"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Doctor Who: Series 12, Episodes 11-16 – “Genesis of the Daleks” (1975)


Frequently considered to be the first volley of the Time War, this serial is a classic for a reason.  One of the best Dalek stories out there, a great showing for our heroes, and the debut appearance of a creepy new baddie – honestly, what more could I ask for?

The Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry are hijacked mid-teleport and rerouted by the Time Lords to Skaro in its long-ago past.  There, while the endless war between the Kaleds and the Thals drags on, the Time Lords charge the Doctor with an important mission:  to prevent the creation of the Daleks and thus save the universe from their scourge.  The story takes team TARDIS behind the lines of both sides and into the very belly of the beast, where they meet Davros, the mind behind the Daleks.

First of all, as always with serials of this nature, I appreciate that time travel is a vital part of the plot and not just the means of depositing the characters where they need to be for the story’s adventure.  The famously-laissez-faire Time Lords wanting to change the past (but of course forcing the Doctor to do it for them so they don’t have to mess around with all that yucky stuff) is huge, and after having learned about the Thal-Kaled war, it’s interesting to see it, as well as the Daleks’ inception.  There are plenty of stories that feature people unaware of how bad-news the Daleks are, but at this particular moment in time, the Doctor is the only person in the universe who fully knows what they’re capable of.  And then, naturally, we have the moral dilemma of killing in the past to prevent catastrophe in the future – the “have I that right?” scene is excellent.

Davros himself is super-creepy.  His tete-a-tetes with the Doctor are instantly iconic, and with the cold, calculating way he plays everyone around him, it’s clear how a guy like this could have come up with the Daleks.  While his later appearances can’t measure up to his first, (we’ll ignore the stuff from series 9 of new Who right now,) you’ll never get truer Davros than what you see right here.

As for team TARDIS, everyone does quite well.  It’s probably Harry’s best serial; I love the calm, collected way he takes charge when the Doctor is in danger early on, and he really keeps it together when he and the Doctor are in Kaled custody.  Meanwhile, Sarah Jane thinks up an important escape plan, and the Doctor, as previously mentioned, goes toe-to-toe with the supremely-evil Davros on multiple occasions.

Oh yeah, and there’s the small matter of the moment that consistently makes me grin no matter how many times I see it:  “Excuse me, can you help me?  I’m a spy.”  :thwack!:  Kills me every time.

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