Classic Doctor Who Review - The Daleks

[@theshadowdirector]

The big reason that Carol Anne Ford left the show was because the role turned out to not be what she was promised. She was attracted to the idea of being an otherworldly alien like figure but instead turned into a lot of screaming and fainting.

[@MovieMagic515]

I understand that, she didn't deserve that.

[@sisconhimejoshi]

They especially chose her because she could do her own stunts and she looked forward to that. Really a shame.

[@matthewgleason7495]

Susan is strongest in An Unearthly Child (episode 1), The Sensorites and The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

[@ShamrockParticle]

And The Aztecs?

[@hcamuber]

I remember seeing an interview with the actor who played Susan (it was around the 50th anniversary) where she was talking about how much she loved the modern women companions 'cos they get to do so much more these days - they have agency & directly impact & move the plot - whereas back then her job was pretty much just scream a lot & be rescued.

[@MrPaulMorris]

This was largely the reason she chose to leave so early into the series; when cast she had been promised the role would be a super-intelligent weird alien but then wrote her as a rather feeble human teenage girl.

[@quinnsinclair7028]

I believe at some point she said she was pleased with how her character was expanded in the big finish audio dramas as she was rather disappointed with the role that Susan filled in the first few seasons of Doctor who.

[@G--lp7xq]

Sadly it's the issue that plagued classic-who for the most part, Mel is the worst case. Mary Tamm aka Romana I also leave because she had been promised the role wound't be damsel in distress but ended up being one.

[@MrPaulMorris]

Mary Tamm, who sadly died far too young aged only 62, had said that she left, as you say, because of her dissatisfaction with how the role had developed. It is worth noting, however, that she has also become pregnant around the end of series 16 and would have been in her 7th month at the start of shooting for series 17. It was rather unkind of the producers not to reply to her offer to come in to film a regeneration scene even if they had ultimately decided to still go with the rather ill-judged comedy regeneration to Lalla Ward. It is good to see that she went on to have a very busy acting career--far more so than many actors associated with Who!

[@zakjaggs9761]

Bullshit Barbra was more than a damsel in distress

[@tardisnet9487]

Whilst you get a lot of screaming damzels in Doctor Who I think it works with Susan as she is meant to be a child and not paticularly capable and I think Barbara is a very strong character who balances that dynamic. This is still one of my favourite Tardis teams and I love the relatonship between Ian, Barbara and the Doctor and the Doctor has a very believable family dynamic with Susan.

[@carlrood4457]

Yes, you have to put aside the fact that she's from Gallifrey and possibly much older than the human characters. All of that was added later and she was written as a teenager with little real world experience.

[@MrPaulMorris]

The 'powered by static' design pretty much works for the scenario with the Daleks operating only within the confines of the city and is explicitly explained away in the Daleks' next appearance in _The Dalek Invasion of Earth_ where they are powered from the dishes on their backs.

[@lizzie8561]

The metal floor being necessary for power wasn't the only aspect to be dropped with the Daleks over the history of Doctor Who. In the revived program, in "Dalek," it was shown that the mid-section containing the sucker and gun could rotate 360° independent of the rest of the machine. That hasn't been seen since.

[@Jedi_Spartan]

Dalek 1: How are the scallops coming? Dalek 2: A little undercooked. Dalek 1: A little undercooked chef. Dalek 2: Yes chef, sorry chef

[@darynvoss7883]

They do actually show a little bit of a dalek mutant creeping out from under the coat at the end of Ep 3. With regard to the screaming... Barbara was quite a capable character and frequently was the brains of the operation, working out what is going on before anyone else. In the Velvet Web it's Barbara who discovers the illusion, it's Barbara who kills the Morpho... but she's screaming while she does so. DW found it pretty hard to get away from that trope. Louise Jameson (Leela) put her foot down and refused to scream because it was out of character. Sophie Aldred (Ace) was also a notable non-screamer. The only screamer in the New Who is Mickey...

[@cassiemcguire8314]

I love how the appearance of the inside of the dalek cases isn’t explicitly shown because it gave them a sense of mystery and alienness that helped me to put myself back into a 60s doctor who mindset

[@Carwyn.Morris]

It's my understanding that this episode is set 7 hundred years after "Genesis of the Daleks" where the 4th Doctor trapped them in the city. I got a feeling and i may be wrong but I believe that's the (retcon) reason why they had to rely on the floor for power.

