What a spectacularly Good Friday! This is 1960s Doctor Who at its finest. Two episodes that were thought lost for ever but have now been miraculously found. Returned from the stockpile of an anonymous, recently deceased film collector, passed to the charitable organisation Film Is Fabulous, and thence to the BBC Archives.
The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet are the first and third episodes of the epic 12-part serial, The Daleks’ Master Plan. Broadcast once in the UK in November 1965, watched by 9.1 and 10.3 million viewers respectively, these two programmes haven’t been seen anywhere in the world since then. Until now. Television that was once deemed ephemeral and dispensable will now prove everlasting.
We are looking at future worlds created in the confines of TC3, the third studio at BBC Television Centre in west London; with a little bit of filming at Ealing Studios. There’s Earth in the year 4000. The inhospitable jungle planet Kembel and the prison world Desperus, as well as the wonderful original TARDIS control room and the Daleks’ futuristic base of operations.
The world-building, the hard-nosed, sceptical characterisation and comic-strip storytelling are Terry Nation hallmarks, but much of the drama’s success is down to the masterful direction of Douglas Camfield. He was not an experienced director then (only a year into his career), but what an eye he had for interesting camera angles and movement, creating scale, depth and tension from scant resources.
You really sense that the Space Security agents Kert Gantry (Brian Cant) and Bret Vyon are at their wits’ end, marooned on Kembel. What a joy to observe Nicholas Courtney’s intensity and heroism as Bret in his Doctor Who debut. (Three years later he was of course to become Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, the Doctor chief ally on Earth.)
View oEmbed on the source websiteAs the caption "The Nightmare Begins" plays over Peter Purves’s perspiring brow, you could almost imagine that the next 12 weeks are the wounded Steven’s fever dream. It’s good to see him in action, briefly in the first episode, subduing Bret, then recovered in Devil’s Planet demonstrating his usually forgotten space pilot skills.
Having been almost comedy characters in their previous outing The Chase, here the Daleks are back on form as devious schemers, ruthless killing tanks, menacing in every shot, whether in the jungle or their own high-tech environment. All beautifully, economically designed by Raymond Cusick.
Mavic Chen, the treacherous Guardian of the Solar System, is unquestionably an oddity. While the bald Technix convey a sense of advanced human development, Chen’s make-up is reaching for a multi-ethnic blend that wouldn't be sanctioned these days. Kevin Stoney is immaculate, though, statesman-like and assured but relatively understated, allowing plenty of scope for his character to unravel and explode across 12 weeks.
It’s also lovely to see more of Adrienne Hill’s performance as Katarina. Everything is new to this refugee from Ancient Troy, who just came aboard the TARDIS in the previous story, The Myth Makers, but Hill downplays her bewilderment, giving us a woman in a state of grace. She knows her death is nigh. There are many delightful, unexpected little touches in these two episodes but perhaps my favourite is when Katarina reaches towards a huge screen showing the stars, an image presaging her demise in the following episode. (Someone please find that one!)
It’s charming to see rudimentary but quite skilled model work, from a miniature Dalek on the TARDIS scanner, to Chen’s space vessel in flight, and three flambeaux approaching in the distance on Desperus. There are new props such as the Doctor’s magnetic chair making its solo appearance, and the incandescent taranium core. Perhaps less successful are Roald (Philip Anthony) and Lizan (Pamela Greer), the bland, bantering duo at Earth’s Central Communications, and Zephon (Julian Sherrier), the seaweed-faced council representative, is absurd. Not a grumble, though. It’s great to have more footage of such a Who-ish alien.
Importantly, everything gels. Everything works like a dream or rather a nightmare. Yes, William Hartnell garbles his lines at various points – my favourite fluff being, "The Daleks will stop at anything to prevent us." (The scripted line was "The Daleks will try anything to stop us.") Notwithstanding that, Hartnell is completely in command. Giving his multifaceted portrayal authority, wisdom, tenderness and a keen sense of urgency. He is the Doctor. This is his programme.
I can quite see why several friends, who watched this rambling adventure unfold on its original transmission, have always championed it as their favourite of all time.
Read more:
Classic Doctor Who screening confirmed for newly found episodes with special guests and moreHBO responds to question of a potential Doctor Who partnership with the BBCDoctor Who: The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Dive into our Doctor Who story guide: reviews of every episode since 1963, plus cast & crew listings, production trivia, and exclusive material from the Radio Times archive.
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