Go back in time to 1968 and tell someone who’s been watching and enjoying Patrick Troughton’s Doctor, that in fifty year’s time the majority of his stories will be given new life as animations. At the beginning of the month, The Evil of the Daleks were announced, and The Abominable Snowman is also on the way (it’s not been officially announced, but it’s next, trust me). That gives us 13 stories until every single Doctor Who story is available on DVD. Which is INSANE. So let’s break them all down and I’ll try and figure out the order they’re going to be made, because make no mistake, I can guarantee that all of them are going to be made –
The case for… Marco Polo
Marco Polo looks like he’s been sent to the principal’s office and the Doctor’s his very disappointed granddad.
The show’s first lost epic, Marco Polo is a sprawling seven part serial that’s been lost to legend. The narrated soundtrack exists of course, as does the novelisation, but the original tapes are missing even though the rest of the premier season is pretty much intact. Despite this serial’s popularity, I don’t think we’re getting this any time soon. For starters, animation is expensive, and there’s seven parts to handle. The Evil of The Daleks is based on Dalek models that already exist, plus it’s not purely historical with dozens of costumes and location changes. Marco Polo literally takes place over MONTHS. It’s a huge story. And with no surviving episodes or even any footage (unlike Evil), all we have are telesnaps and behind the scenes photographs to animate this vast adventure. That’s a pretty big hurdle. It’ll happen one day, but I think the animation team will want to tackle other historicals first before doing this, one of the crown jewels of missing serials.
Earlier this year I went through all televised Cyberman stories in Doctor Who but now it’s time for the big guns – the Daleks. Across 24 stories the Daleks have thrilled and terrified, and with the pepperpots from Skaro set to return this New Year’s, what better thing to do than to discuss all of those stories, excluding their clash with the Cybermen in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday as I talked about that in my previous marathon. To make up for it, I’ll be throwing in a classic Big Finish. Much like my Cyberman article, I’ll won’t be ranking until the end, so let’s get right into it –
The Daleks
The second ever Doctor Who story, and the one that solidified the show’s reputation. Although iconic, the Daleks’ debut story is far from perfect – at seven episodes it’s so, so, so slow, and the Thal characters fail to engage at all. But the rest of the characterisation, from a grouchy and often mean-spirited Doctor to the cunning yet diplomatic Daleks trapped in the Kaled city is solid. In their first appearance, the Daleks are presented in a more nuanced and ideas based manner than they would become. The direction by Derek Martinus gives proceedings a chilling and sombre tone, and whilst the show was still in its developing days this early taste into the morality of both the protagonist and his soon to be ultimate antagonist is packed with great moments and defined Doctor Who as an immortal and endearing franchise for the next 60 years.
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
This is arguably William Hartnell’s most iconic story, and the one where the Daleks became icons. Moving out of their cities and taking over a future Earth, the Daleks are now global conquerors and exterminators. The actual plot to this one is utterly ridiculous but let’s ignore that – this is one of Terry Nation’s best solo scripts, and with a solid production behind him the dystopian and haunting streets of conquered London are brought to evocative life. Hartnell’s Doctor is now a crusader of justice against the Daleks, and this renewed characterisation is supplemented by the legendary ending scene where he leaves Susan behind so she can start a new life. But before that, we have a fantastic six parter where Barbara hits Daleks with a truck. That alone is worth it. If you consider yourself a Doctor Who fan, this story perhaps more than The Daleks is the must watch widely available 60’s Dalek story.
The Chase
Slated as a disaster for decades, The Chase is a noble attempt to combine the Hartnell-era “quest” narrative with the Daleks and a side helping of comedy. This one is just so weird. The Daleks aren’t even important in the first episode – the regulars sit in the TARDIS and watch the scanner in little vignettes most of the time! The Chase is very entertaining in my opinion, but it’s an acquired taste. From a haunted house to a robot double of the Doctor, the Mary Celeste to Peter Purves playing two different characters, The Chase is 60’s Who at its most insane and unpredictable. Then, out of nowhere, the TARDIS lands on Mechanus and the Mechanoids, now an established part of Doctor Who lore, emerge and battle the Daleks before Ian and Barbara’s abrupt and surprisingly emotional farewell scene (LONDON 1965!) happens. It’s completely nuts. And I love it!
