Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Daleks

Way, way back at the beginning of the year I decided I was going to watch and review the entire Doctor Who series from the beginning. I knew it would not be an easy task. It certainly didn’t help that I waited 10 months to watch the show’s second serial. Said serial introduces the Doctor’s most iconic foes, the Daleks. After escaping a tribe of pissed off cavemen, the Doctor and his companions are transported to a planet ravaged by a centuries-old nuclear war. Our travelers encounter the pacifistic, agrarian Thals and the mutated, robotic, murderous Daleks. The Thals vs Daleks conflict is reminiscent of the Eloi and the Morlocks of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, though Wells’ Morlocks didn’t have laser cannons and intergalactic genocide on their minds (correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been awhile since I read The Time Machine). The Daleks are (spoiler alert for a 48 year old television program) eventually defeated, though their popularity ensured they would continue to return throughout the entirety of the show’s run.

Rating: Make no attempt to capture them, they are to be exterminated%

(Image from Wikipedia)