The fact that I have place The Dominators at Number 16 in my countdown of the Top 60 Doctor Who Stories OF ALL TIME will be a surprise for you. The reason why will depend on how well you know me. For those that don’t, you’ll be thinking what in the name of sanity is it doing so high?!?! For those who do, you’re now thinking: how come it’s placed so low…???
For the uninitiated, The Dominators is a passion of mine. When I was “growing up” as a fan in the 90s, it was the first Troughton story I bought on VHS: while everyone else collected Targets & came to know the show that way, I collected videos, and after seeing The Mind Robber on the BBC, when it came to buying my first story, I went for this one. Bought it, watched it, enjoyed it, watched it again.
When I cam to “Fandom” in the late 2010s via Twitter, I was surprised to find The Dominators was almost universally panned. Surely not? Surely the almost 1950s, Flash Gordon feeling space adventure with the cute robots couldn’t be hated?!? Boring? Not a bit of it…!!! But there it was, slated everywhere I turned. So I had my moment of self doubt: maybe it is dull, and my nostalgia has blinded me to it’s flaws? I went back and watched it again to check: nope. Definite a Skinner-meme moment: it was still great, and everyone else was wrong. Having realised this, I decided that I wasn’t going to stand for any trash talk, and made my feelings clear on this wherever I went.
One thing lead to another, and after being invited onto a podcast to talk about The Space Museum, I was invited by the host to come on another to discuss The Dominators. That went down well, and I found another invite coming in, which lead to another, and another…. Before too long my defence of The Dominators had lead to a “career” of sorts as a podcaster, which continues to this day. And that original host, Mr Joe Ford, aka Doc Oho of Doc Oho Reviews, has now become one of my best friends. All because I stuck up for The Quarks.
So if you want to skip the rest of this post, or hear my thoughts out loud, you can hear me talk about The Dominators on:
- The Nimon Be Praised, with Joe & Jack: https://podtail.com/en/podcast/the-nimon-be-praised/plus-one-the-charming-frazer-gregory-dare-to-tackl/
- A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife, also with Joe and Quickie the Quark:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Ck6t1azJI6KkA2b3gc9P7?si=0ad468ea8e6c4333 - Doctor Who Literature with Jason Miller, who is also a massive fan:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit/episodes/Episode-86—The-Dominators-with-Frazer-Gregory-e282147 - Gallifrey’s Most Wanted, With Ross as we talk all the Troughton Era:
https://gallifreysmostwanted.libsyn.com/gallifreys-most-wanted-presents-the-2nd-doctor
If, however you don’t want to hear my dulcet tones for hours on end, then read on as I describe the 5 things I love the most about The Dominators:
1: The Quarks
The Quarks are mint. End of story. They’re a classic design, instantly recognisable, distinctive & easily merchandisable; in fact, a little too merchandisable – if the BBC hadn’t went steaming ahead as quickly as they did without consulting without consulting with creators Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln, then they may not have had the falling out they did, and we may have got more stories from the Web of Fear duo. They’re used very effectively here, with that Episode 1 cliff-hanger doing the classic monster reveal that we all love. With their childish chatter & deadly weapons, the Quarks have endured through all the years they were first seen.
2: The Dominators Themselves
The two Dominators, Rago & Toba, stand out for a couple of reasons. Firstly their impressive costumes, which are really effective; the high collar-come-shoulder-pad ensemble having a Batman like effect in that the actors can’t turn their heads. As a result, Ronald Allan & Kenneth Ives have to turn their whole bodies if they want to look at someone, leading to scenes where Rago can’t even bear to look at Toba or one of the Dulcians, adding to his menace. The characterisation is spot on too: Rago is brusque & demanding, Toba eager to destroy and, well, dominate. Every other monster or villain of the era has a united purpose, so to have the two main antagonists antagonise each other is a refreshing change.
3: The Dulcians
Haisman & Lincoln created The Dulcians as a sleight on the hippy movement, with the idea being they would show how ineffectual pacifism is when the bully boys come to town. It’s a reading that doesn’t really come across too well, but what does is the Dulcian’s hubris: their belief in their society and it’s perfection is almost their undoing, and would have been had The Doctor not turned up. There’s no hippy out there as bureaucratic as the Dulcians, who would turn away their conquerors for not booking an appointment first, and be sure to log the arrival of alien lifeforms in their diary. They’re unintentionally hilarious, but also tragic as they are decimated without reply by the brutal Dominators.
4: The Design
We’ve celebrated the look of The Dominators costumes, but what about everything else? The Dulcian’s costumes also stand out, with the Grecian style perfectly complementing the society they portray; one that would stand debating the right course of action as the world burns around them. Cully’s lemon squeezer boat is another triumph, but overall, with it’s shining rockets and chrome spires, there’s a Buck Rogers feel to this story that we won’t see much more of after this season.
5: The TARDIS Team
While I have a lot of time & fondness for Victoria, it has to be said that the team of Jamie, Zoe & The 2nd Doctor is one of the best ever. There’s different stories that you can tell with a companion that has a similar level of intelligence to The Doctor, and there’s a lovely scene here where Zoe & The Doctor figure out what’s powering the Dominator’s ship. But this story really belongs to Jamie, who has more than one moment where he has to point out the danger to The Doctor, and gets to go round blowing up Quarks. But the real highlight is the scene where Jamie & The Doctor have to pretend to be unintelligent to fool the Dominators. “Just act stupid. Do you think you can manage that?” “Oh aye, it’s easy…. Hey!” Season 6 gets to the finish post by virtue of the chemistry of the three leads keeping it going; when Troughton, Hines & Padders flag then so does the show. But they are on top, top form in this story – to the point you can easily forget this is Zoe’s first proper story as companion.
So five reasons to love The Dominators. I could go on, but there’s other stories to write about. Suffice it to say that The Dominators is a story that’s very close to my heart, one that I have a million reasons to love, not least because of the joy and friendships it has brought into my life 🙂
COMING TOMORROW: “HEAR ME SPEAK NOW…….. EXTERMINATE!”
Skies Full of Diamonds 