He’s gone. The Doctor whom we have
grown to know over the past three seasons is gone, replaced by a complete
stranger. There was no word of warning, no explanation, nothing. This newcomer
doesn’t look like the Doctor, sound like him, or even act like him. Even his
clothes are different. But by the time “The Power of the Daleks” comes to its
conclusion, there is no denying that Patrick Troughton IS The Doctor.
When he first wakes up in the TARDIS,
Troughton’s Doctor is at once a stranger and yet somehow familiar. He has some
of Hartnell’s irascibility, but then adds a sense of impish fun that his
predecessor rarely exhibited. His clothes are different but echo his previous
costume just enough that if you squint really hard, they look like a dime store
version of the old Doctor’s getup. What is genius about Troughton is that from
the start he made no effort to mimic his predecessor, but rather, to start
fresh. He may refer to “The Doctor” in the third person offhandedly, but his
characterization is so very strong that the audience has no reason to doubt
that this strange little man is the same Doctor we knew.
Of course, I have the benefit of fifty
years of Doctor Who history to draw upon. I already know that this stranger is
indeed a “renewed” Doctor, and all that’s left is to see how this newcomer
deals with the Daleks. It is that relationship, between the Doctor and the Daleks,
which cements this man as the Doctor in just six episodes. His relationships
with Polly and Ben are the home audience stand-in, and Michael Craze in
particular delivers a great performance, echoing the disbelief and doubt that
viewers at home would be experiencing. But when the Doctor and the Daleks are
face to face (well, so to speak) there is recognition there that goes beyond
the physical. These enemies know each other.
The story also shows the Daleks in a
slightly different aspect. With the possible exception of “The Daleks Master Plan”
no previous story showed the Daleks to be so cunning and manipulative. They don’t
just arrive on Vulcan, gunsticks blazing, to take over the colony. They *wait*
for the right moment, the right set of circumstances, going so far as to pose
as subservient in order to lull their new “masters” in to a false sense of
security. In their first appearances, the Daleks inhumanity – no human
features, a grating mechanical voice – was enough to instill fear. Here, it is
their very human *sneakiness” that makes them so scary. They’re not just
killing machines, but killing machines who plan and connive. I was creeped out
by the Daleks here more than I have been by any other Dalek story to this
point.
After watching William Hartnell’s
years on the show, he became a comfortable presence as the Doctor. The series
could have easily ended when it came time for him to leave the show. Patrick Troughton’s
arrival already breathes a spark of life into the series. There is an air of
mystery which hadn’t been really seen since Season One. Additionally, there is
a sense of *fun*. This new Doctor gets the job done, but has no problem with
acting silly while he does it. What’s amazing is that this will be the template
for Troughton’s entire run, his characterization remaining remarkably
consistent. Contrast this with the early Hartnell stories where The Doctor was,
at best, a cantankerous anti-hero. The gradual mellowing of his character was
needed and served the series well. By the time Troughton started, the
production team, and the home audience as well, knew what the “core” of the
Doctor was. They can dress him up, he can wear whatever face he likes, but
above it all, “The Power of the Daleks” makes one thing abundantly clear –
Patrick Troughton is the Doctor. We’re in for a hell of a ride.
NEXT
EPISODE: The Highlanders
"The
Power of the Daleks " novelization cover, courtesy The TARDIS Data Core at
tardis.wikia.com
