The Evil of the Daleks [TV/1967.5.20 ~ 7.1]
★★★★★
There is no Dalek tale quite like The Evil of the Daleks. It has its own flow, its own story beats, its own sense of humour and horror, its own aura that stands out from the Dalek back catalogue. It's simply astounding that David Whitaker is responsible for two of the best Dalek adventures out there, since these two are wildly different; while The Power of the Daleks shows the pepperpots at their absolute smartest, most ruthless and efficient and plain creepy, Evil opts for the more unexpected option of laying the groundworks of Daleks bare and allowing the audience to be unsettled by how vulnerable they are in the story, in turn giving them an interesting twist. How desperate do you have to be to imbue Daleks with the human factor, the core of the one thing they hate the most, just for the slightest chance of victory? The "human" Daleks are genuinely one of the most interesting ideas ever cooked up for Dr. Who, not just because of their wacky concept but also because their execution is done so well. Here they are, the universe's most feared race, giggling and whirling around like children. When the serial is at full weirness and you see things like Daleks playing with the Doctor, a mansion full of death traps and a great big set with a truly awe-inspiring model of an Emperor Dalek, you start to realise (again) that Dr. Who has always been an oddball show at heart.
Frayed tempers, oddball comedy and familial tragedy... this serial has got them all. This is Jamie's story just as much as it is the Doctor's, and Frazer Hines delivers a great performance teaming up with Kemel and rescuing the girl he'd fall in love with. It's an especially good story for him, since the entire plot is about the Daleks gaining the human factor from Jamie's conduct during the "trial". We see him as a character grow as well, finally confronting the Doctor's secretive nature (the Second Doctor could be quite the manipulator if he wants to) and showing off his aptitude as a standalone companion to the Doctor without Ben and Polly at his side. There is a sense that both Hines and Patrick Troughton are enjoying the filming process thoroughly, as Derek Martinus' direction obviously had a lot of inspired choices behind it from the surviving Episode 2. It's a great shame that this is lost to time because from the surviving footage, Evil seems to be quite the visual treat with the mesmerising imagery of ticking clocks and the foggy landscapes of Skaro. I hear the animation for this is quite good, but the Loose Canon reconstruction for this serial's absolutely top notch; it adds to the mysterious, almost off-putting atmosphere of the whole thing and I can't get enough of it. Near the middle of the Troughton era is this mystifying and electifying tale that's more than worthy of its short-lived 'final Dalek story' title; The Evil of the Daleks still captures the imagination, 56 years on. Topped off by a beautifully haunting and melodic score by Dudley Simpson, it's a masterpiece waiting to be watched again and again.
There is no Dalek tale quite like The Evil of the Daleks. It has its own flow, its own story beats, its own sense of humour and horror, its own aura that stands out from the Dalek back catalogue. It's simply astounding that David Whitaker is responsible for two of the best Dalek adventures out there, since these two are wildly different; while The Power of the Daleks shows the pepperpots at their absolute smartest, most ruthless and efficient and plain creepy, Evil opts for the more unexpected option of laying the groundworks of Daleks bare and allowing the audience to be unsettled by how vulnerable they are in the story, in turn giving them an interesting twist. How desperate do you have to be to imbue Daleks with the human factor, the core of the one thing they hate the most, just for the slightest chance of victory? The "human" Daleks are genuinely one of the most interesting ideas ever cooked up for Dr. Who, not just because of their wacky concept but also because their execution is done so well. Here they are, the universe's most feared race, giggling and whirling around like children. When the serial is at full weirness and you see things like Daleks playing with the Doctor, a mansion full of death traps and a great big set with a truly awe-inspiring model of an Emperor Dalek, you start to realise (again) that Dr. Who has always been an oddball show at heart.
Frayed tempers, oddball comedy and familial tragedy... this serial has got them all. This is Jamie's story just as much as it is the Doctor's, and Frazer Hines delivers a great performance teaming up with Kemel and rescuing the girl he'd fall in love with. It's an especially good story for him, since the entire plot is about the Daleks gaining the human factor from Jamie's conduct during the "trial". We see him as a character grow as well, finally confronting the Doctor's secretive nature (the Second Doctor could be quite the manipulator if he wants to) and showing off his aptitude as a standalone companion to the Doctor without Ben and Polly at his side. There is a sense that both Hines and Patrick Troughton are enjoying the filming process thoroughly, as Derek Martinus' direction obviously had a lot of inspired choices behind it from the surviving Episode 2. It's a great shame that this is lost to time because from the surviving footage, Evil seems to be quite the visual treat with the mesmerising imagery of ticking clocks and the foggy landscapes of Skaro. I hear the animation for this is quite good, but the Loose Canon reconstruction for this serial's absolutely top notch; it adds to the mysterious, almost off-putting atmosphere of the whole thing and I can't get enough of it. Near the middle of the Troughton era is this mystifying and electifying tale that's more than worthy of its short-lived 'final Dalek story' title; The Evil of the Daleks still captures the imagination, 56 years on. Topped off by a beautifully haunting and melodic score by Dudley Simpson, it's a masterpiece waiting to be watched again and again.
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