Day of the Daleks [TV/1972.1.1 ~ 1.22]

★★★★☆

  Dr. Who does The Terminator 12 years before its existence! The actors for the Doctor and Jo publicly slag this serial off! The 2011 DVD special edition turns out to be one of the best examples of the new treatment! It's perhaps the best Jon Pertwee era Dalek story! That's right, I'm talking about Day of the Daleks.

  How can you not love it? This thing is jam-packed with golden moments, from Yates being an arse and helping himself to the food Jo brought out for Benton on duty to the Controller showing an act of mercy to our heroes after being saved by them. There's plenty of gun-blazing action, buggy-Ogron chases, guerilla soldiers from the future and a bloody big explosion to top it all off. This serial is an airtight (and by that, I really do mean tight; it's so compact, so lean with no flab and straight to the point) blockbuster of an adventure that takes the audience on a ride. There's a lovely bit of political tension to seal the drama, and despite objecting to the story heavily, both Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning bring wildly entertaining performances to the forefront. I guess that's professionalism for you. 

  Watch the Special Edition when you get to Day of the Daleks -- it genuinely makes the experience better tenfold. Nicholas Briggs is having the time of his life voicing the Daleks (who are surprisingly featured very little in the grand scheme of things), and the new CGI landscapes and effects are surprisingly well done for a 2011 release. It's my preferred method of watching the serial and I have no regrets. The time paradox story is great, the performances are fun, the villains are fun to watch (with the Controller being a standout character), and the Ogrons make fun and memorable lackeys. I don't think even a new series fan would find any trouble having fun with it; it's that polished.