Episode #142 : Revelation of the Daleks

Davros: "This part of the galaxy is developing quickly. Famine was one of its major problems."

The Doctor: "You turned them into food?"

Davros: "A scheme which has earned me great acclaim."

The Doctor: "But did you bother to tell anyone that they might be eating their own relatives?"

Davros: "Certainly not! That would have created what I believe is termed... "consumer resistance."

Episode 142:    Revelation of the Daleks.
Companions:   6th Doctor and Peri.
Air Date:          23rd to 30th March 1985.

The Doctor and Peri arrive on the planet Necros where, in a facility called Tranquil Repose presided over by Mr Jobel and his assistant Tasambeker, the wealthy can have their newly-deceased bodies cryogenically frozen until such time as medical science can cure whatever killed them. The Doctor wishes to pay his last respects to his friend Professor Arthur Stengos, and also to assuage some nagging suspicions about the man's death. His suspicions prove justified, as it turns out that this is just a ruse to lure him into a trap. The Great Healer masterminding Tranquil Repose is Davros, who is using the organic material in the cryogenic storage units both as the raw material for the synthetic food that is Necros's biggest export and also to create a whole new army of Daleks with which to take control of the universe.

The story of Davros and the Daleks continues in Revelation of the Daleks. A decent adventure but one with a handful of issues that do spoil it just ever so slightly for me. As a story by itself it is quire reasonable and includes a few things that will reappear much later on in the new Who series, such as Daleks made from human flesh, levitating Daleks and Davros having a ranged electrical attack (though how and where he got that is another matter). There is no explanation for how he survived the Movellan virus but he obviously did.

The real issues that spoil this are length and padding. Revelation is made from two episodes each 45 minutes in length. While the same as a modern episode in this case both suffer horribly from padding to stretch the story out. Part one is horrible for this and it is a wonder that viewers didn't switch channels out of boredom. Even now, watching this adventure for the blog I found myself fiddling with my phone or looking for something to pass the time. Had it been better fleshed out I think this story could well have raised a rating.

The last issue and this does bug me somewhat is the inclusion of quest celebrity Alexi Sayle as a weird DJ for the dead. If you don't know who Alexi Sayle is, he was a well known anarchic comedian in the 1980s. Unfortunately he carries his zanny act into the role of the DJ and it really grates on my nerves because it just doesn't fit in the story.

Revelation of the Daleks continues elements of the Dalek civil war plot that started in their last appearance with the 5th Doctor. Davros is seeking to create a whole new race of Dalek which will be loyal to him and allow him to conquer the universe. He may have succeeded had others on Necros not contacted the Dalek empire and alerted them to Davros' presence on the planet. It doesn't fit in too well because surely the Daleks would have just exterminated everyone on the planet and then taken Davros away to Skaro?

Revelation of the Daleks is not a bad story providing you can sit through it fine and not worry about plot holes.