Settings: Aridius (The Chase)

Although, at six parts, The Chase is not exceptionally long for its era, it does visit more than the usual number of settings. The third of the Dalek stories, it’s generally not as well regarded as the other two, scoring middling to low with many older fans. But, as so often, there is disagreement here, with many finding it one of the more entertaining Hartnell stories, not least because of its scope – plus, it has to be said, a particularly good final sequence after the Dalek defeat. Either way, the fact that it visits two distinct alien worlds and multiple points in Earth’s history gives plenty to build on. 

As with An Unearthly Child, the differing settings means that my coverage of this story will be split into two posts. This one covers the first three episodes, focussing on the alien world where it all starts off.

Settings: The Space Museum on Xeros

With the next story, we are off to an alien planet again, albeit one inhabited by a race virtually indistinguishable from humans – if, indeed, they’re supposed to be distinct at all. The opening episode, which plays with the concept of time, is reasonably popular, but what follows drags the whole down for most fans. But, as usual, that isn’t a universal opinion. Unlike, say, The Sensorites, very few people seem to really like this, but a significant minority regard it as middling rather than weak. The problem, as so often in this era, is usually cited as being the slow pacing, with some claiming that Vicki only starts the revolution because she’s bored by the plot up to that point. The setting is also, perhaps, less memorable than the likes of Marinus or Vortis… but let’s see what we can do with it.

Where & When

The story is set on the planet Xeros, within the interstellar Morok Empire. No date is given for the story, but it clearly takes place later than The Dalek Invasion of Earth because of the design of the Dalek seen in the museum. Although it’s not obvious that the Moroks are also specifically aware of humans, we can at least say that the story is not set so far ahead that the exhibit has obviously degraded. This probably places it a few centuries into our future and, fitting with this, the tie-in media have tended to select dates towards the end of the third millennium.