The Doctor Who Mind Robberis saddened to learn of the death of actress Kate O’Mara who was best known to fans of Doctor Whoas the renegade Time Lady, the Rani. O’Mara appeared as an adversary of the Sixth Doctor in The Mark of the Rani(1985) and with the Seventh Doctor in Time and the Rani(1987). O’Mara also starred as the Rani in the 30th Anniversary charity cross over between Doctor Whoand The East Enders, Dimensions ofTime,in 1993. On that occasion she appeared alongside the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors.
Kate O’Mara was most well known for her role as Joan Collins’ sister Alexis Colby in the US soap, Dynasty.You can read more about O’Mara’s career in a BBC news article here. The first video below is one of O’Mara’s last interviews. Recorded on 22 November 2013, O’Mara discusses her role as the Rani in Doctor Who.
In an EXCLUSIVE video we capture the moment when a select group of Time Lords come together to mark 50 years of Doctor Who. Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Matt Smith, all in the same space and time.
On 4 November the Doctor Who Mind Robber reported on Tom Baker’s appearance before the British Press in the lead up to Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary. You can listen to Tom Baker’s responses in full to the press questions in this audio only YouTube upload.
On 20 November the Doctor Who Mind Robberreported on a claim by the Huffington Postthat Tom Baker would appear in the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor. Baker was indeed telling the truth when he stated, ”I am in the special, I’m not supposed to tell you that, but I tell you that very willingly and specifically; the BBC told me not to tell anybody but I’m telling you straightaway.”
Relive Tom Baker’s appearance with the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, at the BBC’s Doctor Whowebsite here.
On 17 November the Doctor Who Mind Robberreported on the mystery of the @dayoftheFishDr hashtag. With the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who has come the resolution of the case and the release of The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Written and directed by the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, the 30 minute faux reality piece chronicles the endeavours of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors to appear in the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. The Fourth Doctor appears in a cameo voice over and the Eighth Doctor briefly indicates his support for the cause.
Although a trailer has been uploaded to YouTube, the feature (which is available on the BBC One Red Button service) can only be accessed by those outside of the UK at the BBC’s Doctor Who website. You can access The Five(ish) Doctors Reboothere.
The Countess of Wessex hosted a special reception for Doctor Who at Buckingham Palace on Monday. In attendance were Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor), Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor), Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor), John Hurt (War Doctor), Jenna Coleman (Clara) and Catherine Tate (Donna). You can read the Mirror’s article on the function here. You can view the BBC’s […]
In a report just published in the “Weird News” section of The Huffington Post,journalist Aaron Sagers has claimed that Tom Baker will return in the Doctor Who50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor.In an exclusive interview with Huff Post, Baker said, “I am in the special, I’m not supposed to tell you that, but I tell you that very willingly and specifically; the BBC told me not to tell anybody but I’m telling you straightaway.”
When asked for a response a BBC Spokesperson stated, “As with William Hartnell’s recent appearance in the last season finale, anything is possible in Doctor Who. But nothing is certain.”
You can read Sager’s article and interview with Tom Baker here.
Meanwhile Tom Baker, together with a number of other Doctor Whoalumni appeared at 50th Anniversary gathering at Buckingham Palace yesterday. Baker is pictured below with the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison.
In the lead-up to Doctor Who’s50th Anniversary, Tom Baker has spoken to members of the British press about his role as the Fourth Doctor. Several excellent articles have been published on Baker’s interview including one on Digital Spy, which includes discussion on the longevity of Doctor Who;why he turned down participating in the 20th Anniversary Special; why he’s never watched Doctor Who;and why, for once, he’ll be watching The Day of the Doctor.
You can read Digital Spy’s article here, and also access a Radio Timesarticle here and a BBC News, Entertainment & Arts article here.
Season four draws to a close with the Daleks’ last appearance in Doctor Who for five years in The Evil of the Daleks. Ranked 18th in the Doctor Who Magazine’s Mighty 200 poll of 2009, this serial bears all the hallmarks of a classic. The most highly placed Second Doctor story in the poll, The Evil of the Daleks displays a hitherto unseen darkness in the Doctor’s character. By melding the BBC’s panache for period piece Victoriana drama and the futuristic world of Skaro, the serial arranges the Daleks in a threatening new light.
The Doctor looks on as Edward Waterfield and Theodore Maxtible discuss their experiment
Written by David Whitaker, The Evil of the Daleks in part draws upon Whitaker’s own Dalek cartoons which were a feature in TV Century 21 magazine. Published over 104 issues in 1965 and 1966, the Dalek cartoons featured a Dalek Emperor, the titular head of the Daleks not hitherto encountered in the television series. In cartoon form the Dalek Emperor was more similar in appearance to the 1988 Dalek Emperor of Remembrance of the Daleks than the large elaborate one of The Evil of the Daleks. That a Dalek spin off cartoon should influence the television production of Doctor Whoclearly exhibits how iconic the Daleks had become in the mythology of Doctor Who during those early years.
The Dalek Emperor first appeared in the David Whitaker penned Dalek cartoons published in TV Century 21 magazine
The Dalek Emperor of the comics was more faithfully reproduced in the 1988 serial Remembrance of the Daleks
The Doctor co-operates with the Daleks in putting Jamie to a test in saving the daughter of Edward Waterfield, Victoria who has been imprisoned by the Daleks. In doing so the Doctor engages in an uncharacteristic argument with Jamie with the sole intention of utilizing reverse psychology to obtain his own ends. The Doctor tells Jamie that he has never purported that “the ends justify the means”, however Jamie consider this to be mere words. “You and me, we’re finished. You’re just too callous for me”, Jamie says to the Doctor. “Anything goes by the board. Anything at all”.
