Genesis of the Daleks (Fourth, 1975)

Oh boy. This is one of the serials that had a lot of hype when I was going through the whole series. There are a few that are so beloved that I figured it could never live up. This one lived up. The Time Lords send The Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry to Skaro to stop the Daleks from ever existing so they can't wreck havok across the universe.

This is one of the best Classic episodes to start on because everything is working so well. You'll see. Doctor Who Magazine subscribers listed this serial third of all of the Doctor Who episodes ever after The Caves of Androzani and Blink.

This is available on DVD all over the place.

What did you think of it? Did it deserve this high praise? What did you think of Davros? How about that ethical decision?

I had high hopes for this episode and it didn't disappoint. Really fascinating going back and seeing the very beginning of the Daleks. The only other time I've seen Davros is in the new series eps "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End." I definitely get him a lot more now. Makes sense that the Daleks should be created by someone that ridiculously evil. The scene where he says he would gladly release a deadly bacteria...wow. Davros has issues. Clearly obsessed with power no matter how many lives are lost. The Kaleds also remind me a lot of the Nazis. Or the Galactic Empire.

It was really surprising to see the Daleks turn against Davros in the end. Obviously they become independent of him, but he IS The one who created him. Obviously we know he'll be back though.

One of my favorite scenes is the Doctor debating whether he has "the right" to blow up the Daleks. In the newer series we regularly see him reach out and try to help Daleks who are 'the last of their kind.' He tries to avoid a total genocide at all costs. Even knowing full well what they're capable of, should he really have the power to destroy them from time forever? It's moments like these that make me really love Doctor Who. Yes, it's a show about time travel and aliens....but it always manages to address these greater questions about the universe and life in general. Is there really any being that is 'unimportant'? Do we really have the right to wipe out an entire species, and entire race? To me, it's what makes the show great and keeps me coming back.

I liked Sarah-Jane much more in this serial. I like her very much in the new series and I was surprised that I didn't like her in "Death of the Daleks." She was excellent in this episode though.

I like how the Doctor views it as a success too. Even though the Daleks go off and be evil for millions of years, out of that comes something good. Whether it's allies or the strength of those who stand against them. Sort of a great message to take away and goes back to my point about the show being more about just time travel and aliens.

This was really good. Like, seriously really freaking good. I am really loving the Fourth Doctor. Even his companions are good and useful. Sarah Jane may have gotten captured but she did something with it!

The Time Lord's inclusion at the beginning was weird but I enjoyed it and it's cool how The Doctor was there at the beginning of the Daleks. I love how the Daleks came into existence because of what is essentially just a civil war. And how they evolved past their creator.

Like Michelle said, I loved that the Doctor debated whether or not he should destroy the Daleks. A different incarnation, say the Ninth, probably would have done it without thinking.

I've only seen a handful of the older stories and I'm loving them.

This holds up well for a second viewing. Both sides of the war are so well understood. The Kaleds are frightening for their determination and their Nazi-like attitudes. Davros is brilliant, especially during that scene that Michelle mentioned. Suspenseful, crafty and a new danger attacking our heroes seemingly every five minutes. Tom Baker is incredible as he can be very serious and then sneak in a goofy grin. Sarah Jane Smith is still one of the best companions; her falling off the tower is my favorite cliffhanger in the set.

Also one of the only stories without a TARDIS. So there's that trivia!

Everything has already been said for it. This is still, probably, my favorite Dalek story and one of my favorites ever.

so the Kaleds and Thalls are fighting, the Thalls aren't all peace and love like they used to be. they've been at war for centuries. there are people that are severely mutated that feed and scavenge on dead people (these are the Mutes). The Kaleds have some crazy dude with a blue eye in his forehead working for them, he's they're ulitmate leader and science man. well he's taking the human (or Kaled?) genome and mutating and splicing it to make the most superior being ever, and he gets this weird blob thing he calls Daleks. well now he's perfected it's travel machine (the Dalek Armor with the bumps we all love) and now the Daleks exist. the doctor's there to try to stop it but he fails. actually a fellow time lord just apears out of nowhere (as in thin air) and takes some vital piece of something so now the doctor's forced to go and do what he does in the episode. yeah.