Stories Television Doctor Who Season 2 Serial: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The Chase 1 image Overview Episodes Characters How to Watch Reviews 19 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 5 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, May 22, 1965 Production Code R Written by Terry Nation Directed by Richard Martin Runtime 150 minutes Story Type Companion Exit, New Companion Introduction Time Travel Past, Present, Future Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Simply Messing about in Boats, Doctor Doppelgänger, Evil Vegetation, Robots, The Doctor Falls, Time Travel Pivotal, Travelling Serial Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) TARDIS magnet, Time-Space Visualiser Location (Potential Spoilers!) Empire State Building, Aridius, Earth, Festival of Ghana, Mary Celeste, Mechanus, New York, USA Synopsis The travellers learn from the Time-Space Visualiser (taken from the Moroks' museum) that Daleks, equipped with their own time machine, are on their trail with orders to exterminate them. They flee in the TARDIS and The Chase begins... Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save 6 Episodes The Executioners First aired Saturday, May 22, 1965 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terry Nation Directed by Richard Martin UK Viewers 10 million Appreciation Index 57 Synopsis The Daleks pursue The Doctor through time and space, with the intentions of exterminating him. Places they land include the Mary Celeste, a haunted house and the empire state building. The Death of Time First aired Saturday, May 29, 1965 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terry Nation Directed by Richard Martin UK Viewers 9.5 million Appreciation Index 56 Synopsis While Ian and Vicki are threatened by a Mire Beast, the Doctor and Barbara meet up with the Aridians...who are then ordered to hand them over to the Daleks. Flight Through Eternity First aired Saturday, June 5, 1965 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terry Nation Directed by Richard Martin UK Viewers 9 million Appreciation Index 55 Synopsis The TARDIS crew's attempts to escape from the Daleks take them to the top of the Empire State Building and a 19th century sailing ship. Journey into Terror First aired Saturday, June 12, 1965 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terry Nation Directed by Richard Martin UK Viewers 9.5 million Appreciation Index 54 Synopsis The TARDIS lands in a haunted house where the Doctor and his friends are confronted by Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster...and then the Daleks appear. The Death of Doctor Who First aired Saturday, June 19, 1965 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terry Nation Directed by Richard Martin UK Viewers 9 million Appreciation Index 56 Synopsis With Vicki trapped on board the Dalek time machine, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara decide to make their stand on the planet Mechanus. The Planet of Decision First aired Saturday, June 26, 1965 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terry Nation Directed by Richard Martin UK Viewers 9.5 million Appreciation Index 57 Synopsis The Doctor and his friends are taken into the Mechanoid City but their troubles are far from over...especially when the Daleks launch an attack. Show All Episodes Characters First Doctor William Hartnell Ian Chesterton William Russell Barbara Wright Jacqueline Hill Vicki Pallister Maureen O'Brien Steven Taylor Peter Purves First Appearance Daleks Mechanoids First Appearance Aridians Mire Beasts The Beatles First Appearance Dracula First Appearance Robot Doctor Edmund Warwick First Appearance Show All Characters (12) How to watch The Chase: Watch on iPlayer DVD The Space Museum / The Chase Blu-Ray The Collection – Season 2 VHS Daleks: The Early Years (VHS) Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Default Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 19 reviews 27 June 2024 · 165 words Review by Trench16 Spoilers 4 This review contains spoilers! The Chase: 9.5/10 - I have said this about a large amount of stories but this one was just so much fun. The Daleks were extremely entertaining in this story and the main cast really got to shine. Vicki was amazing in this story and her infiltration of the Dardis was really cool. The different settings really made it feel like a grand adventure across time and these locations themselves all felt very lived in. I thought episodes 2 and 5 were a bit slow at points but the other 4 episodes were all quality. The Mechanoids were an interesting new species and the battle between them and the Daleks was also interesting. I thought Steven was off