The Dalek Invasion of Earth (First, 1964)

When I was watching all the serials in order this one really caught me off guard. The production value during the First Doctor's time wasn't the best. In fact it was pretty terrible most of the time. This story brought them out of the studio and the results were really great. This felt epic.

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan go to Earth in the future to find it's a wasteland. Guess who's to blame? This is the first time a villain has ever returned on the show and people responded well to it.

This story is available on DVD that you can buy at a bunch of places. Or rent. Whatever.

What did you think of it? Did you love the speech at the end? How about the dystopian touches throughout the city?

This is the first Doctor Who I've watched outside the new series...took some getting used to, but definitely an enjoyable ride! The thing I found interesting is that by the time the Doctor and his companions get there the Daleks have already taken over. It seems in all the Dalek stories I'd seen until now they were stopped in the process of taking over...not after the fact. That said, I loved how the resistance was led more by the people and isn't just the Doctor single-handedly taking care of everything. It actually took time and planning to defeat them...not just a quick idea.

I was also intrigued by the robo-people. In my knowledge of them, it seems so un-Dalek like to have to depend on this sort of slave force. Of course it made sense to keep the people around to engineer their ultimate plan. I like that they actually had a plan too...not just take over the Earth or destroy it for no apparent reason. Let's also use it!

I loved the volcano at the end too. It just made me laugh.

Also interesting to see the Doctor saying goodbye to one of his companions, it was a really lovely scene.

When I first watched this serial, I was completely put off guard. After watching 10 serials on a shitty production set, I had grown accustomed to its small budget. In fact I was usually charmed by it. Then this one put them outside! In actual London! That's been taken over by the Daleks!

This is such a cool episode. It's in a great position since the Daleks have basically already won and The Doctor chooses that it is essential they must intervene, which is unlike the rest of the series thus far. The rest have been about survival; they only help people out when they are in danger.

Sure the last couple of episodes get a little confusing with the plot and editing, but so much else works that I don't care. Also Ian and Barbara are badass.

Also, the last five minutes or so is just wonderful. One of my favorite moments from William Hartnell. This serial propelled the show into a more ambitious territory that has led the track for the rest of the show. It just took them a few more years for the budget to allow them to pull it off on a regular basis.

I liked this serial a whole lot more than I did The Daleks. The characters were more useful and enjoyable. I liked the varied locations and the people they met actually had personalities.

The Dalek plan is interesting and I wonder what they would have done with a movable planet if they succeeded. The robo people were interesting and better than pig people. And like Michelle said, the revolution was fun to watch.

Susan... from the few First Doctor serials I've seen, I cannot stand Susan. She spends most of her time whining and helping nobody. Yet it was touching to see her and the Doctor say goodbye.

Watching this story, I thought of something. What would the Daleks do if they were ever successful? If they exterminate every being unlike them, what will they do afterwards? Relax on a beach somewhere? Without all their failures and repeated attempts, I think they would be bored.

I watched the first half last night. It's interesting seeing the First Doctor this late in his time with Ian and Barbara. I haven't seen the Ian/Barbara/Susan team, or for that matter, the first Doctor at all, since I watched The Sensorites last year. That was early enough that, while the Doctor was positive about having Ian and Barbara around and working with them, the relationship was still more like colleagues than friends. Here, Ian and the Doctor are definitely an investigative team, and it's a lot easier to see this Doctor as the man who will eventually become all the other Doctors.

Susan promptly runs off and gets herself useless, but a couple episodes later they do a good job of building her relationship with the local guy quickly enough that you can see what the Doctor sees between them. Not enough to be worth a major life change, but enough to be worth exploring. The Doctor dumping Susan over this is clearly an act of looking for an excuse to leave her to her own life.

They explained the "VETOED" signs and I still didn't understand them.

I thought for sure the scientist guy was being played shiftily and set up to betray them. But then I guess there's still an hour and a half to make some major revelations.

Second half:

It's fitting that the finale is pulled off with the "crew"'s independent work coming together for a whole, in Susan's last story. Shows how far they've come since the grouchy old man abducted his granddaughter's snoopy schoolteachers.

The Doctor's farewell speech to Susan was the only part of her departure that wasn't overdone. Still, the serial format allowed them the time to spend on it, and it could have been The End of Time's 20-minute Funeral for The Tenth Doctor.