Counter Plot (The Daleks' Master Plan Episode 5)

The one where the Daleks exterminate some white mice...

What a beautiful set the dissemination chamber is! Raymond Cusick's sleek, simplistic design is unlike anything that has appeared in the series before (except perhaps the TARDIS interior), and brings scale and grandeur to the Earth setting. Just the simple idea of putting a walkway ramp at the entrance to the chamber adds depth, along with the apparently transparent/ glass floor tiles. It's usually Barry Newbery's historical sets which impress the most in this era, but all credit to Cusick for this one (and indeed the episode's other sets too, including Mira).

Before we know what's what, the Doctor, Steven and Sara are being transported through space to another planet, light years away from Earth. There's some award-winning facial contortions on display here, particularly from Hartnell, and the effect of Steven and Sara (but noticeably not the Doctor) trampolining through space is both weird and wonderful. All credit here to director Douglas Camfield - the effect is utterly strange, as it should be, along with Brian Hodgson's surreal sound design.

The whole thing is the result of an experiment in molecular dissemination being carried out by scientists Froyn and Rhymnal, which essentially boils down to matter transmission. I'd have expected transmats to have been invented by the year 4000, particularly as Earth seems to have the T-Mat already by the 21st century in The Seeds of Death (we've got that to look forward to quite soon, obviously!). The scientists have been sending non-organic matter to the planet Mira to practice the distance the disseminator can reach, but they need to send a transmitter to send a signal back to Earth to tell them it's got there safely. Why they don't just set up a research base on Mira I don't know...

Well, maybe I do know. Because you see, Mira is not a very hospitable planet. Counter Plot is written by Terry Nation, so of course this is a jungle planet, with added swamps for good measure! Plus, Mira is inhabited by 8ft tall invisible monsters called Visians, which if nothing else save money on the budget (why they're called Visians when they're anything but visible, I don't know - it's the same anti-logic which troubled me about the planet Aridius in The Death of Time). As soon as the Doctor identifies the Visians, he knows he's on Mira, which suggests Mira is the only planet that has invisible creatures. Tell that to Terry Nation, Doctor - ask him about a little place called Spiridon!

There was a moment in Counter Plot where I thought my eyes were playing tricks, because for a few short moments I thought I was seeing the Twelfth Doctor. When the Doctor first wakes up on the planet Mira, he sits up and starts to feel his face and hair, then stands and looks at his hand, then looks up and around, eyes darting fiercely. There's just something about Hartnell's physicality and facial expressions in this moment which reminded me strongly of Peter Capaldi and how he might play it. For a few sweet seconds, five decades just melted away and I could see the same man. You probably think I'm talking bunkum, but it was my genuine reaction.

Hartnell was apparently quite unhappy during the making of The Daleks' Master Plan (due to failing relations with new producer John Wiles), and also quite ill, but you'd never know it. Sometimes you can tell when Tom Baker was unhappy on set when you watch some of his stories (Horror of Fang Rock being one of them), but Hartnell maintains character at all times. Maybe he does thrash the living shit out of the vegetation of Mira when attacking the Visian with his walking stick - maybe he was taking his frustration out on the set - but as I've said before, the First Doctor is by far the most violent of the bunch!

Hartnell also has a relatively tricky bit of dialogue when he has to explain matter transmission to Steven and Sara, and you can see him ambling slowly up to the lines, gently feeling his way, slowly but surely, until he hits the right rhythm and it all comes out perfectly: "To put it in lay language, cellular dissemination means that our bodies were broken up by some purpose or other, shot through into the fourth dimension and, at a given point, reassembled again on this planet." I almost want to give old Billy a cheer when he manages it, but that would be patronising - he was not a well man, even if the full extent of his ill-health wasn't recognised at the time. He gets through it simply because he was a bloody good actor. Fans really do need to stop making fun of #BillyFluffs.