to a rocky start in this story but he still seems very interesting and I’m excited to get to know him more. Ian and Barbara’s departure was honestly so great. They have both been absolutely amazing companions and seeing them so happy to return to their old lives was very wholesome. Trench16 View profile Like Liked 4 8 July 2024 · 167 words Review by lilbry Spoilers 4 This review contains spoilers! While The Dalek Invasion of Earth is the most iconic Hartnell story, one of the most iconic dalek stories period, this is the winner in my book. There is nothing like The Chase. There is nothing as exciting, as exhilarating, as The Chase. The Beatles are in it, for god's sake. From the Empire State Building in my very own New York City to the best haunted house of all time, this is the precursor to the blockbuster stories of the third and fourth doctor eras, it is is non-stop action and it is non-stop amazing. For some reason Steven is there playing a cowboy (in New York?) for like a full ten minutes. That alone makes it a 10/10. Ian and Barbra are the sweetest companions, and their absences, both of them, will be greatly missed. As I slog through some of my less favored companions, leggy young women, I remember Barbra. The school teacher. As much dramatic action, as much content, as Ian or The Doctor. lilbry View profile Like Liked 4 7 October 2024 · 917 words Review by MrColdStream Spoilers 3 This review contains spoilers! 📝6/10 Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! “The Chase: Laughs and Farewells in a Chaotic Romp" Terry Nation’s The Chase takes the Doctor and his companions on a zany six-episode adventure across time and space, culminating in the heartfelt departure of Ian and Barbara. A wildly uneven affair, it blends slapstick humor, scattered sci-fi ideas, and touching character moments in a way that’s both maddening and oddly endearing. Not only does the opening episode of Nation's anthology epic include some rare scenes of life inside the TARDIS, but it also includes an extended sequence with the Time-Space Visualiser (never to be seen again, sadly, although it does pop up again in other media), allowing the TARDIS crew to watch such historical events as The Beatles playing "Ticket to Ride" on Top of the Pops (the only surviving clip of that gig, ironically), and Ian jamming delightfully to the tune; Shakespeare talking with Queen Victoria (both to be seen again!) or the Gettysburg address—scenes that are completely irrelevant to the rest of the plot but somehow very fascinating nonetheless. Terry Nation’s Greatest Hits—Recycled Nation’s penchant for self-plagiarism is on full display here. The structure of constantly changing settings is borrowed from The Keys of Marinus (1964), while the cliffhanger reveals and jungle settings echo his work for The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Even the Mechanoids feel like a less effective rehash of the Daleks, their awkward design and grating voices failing to replicate the menace of their predecessors. To top it off, the cringe-inducing episode titles (The Death of Time, anyone?) don’t help matters. Parody or Adventure? From the outset, The Chase doesn’t take itself seriously, leaning heavily into self-parody. Nation likely aimed for a lighthearted romp, but the bizarre mix of nonsensical plotlines, tongue-in-cheek performances, and a jazzy circus-like score makes this feel more like a spoof than a canonical Doctor Who adventure. The Doctor taking offence to Barbara apparently calling his singing awful, answering Morton Dill with "No, it ain’t!” or running scared from a Frankenstein's monster robot; Morton Dill's doofus dialogue (“You have different years here?”); the stuttering Dalek—whether by design or accidentally, Terry Nation provides a script filled with dialogue that frequently makes me giggle—and that’s a rare feat for a Doctor Who story, even today. A Hodgepodge of Settings Anthology stories like this often suffer from an identity crisis. The multitude of locations—from deserts to the Mary Celeste to the House of Horrors—makes the narrative feel disjointed. None of these places leave a lasting impression, save for Mechanus, which at least boasts some solid sci-fi design. The pacing stumbles as the story lurches between dull, laughable, and overstuffed segments. Low Stakes, High Silliness Despite the Daleks’ pursuit, the tension is almost nonexistent. These once-terrifying foes are reduced to bumbling comic relief, complete with stuttering lines and inexplicable behaviors, like one screaming as it falls into the sea. The story’s ridiculousness does, however, lend it a certain charm, making it an easy, breezy six-parter to sit through. Standout Moments of Character