[@samuelbarber6177]

I love this story. It's just a breeze. It's great, with excellent writing and set design and despite being seven parts, it just flies by.

[@elizabeths777]

Best Susan impression ever.

[@Terry.W]

The Daleks were a big deal back in the 60s ….and the first episode ending was superb ...and this really put Dr. Who on the map..

[@jamieolberding7731]

Indeed they were freakin awesome! They're my Number #1 favorite Villains of all time! We have the complete first three original "Doctor Who" Season 1 episodes that we got on Amazon.com! The episode "The Daleks" is my favorite classic story and a true horror story like "Frankenstein" or "Dracula!"

[@DaleRibbons]

That first episode ending has to be one of the best cliffhangers in the show's history. A real edge-of-your-seat moment. watching it, I can just imagine the original viewers' anticipation for the next part.

[@samuelbarber4154]

Yes, after the airing of An Unearthly Child, it was decided to cancel the show after thirteen episodes because of production expenses, but it was the airing of the Daleks that saved the show from an early grave.

[@samuelbarber6177]

I don't think Ian's want to fetch the drugs instead of Susan is overdone. Remember, not too long prior, she was his student and is only fifteen, sending her to get radiation drugs from their magic box on a foreign planet under the rule of mysterious and evil creatures.

[@alunrundle162]

A grand review as usual, hitting most of the good points. Hartnell (as you point out) wasn't quite the lead in his own show until after William Russell left. Indeed, watch the very next story "The Time Meddler" to see how much he changes practically overnight. If I were to recommend a couple of stories for each Classic Doctor for review (and I have all the ones available) I'd say that one and 'The War Machines' for Hartnell. "Tomb of the Cybermen" and "The Enemy of the World" for Troughton. "Inferno" and "Carnival of Monsters" for Pertwee. "The Arc in Space" and Douglas Adam's comedy Masterpiece "City of Death" for T. Baker "Kinda" and "Frontios" for Davison "Vengeance on Varos" and "Revelation of the Daleks" for C. Baker (Hard choice, he doesn't have many good ones) "Remembrance of the Daleks" and Q"Battlefield" for McCoy. I tried to avoid those I felt were each Doctor's best in case you don't.

[@carlrood4457]

The thing to keep in mind in the early episodes is that they followed some standard sci-fi tropes of the era. Ian was the hero. The Doctor was old scientist who sometimes caused the trouble. Susan and Barbara were characters who were often merged in such story (scientist's daughter/niece and hero's love interest). Additionally, with the show's "educational" status, Ian & Barbara were a science and history teacher, while Susan was the student.

[@scaper8]

One of the things that really surprised me the first time I watched "The Daleks" was just how little was changed. They hit on a near perfect formula right from the start. You mentioned little things like the need for metal floors, but almost everything they needed to change in the Daleks to keep them interesting were small things like that. For being so new, and not yet having its feet under it, they got them so good right out of the gate.

[@59rlmccormack]

That was good! I think the Daleks are still very creepy, they do not need to be silent. The only creepy silence we got from the Daleks in New Who was in the story “Dalek” when the 9th Doctor was in that room and it was all dark and there was the Dalek’s eye glowing. Things did get spooky when the Dalek spoke out of the darkness in its grating voice after the Doctor introduced himself and then the scare came in when the lights came on and the Dalek was seen and we got the battle cry of “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINAAAATE!” See you in the next Classic Who review, Nathan!

[@samuelbarber4154]

Well, she was his student not that long before this story. He was her science teacher.

[@ealadubh4800]

How about The Sensorites next? The series' second depiction of an alien society and how it contrasts with ours (their similarity to each other becomes part of the plot this time), and Susan is given a more central purpose than she ever gets again after the pilot episode.

[@kirstyshadowdancer5095]

Ive always said the horror of the daleks is they embody ALL the worst aspects of himanity in a mass produced super tank!

[@maisiesummers42]

8:53 this is exactly why Carole Ann Ford left the show. She felt her character was essentially useless, and not allowed to be anything other than someone who needed to be rescued all the time. It's long been my hope that they will bring the character back for a few episodes and let her be a real person.

[@casualcraftman1599]

The series 11 trailer is being released today, are you going to cover it when it's officially released?

