Genesis of the Daleks Part Six

The one where the Daleks turn on their creator, Davros...

I didn't notice at the end of part 5, but in the reprise I heard the Doctor scream Sarah's name in agony, which just makes the whole thing even more upsetting. As he's being throttled to death by not one, but three Dalek mutants, he calls out for his best friend, Sarah Jane Smith. Not macho man Harry, but Sarah. How touching...

Genesis of the Daleks has a few moments which have passed into Doctor Who legend, but chief among them - and one of the most legendary of all Doctor Who scenes - is the "Do I have the right?" scene which follows here. The Doctor questions whether he has the right to commit genocide, to wipe out the entire Dalek race, simply because they will go on to destroy so many other other peoples and races. Surely, that would make the Doctor just as bad as they are? Sarah is the audience's voice of reason here, reminding the Doctor what the Daleks are capable of, but then he puts to her that old time traveller's favourite, would you murder the child Adolf Hitler so that he didn't grow up to slaughter millions as head of the Third Reich?

Genesis of the Daleks Part Five

The one where the Doctor gives Davros details of every Dalek defeat...

Forced to list the cause of every Dalek defeat so that Davros can programme his creations to counteract accordingly in the future, the Doctor mentions the events of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, as well as two adventures unseen on TV: a Dalek story set on Mars, and another taking place in the "space year 17,000" involving the planet Hyperon. A Dalek invasion of Mars sounds like a wonderful idea for a TV story, as it would undoubtedly involve the Ice Warriors too, and this has been touched upon in spin-off fiction, including the 1996 novel GodEngine. As for the Daleks' tussle with Hyperon, that's not really been expanded in spin-off fiction, although I'm sure it's only a matter of time until Big Finish make a four-disc box set out of it.

The thing about the Doctor relaying all of this future information is that, if Davros was to programme his Daleks accordingly, and so alter the course of future history (ie, the Dalek invasion of Earth succeeded), then the Doctor would no longer be able to tell Davros that they were defeated in the first place. It's one of those frustrating paradox things. Mind you, the Daleks would still come unstuck at some point in whichever their next encounter with the Doctor was in his timeline, so it's not a hard and fast cure-all, Mr Davros!

Genesis of the Daleks Part Four

The one where the Kaleds are wiped out and the Daleks try to wipe out the Thals...

After a lapse in quality last episode, Terry Nation really cranks it back up in this fourth part thanks to some tight direction from David Maloney and a creeping, menacing score from Dudley Simpson. The whole atmosphere of this story reeks of danger and threat, and it's all credit to the production team for managing to harness that in almost all respects and create a story that feels unsettling.

The destruction of the Kaled dome is impressive. Even though it's a model shot seen on a screen in the Thal city, the prolonged series of explosions and collapses - including some stunning sound design when it's being heard from Davros's bunker - gives a clear sense of total annihilation. The Thals have committed genocide, and every living Kaled in that dome is dead. The only Kaled survivors are those safely holed up in Davros's bunker.

Genesis of the Daleks Part Three

The one where Harry is attacked by a giant clam..

Exactly how does Sarah Jane land on a platform when she fell from the outside of the scaffolding? It's the fault of director David Maloney, as it should have been clear from Terry Nation's scripts what the cliffhanger resolution was. Maloney misinterpreted the scene, and as a result the cliffhanger comes across as an almighty cheat.

Anyway, Sarah's entire bid for freedom is in vain as she and Sevrin are easily caught by the Thal soldiers and taken prisoner again, making the whole subplot superfluous, and highlighting the fact that Nation has got nothing productive for Sarah to do right now. In fact, Nation isn't really giving either companion much to do, as Harry is pretty much just following the Doctor around like a lost lamb. That is when he's not getting his foot stuck in a giant clam...

Genesis of the Daleks Part Two

The one where the first ever Dalek is armed...

We're straight into part 2 with no reprise, and we find Sarah in danger, captured by the sluggish ragged creatures that have been following her to the ruined building. They surround her threateningly, which seems to make her pass out - I hope she hasn't fainted like some silent film damsel in distress - but it's not long until she and her new Muto pal Sevrin are captured by Thal scouts and taken to their dome. The ruthless death of Sevrin's mate Gerrill brings home how different these Thals are to the type we're used to seeing (in The Daleks and Planet of the Daleks), especially when they resent the "waste of good ammunition" used in killing him.

The Thals are building a rocket packed with distronic explosives which they plan to aim at the Kaled dome in the hope it will bring a final end to this centuries-old war. And if that's not bad news enough, Sarah and her new friends Sevrin and the nameless Kaled leader will slowly die as they are forced to load the rocket nose cone with explosives, which causes distronic toxaemia.

Genesis of the Daleks Part One

The one where the Doctor is tasked with trying to alter the course of Dalek history...

From the opening moments of this episode, you can tell you're in for something quite gritty. A gas-masked face emerges full screen amid the swirling fog, but just as we start to establish the assumption that we're somewhere among the trenches of the Great War, the masked men are mercilessly gunned down - in slow motion! The horrors of war are rammed home as these unidentified soldiers are cut down in cold blood before we've even got to know them. The slow motion effect accentuates the horror, giving it as nightmarish quality.

And then out of the fog emerges another shape, this time the familiar outline of the Doctor. He's met by a mysterious man who identifies himself as a Time Lord, one of the Doctor's own race, dressed in some rather ostentatious black robes with a bat-winged collar not unlike the ceremonial collars we see make their debut in The Deadly Assassin (it's also uncannily like the black cape worn by the Master in the Death Zone in The Five Doctors).