What The Chase lacks in plotting, it makes up for in its treatment of the main cast. William Hartnell’s Doctor is sharp, witty, and full of warmth, his chemistry with Ian, Barbara, and Vicki shining through. Ian and Barbara’s camaraderie is at its peak, with their banter and resourcefulness adding levity to the chaos. Their emotional farewell in the closing minutes is a masterclass in understated drama, cementing one of the series’ most heartfelt exits. Vicki continues to grow into her role, though her characterization wavers between intelligent and Susan-esque, as if Nation hadn’t realized Carole Ann Ford had left the show. Morton Dill is so bad he's good. The unnecessary supporting role in Part 3 landed Peter Purves the new companion role three episodes later, and that terrible accent and goofy persona are something to remember, for better and for worse. He’s one of the few supporting characters who’ve survived an encounter with the Daleks. The introduction of Steven, played with gusto by Purves, injects fresh energy, even if his addition feels tacked on. There's something clever about the impostor Doctor. He is antagonistic and selfish, much like the Doctor was when we first met him in An Unearthly Child (1963), a clever callback to how much the character has developed in just two seasons. How no one noticed the obvious difference between him and the real Doctor is a real mystery, though. Production Hits and Misses The production values are a mixed bag. Mechanus stands out for its ambitious set design, but Richard Martin’s direction undercuts its potential. The House of Horrors sequence is laughably bad, riddled with production errors like the infamous out-of-place Dalek. The imposter Doctor concept is clever in theory but poorly executed, with clunky editing and sound design undermining its impact. The Chase is a strange beast—part anthology, part spoof, part farewell. While it’s riddled with lazy writing, production gaffes, and tonal inconsistencies, it’s saved by its cast’s charisma and the touching departure of Ian and Barbara. Not a classic by any means, but its chaotic charm and heartwarming moments make it a memorable installment. RANDOM OBSERVATIONS: This is the first time we encounter a doppelgänger of the Doctor, something that will reoccur multiple times going forward (in stories such as The Massacre, The Enemy of the World, Meglos, The Arc of Infinity, A Nightmare in Silver, and so on). Ian’s cardigan moment (“Oh no, not again!”) is a delightful callback to earlier stories. MrColdStream View profile Like Liked 3 16 June 2024 · 310 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 3 This review contains spoilers! It's hard to get my head around this one, there are good and bad bits. It's nice to feel there is a linear storyline at work here and that each journey leads off from the previous one. It's just a shame that we spend such little time in each location. It follows a very repetitive pattern: the TARDIS lands, the Daleks land soon after, the TARDIS lands somewhere else, etc. It's almost as if Terry Nation is trying to suggest that it is enough to land on a pirate ship without writing anything more than that. The number of locations does not make up for the lack of ideas. The writing of the Aridians, Mara and Mechanoids are fantastic. I wish these aspects of the story had more air time. It feels like everything has been thrown at this story and whilst 2 out of 3 things worked, 1 in 3 really don't. In contrast, the Daleks are made too comical in parts - all that effort in making them scary in their first two stories is completely wasted, it becomes a farce. Though the Dalek rising out of the sand has to be one of the best shots in the show. The soundtrack is odd from episode two onwards, something terrible can be happening but this jingly jangly happy piano sound in the background. Steven is as amazing as he is deranged in this story. I can't wait to see more of him. It is very brave to leave him on the planet. "I need my mascot!" There is an amazing send off for Ian and Barbara, I'm sincerely going to miss them. There is an odd photo sequence in London, but this is more than made up for by the exploding time machine, the bus ride confusion and the doctor's sad farewell. Who said that classic who couldn't do companion send-offs well? 15thDoctor View profile Like Liked 3 4 June 2024 · 131 words Review by dema1020 Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! The Chase is a lot of goofy fun and nothing but a bit of classic Doctor Who. Definitely the kind of story one needs to enjoy with a bit of context for its time, but on the whole I had a lot of fun with this. The Daleks even manage a bit of menace in spite of