If the previous story kicked open the TARDIS door, then this story pushed you through it and took you for a ride!
This story secured the popularity of both Doctor Who and of the Daleks.
Several hallmark Doctor attributes are introduced here:
-over riding desire to explore - check
-instigating a revolution- check
-rallying an army- check
-getting your companions to do all the work- check
-defeating an evil force- check
To watch this story from 2013, the Daleks seem almost silly. The characters have evolved so much of the past 50 years and have become much more of a formidable enemy. The idea that at this point, they're trapped in their own city because they're solely powered by the static electricity in the floor is such wooly thinking. And in the end, they were all defeated. But somehow, they came back and kept coming back to battle the Doctor.
The first story I saw the Daleks in was Genesis of the Daleks from 1975. This story introduced Davros, the creator of the Daleks. He featured in all subsequent Daleks stories through the end of the original series in 1989. So for me for a long time, there were no Daleks without Davros. It wasn't until some time later when my PBS started airing the episodes from the 1960's and early 70's with the first three Doctors did I get to experience the Daleks as a threat by themselves, not over shadowed by their creator.
When the series returned in 2005, the new producers of the show were smart in returning the Daleks to this position and have retained this stance. But in peeling back the years and returning to this true "genesis" of the Daleks, we see the purest and simplest iteration of the characters and we see the genius of Terry Nation, the true creator of the Daleks. Last episode I spoke of catching lightning in a bottle and they once again caught it with the Daleks!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daleks
Next episode- The Edge of Destruction!
No comments:
Post a Comment