The Dalek’s Master Plan
This is the ultimate 60’s Dalek tale and one of my all-time favourites. The previous three Dalek stories were the warm-up to Terry Nation and director Douglas Camfield’s finest hour – a twelve part epic that sees the Guardian of the Solar System team up with the Daleks to destroy whole galaxies with the Time Destructor. When the Doctor steals it, the chase is on. Two companions die, planets are scoured, the fourth wall is broken and the show will never be the same again. I love everything about this one, from the atmospheric early episodes to the chase across time to the Doctor’s decision to stop running and destroy the Daleks on their own terms. I wish more of this story was recovered, as the surviving episodes are brilliant and the story is so effective that even reconstructions are brilliant. The Daleks have never been scarier or more powerful, and NO story has the scope of this one.
The Power of the Daleks
The story that introduced Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor is the one that guaranteed the show’s survival. Most fans have now seen this through either the original animated release or this year’s improved one, but the story remains the same. Tapping into the paranoia of runaway science that dominated much of the 60’s, Power sees a small group of weakened Daleks trick a human research base into restoring their dormant army. Troughton’s Doctor is a mysterious, aloof figure in his first serial, and this adds to the story’s morbid atmosphere. Never before or arguably since have the Daleks been so interesting as characters, plotting and scheming and working behind the scenes and the human characters are also well sketched out. It’s a lost masterpiece that thankfully has been given new life. Without a script this good it’s doubtful if the show could’ve survived the first regeneration
The Evil of the Daleks
David Whitaker’s follow-up to Power closes Troughton’s first season and had the task of killing off the Daleks permanently as Terry Nation wanted to sell them to America. It’s an attempt at a Master Plan style epic with the intimacy of Power and it isn’t quite as successful as either of them, although there is still a lot of good here. Here, the Daleks attempt to understand humans through the “Human Experiment” in order to conquer them better. From the 60’s to Victorian London, where new companion Victoria is introduced, the story hops about and concludes with an epic Dalek civil war in the walls of Skaro as the Emperor Dalek makes his debut. It’s all very ambitious but padded, including an episode that’s basically Jamie and a supporting character run around Skaro. Still, I’d love to see this one animated, and its mighty reputation is clear to understand.
Day of the Daleks
After a five year absence the Daleks returned to kickstart Jon Pertwee’s third season. This story was written without the Daleks in mind, but it’s still fantastic and the Daleks are ultimately well handled, as they control a timeline where their 23rd century invasion was successful. Louis Marks ties together countless genres, from haunted house to time travel thriller to dystopian future to political thriller with ease, and the time paradox, one of Classic Who’s most ambitious, is satisfying to see unfold. The plot here is The Terminator a decade earlier, with classic Doctor Who twists and turns. The broadcast version of this story is infamous for the poor Dalek voices and badly directed finale with only two Dalek props, but the DVD brings in Nicholas Briggs and some computer effects to truly bring justice to the intelligent and complex story. One of Pertwee’s best.
Planet of the Daleks
Unfortunately, the Dalek story for the tenth anniversary season is, in my opinion, their low point in the original series. Jon Pertwee is infamous for hating the Daleks, and it’s pretty clear here as his usually charismatic Doctor is bored throughout. This is Terry Nation on cliched autopilot, from generic tough warrior types to needlessly complex science, but despite a great first episode the story just kills any momentum it gained from fantastic predecessor Frontier in Space into a completely different and less interesting plot about invisible Daleks. It’s essentially a remake of the first Dalek story, and we’ve seen that one already. David Maloney tries his best at directing and the story isn’t completely worthless as it has some good ideas and scenes but this is the weak link in the peerless Season 10. Statistically speaking this has the most common Doctor Who title, which is very appropriate.
Death to the Daleks
Sorry Jon, you get another one! This is a vast improvement over its predecessor, and a good contender for most underrated Classic Who Dalek story. The Doctor and Sarah Jane are trapped on Exxilon when the TARDIS gets its power drained, and they meet not only a group of humans but the Daleks, who are powerless and are forced to work with their bitter rival to get out of the situation. This is a brilliant twist on the usual Dalek formula, as we see a return to the manipulations and plotting of early Dalek stories. It’s no masterpiece, and the story often feels quite uneventful despite the fantastic premise, but it’s hard to not be entertained by this unique Dalek story where the Daleks are supporting players. Obviously it’s not that straightforward by the story’s end but Death to the Daleks does show that there is more to the Daleks than just conquest plots.
Genesis of the Daleks
THE Dalek story, although not quite my personal favourite. I don’t really need to talk about this one – its legacy speaks for itself. The introduction of Davros, “do I have the right”, evocative war time imagery, Tom Baker’s best performance, ramifications that echo throughout the series, themes of morality, justice and so much more… Genesis of the Daleks is the quintessential, stone cold classic, worthy of eternal praise and appreciation. The six episodes are never padded (OK, except for the clams, but we’ll forget them shall we?) and the supporting cast are one of the best in the classic series. Everything is firing on all cylinders for an unbeatable classic. Does the Doctor destroying the Daleks at creation make him any better? Are Davros’s intentions actually noble when contextualised through his people’s war? So many powerful questions that the script explores. Watch it! Now!
Destiny of the Daleks
And here’s the lacklustre sequel. Destiny of the Daleks had the mammoth task of following Genesis, and it really doesn’t succeed. The story sees the Daleks resurrect Davros so he can help them fight the least threatening robots of all time, the Movellans. The story has lofty ambitions and there’s interesting ideas here – but Douglas Adams’s influence undercuts everything with too much brevity and wit, meaning the story can never truly have any stakes or tension. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward (debuting here) make the story watchable but the padded story and underexplored narrative holds this one back considerably. Is it entertaining? Of course it is, it’s part of the absurd Season 17. Is it actually any good? Jury’s still out on how much of a disaster this is, but it’s not exactly the Daleks’ finest hour. And it would take them quite a while to recover from Destiny.
Resurrection of the Daleks
Peter Davison’s sole Dalek story is insane. Eric Saward has about ten different ideas going on, and does ALL of them. The result is a chaotic but engaging mess that I really admire, but it is the weakest 80’s Dalek story. Whilst the Fifth Doctor is not a personal favourite of mine, his final season does challenge him in interesting ways that complements the character, and this story sees Davros challenge the Doctor to a psychological duel between minds whilst the Daleks wreck havoc around them. Terry Molloy makes his debut as Davros here, and excels in capturing the character’s nuances as well as his magnificent scenery chewing and he’s complimented by one of Davison’s best and most energetic performances. The direction is sharp and the tone is grim, leading to Tegan leaving and the 80’s trilogy surrounding the Dalek Civil War officially beginning.
Revelation of the Daleks
In a word – underrated. Colin Baker’s bonkers first season draws to a close with the single most underappreciated story in Dalek canon. Eric Saward goes 100%, no holds bar with this one. Davros has hidden himself on a funeral planet where he is the “Great Healer” to make new Daleks, a knight (yes, you read that right) has been sent to kill him and the Doctor and Peri have been mysteriously summoned to investigate. It’s completely nuts, and the script is incredibly dense, packed with clever worldbuilding and dialogue. Sure, the Daleks themselves are almost entirely expendable and supporting players but it’s still an important expansion on Davros’ character and the Dalek Civil War. Tranquil Repose is a fully lived in, three dimensional world that I can’t get enough of – especially when the DJ kills a Dalek with the power of disco. Yes, you read that right.
Jubilee
Since we’re skipping a televised story in a bit, I may as well talk about the best Sixth Doctor story in all of Doctor Who canon (or The Holy Terror. If it’s Robert Shearman, expect quality). The Doctor and Evelyn Smythe find themselves in an alternate London where the Daleks are defeated and an alternate Doctor has been imprisoned in the Tower of London along with a lone Dalek. This alternate world has used the iconography of the Daleks, merchandised and commercialised them in a similar way the Allies did to the Nazis after World War II. More importantly, this blind nationalism and glorification of the past is used to hide the corruption within the government. Shearman takes the principle metaphor of the Daleks and creates a biting satire of imperialism and British wartime attitudes and the result is a twisted, beautiful and macabre masterpiece that every Doctor Who fan must listen to at least once.
Remembrance of the Daleks
Right, back to TV, and my personal favourite Dalek story of all time. The show’s 25th anniversary kicks off with the Daleks engaging in full on warfare against the backdrop of racial tensions and Cold War fears in 1963. Remembrance of the Daleks is in my top ten favourite Doctor Who stories, and it’s easy to see why – from the iconic Special Weapons Dalek, Ace and her baseball bat and the thrilling cliffhangers, Remembrance is one of the best structured and visualised stories ever. But beneath all that, Ben Aaronovitch imbues his script with pathos and a willing acknowledgement of the show’s past and uncertain future and explores the ultimately futile and self destructive nature of fascism with how the Daleks destroy themselves. The finest example of a Doctor Who blockbuster, Remembrance of the Daleks rivals Genesis as the species’ greatest story.
Dalek
After 17 years, the only way to bring the Daleks back from the dead is by bringing in Robert Shearman. Although copying many of Jubilee’s ideas, Shearman’s TV script differs in many aspects but is every bit as much of a masterpiece. Before Dalek, the revival was a decent reboot of a crusty old show. After Dalek, it was a television icon again. Shearman frames and condenses the centuries old conflict as one Time Lord, one Dalek, two survivors of a war, and their place in a changed world. It’s very much a metaphor for the show’s death and resurrection and how this 21st century Who can be relevant. The answer? The Doctor and the Dalek. The world, both in the world of Doctor Who and in real life, has changed dramatically since 1988, but whilst the Doctor survives change, the Dalek despises itself and cannot. It’s one of the “Big Four” Dalek tales along with Master Plan, Genesis and Remembrance.
Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways
Irrationally hating this one was one of the dumbest things I ever did as a younger fan. Wolf/Ways is a perfect swansong for Christopher Eccleston’s run as the Doctor, revealing Series 1 as essentially a 13 part mini-series about healing from the Time War. With the Doctor, Rose and Jack caught in various game shows, RTD’s satire emerges in the first half before the curtain falls and the Daleks, led by the wonderfully characterised Emperor, begin the “purification of Earth” (chills. Every time). Epic and emotional, the Daleks wouldn’t be this inhuman, primal and scary for a long time. From Joe Ahearne’s direction to the wonderful script and Murray Gold’s haunting score, Wolf/Ways is one of three unimpeachable revived finales along with The Big Bang and The Doctor Falls and everything fits together in a perfect finale.
Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks
We’ve already discussed the Battle of Canary Wharf, so let’s skip ahead to a story I’ve completely flipped on. For years this two parter was the nadir of Series 3, but a recent rewatch has made me realise just how underrated parts of this are. Whilst Helen Raynor is not great on plot details, she makes up for it with the excellently characterised Cult of Skaro and a willingness to take the Daleks in new directions. Exploring this evolution against the Great Depression and we have a very interesting story on a thematic level and the first Dalek story that’s also a historical. Yes, the pig men are stupid, the Sec hybrid looks really dumb and the second half spirals out of control but the actual story being told is fascinating, and if you remove the sillier moments we have the most out there and experimental Dalek story in decades. Far from a masterpiece, but an underrated rough diamond in a great season.
The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End
In contrast, the Series 4 finale is a lot weaker than I remember. It’s still pretty good, but the story is rough around the edges. But let’s talk about the good! The culmination of four years, this epic finale brings together the spin-offs to conclude Russell T Davies’ Tennant Dalek trilogy and whilst The Stolen Earth is flawless from the terrifying New Dalek Empire to the various branches of the Whoniverse meeting, Journey’s End is a lot weaker. The supporting characters from the spin-offs like Gwen, Ianto and Luke just sit around waiting to be relevant, there are too many characters and it’s really melodramatic to the point of parody. But is it also a thrilling, exciting and literally explosive finale that is the show at its biggest, grandest and most satisfying? Yes. Is it Russell T Davies literally playing with his action figures? Also yes. But if this isn’t Doctor Who at its purest I don’t know what is.
Victory of the Daleks
Right, time to play devil’s advocate again. Whilst Steven Moffat and Daleks are two things that should never combine, in the case of Series 5’s Dalek tale things aren’t so bad… yet. Mark Gatiss is at the helm and we get some reliably strong historical attention to detail and the Ironsides are a fantastic plot point and commentary on wartime propaganda. In fact, until the Paradigm Daleks reveal themselves, there’s very little to criticise, from Matt Smith’s early defining performances as the Doctor still in full swing and the welcome return of the more low key Dalek schemes from the 60’s. But the story goes off the rails when the Mighty Morphing Power Daleks emerge and in hindsight the complete failure to do anything with them in this story killed their potential instantly. Still, for a story that once held the title of “the worst Doctor Who story”, it really isn’t, and is the Moffat era’s best Dalek story by a country mile.
Asylum of the Daleks
The series of mini-blockbusters that is Series 7 kickstarts with a story that SHOULD have been a classic. But it isn’t. I actually enjoy this one, but it’s more of a guilty pleasure than an actually good story. The highlights of Asylum are Matt Smith (of course) and Nick Hurran’s direction, but Moffat’s script is full of holes and the incredibly unnecessary Amy and Rory divorce subplot. Oh, and this is where the Impossible Girl thing kicks off and we get the first hint as to how the Clara plot will consume the show for the next three years. Urgh. But there is still much to enjoy here as a visual blockbuster of various Daleks from the show’s history and even though it’s badly done fanservice (“every Dalek ever”, really Moffat? At least use them!) it was nice to see a bunch of variants and the Asylum itself is a fun location. Is the story good? No, but we can do worse.
Into The Dalek
Fun fact – when I wrote down all the Dalek stories I was doing for this article, I forgot to include this one. I genuinely forgot this one existed. And that’s pretty damning. It was a massive mistake for Capaldi’s Doctor to meet the Daleks as his SECOND villain when we haven’t spent much time with him and the morality the story explores is incredibly hard to pinpoint what exactly the point of everything is. Ben Wheatley makes the episode looks nice but there is basically nothing done here that wasn’t done better in Dalek or other Dalek stories and again, we are TWO episodes into this new era and we’re already doing the Daleks? At the very least Into the Dalek does make the villainous Daleks intimidating even if they’re mostly off-screen, but this is easily the blandest Dalek story of the revival and possibly of all time. This one just isn’t interesting to write about.
The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar
Once again, we have a story I used to like. Oh how the turn tables. This is not the absolute nadir of Series 9, we have other contenders for that, but as a premier story, a Dalek story and ESPECIALLY a Davros story it fails. For starters, the first episode is nothing but filler, and the tank scene is still objectively AND subjectively speaking the single stupidest scene in all of Doctor Who. Sonic shades, electric guitars… is this the “dark and gritty” Twelfth Doctor or a parody of a once great show? Then the Daleks pop up and proceed to do nothing but show off old props whilst Missy and Clara run about some sewers and Peter Capaldi and Julian Bleach act their hearts out in incredibly powerful scenes that end up meaning nothing because they were playing each other the whole time. At least in Boom Town the Doctor was still genuine in his argument even if Margaret wasn’t. What a whole load of nothing this one is. And let’s not get into the whole “Daleks aren’t saying exterminate” thing.
Resolution (Of the Daleks)
To say this came as a breath of fresh air would be an understatement. After a lacklustre Series 11 finale, Chris Chibnall knocked it out of the park! Resolution is an unleaded, unapologetic Doctor Who thriller that stands as one of the absolute best standalone episodes we’ve had in years, one of the best Thirteenth Doctor episodes and certainly the best Dalek story since Parting of the Ways. The Reconnaissance Scout is evil and twisted, deranged yet cunning, and Chibnall just nails the personality of a sadistic being of pure malice. The Dalek exterminates people! And I care about it! Hurrah! Having the Dalek mutant be the villain for the most part is Chibnall’s way of tapping into the psychological and body horror of the Daleks, rarely explored, and this all happens amongst some great development for Ryan and OH MY WORD THAT ACTION SCENE WITH THE ARMY! Welcome back Daleks. May the Revolution commence.
Say what you will about Chibnall, but his respect for the Daleks is clear – they are the biggest, baddest and most important villain in Doctor Who history. Based on the quality of Resolution I’m expecting great things from this Christmas. To say I’m excited is an understatement as for the first time in years I’m actually looking forward to a Dalek story. Whatever the future holds for the mighty rulers of Skaro, in Chibnall’s hands, they’re very safe. So to conclude, here’s all the stories I discussed, plus the Series 2 finale, ranked in preference order –
25. The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar
Ben Williams' World 