Settings: Kembel (Mission to the Unknown)

Mission to the Unknown is an unusual episode. It’s a single 25-minute tale, and thus the shortest regularly broadcast Doctor Who story. Moreover, it does not feature any of the regular cast, functioning instead as a prolonged ‘cold open’ for the next-but-one serial. For this reason, it’s often either skipped or dealt with briefly in written accounts of the Hartnell stories. For the purposes of this blog, however, The Daleks' Master Plan has plenty to cover as it is, leaving this post free to look at Kembel. 

Where & When

The story is explicitly set in the year 4000, on the planet Kembel. This is an unclaimed world not directly controlled or claimed by any external power. The date is notably later than that of any of the earlier Hartnell serials, and The Daleks' Master Plan refers to the fact that technology has advanced since the time of the latter half of The Chase. Later stories will place it as (probably) happening during the early years of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire, which reaches its height a little over a century later.

Settings: Mechanus (The Chase)

The Chase is structured in three two-episode segments. First, there is the section on Aridius, then a couple of largely comedic episodes based on the chase itself, and then a final show-down with the Daleks. Thus, while this post will largely focus on that finale, it will also cover the “spooky” comedy of episode four.

When I started this series, I stated that updates would be very irregular. It hasn’t turned out that way, but the time has now come when my schedule requires me to take a break and concluding with a serial that feels like a season finale (even if it isn’t one) is as good a place as any. I have every intention of returning in the new year and moving on to season three, but the dates are uncertain. 

Where & When

The closing segment of the story is set on the planet Mechanus, close to, or just beyond, the edge of human-inhabited space. There is no indication of the date in the story, and the tie-in media have come up with various interpretations ranging from the 22nd to the 36th century. The more popular assumption, however, seems to be that it’s in the mid-third millennium, somewhere between the settings of The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Rescue. This is the sort of question that would have to be answered in a game (since we do interact with people from Earth) but here, I’ll just note that various options exist.

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: Dalek Invasion of Earth

The Dalek Invasion of Earth has a significant place in the ongoing development of the series. It’s the first returning “monster”, the first companion departure, and the first story to feature more than a few moments of outdoor filming. The latter gives it a less claustrophobic feel than many prior serials and gives a potentially large canvas on which to draw for gaming, aided by the fact that it’s also the first story to be set on Earth in the future. It’s almost universally cited as one of the better stories of the Hartnell era, sometimes even the best overall. And, in this instance, the setting also happens to be one that lends itself well to gaming.

Where & When

The exact date is never given in the story, but we do see an old 2164 calendar, so it’s no earlier than that. While there is some wiggle room depending on exactly how old the calendar is, based on a line in a later story, fan consensus generally takes the year as being 2167. The story is initially set in London and later moves to Bedfordshire.

Settings: Skaro (The Daleks)

The second serial in the TV show’s history is, of course, the one that ensured its survival and first made it big. In many respects, the story has a different version of the titular aliens than appear in any other. I’ve covered Daleks in game terms previously, but here we’re concerned with the setting and story. Specifically, we’re interested in the version of the planet that we see in this particular serial, largely ignoring what will come later. 

Where & When

The story is set on the planet Skaro. The few stories that have attempted to give any hint as to where this might be in relation to Earth generally place it in a different galaxy but all we can say with certainty is that it’s a long way away.

Since the story, taken on its own terms, has no connection with Earth, the date is equally impossible to determine. As one might expect, multiple different theories have been advanced, some placing it very early in Dalek history, before they developed space flight, others in the far future, when a forgotten and degenerate group have been left behind on their home planet, cut off from their fellows. Most go for somewhere in between, often one or two centuries into our future, but it's probably more accurate to say that we just don’t know.

DW Monsters: Daleks

The next story is Dalek, and it’s finally time to try and cover the most iconic, and frequently-used, of all the Doctor Who “monsters”. I’ve left them this long mainly because they’re such a big topic that it’s easier to do other races first, but also because they are quite complex. Given their greater number of appearances than Cybermen, it’s notable that they’ve changed rather less than that race has, but even so, and ignoring unique and variant individuals, I’ll need to cover at least three different versions in their evolution over the 60 years of the series so far.

Appearances

The race first appeared way back in the first season in 1963, as literally the first “monster” in the series’ history. That first appearance was followed by at least fourteen further Dalek stories in the classic series (arguably more, if you count brief appearances) with at least one for every Doctor up to the Seventh. As I write this, there have been sixteen unequivocal Dalek stories in the modern series, but such is their popularity that if you are reading this even one year after I penned it, there’s a good chance that that number will have increased.