We also get some more insight into the dynamic between Mavic Chen and his underling Karlton. Well, I say underling, but I don't think Karlton sees it that way. He's obviously a very ambitious and ruthless man and he is determined to stand side by side with Chen when he is ruler of the universe. And there are hints that perhaps Karlton has designs on Chen's position ultimately. He's a real schemer! He also has a surprisingly forthright hold over his master, whether Chen realises this or not. He speaks to Chen like a teacher might a pupil, even telling him to "calm down" at one point. Karlton's also the one that thinks up the ruse to get Chen out of trouble with the Daleks. Karlton is the real brains behind Mavic Chen, it would seem, and Chen needs to watch his back.

There's a superb scene, which I am glad we can see, when Chen starts to lose it a bit as his megalomania takes a hold. He stands in the dissemination chamber, arms outstretched like the Messiah, dreaming of his place beside the Daleks, "the highest position in the universe". Then Chen clocks Karlton watching him, half bemused, half disturbed. Chen recovers himself and returns to his usual oily, arrogant self, perhaps conscious that Karlton has witnessed a chink in his armour. The scene is played beautifully by Maurice Browning and Kevin Stoney, and directed powerfully by Douglas Camfield - Chen is back-lit, arms outstretched; then an extreme close-up on Karlton's astonished face. Yes, I am so glad we can see that scene.

Other quick observations about Counter Plot:

• I love how Kevin Stoney adds an alien quality to Mavic Chen by doing odd things with his pinky finger. We've already witnessed his crazy handwriting, but here we see him stroke his beard with his little finger, point with his pinky, and also hold his pencil as a bridge over his middle two fingers. Instantly weird, but it adds to the character. Interestingly, the whole pinky-finger-to-mouth thing reminds me of Dr Evil from the Austin Powers films, who in turn was inspired by Blofeld in the Bond film You Only Live Twice. However, Blofeld does not do the pinky finger thing in that film (released June 1967), so Kevin Stoney has the honour of "inventing" the evil pinky finger thing as early as December 1965!
• Neither Steven or the Doctor ask Sara what her name is, or ask why she tried to kill them. They both pretty much take her at face value straight away as an ally. The Doctor even refers to her as a friend in the cliffhanger. I wonder if Sara ever actually introduces herself?
• I'm also utterly unconvinced by the fact Bret was Sara's brother. As a storytelling device, it has acres of potential, but it's just dropped into the scene almost as an aside, then ignored. I know Sara is supposed to be ruthless, but can she really have cared for Bret that much? If you're not going to follow through with the emotional impact of fratricide, why do it at all? That's pretty poor, Terry.
• I love the Daleks not knowing what mice are, and referring to them as possibly hostile. Then they exterminate them, which isn't so nice. It's a neat precursor to the more celebrated scene in The Evil of the Daleks where they refer to birds as "flying pests".
• There's also the immortal line when the Daleks find out about the Visians: "The beings appear to be invisible." Classic!

The cliffhanger is the first time the Doctor and the Daleks have come face to face properly, after five full episodes. Until now the Daleks had no idea who had stolen their taranium core (despite having found a police box on Kembel!). I wonder if they'll click now?

First broadcast: December 11th, 1965

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The scene between Karlton and Mavic Chen is fantastic.
The Bad: Invisible monsters. Really? Come on, the viewer can see right through what you're doing, Terry...
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★★☆

NEXT TIME: Coronas of the Sun...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Mission to the Unknown (prelude); The Nightmare Begins (episode 1); Day of Armageddon (episode 2); Devil's Planet (episode 3); The Traitors (episode 4); Coronas of the Sun (episode 6); The Feast of Steven (episode 7); Volcano (episode 8); Golden Death (episode 9); Escape Switch (episode 10); The Abandoned Planet (episode 11); Destruction of Time (episode 12)

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/mission-to-unknown-aka-dalek-cutaway.html

The soundtrack to The Daleks' Master Plan is available on CD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-original-television-soundtrack/dp/0563494174