[@matthewburrows4359]

He is on his Hol's

[@Fitzroyfallz]

We don't know for sure if it's a trailer, but I think we can be pretty certain it is.

[@leecoulson4224]

Dy-ny-manic review mate!

[@Elementa2006]

One of the best parts of the episode was when the Doctor and his companions put one of the Daleks out of commission, both he and Ian open the Dalek helmet we don't see what the creature looked like but the expression of shock and horror on both Hartnell's and Russell's faces really sell on the whatever body horror in the Dalek armor

[@samuelbarber4154]

It's the: "Please excuse my grandfather, he just doesn't know any better." style of casual misogyny

[@morganwilson8608]

Could you do a review of the two Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies please? Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966)

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Eventually yes no clue when.

[@scaper8]

I haven't seen those yet myself, but I am curious. Everything I've heard about them make them sound like an interesting twist on how we know "the Doctor."

[@greedycapitalist8590]

The movies are great fun. Very different in tone from the serials they're based on.

[@chooseadventure6810]

Moff Tarkin is Dr Who

[@TimLeeSongs]

Great review as always. Looking forward to hearing what you think of Edge of Destruction; it’s totally nuts haha! I do love it though!

[@quinnsinclair7028]

While it was interesting it was quite literally a filler episode meant to cover a time slot so I doubt he’ll be getting to it any time soon.

[@kenyabrunson4985]

Susan may be the most able bodied, but she too is suffering from radiation sickness. I attributed her screaming as being on an alien planet, worried about her friends and her grandfather also being ill; feeling ill herself and feeling herself feel sicker as she goes on; knowing that if she doesn't get the component, they will all die.

[@casualcraftman1599]

When I first starting Watching Doctor Who, I'm glad it was at the point were the Daleks weren't weak to stairs. It doesn't fucking matter if it was a product of it's time, not being able to clime stairs is a stupid weakness regardless of time period.

[@tenacious3911]

_The Daleks_ was, believe it or not, my very first exposure to Doctor Who, and it made a massive impression on me and how I developed as a fan.

[@fobwatchful]

In the sixties, (at least on sixties television) the men were expected to be the ones to take the most risks. A man who let women take more risks, and especially letting a teenage girl take more risks, would have been thought of as a coward.

[@martinmowbray6448]

The point of the thals was that they were similar. Because of the radioactivity the thals became tall blond good looking and the Daleks( originally kaleds) were horrible mutations. Even though that is what the Daleks referred the thals as.

[@alliev8244]

I was a little put off by the first doctor at first but as the series progressed I started to feel like I was watching doctor who because the first doctor got a lot of character development to the point where he seemed more like the doctor we see today and I love it.

[@nickbrough8335]

Great review overall. For those of us, who and British and older (I worn in 65) my introduction to this story was David Whitakers (the best black and white era joint show runner/writer) republished in paperback in 1973 (I was still 7), which I bought on holiday that summer. The actual story doesn't live up to that of course. Whitakers book also includes a replacement for the Unearthly Child episode. I was already a Who fan of course, having watched it for several years by then. I think its clear that in these early episodes, Hartnell had yet to become the Doctor and that it was the journeys to return Ian and Barbara back to 1960s Earth than created the Doctor. I suppose the interesting question is by which Story was the character evolution complete and whar=t were the key moments. I was say that the end of this story is one of them, when he destroys the Daleks to save the Thals. Susan's portrayal in the films (as a young teenager) reflects how she was written on TV show; Carole Ann Ford was older than the character was written. No wonder she wanted to leave the show. I don't think Susan running through the forest, in absolute terror believing she was being stalked is completely natural reaction. Starting at strange noises is completely natural. I would argue that the first few times modern companions run into this sort of danger they react far with far too little fear. Your review misses one key point, It was a 30's style episodic series, shown at 5 pm on a Saturday evening with much of the audience possibly missing the previous episode. The stories will the space they needed to, not what the story needed when viewing today. I agree that the Daleks are a poor shadow of what they once were today. This story and Power of the Daleks are amongst the best made.

[@michellegiacalone1079]

If I were designing a Dalek that was similar to these but far more mobile? Spiders. Metal pepper-pot bodied spiders. As far as the Doctor putting companions in danger to keep studying or similar? Now I see where Eleven got it from.

