10 Most Cringeworthy Doctor Who Moments From The 60s

10. The Grunting Dalek In The Sand - The Chase (1965)

In episode one of The Chase, the Doctor and company have landed on the planet Aridius, a world which (if you're paying attention to names, which you really should do in a Terry Nation script) is entirely dry and composed of sand dunes. They don't know that they're being pursued by the Daleks, but we do. In fact, the big reveal comes only when Ian and Vicki make their way over a sand dune, look down...and see a Dalek pushing its way out of the sand. For no apparent reason. And it's grunting and struggling as it does so. The obvious question is, "Why is there a Dalek buried in the sand?" Were the Daleks having a beach party, and one of them was unlucky enough to get buried by its buddies? This isn't the only moment of ridiculousness in this story: we also get a Dalek in one of the later episodes who apparently has a stutter and a Dalek in the second episode who has an absent-minded moment. But this one stands out as one of the worst - for the Daleks, anyway. Perhaps the director was trying to recreate that iconic moment in The Dalek Invasion of Earth when a Dalek emerges from the River Thames (which, as cool as it looks, also makes absolutely no sense). Unfortunately, the end result is less intentional horror and more unintentional hilarity. And speaking of other cringey moments from The Chase...