Jamie’s task is to save the companion-in-waiting, Victoria Waterfield, from the Daleks
The test which Jamie was undertaking would enable the Daleks to plot and distil those essential human characteristics that had until then always permitted humans to defeat the Daleks. Courage, pity, chivalry, friendship, and compassion were some of those virtues and emotions that Jamie exhibited in his trial to rescue Victoria. When three dormant Daleks were impregnated with the “human factor” they behaved in a somewhat unexpected manner. Episode five ends with the Doctor being taken for a “train” ride by a Dalek. “Jamie, they’re taking me for a ride” the Doctor exclaims in delight, “they’re playing a game”. Episode six opens with the Doctor advising that the Daleks are only children, but will grow up very quickly – in a matter of hours, in fact. He advises the baby Daleks that Jamie is a friend and to their delight gives each of them a name – Alpha, Beta and Omega.
Jamie and the Doctor drink coffee in a cafe during episode one
Despite their childish play the Daleks do not take on the comic like features that they did in The Chase. The Doctor’s oldest foes remained menacing because of their radical and quick transformation back to their dangerous and menacing form. By impregnating a large number of Daleks with the “human factor” the Doctor incites a Dalek Civil War as the humanized Daleks question the orders of their superiors. Never before had the Daleks questioned “why” they automatically follow commands. This was very much a human trait. Notwithstanding that total genocide of the Daleks is a possible consequence of the Civil War, the Doctor nonetheless encourages their destruction. This is very much at odds with the classic stand of the Fourth Doctor in Genesis of the Daleks.
The Evil of the Daleks – 3D Animation – Prelude to the Civil War
Victoria’s father, Edward Waterhouse, sacrifices himself to save the Doctor
The chief human baddie, Theodore Maxtible, looks surprisingly like our most common images of Karl Marx. I wonder if that was intentional? Although the Daleks were conjured into Maxtible’s 1866 Victorian home by mistake, he is nevertheless keen to make what he can out of the Daleks’ technology. Waterfield co-ops the Doctor and Jamie’s assistance against their will but for the more honourable cause of having his daughter freed. Waterfield is disturbed by the death that surrounds him and his complicity with the destruction caused. When he accuses Maxtible of constantly avoiding reality – that people are dying because of them – Maxtible remains indignant. “We are not to blame for everything that has happened” he said “No English judge or jury would find it in their hearts to convict us of one solitary thing”. The legality of what they had done was not Waterfield’s concern, but clearly the morality of it. He went on to state that he would confess his role in everything once Victoria was released. Unfortunately that opportunity was never afforded to him as he sacrificed his life to save the Doctor.
The character of Theodore Maxtible, played by Marius Goring, bears an uncanny resemblance to Karl Marx
The real Karl Marx
The “human factor” in The Evil of the Daleks would re-emerge in a somewhat different form, as DNA, in the Rob Sherman penned Dalek in 2005. In the first Dalek story of New Series Doctor Who, companion Rose Tyler replenishes a long dormant Dalek by placing her hand upon it. Her DNA enables the Dalek to regenerate its casing and break free of the chains that have bound it. Later the Dalek experiences human emotions as a consequence of the human DNA. Psychologically traumatised by emotions that are alien to Daleks, the Dalek commits suicide after commanding Rose to order its own death. The “human factor” in The Evil of the Daleks, which precipitated questioning, the Dalek Civil War and ultimately the (temporary) Dalek destruction, had the same decimating effect on the pepper pot’s psychology and continued existence in Dalek.
Rose Tyler comforts a Dalek in the 2005 episode Dalek, thereby transferring some of her DNA to it
Rose is compelled to order the Dalek’s own destruction as it is psychologically traumatized by the human DNA
The Evil of the Daleks has aged badly in respect of its racial stereotyping of the character of Kemel. Played by the West Indian born Sonny Caldinez, Kemel is a Turkish wrestler and strongman for Maxtible. Although possessed of almost super-human strength, Kemel is both unintelligent and mute. He’s almost the kind of character that you would expect in a First Doctor story, as William Hartnell was unfortunately infamous for his intolerance of all but Caucasian Englishmen. Sonny Caldinez would go on to play an Ice Warrior in each of the four Ice Warrior themed serials in the Classic Series, The Ice Warriors, The Seeds of Death, The Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon.
Sonny Caldinez played the role of Kemel, a Turkish wrester and strongman
Sonny Caldinez subsequently appeared as an Ice Warrior in four Classic Series stories. He is seen here with the Third Doctor and Alpha Centauri in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
The Evil of the Daleks does leave us with perhaps one of the Doctor’s best ever quotes. In speaking to Terrall the Doctor says, “I am not a student of human nature. I am a professor of a far wider academy, of which human nature is merely a part. All forms of life interest me”. “Professor” is the name that companion Ace playfully called the Seventh Doctor, but I’m rushing ahead of myself here. Join me for my next review where Season five opens with the first 100% complete Second Doctor serial, the iconic Tomb of the Cybermen.
The Evil of the Dalekswas originally broadcast in the UK between 20 May and 1 July 1967. Episode 2 is available on the triple DVD set Lost in Time
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