[@michellegiacalone1079]

PS: I've always been fascinated by Daleks in terms of beings that used to be fully realized, humanoid beings that were reduced to projectiles of controlled madness. (All they need is red hats, heh.) They are pitiable, really.

[@kickingroses8925]

Susan is a bit of a dud, even Carol admits to this. Her follow-up Vicky is actually a lot more fun and adventurous. Watch the Romans, her and One are basically just sneaking around causing mayhem and it's adorable.

[@maurinetritch4901]

I really liked your discussion of the Doctor not caring yet, be willing to let an alien race be annihilated because it wasn't his problem. There's a little of that flavor in Peter Capaldi's early Doctor. I wonder if you were going to treat it as a character journey, that it might have been because he had Susan with him. His first instinct in all things was to protect her, and keep her away from danger. Later he's more experienced traveling and solving problems, in fact, he finds that's what he does best. Susan has elected to leave him, so instead of protecting one girl, he now tries to protect everyone he comes across.

[@Black0Rabbit]

On Susan: She is so much better to watch if you think of her being the Time Lord equivalent of 8 years old. The Doctor treats her like a child often in a very loving way. If you think of her as essentially a child, her terror when making the trip by herself through the woods makes more sense and turns into something brave that she does for the team. Honestly, this mindset works to make her character make sense right up until she leaves the show. Then it kind of falls apart.

[@MrPaulMorris]

If we consider Susan in this light then it makes her abandonment to marry a human she had just met in a post-apocalyptic London even more disturbing!

[@Black0Rabbit]

Paul Morris : You're right. It works perfectly until that episode. And then it falls apart quite dramatically. I still head-cannon it for all of the other episodes because it makes them more fun to watch for me. 😄

[@MrPaulMorris]

The thing is that we are never told Susan's actual age nor do we know how Time Lords (or Gallifreyans, depending on whether you believe Susan is a Time Lord) mature. If she is actually 15 (as Ian and Barbara judge her age) then that might be the equivalent of a much younger human--or maybe she is actually a lot older; if ageing is linear and the Doctor looks in his sixties/seventies but is about 7 times that so Susan might be over a hundred. However, maybe a 100 year old Time Lord is still a child... I think my 'head canon' is that Susan. like most Time Lords, lead a very sheltered and privileged life before starting her travels with the Doctor. Although they had, from references in the show, some journeys before the events of _An Unearthly Child_ my impression is that they were uneventful scientific explorations and neither Susan nor the Doctor had really faced any danger before being captured by cavemen, hence the panic obvious in both of them at that time. The subsequent adventures all basically run one into the other with no real respite for Susan to recover her equilibrium and the events of _Edge of Destruction_ can't have helped. The closest she gets to a rest is the time she spends with Ping Cho in _Marco Polo_ but that is hardly a holiday excursion. By contrast, both Ian and Barbara had lived through the Second World War and react far better to danger. Moreover, Ian is of an age where he would have had military service either during or immediately after the war--hence the combat and leadership skills which would otherwise be incongruous in a middle aged science teacher.

[@timbogymbro66]

After watching this, I love Genisis Of The Daleks and The Magician's Apprentice/The Witches Familiar even more.

[@TheMissileHappy]

The way the women in the earlier episodes are handled, makes it really hard for me to watch them without screaming at my screen :D I really enjoy the show from the third doctor onward, though.

[@Lil-Dragon]

That thumbnail is great.

[@ksaunders4362]

From what I remember, Susan was supposed to be a highly intelligent alien and it was also promised that she'd get to fight - as in karate - and be a bit of a badass. That obviously didn't pan out the way it was supposed to and that characterisation kind of reflects Zoe more than Susan in the classic series. the Daleks and the Cybermen are scary in the way that the Borg from Star Trek are scary - they have no feelings. They have no empathy. They have no individuality. There's no body language to read, no facial expressions to decipher. it's just highly unsettling, very uncomfortable and ultimately terrifying.

