A Matter of Time: The Chase

ORIGINAL BROADCAST: 19/06/1965
DOCTOR: William Hartnell
COMPANIONS: Jacqueline Hill, William Russell and Maureen O'Brien

STORY: The First Doctor and his companions Barbara, Ian and Vicki land in a desert on the planet Aridius, where a Dalek fleet plans to exterminate the time-travelling team for defeating the Daleks in previous battles. They only have one chance of survival, by escaping through the time vortex. Let the chase begin…

FACTS:
• This story is often criticised for making the Daleks comical, by including a stammering Dalek who cannot do simple mathematics, three Daleks using their eyestalks to nod in agreement, and a Dalek getting annoyed with its secondary.
• Peter Purves plays the young man from Alabama, whom the travellers meet at the top of the Empire State Building. He would later play Steven Taylor in the last part of the story, and remain as a regular companion.
• This is the last story to feature Jacqueline Hill and William Russell as the companions Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton, who had been in the series since the first episode. William Hartnell was very upset to see them leave, as they had formed a strong bond.

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