the silliness with their ability to just keep chasing down the Doctor. Ian and Barbara's departure leaves a lot to be desired just because it is edited so oddly, but still, it was a memorable moment and now has a bittersweet tone to it with so many of these actors lost to time. I was entertained, and in a lot of ways that's more than enough for a pretty solid Classic Doctor Who adventure. dema1020 View profile Like Liked 2 Show All Reviews (19) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating610 members 3.73 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 1076 Favourited 141 Reviewed 19 Saved 7 Skipped 2 Related Stories Target Collection Journey Out of Terror Rating: 3.67 Story Skipped Short Story Reviews(2) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Target Collection Set of Stories: The Target Storybook Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Main Range • Episode 65 The Juggernauts Rating: 3.75 Story Skipped Audio Drama Reviews(10) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Big Finish Main Range Set of Stories: Big Finish Main Range 51-100 Set of Stories: Main Range: Sixth Doctor Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Dalek Annuals The World That Waits Rating: 2.96 Story Skipped Comic Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Dalek Annuals Set of Stories: The Dalek World Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved TV Century 21 Eve of War Rating: 2.94 Story Skipped Comic Reviews(2) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: TV Century 21 Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Daleks! • Episode 3 Planet of the Mechanoids Rating: 3.18 Story Skipped Webcast Reviews(7) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Daleks! The Animated Series Set of Stories: Time Lord Victorious Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Daleks! • Episode 4 The Deadly Ally Rating: 3.15 Story Skipped Webcast Reviews(6) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Daleks! The Animated Series Set of Stories: Time Lord Victorious Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Daleks! • Episode 5 Day of Reckoning Rating: 3.24 Story Skipped Webcast Reviews(7) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Daleks! The Animated Series Set of Stories: Time Lord Victorious Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved TV Century 21 Impasse Rating: 3.10 Story Skipped Comic Reviews(2) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: TV Century 21 Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved The Diary of River Song 8 Queen of the Mechonoids Rating: 2.88 Story Skipped Audio Drama More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: The Diary of River Song Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved The First Doctor Adventures Fugitive of the Daleks Rating: 3.78 Story Skipped Audio Drama Reviews(7) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: The First Doctor Adventures Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Other adaptations of this story: We define an adaptation as a recreation of a similar story but on a different medium or with different characters. Target Collection Doctor Who: The Chase Rating: 3.72 Story Skipped Book Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Target Collection Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Audio Adaptations The Daleks (Mini Album) Rating: 3.34 Story Skipped Audio Drama Reviews(3) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Audio Adaptations Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite (Morton slaps the Doctor on the back) MORTON: Hot diggety! I knew I was right. You should be wearing Police uniforms, you all is, you all is in a chase. DOCTOR: Chase? Yes, as a matter of fact, young man, that's exactly what this is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be getting along. It's the chase, you know? MORTON: Sure thing, Mister! I understand. Just wait til I tell the folks back home I met some real live movie pe- (knocks on TARDIS door) Do you know Cheyenne Bodie? Look, just wait a minute, I want to get this thing on celluloid. (The TARDIS dematerialises) MORTON: That's real clever, how they done that. Sure if it don't beat all. — The Chase Show All Quotes (5) Open in new window Transcript Needs checking Episode One - The Executioners [Control room] DALEK 1: Our greatest enemies have left the planet Xeros. They are once again in time and space.DALEK 2 [OC]: They cannot escape! Our time machine will soon follow them. They will be exterminated! Exterminated! Exterminated! [TARDIS] (The Doctor is working on a large circular device with a television screen in the middle) Show Full Transcript Open in new window