[@jammydodger222Xxd]

I actually really liked the Daleks, I thought the main two Thals were decent enough characters (considering they were only side characters) although I do agree that the other Thals were basically all the same. I didn't mind the episode where they're crawling through the tunnel because for me personally I think it demonstrated a more realistic impression of what it would be like to be in one of these crazy situations. Like, yes the Daleks and their plan to nuke the atmosphere is obviously terrifying and a huge problem but bringing it back to something as simple as jumping across a gap in an underground cave with nothing but a flimsy rope to hold you because you have literally no other choice made the story feel a lot more grounded and human to me. Like, yeah if I was in that situation having to crawl through that cave and risk my life climbing cliffs and jumping over deadly drops only so I could reach the enemy stronghold and risk my life again then I'd be terrified so I actually really liked that part of the story and found it quite engaging to watch. The only thing I didn't really like about this serial was the inconsistency of the female characters. One minute they're screaming and jumping at shadows even when there is no danger and the next they're fist fighting with Daleks with no issues.... What?! If they want to go down the brave female character route they should have just stuck with it rather than constantly turning them into damsels in distress, it just didn't make sense tonally given everything else they were doing.

[@martinmaguire-music6692]

I quite liked the cave bit too, but I remember feeling like it went on *slightly* too long. But the idea, and the atmosphere I really enjoyed, but towards the end I was just like 'enough with the cave!'

[@doctordaniel1662]

Do daleks invasion of Erth

[@M-E_123]

In some ways I feel like the Daleks were never really used better than during the first Drs run. They may have other stories as good later on but never really better for me. And I don't think any other Dr with more than one Dalek story has anything anywhere near the consistency of the first Drs stories with them. This story continues the arc started in the first story of Ian humanising the Dr and ultimately turning him into the Dr we come to know later.

[@ViperSRT1008]

I have to say I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work!

[@Luuuna]

PLEASE do a video about the series 11 teaser trailer!

[@englishgiraffe2124]

My biggest problem with The Daleks, is that when the story focuses on the city, nothing happens. It makes the story feel incredibly slow and padded. And frankly, it's a bit of a constant problem in 1's era; it's just too slow for my liking. My favourite stories from Hartnell either tends to be the ones that are very short (The Romans, Time Meddler, Tenth Planet), or the ones that are action-packed (The Crusade, Daleks Master Plan, War Machines). Unfortunately, 1's era tends to be my least favourite era in Classic Who alongside 5's (which somehow feels just as slow despite having fewer parts), and I tend to easily go to 2's, 3's and 7's era over 1's.

[@tardisnet9487]

English Giraffe for me it's all about the tension and suspense and build up for me which is what makes the Daleks so great for me and makes it so scary, it's the feeling of danger and terror. I think a lot of the journey to the Dalek city is unnecessary but all the stuff in the city with the Daleks I love.

[@tardisnet9487]

TheKarlOshaughnessy for me the Chase is very weak compared to the other 60s Daleks stories. For me the Daleks were at their best in the 60s with the Daleks, Dalek Invasion of earth, the Daleks master plan and Power of the Daleks all being fantastic in my opinion and shows the Daleks at their very best. But in my opinion it feels very unfocused, poorly plotted and confused. But I can understand why someone used to New Who would enjoy it as it has a faster pace. But I think the slower pace of Classic Who is much better having time to develop the plot and storyline.

[@ealadubh4800]

For the First Doctor's era, the worlds they visited were the whole point. They were as strange and new to the Doctor as they were to us, the viewers, and the TARDIS crew were figuring out how everything fits together at the same as us, we were there for the exploration. By and large the stories aren't any shorter during the Second Doctor's time, but the principle has changed from the worlds to their inhabitants and opponents, and the Doctor is less of an explorer and more of a sight-seeing tourist. The pace is definitely quicker.

[@tardisnet9487]

Eala Dubh but in the Chase there's barely any time spent in each location so it feels rushed. Personally with exception from the Dalek stories I feel the show never really properly figured out how to make great sci-fi appropriate to the budget with great villains until Troughton. My favourite stories in Hartnells era are the pure historicals.

[@ealadubh4800]

I didn't say The Chase was any good. :P

[@casualcraftman1599]

The biggest issue with the Daleks since there first appearance is using a sudden death cop out to kill them off real quick. The amount of times the show has used them did not help with that issue.

[@ealadubh4800]

Nobody on the series at the time ever expected them to make such an impact. That's why the story was stretched to seven episodes, to make use of the resources and the world as much as possible, because they didn't expect to use it again.

[@clementine4968]

Please when you can do the silent library and the forest of the dead I just watched and it's amazing I love the introduction of River and Donna's character growth.

