10 Classic Doctor Who Moments That Really Haven’t Aged Well
7. The Giant Clam Genesis Of The Daleks (1975)
The Story The Doctor travels to Skaro to stop insane scientist Davros from creating the Daleks. The Moment The Doctor and Harry brave the wastelands between the Thal and Kaled cities and are attacked by one of Davross failed experiments: a mutant clam. Why It Hasnt Aged Well Genesis Of The Daleks is damn near perfect. Its brilliantly atmospheric, Tom Baker is on excellent form, and Michael Wisher delivers a phenomenal performance as Davros. Its so well loved that in 2009, it was voted as the third best story of all time. But as great as it is, not all of it is on the same level as its best moments. Particularly the giant clam encountered by the Doctor and Harry in Part Three. As the image shows, the prop for the clam was far from convincing in both appearance and movement. And because of this, Tom Baker and Ian Marters performances in the clam scene are far below not only their work in other stories but in Genesis itself. The clam also seems pointless from a production standpoint as it would have been cheaper and easier to reuse the Kaled mutant props from later in the story Doctor Who has had a tendency for monsters based on real creatures since the very beginning so the clam isnt an idea without potential. But it would have aged a lot better if it had been in a lesser story from the same period rather than a story with otherwise starkly contrasting content that would go on to become an all-time classic.
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
