73. The Chase, Part II: The Death of Time

As a two-part story, parts I and II of “The Chase” work reasonably well as a mini-adventure, although I’m guessing we’ll never find out what happens with the Aridians and their struggles with both Mire Beasts and Daleks. I’m not sure how well subsequent episodes will hold up based on my memory of them and the reputation of this story overall. But these two episodes were fairly fast paced without too much padding. I do know enough to be able to identify some Terry Nation tropes:

  • The Daleks exploited and threatened an underground dwelling indigenous race, similar to the Exxilons in “Death to the Daleks.”
  • The story is (at least about to be) broken up into several locations and mini-plots, similar to the Keys of Marinus.
  • The Daleks’ first reveal to the TARDIS crew is dramatic, coming out of the water in “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” and the sand in this story.

Even with these tropes, I still enjoyed the first two parts of this story.

And Vicki gets some funny, understated lines, like when Ian says he needs Barbara’s cardigan for the Daleks, and Vicki says “I hope it suits him.”

Grade: B

Dalek wearing a Santa hat on a snowy British street on Craiyon

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