For Day 3 of our year with the Doctor we decided to watch an episode that would be a new experience for both of us, with this in mind we decided to watch the iconic Sylvester McCoy episode ‘The Remembrance of the Daleks’. This episode which was first aired in October 1988 marked the beginning of the 25th Season of Doctor Who, a remarkable feat. As before the episode aired as 4 segments of 25 minute duration over 4 consecutive weeks and was the last appearance of Davros and the Daleks on television until the show’s revamp in 2005.
One of the great things about this episode (and there are
many great things) is the number of little references to Doctor Who and its
origins. This episode is set in 1963 around the time that the first Doctor Who
was filmed and aired, in the very location that the first episode was set. We return to Coal Hill School which Susan
attended and to the junkyard at 76 Totter’s Lane where the Doctor first parked
his Tardis.
Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor and his assistant Ace have been
drawn to 1963 in the course of the Doctor’s quest to secure the hand of Omega. The
hand of Omega is a tool designed by a Legendary Time Lord and stellar engineer who
created it as a way of manipulating stars to allow the Gallifreyans to time
travel. During his research Omega was caught in a supernova caused by his own
tool and was sucked into a black hole where he was trapped for the remainder of
his life.
