(Note: This Is A Review Of All Six Episodes Of The Story.)
Imagine the following for a moment would you?
It is November 5th, 1966 and you have just tuned into the BBC's successful series Doctor Who. William Hartnell, who has played the role of the mysterious time traveling alien known as the Doctor since November 1963, has just vanished in a glow of light and Patrick Troughton appears as the second actor to play the Doctor. Over the next few weeks this new Doctor and his companions (Ben and Polly played by Michael Craze and Anneke Wills) find themselves on the Earth colony Vulcan facing off against the Doctor's oldest enemy the Daleks in the midst of political intrigue. Sounds like a great story to watch right?
Well because of BBC policy in the 1970's Power of the Daleks no longer exists in its visual form. The good news is that thanks to fans with tape recorders, telesnaps, publicity images and a few clips of surviving footage used in other BBC programs that it is possible to judge (somewhat) The Power of the Daleks.
Power of the Daleks is easily one of the strongest Doctor Who stories of the 1960's. On the distant Earth colony Vulcan where a scientist named Lesterson (played expertly by Robert James) finds a space craft. Upon opening it he discovers three Daleks inside and, against the Doctor's advice, brings back to life with hopes for them becoming servants for the colony. The Daleks promise to be servants, but soon begin using materials and power to begin creating an army. Meanwhile the political intrigue heats up and the Daleks go from benevolent to malevolent as first they fight for the rebels and then against everyone. Only the Doctor can hope to defeat the Daleks before the complete destruction of the colony.
Judging from all the existing material this story is first rate. The story is a well-performed and well produced piece of science fiction drama with terrific performances from the cast. The story is at its heart a political thriller with two factions vying for control of the colony with the Doctor and the Daleks landing in the middle and making matters worse. In fact this is one of the Daleks most menacing stories with them rallying to phrases "Annihilate! Exterminate! Destroy!" and "Daleks conquer and destroy!" while pretending to the servants of the humans on Vulcan.
In short, Power of the Daleks is classic Doctor Who. From its political thriller heart to classic moments with the new Doctor facing his oldest enemy, this story is one of the strongest stories of the Troughton era even if it is his first story. It is shame that this story has become lost because it is one of the strongest Doctor Who stories of the 1960's.
Imagine the following for a moment would you?
It is November 5th, 1966 and you have just tuned into the BBC's successful series Doctor Who. William Hartnell, who has played the role of the mysterious time traveling alien known as the Doctor since November 1963, has just vanished in a glow of light and Patrick Troughton appears as the second actor to play the Doctor. Over the next few weeks this new Doctor and his companions (Ben and Polly played by Michael Craze and Anneke Wills) find themselves on the Earth colony Vulcan facing off against the Doctor's oldest enemy the Daleks in the midst of political intrigue. Sounds like a great story to watch right?
Well because of BBC policy in the 1970's Power of the Daleks no longer exists in its visual form. The good news is that thanks to fans with tape recorders, telesnaps, publicity images and a few clips of surviving footage used in other BBC programs that it is possible to judge (somewhat) The Power of the Daleks.
Power of the Daleks is easily one of the strongest Doctor Who stories of the 1960's. On the distant Earth colony Vulcan where a scientist named Lesterson (played expertly by Robert James) finds a space craft. Upon opening it he discovers three Daleks inside and, against the Doctor's advice, brings back to life with hopes for them becoming servants for the colony. The Daleks promise to be servants, but soon begin using materials and power to begin creating an army. Meanwhile the political intrigue heats up and the Daleks go from benevolent to malevolent as first they fight for the rebels and then against everyone. Only the Doctor can hope to defeat the Daleks before the complete destruction of the colony.
Judging from all the existing material this story is first rate. The story is a well-performed and well produced piece of science fiction drama with terrific performances from the cast. The story is at its heart a political thriller with two factions vying for control of the colony with the Doctor and the Daleks landing in the middle and making matters worse. In fact this is one of the Daleks most menacing stories with them rallying to phrases "Annihilate! Exterminate! Destroy!" and "Daleks conquer and destroy!" while pretending to the servants of the humans on Vulcan.
In short, Power of the Daleks is classic Doctor Who. From its political thriller heart to classic moments with the new Doctor facing his oldest enemy, this story is one of the strongest stories of the Troughton era even if it is his first story. It is shame that this story has become lost because it is one of the strongest Doctor Who stories of the 1960's.