Doctor Who: Looking Back At THE DOMINATORS

First broadcast from August 10th 1968, Christopher Morley revisits the Second Doctor adventure The Dominators...

The winds of change would soon blow through the TARDIS - The Dominators being Episode One of Season Six, the final bow of the Second Doctor. In the wake of Patrick Troughton's exit, Doctor Who itself would change, too. Black & white would soon be replaced by colour television, cuts to the BBC's budget forcing a greater emphasis on Earth-centric narratives, as trialled in the likes of The Web Of Fear & The Invasion to test the waters before Jon Pertwee took ownership of the key to the TARDIS.

His predecessor still had work to do before handing it over, though! And his first task, alongside Jamie & Zoe, was to stop the titular Dominators carrying out their plans. Which were as you might have guessed to dominate over the other races of the universe. Simple enough? Their target here is the peaceable planet of Dulkis.

The little fellow in the rumpled suit & bow tie just wants a holiday following the events of The Wheel In Space, and so has brought with him a nice deckchair. Presumably intending for a little peace and quiet, like most parents taking children on seaside holidays he also has an inflatable ball. Only the "child" who'll be playing with it was present at Culloden...

ZOE: You need a good rest, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes, we all do. A nice holiday.
JAMIE: Oh, where did you say this place was again?
ZOE: Well the scanner screen in the TARDIS showed it as an island of some sort surrounded by a sea of mist.
JAMIE: Aye.
DOCTOR: Yes, it's an island on Dulkis, a perfectly splendid planet.
JAMIE: Aye, I've heard that one before.
ZOE: And there won't be any Cybermen ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIIKGc6jL8Y) or Daleks ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yE3tKzI16U) , will there?
DOCTOR: No, no, no, of course not. There's nothing unpleasant on Dulkis.
ZOE: Well, is the whole island as dreary as this?
DOCTOR: Oh no, goodness me, no. They're a very advanced race, the Dulcians. And they're very gentle too. And friendly. You're going to like them.
JAMIE: Oh I see, you've been here before.
DOCTOR: Oh yes, Jamie. Blow that up for me, would you?
JAMIE: Eh?
DOCTOR: Yes. Some time ago, mind you. It was splendid. It was so peaceful. I just didn't want to leave. Yes, that's what we all need. A nice, peaceful holiday.

Rather cruelly, they don't get one. Toba & Rago, the two Dominators, ensure to that by shattering the myth of Dulkis as a place of peace. Having enslaved several of the native population it seems they have similar in mind for the tourists.

JAMIE: Look, how long are you going to keep us like this?
TOBA: Silence!
JAMIE: Oh, if I could only get away from this wall.
DOCTOR: Shush, Jamie. I am trying to listen.
JAMIE: Oh, everyone wants me to shut up. All right, I will.
RAGO: And if we are to use these Dulcians as slaves there are certain qualities you must look for. Obedience, strength, sufficient intelligence to make them of use, but not so much as to make them dangerous. Is that clear?
TOBA: Yes.
JAMIE: Er, what are they saying?
DOCTOR: I think they're arranging for some sort of tests.
JAMIE: Tests? What for?
DOCTOR: I don't know. I thought I heard them mention the word intelligence.
JAMIE: Oh, you mean they're going to find out how clever we are?
DOCTOR: Yes. Or how stupid. I wonder which is the more important to them?

It won't have escaped your notice that this particular Doctor has already shown himself to be very clever by seemingly acting the clown on several occasions.

Indeed, his legacy on that front is such that one of his successors riffed on it as well as taking the hint that bow ties were indeed cool having seen him wear one.

That, though, is yet to come. For now we must return to the original champion of such neck-wear! He'll soon find himself leading a revolution of sorts, for which purposes Jamie is well-equipped given his past, and comes up with a plan. The boxy robotic Quarks, servants of the Dominators are to be taken down!

JAMIE: Oh no, Quarks again. They must be all over the place. Hey, I wonder how many there are?
CULLY: Why?
JAMIE: Well the Dominators don't seem much good without them, do they?
CULLY: So?
JAMIE: We destroyed one Quark, why not another?
CULLY: Attack the Quarks?
JAMIE: Shush! Yes.
CULLY: But we had a laser gun before. And that's hidden underneath all this lot now.
JAMIE: There wasn't a laser gun where I come from, yet us McCrimmons still dealt with the Redcoats right enough.
CULLY: Redcoats?
JAMIE: Aye, they were. Och, never mind. Look, are you with me?
CULLY: Well, why not?
JAMIE: Good. First thing to do is estimate the strength of the enemy. Come on, through there.

Of course, Jamie, Zoe and the Doctor prevail, but before we bid adieu to this story, and primarily the Quarks, it may be of interest to note that The Dominators was Brian Hodgson's second & final incidental musical credit on Doctor Who - he had also worked on The Wheel In Space in a similar capacity. Every bleep of the Quarks being part of his continuing work on "special sound", which extends back to An Unearthly Child, and would end with The Sea Devils.

His work on The Krotons would later be reissued via Silva Screen Records, the man himself saying:

"I am eternally amazed that people seem to value my contribution so highly, and I'm proud to have been associated with such a significant part of television history."

Thusly it seems only right that as Mfiles records: