Every Doctor Who Debut Story Ranked From Worst To Best
2. The Power Of The Daleks
Like most fans, I have never seen this lost classic. The tragedy of the BBCs wiping policy is offset by the various ways in which it has been brought to life - the original soundtrack with narration, fanmade reconstructions, and John Peel’s novelisation amongst others.
Now that BBC Worldwide has unexpectedly produced a fully animated version Troughton’s debut has become even more accessible. They might only be approximations of the original, but they enable us to access the story’s merits, which is fortunate given its originally lukewarm reception.
The harshest criticisms were reserved for Troughton’s characterisation of the Doctor, with one viewer lamenting ‘the family have really gone off Doctor Who since the change. They do not understand the new one at all, and his character is peculiar in an unappealing way.’
Such a view was quite representative of the reaction at the time, but it says less about Troughton and more about the brilliance of Hartnell in gradually winning over the audience; after all, he had hardly endeared himself on the strength of his first episodes.
The Dalek threat is more contained than in Hartnell’s epic last Dalek serial (The Daleks’ Masterplan) but here they are more menacing and alien than ever, and Troughton’s ability to convey genuine fear helps to prevent his old adversaries from losing their threat through overfamiliarity.
Like Pertwee, Troughton later reigned in the comedy, but the tonal shift is not quite so sharp. Enough of the Second Doctor’s character shines through to make the story a promising and reliable start.