Destiny of the Daleks [TV/1979.9.1 ~ 9.22]

★★★☆☆

  Quite literally a sequel to Genesis of the Daleks, except under the administration of a new executive producer and a great big time jump -- is Destiny of the Daleks good?

  Well, for me, it's certainly fun. Season 17 is full of fun to be had (a big nay to the naysayers, signed with love from me) and it never takes itself too seriously... which might be a problem with some people, given it's a continuation of one of the darkest adventures of the classic series. Certainly, the treatment Davros gets here is a far cry from the nail-bitingly bleak and horrific portrayal of a fascist hellbent on the advancement of science; here, he's more like a disgraced, disgruntled scientist who rarely gets anything to do for himself and is constantly at the mercy of either his Dalek goons or the Doctor and his sonic screwdriver. Make of that what you will, but I don't think it's the worst thing the character's had in his fictional history. At the very least, there's a very good buildup to his first revelation, and his creations are not nearly as ridiculed as random screenshots of Episode 4 floating around the Internet suggest. They're still formidable forces, utilising slave labour and exterminating every slave and Movellan in their path without remorse. Speaking of which, the Movellans are perfectly fine additions to the Dr. Who/Dalek mythos and their design is so fun to look at. It's not the best Dalek serial, it's not the worst Dalek serial -- it comfortably sits somewhere on the upper-middle spectrum, offering little in terms of thrills and such but delivering spades of entertainment (in large part thanks to Tom Baker). Lalla Ward makes as smooth an entrance as Romana as she ever could have, and the two actors hit it off instantly. No wonder they got married, eh?