The Daleks (First, 1963)

Here is where it all began. This was the second ever serial of Doctor Who and this is what made it popular enough to be adored 49 years later. Even though this was supposed to be a historical show that focused on education, they took their first sci-fi adventure to a planet raged in civil war. On one hand the peaceful Thals and on the other hand....THE DALEKS.

This DVD is available in a box set called The Beginning which had the first serial (An Unearthly Child) and the bizarre short third serial (The Edge of Destruction). You can get it and watch it. You should!

What did you think of it? Were you surprised how much has stayed the same? Do you think Susan could have screamed more?

I actually enjoyed this serial a good bit...interesting to see where the daleks in Doctor Who started. Something I found interesting was in the beginning when the Doctor basically tricks everyone into going to the city just because he wants to. It's a different look at the Doctor I think. Susan annoyed the hell out of me through the whole episode though. Friends in peril, captured by daleks, and she scared of the jungle. I mean, really. Let's scream, scream, and scream some more. When she wrote the letter and signed it "Susan" and the daleks couldn't pronounce it and she giggled I loved that the dalek was like STOP THAT NOISE.

The only thing I didn't like is that it seemed to drag on for too long...felt like we could have covered a lot of the same story in less time. They get back to the ship only to be like "Oh damn, in our escape we forgot the whatchamicalit that we need to get our ship to work! Let's spend all this time convincing the thals (or, however it's spelled) to help us and go all the way back! I felt like I had hit a repeat button. Nevertheless, an interesting first adventure with the daleks.

Boy I liked rewatching this. There are so many cool things going on as well as so many lovable problems. It's easily one episode too long and there are so many stupid structural decisions. "We've gone to the city. Okay let's go back. We went back. We should go to the city!"

Yet I loved having Ian and Barbara working around the Daleks. The sequence of Barbara running around in the city is handled really well. Also William Russell really gives a great performance when things get intense near the end. The Daleks' plan is actually pretty good and dark with how much they want to wipe out the Thals.

The anti-pacifism message is very strange, especially considering this is Doctor Who. Yet The Doctor is an odd character this time around as he lies to his companions to get them in danger. This is the show figuring itself out and it's a blast to watch because of it.

I'm in the middle of the novelization for this and it's very interesting. Neil Gaiman gave a great introduction about how kids turned their milk bottles into Daleks during lunch as a kid. Then the first two chapters are insane as Ian is a scientist who got into a car crash in the very beginning. By the third chapter, it's the serial I recognize.

"Catch the rope!"
They should upgrade their lasers and find a better way of traveling/powering themselves.

Hmm... Watched this immediately after Genesis of the Daleks so it greatly influenced my viewing. And I found it a chore to watch. Susan just made me mad with how annoying and useless she was. I tried but I just couldn't care about any of the characters.

Still, it was cool to see how the Thals evolved from Genesis and the people they had become.

I liked the Daleks having to defend their city somewhat and their scheming and conniving. Although it seemed really easy for a person to take on a Dalek, vastly different from any other Dalek story I've seen.

Definitely agree it's way too long. Maybe when this is all over, I'll give it another try but I just could not get into it this time around.