10 Greatest Speeches In Doctor Who History

Tom Baker is rarely better than he is in Genesis of the Daleks, bringing a level of gravitas that would be chipped away in his subsequent seasons. The moment of realization, when he acknowledges that he'd be no better than the Daleks if he destroyed them, is wonderfully understated.

Most sci-fi heroes wouldn't think twice about destroying their arch-enemies once and for all, but that's why the Doctor is no ordinary hero. Instead of detonating the Daleks in the crib, the Doctor ponders the impact of a universe without a threat on that scale:

"Some things could be better with the Daleks. Many future worlds will become allies just because of their fear of the Daleks. If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you, and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?"

Is the universe better with the Daleks in it? A common foe to unite against, a warning to planets across the galaxy not to let fear and hatred consume them, and turn them into unthinking killing machines?

Genesis of the Daleks is Terry Nation taking his Nazi allegory to its inevitable conclusion - putting a Doctor Who spin on the ethical debate about whether a time traveller could, or should, execute Hitler as a child.

It's a fascinating philosophical debate played out on teatime TV on a Saturday night. There's truly no other show like Doctor Who.