Big Gay Longcat reviews Doctor Who: Flight Through Eternity

Part three of The Chase is the first part of the story with an episode title that makes sense, referring as it does to the Chase properly getting underway.

There is the usual brief recap of the end of the previous part. The Dalek that says

"Cease firing. They have escaped."

sounds like a sad Dalek, disappointed they did not get to exterminate the Doctor. Their different voices hint at personalities. One of the other Daleks is more upbeat, saying

"Final termination is inevitable!"

and this seems to cheer the first Dalek up. They chant together for a bit until another Dalek tries to get them to focus on their mission (as well as explaining the episode title) by saying

"We will embark in our time machine at once! The Dalek Supreme has ordered they are to be pursued through all eternity! Pursued and exterminated!"

We see the TARDIS and the Dalek time machine flying past the title and Terry Nation's "written by" credit. In the TARDIS the Doctor's time path detector detects another time machine, 12 minutes behind them. The Chase is on!

The TARDIS lands amidst some stock footage of New York.

Atop the Empire State Building are some mannys, one of whom appears to not know his lines, and another of whom definitely isn't Steven Taylor even though he is played by Peter Purves. He is called Morton Dill and is from Alabama, a fact which he is keen to stress at every available opportunity, perhaps so we do not mistaik him for Steven Taylor.

Vicki makes a rare continuity reference to The Dalek Invasion of Earth when she recognises "ancient New York" and says it was destroyed by the Daleks.

Ian and Barbara are back in their own time, or at least about as close as they have ever been to it, but Ian and the Doctor agree that there are too many innocent mannys nearby for them to risk staying and confronting the Daleks here, so they go back in the TARDIS and leave. This scene is played for laughs (badly) and so misses a tremendous opportunity to show the dramatic sacrifice Ian and Barbara are making in losing out on the chance for them to return to their home planet and time.

The Daleks arrive and meet Morton Dill and their scene is also played for laughs so Morton Dill is not exterminated. The next stop for the time machines is the Mary Celeste.

It's only a model.

Barbara wanders off from the TARDIS to get captured by Mr Richardson. Vicki saves Barbara but then hits Ian on the head by mistaik - again the dramatic potential of the Chase is being squandered in the name of cheap 'Ian being hit on the head' laughs.

The ship is a good set for such a small part in the story - I wonder if it was left over from another BBC programme? The gentle nodding of the camera is a simple but effective way of conveying the ship's movement.

The TARDIS leaves and Mr Richardson is confused. He and his friends are still looking in vain for Barbara when the Daleks come and scare them so they all run away and jump off the ship into the water. One Dalek also falls in the water when chasing the last manny - no prizes for guessing which Dalek gets voted off the Dalek Reality TV programme this time!

The Doctor says the Dalek time machine is cathcing up with them more and more, so they now only have 8 minutes lead on the Dalek time machine. He makes a dramatic pronouncement to serve as a cliffhanger:

"We must face the facts: the Daleks are closing in on us!"

The uncomfortable juxtaposition of serious dramatic threat with attempts at (bad) comedy make this episode not nearly as good as it should have been.

Can you hear that?

Oh noes, it's Hoover! Hoover is coming to Chase us! Mew mew mew!