[@wolf1066]

Seeing the second Doctor (and not much later, the third Doctor) going up against Daleks as a young kid, they were friggin', *terrifying* - very alien, very dangerous, very scary. I peeked out at them from behind the sofa. After today's more refined-looking versions, they can look pretty low-budget but I never had that comparison back then. The Daleks always have been my favourite Doctor Who "monster" - even though, through an adult's eyes, they're pretty silly in a lot of ways and I can think of a dozen ways to make them even scarier, creepier and more menacing than they are (though I'm glad for the sake of my 4- and 5-year-old self that nobody ever did because they were bloody scary enough as it was, back then).

[@samuelbarber4154]

I'd argue, despite being of its time, this show was always progressive and it isn't a thing that just materialised in 2018 with the transmission of series 11. Even, slightly at this point in its history, with Verity Lambert, Waris Hussein and Sydney Newman, two of whom weren't British, and the other was female.

[@Noodledorf]

You might have already covered this, but just in case, I think you'd enjoy The Five Doctors. Especially comparing and contrasting that special to Twice Upon a Time. I don't know, I just feel like Richard Hurndall may have been a bit better than David Bradley. But then again that was what I grew up with; like twelve episodes recorded on VHS, didn't have cable, and they didn't run them on PBS when I was a kid, and The Five Doctors movie also on VHS. Believe me, with no context, seeing episodes of the fourth Doctor and then the sixth, for a kid, was confusing. Even with watching the Five Doctors. I, and I actually watched the eighth Doctor movie with my Dad when it came out, still didn't know their was a seventh or eighth Doctor till I got back into it during modern Who in college.

[@ftumschk]

Re Hurndall or Bradley: it would have to be Bradley for me. Hartnell's Doctor was, despite appearances, sprightly and spirited, which Bradley captured perfectly. I loved Hurndall when The Five Doctors first aired, but I hadn't seen any of Hartnell's stories at that time. Having watched Hartnell subsequently, I find that Hurndall played the Doctor too much like a doddery old dear for my liking.

[@mrdoctorgilmore]

Personally I prefer Vicki over Susan.

[@Ocsttiac]

I love Vicki. Susan is cute and all, but Vicki is both adorable and very competent... even though she once accidentally clonked Ian on the head.

[@IG7799-c4u]

I agree. Susan was a bit too much for me.

[@MrPaulMorris]

"she once accidentally clonked Ian on the head" I guess that was in _The Chase_ Barbara also accidentally hit Ian over the head in _The Romans_ so there was something of a pattern emerging!

[@Dalek63]

I do like Susan, but I completely agree, Vicki is better.

[@daveherres3374]

Within the context of the era that was saturated with a plethora of sickeningly sweet family fare like "Leave it to Beaver," the show was a welcome oddity.

[@daniellasmith7348]

Yes I have seen it XD I haven't gotten far in Classic Who but, I can say I loved this story. I would much prefer the Daleks to go back to how they were. That small tease of the alien within, under the blanket was GOLD. I loved how they kept it a mystery. It's how you start a show like Doctor Who properly.

[@justsomeone8310]

I always thought of the 1st Doctor as a grandpa meeting his grandchild for the first time (the universe outside Gallafrey is the grandchild.) At first its just annoying disease carrying child but over time he realizes the beauty in it and begins to love and protect it. It is perfect that the Daleks were the second episode cause they were the kick in the pants he needed to start givin a crap.

[@ChevyChase301]

Review the daleks master plan has some really interesting ideas that would come back decades later. Like time lord renegades working for the daleks and the daleks with a time based superweapon. Also a Star Wars like alliance between the daleks and other alien species.

[@paulking9476]

But most if it's missing

[@ChevyChase301]

Paul King there are pretty good reconstructions on KZbin

[@HeatherSulu]

Are you excited about the trailer for series 11 being shown during the world cup finals?

[@tgif1345]

I haven't seen all seven parts of the story yet, just the first couple of episodes, but, that's just because I haven't gone back to Doctor Who: The Beginning and watched through all three stories on the DVD yet. I did like what I saw of the story though. Being fairly new to Doctor Who I haven't seen any New Who episodes with the Daleks as the focus of the episode yet, so this one kind of gives me a bit of an idea of what they're about, and such.

