth, a planet of invisible creatures, Hollywood, a volcano world, ancient Egypt before finally getting back to Kembel again for the big finale. That’s a lot of scope for one story, so the fact that it is twelve episodes long definitely suits it.
But if the sheer scope of the story wasn’t enough, there’s also how dangerous it is. Because this is one of very few Doctor Who stories where the companions die. More than once, in fact. It’s definitely a bold choice to make, especially this early on in the show. But it really does help add to the dark and gritty tone of the story.
Overall, The Daleks’ Master Plan is an incredible achievement. It’s dark, gritty, epic, and a great final Dalek story for the First Doctor. It’s amazing to think just how well it works overall.
Next. How The Deadly Assassin shaped Gallifrey and the Time Lords. dark
Although, if the story does have one significant flaw, then it’s the Christmas episode, The Feast of Steven. Set right in the middle of the serial, this really is a bizarre and frankly out of place episode. How strange is it? Well, we’ll be covering that very, very soon…