We have a feeling that many people would rather put this one on the Worst list, albeit near the bottom (meaning not-so-good rather than awful), and there are certainly arguments for that. We don't get to see a complete Dalek until Episode Two, for one thing, and when we do, their voices sound... well, not right. On top of it all, there's relatively little of them in the story, especially once our time traveling friends find the Thals, and we get those endless episodes following Ian and Barbara's party as they try to break into the Dalek city... Oh, to hell with all that. These are the original Daleks, and that shot above precedes the scream heard round the world (or at least around the UK), causing people to wonder for six days what could be at the other end of that... whatever it is. The sense of menace in this story is palpable, and there's as yet no guarantee the Doctor (or anybody) can save the day, or even wants to. The Doctor even offers to show the Daleks his TARDIS in exchange for his life at one point! Sure, in hindsight, we can tell ourselves that he's just trying to buy time - but it's still a shock when you realize that he just might have meant it. As for the Daleks themselves - the iconic design is there from the start, albeit in a muted way, and while it's hard to believe given that ending that the Daleks could ever become the space and timefaring evil they have, it's not surprising that this story captured the viewing public's imagination, simply because it still does.
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
