10 'What Ifs' That Could Have Changed The Course Of Doctor Who
2. There Were No Daleks
Doctor Who without Daleks is like existing without pizza. It's not even worth thinking about. If anything, Doctor Who probably wouldn't have succeeded if the immense popularity of the Daleks hadn't boosted the show's ratings sky-high. However, Sydney Newman's vision for the show was predominantly educational, and with no 'bug eyed monsters.' However, legendary producer Verity Lambert took a gamble on the Daleks, and boy did it pay off.
However, if she didn't defy Sydney's vision, and didn't risk an original enemy, the show might not have made it out of the early sixties. As said, Dalekmania was huge. It led to an immeasurable boost in the show's ratings, merchandising profits were off the charts, and two Dalek TV stories were adapted for the big screen (which while non-canon, are absolutely worth watching). If the Daleks had never trundled onto the show, we'd know Doctor Who as some weird sixties TV show in which an old man lived in a tiny box with a teenager.