Review: Doctor Who Classic: Revelation of the Daleks

1985. Colin Baker's run as The Doctor has been turbulent and unpopular to say the least. This series finale was quite possibly the last episode of Doctor Who, and so the series hinged on the success of this serial.
     As it stands, Revelation is an improvement on the series as a whole. It still suffers from the ridiculously low budget of Season 22, but the themes it presents are well-presented enough for it not to matter. The whole thing is a little mad, but in a way that suits the ideas it's trying to get across.
     Near the end of Tom Baker's tenure in Doctor Who, there was a whole Dalek-story reboot called "Genesis of the Daleks". Sticking to a Biblical theme, Peter Davidson got "Ressurrection..." and here, like the strange, strange Biblical endpiece, is Revelation. It's unique in this series for the fact that the entire first half is made up of The Doctor and Peri actually getting to the building in question while the villians and supporting characters get everything into place. Our main antagonists here are Davros, mad creator of the Daleks, and a new race of his creations that he is creating out of the DNA of dead humans. He's been doing this from the safety and convenience of Tranquil Repose, a celestial undertaker's.
   The Doctor and Peri materialise on Tranquil Repose because The Doctor has found out that his old scientist friend has died, and so they're going to visit his tomb. When they (finally) get to the building, they find that Davros has set himself up as The Great Healer, and is using human flesh to sell to poor countries across the galaxy, while creating personal Daleks. There're also quite a few subplots weaved into it, including a one-sided romance in the undertakers', two space mercenaries, and a DJ.
   Bakers' garish garb is covered by a blue shawl, and Peri finally gets some warm clothes, meaning that both can be taken more seriously. The other characters, on the other hand, are an assortment of madmen and eccentrics, meaning that for once The Doctor is the Only Sane Man. Also to look at is the quaint Egyptian deisgn of Tranquil Repose, the 1970s feel of the DJ, and the eerie soundtrack.
   The 2entertain DVD Commentary has the voices of David Molloy (who played a bit part in Attack of the Cybermen, and plays Davros here,) Nicola Bryant (Peri), Eric Saward (Writer) and Greame Harper (Director, who went on to direct many New Who episodes). It's quite informative, but really could have done with Baker on the team.

Thanks.