“Revelation of the Daleks” is the last adventure of the twentysecond season of “Doctor Who” classic series which aired in 1985. It follows “Timelash” and it’s a two parts adventure written by Eric Saward and directed by Graeme Harper.

The story

The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) arrive on the planet Necros to pay homage to Arthur Stengos, a friend of the Doctor put in suspended animation at Tranquil Repose, a funeral home where people are kept in stasis. The Tardis materializes far from the place of the funeral and they must walk there but they’re attacked by a strange mutant who, before dying, claims to be the victim of genetic experiments.

Natasha, Arthur Stengos’s daughter, suspects that her father’s body has been taken and alongside Grigory enters the Tranquil Repose facility to uncover the truth. The two of them find hideous genetic experiments and the Dalek because Davros is the one running that activity. What’s the relationship with him of a food distribution company?

Extras

This DVD contains a good amount extras. There are typical contents such as production subtitles and a gallery of pictures from this adventure.

There are comments in the adventure alternative audio track by protagonist Nicola Bryant,  actor Terry Molloy, writer Eric Saward and director Graeme Harper.

Revelation Exhumed. A 45-minute documentary on the production of this adventure.

CGI Effects. The option to watch this adventure with some new CGI special effects. The changes are not huge, just some improvements.

In Studio. 15 minutes of recording in the studio taken during the production of this adventure. It’s a filler.

Deleted Scenes. Three scenes that were deleted from the final version of this adventure.

Optional Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix. The option to choose a new version of the soundtrack in the Dolby 5.1 Surround Mix version.

Music-only Option. The option to listen to the soundtrack specially composed by Roger Limb.

Continuity. Some BBC promos for this adventure.

There’s also an “Easter egg” containing the dialogue re-recording for the Dolby 5.1 Surround Mix version.

Eric Saward was “Doctor Who” script editor so in theory he couldn’t write an adventure of this show. However, his contract expired and he wrote the screenplay for “Revelation of the Daleks” before it was renewed.

Generally, “Doctor Who” adventures with the Daleks focused on the fight between the Doctor and his archenemies. “Revelation of the Daleks” is instead a story in which Davros and the Daleks spend most of the time acting in the shadows and the Doctor almost always has a role as a spectator or little more.

There are various subplots that intersect in various ways showing the complexity of the events on the planet Necros. The beginning seems simple with the preparations for the funeral of the agronomist Arthur Stengos but soon the situation turns out to be much more complex. The actions of various characters start developing independently showing motivations and in some cases the agenda for each of them.

Jobel is the supervisor who’s organizing Arthur Stengos’s funeral and he cares only that it turns out spectacular. His assistant Tasembeker is infatuated with him and is interested only in being in his good graces. Natasha and Grigory want to find out if her suspicions are well-grounded. Davros carries out his genetic experiments and takes advantage of the funeral to prepare a trap for the Doctor. Kara owns an interstellar food distribution company and secretly works with Davros but decides to get rid of him. Orcini is a mercenary who has a strong sense of honor and for him killing Davros is a deed with a significance that goes beyond being paid.

Eric Saward was inspired by Colin Baker to create Orcini. In an episode of the TV show “Blake’s 7”, Baker played a dangerous murderer and he did it his way, meaning really over the top. Saward thought that such a character would’ve been better if downplayed with an ice-cold style.

In the plot complexity, the Doctor and Peri spend the first episode just to get to Tranquil Repose and I think this is the main problem with “Revelation of the Daleks”. In the classic “Doctor Who” series, padding was part of several adventures. This adventure is in some way a tryumph of padding because the Doctor and Peri spend half the story going from the Tardis to the Tranquil Repose facility.

It was only towards the end of “Revelation of the Daleks” that the Doctor can really be part of the story but I think the climax isn’t entirely successful. In the course of this adventure there are a few quite convincing explosions but eventually there are more whimpers than bangs.

“Revelation of the Daleks” has a remarkable reputation for its abundance of dark humor, its sophisticated plot with great moments, its interesting characters and the level of production higher than the average in the classic “Doctor Who” series. At that time there was criticism for some violent contents but in my opinion they’re not gratuitous but are part of the story.

I must admit that I’m part of the minority who don’t particularly appreciate “Revelation of the Daleks”. I have no problem with the slow pace typical of “Doctor Who” classic series, especially in the ’60s but in this case I find it really too slow. The DJ who occasionally pops up with some scenes seems a filler to me but obviously this is a subjective evaluation.

Don’t get me wrong, I see the positive elements of “Revelation of the Daleks”, the problem is that to me this seems a story that today could be produced in the new series in a normal episode cutting some unnecessary parts and especially putting the Doctor in the plot from the beginning.

Right before “Revelation of the Daleks” was broadcast, the announcement of the suspension of “Doctor Who” arrived, due to the excuse of the criticisms received lately, especially for its violent contents. The budget had always been limited during the classic series and some BBC executives wanted to divert it to other programs. Other executives simply disliked the show.

“Revelation of the Daleks” was supposed to end with a reference to what was to be the next adventure and that was cut because the plans were changed. “Doctor Who” suspension was only temporary but it was in a sense the beginning of the end for the classic series.

The DVD of “Revelation of the Daleks” is a good quality product, especially the documentary. If the very slow pace of this adventure isn’t a problem you’ll very probably like it.