The Best Doctor Who Story Of All Time
Genesis of the Daleks is the best Doctor who story of all time. Everything comes together to make this story great, the writing, the performances, the tone, it all holds together so well. In the story, the Doctor is sent on a mission by the Timelords to go back to prevent the creation of the Daleks. Throughout the serial there is a running sense of fighting against the inevitable, a sense of menace and threat as even in their infancy the Daleks are already a powerful force, in concept as much as in physicality. Despite this the sense of excitement and adventure is never lost.
The story is directed by David Maloney, one of the best directors of Doctor Who, who also directed such classics as The War Games, The Deadly Assassin and The Talons of Weng Chiang. There was a tendency in some of the old Dalek stories, particularly those of the 1970s, for the Daleks to come across as quite unthreatening, their early creepiness and power lost a bit with the passage of time and variable presentation, but Maloney, who directed the Daleks twice, first in Planet of the Daleks and then here in Genesis, had a real gift for giving them a presence and a menace. His use of low angles, dynamic lighting and his signature shot of the Daleks iconic shadow being seen before they glide into view all add far more to them as a threat.
This serial is notable for introducing the character of Davros, the creator of the Daleks, who is the main antagonist for the piece. Although the character would later be overused and slightly misused, in this story he is at his best, he has a clear and strong purpose and goal, he is shown to be utterly ruthless in the pursuit of that goal, without ever stepping into fantasy supervillain territory. The makeup, including a mask by John Friedlander, is absolutely sublime, far ahead of its time, and although physically very restricting, the performance given by actor Michael Wisher turns this disadvantage into a strength, carrying across this physically disabled but intellectually unparalleled genius as an altogether believable character.
Tom Baker was at this point still in his first season as the Doctor, but already by Genesis of the Daleks had found his footing and put together his take on the character that would be so iconic that decades later he is still the fan favourite. The Doctor in this story is more sombre than usual for this incarnation, the situation is a difficult one, morally and in terms of how little there seems can be done against the inevitable rise of the Daleks. Baker kicks it out of the park with his performance in this episode, hitting every beat with such conviction and such skill, and never losing the humour that his portrayal is best known for, still using flippancy to mislead and throw off his opponents, albeit a darker humour than usual. The scenes between Tom Baker as the Doctor and Michael Wisher as Davros are among some of the best in the show’s history.
There are those that would argue that the story is too long, drawn out or padded. Although it is true that there is a lot of time spent travelling back and forth between three key locations which are all quite similar, and a few scenes that don’t add much if anything to the narrative (Harry Sullivan stepping in a giant clam is the most commonly cited one), the story never outstays its welcome, and although some scenes don’t add to the story, none of them detract from it.
There are so many other great elements in this story; the rest of the cast are excellent without exception, from the series regulars Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan and Elisabeth Sladen as the much loved Sarah Jane Smith to the guest cast, most notably Peter Miles as Davros’ right hand man Nyder and Dennis Chinnery as conflicted Kaled officer Gharman. The score by Dudley Simpson complements the tone perfectly, the set design is excellent, the location work strikingly stark, and the opening sequence throws us into the action in a way that no other story has before or after. There is just so much to praise here, I could honestly talk about it all day.
This story is a must see for any fan, old or young, there’s something there for everyone. There are many releases of the story, two vhs releases, at least 5 dvd releases and recently a bluray set, though that set is very hard to come by. Due to the nature of how it was filmed there isn’t any real difference in picture quality between the DVD and bluray releases. This is well worth picking up, a timeless classic of Doctor who, and a real gem of 1970s television.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
