Serial B, in 7 parts
Written by: Terry Nation
Produced by: Verity Lambert
Directed by: Christopher Barry (1, 2, 4, 5) & Richard Martin (3, 6, 7)
"Actually, of course, 'the Daleks' was educational and in a rather subtle way - it showed the dangers of war, pacifism, and racial hatred, as well as containing many admirable and idealistic truths. The show was also a jolly good adventure story!" - David Whitaker, quoted in The Doctor Who File by Peter Haining (W.H. Allen, 1986)
I couldn't have put it better myself! Whitaker's remarks may sound like self-flattery, but he's dead right.
Doctor Who's creator, Sydney Newman, hated the concept of this episode. He wanted no BEMs (bug-eyed monsters) in his "serious" science fiction series. The show's pilot, An Unearthly Child, embodied the realistic and hard-nosed approach that Newman favored. The show's producer, Verity Lambert, disagreed with Newman and pushed Terry Nation's script for The Daleks into production.
From an artistic standpoint, Newman had a strong argument. In terms of realism and overall intelligence, The Daleks is a drop down from An Unearthly Child, a side-step into the realm
of Flash Gordon-style serial adventure complete with over-the-top villains and thrilling cliffhangers.
You can't argue with the viewing figures, however. The Daleks virtually doubled Doctor Who's audience and turned the show into a national phenomenon. Assuming that mediocrity is not a prerequisite for popularity, the episode had to have something going for it!
The Daleks are, needless to say, the coolest and most famous aliens in TV history. Raymond Cusick's design for the creatures, dated today, was marvelous by 1960s standards (and all the more impressive when you consider the budgetary restrictions he worked under). Combine the Dalek's unique metal shells (okay, plywood) with their grating voices and you have one memorable bunch of villains.
Believe it or not, the Daleks are actually characters in this episode. Far from the shrieking space soldiers they would become later, the original Daleks were smart, scheming, and even a bit tragic. Ravaged by radiation, trapped in their casings and entombed in their city, the Daleks are as pathetic as they are frightening. In this episode, their goal is not to conquer, but to survive. If the Daleks do not raise the radiation level on Skaro and destroy the Thals, they will perish.
In his own way, the Doctor is more evil than the Daleks. He is perfectly willing to exploit the Thals and turn them into a "ready-made army." Ian is quick to attack the Doctor's dubious moral stance, and their arguments are again a great centerpiece of the episode. Only towards the end of the story, when the Daleks become really ruthless, does the Doctor start to develop a sense of moral outrage towards the creatures.
The Thals are a well-developed people, and their pacifism presents an interesting obstacle (if that's the right word!) for the Doctor to overcome. Alydon, the Thal leader, genuinely wants to make friends with the Daleks, and he regards their destruction as a tragedy. The various moral conflicts in The Daleks add texture to what could have been a very standard adventure story.
For a long episode, The Daleks hardly ever drags (except for the aptly-named episode six, The Ordeal, with its interminable chasm-crossing segment). The production values are fine for their time. The swamp set in particular is impressive, and some of the effects are neat (I love that shot when a Dalek melts a wall that Ian is hiding behind). The model Dalek city is a classic example of a good, cheap effect; the mountains, smoke, and detailed buildings help make the image credible.
This is the story that put Doctor Who on the map, the template for twenty-five years of future adventures.
It inspired a cheesy but fun movie, and a classic novelisation by Whitaker (read it if you can find it!)
I'm glad to say that The Daleks is still great after all this time.
OVERALL RATING: A
Mini-Reviews and Quotes:
"Certain people at the BBC thought that the Daleks were puerile and would drag the show down. And, as one of our prime intentions was to keep an educational slant to the programme, they were not felt to be in the right mold at all.
The Brian Review:
THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION
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