[@georgeowain]

Some things worth mentioning about this story. The original title for this story was The Mutants, but this was then changed to The Daleks to avoid confusion with the Jon Pertwee story of the same name. Secondly, this episode was originally supposed to have concluded with an alien race appearing at the end and admitting that they caused the war between the Thals and the Daleks, and the two races putting aside all hostility and working together to rebuild their world.

[@randomnerdery6511]

I really want the Revived Series to bring back Susan, preferably Carol Ann Ford herself, and I feel like the best time to do it would have been with Capaldi, and the show dropped the ball. UNLESS Ford herself wouldn't have any interest, I feel like the Revived Series is really missing an amazing opportunity to pay proper respect to one of the show's most important characters and actors.

[@carolstott5337]

You think Susan screams a lot? Two words: Bonnie. Langford.

[@GamerWho]

Would be nice to bring back Susan in new Who

[@oween_mash]

Ha! Pepper pots! Love your vids!

[@geekdetritus5503]

This episode is much easier to get through upon second and third viewings. Does anyone know if the writers were paid by the episode back then? Because, it seems as if most of the first Doctors episodes could've been shortened by one or two episodes.

[@r3d80vids5]

Nice review Have you thought about ranking classic companions I understand if it's too much

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Until I see them all I can’t.

[@r3d80vids5]

Council of Geeks that's completely understandable there are a lot

[@cmmosher8035]

The Salt and Pepper shakers of DOOM!!!!!! I love this story says the biased fanboy

[@Yan_Alkovic]

Yeah, Susan was extremely lame. Carole Ann-Forde wanted to quit precisely because of how limited and shrieky her character was. And I agree with you on pretty much everything that you've mentioned. The "going back to the city" part was unnecessary, the Thals (or as I like to call them "the tribe of He-Men") was bland and the Daleks were actually interesting as opposed to simply being angry and shouty.

[@tardisnet9487]

I love the Daleks its one of the best of the First Doctor era. I just did a review of Vincent and the Doctor if anyone wants to check it out.

[@dylanthompson5421]

Are you reviewing ‘The Edge of Destruction’ soon? It’s only two episodes, 50 mins altogether

[@Thunderwing88]

Now I want to see this one again, maybe today for lunch.

[@JohnAShort]

I've only recently started my epic in-order watch of all Doctor Who and saw this story only a couple of weeks ago. Some quick points... This is probably my favourite First Doctor story. BUT now watch George Pal's 1960 movie adaptation of The Time Machine (the plot looks kinda familiar doesn't it?) The design and the pupettering of the Dalek casings are what sells them. Susan isn't quite the wimp she's made out to be - In the second episode (of An Unearthly Child) she ATTACKS one of the cavemen who is beating up her Grandfather, jumping onto the caveman's back! Would you have done that? Barbara is bad ass! She puts a knife to the villain's throat in the Aztecs and convinces him that she will kill him. When I first saw early Doctor Who I was disappointed that the First Doctor was so undoctor-like... But now I think it's fantastic that he has a character-arc over the first two seasons - becoming THE DOCTOR in front of our eyes. It's an massive origin story in the way that Smallville is for Supes.

[@johnlochness]

I grew up watching John Pertwee and Tom Baker, but looking back I feel the same way you did, that most stories could have 1 or even 2 episodes removed.

[@normanby100]

A lot of eighties stories would be improved by removing all 4 episodes.

[@gobatron6589]

Know this review’s from a while ago and you might not see this but just popped back to this one and it’s a great review

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Thank you kindly.

[@Azphreal]

You seem to have forgotten that when the show started in was partly educational and the who idea of the Dalek mind-set was that of the NAZI party with racial purity.

[@dylanthompson5421]

Great review! I’m reviewing this story soon; I enjoyed it.

[@IronSalamander8]

Even for classic fans like me that started with Tom Baker the 1st Doctor was jarring in the beginning so I imagine he would be shocking for those that started with new Who. I want to like Susan but she was too screamy and I believe Carole Ann Ford gave that as a reason why she left the show. This is a good one for sure and while the Daleks got retconned in Genesis of the Daleks later on, this one works overall.

[@quinnsinclair7028]

I think the Thals all looking very similar was purposeful. Thematically as the Daleks were the nazis the thals were the Jews. It was a conscious choice in that metaphor to make the thals look Arian. Here we have the perfect German specimens being targeted the same way the Germans targeted others. Thematically it was a really good move. Practically however it made them really hard to tell apart.

