THE STORY
The TARDIS arrives in London in November 1963, where the Doctor and Ace discover two factions of Daleks - one loyal to the Dalek Emperor, and one to the Dalek Supreme - are seeking the Hand of Omega, a powerful Time Lord device that the first Doctor hid there during his earlier stay on Earth. The Daleks are focusing their search around Coal Hill School - the school that the Doctor's grand-daughter Susan attended - while a military unit led by Group Captain Gilmore is attempting to remove the alien menace. The Doctor tries to keep Gilmore and his team out of harm's way while the two Dalek factions battle each other for control of the Hand.
The imperial Daleks eventually overpower those led by the Dalek Supreme and capture the device. The Dalek Emperor is revealed to be Davros, now with only the last vestiges of his humanoid form remaining. The Doctor begs him not to use the Hand, but is ignored. However, this is just the final move in a complex trap laid by the Doctor to defeat his old adversaries. The Hand vaporises the Dalek's home planet of Skaro, by turning its sun into a supernova, and then returns to destroy the forces orbiting Earth. The Doctor confronts the Dalek Supreme and causes it to self-destruct by convincing it that it is the sole surviving member of its race.
CAST:
The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), Ace (Sophie Aldred), Gilmore (Simon Williams), Mike Dursley mcLinden), Rachel (Pamela Salem), Allison (Karen Gledhill), Ratcliffe (George Sewell), Headmaster (Michael Sheard), Harry (Harry Fowler), The Girl (Jasmine Breaks), Embery (Peter Hamilton Dyer), Dalek Operators (Hugh Spight, John Scott Martin, Tony Starr, Cy Town), Voice (John Leeson), Vicar (Peter Halliday), John (Joseph Marcell), Martin William Thomas), Kaufman (Derek Keller), Emperor Dalek/Davros (Roy Tromelly/Terry Malloy), Black Dalek Operator (Hugh Spight), Voices (Roy Skelton, Brian Miller, Royce Mills).
FACTS:
The story features an impressive pre-title sequence showing the Dalek battle cruiser approaching Earth.
The story features a number of elements from the very first Doctor Who story, 100,000 BC, including Coal Hill School and the junkyard in Totter's Lane.
OTHER FORMATS:
Back to the Seventh Doctor Programme Guide
Back to 'Dragonfire'.