[@LiveDefiant]

I remember watching dr back in the 70s and 80s and loved it.

[@cassiemcguire8314]

Susan vs Mel who’s scream is more annoying?

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Mel.

[@purplehatguy]

I think Mel.

[@scaper8]

Mel. I'm not sure if she even had dialogue, 70% sure her scripts just read, "[SCREAM]."

[@MrPaulMorris]

Mel without any doubt. Particularly dreadful casting as the actress, Bonnie Langford, had risen to 'fame' as an annoying screeching child performer so the producers could hardly have been surprised at what they got.

[@shamelesscheese]

Mel 100%

[@cybersingernicholasdavid6082]

Are you alright? It sounds like you have a bit of cold or something.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Tired. It was a late record.

[@sunriselg]

Oh, so I was not the only one who heard it. That was a lot more vocal fry than usual.

[@DaleRibbons]

Liked this video. wish I had something to say, but you pretty much summed up my opinions about the story.

[@fintan8145]

Yes

[@avidkeo]

THE NEW DOCTOR WHO TEASER IS OUT AND YOU ARE ON HOLIDAY! sigh, sometimes life just doesn't work out. Now I'll be hanging out for you to get back. (PS hope you are having a blast)

[@colinwilson4658]

if you liked this story you should check out its prequel genesis of the daleks its a forth doctor story & one of the best who stories ever

[@dylanthompson5421]

And yassss are you reacting to the trailer dropping today????

[@tyrant-den884]

Mysogynist, not chauvinist. Chauvinist means overly patriotic. That just happens to include sexism for a lot of countries.

[@vdesatch6273]

0:49 This is for personal reasons. Nothing wrong with your pronounciation of Skaro; everything is right about it.

[@paulking9476]

This was funny I was just watching the story yesterday I really like it but it can be really slow when they are in the cave

[@doctordaniel1662]

You should also do the case is hilarious and not as bad as fans say

[@MyNameIsCody]

i couldn't stop laughing at 9:00

[@lucasdolding6924]

I don't think Susan is actually that well loved by the fanbase, as she can be very annoying with all the screaming, as you pointed out. I don't think she's an awful character or companion, but she can be very annoying.

[@EmeralBookwise]

I think Susan is a bit more of a mixed bag. In concept at least she should be one of the most interesting companions, an alien from the same technologically advanced culture as the Doctor. Unfortunately in execution she was far to often written as a pretty typical teenage girl of the time. So I don't think it's even all the screaming that annoys fans the most, but more so all of the missed potential.

[@lucasdolding6924]

That's very true, I agree there was a lot of missed potential with her character.

[@M-E_123]

I think people are more interested in the idea of Susan - they could do so much with the Dr's grand daughter now but we really saw so little of her she's pretty much a blank slate. Once they started exploring the Dr's past more it's like a missed opportunity that could easily be improved upon to add more insight into the Dr - she's a hint towards so much more than we ever really find out.

[@EloImFizzy]

I think Carole Ann Ford left the show because she disliked how she was getting portrayed.

[@reecegoudercourt3709]

well, its better than The Edge Of Destruction.

[@Ragnarok345]

Ian’s insistence on going over Susan…does it never occur that…like…she’s (at least by appearance and maturity) a teenage girl…a _child?_ Plus, as her teacher, Ian has spent a lot of time as an adult responsible and accountable for the safety of this child, and that time was also very recent. But no…clearly he’s just being a sexist dick. Like…yeah, the Thalls and the show as a whole can be, but this instance of Ian was _not_ that.

[@DadSkool]

why do so many people forget about the timestamp when making a thumnail? I thought this video was about the dales for a minute. lol hey, i wanna start a big finish story, can anyone recommend a starting point so i dont start with a crap one and quit. thanks ia. Also, where can i download it? All i am finding is porn titled "big Finish" but thats not what im looking for today

[@purplehatguy]

There is some on Spotify called "Doctor Who Main Range" and my personal favourite is Spare Parts.

[@DadSkool]

thankyou for that

[@lilithhedwig5408]

I couldn’t STAND Susan lol it was a breath of fresh air when Vicky was brought in

[@alexinabox6931]

I loved this. A lot.