Rate and Discuss: Evil of the Daleks

[SiHart]

The Doctor has lost the TARDIS and finding it again involves in an audacious Dalek trap! The Daleks want the Human Factor, and they want their biggest enemy to secure it for them... surely nothing can go wrong?

What do you think of Evil of the Daleks?

[J.R. Southall]

I adore the extant Episode 2, and there are some really neat ideas here (it's David Whitaker at his most eccentric, let's be honest). Oh, and some astonishing acting talent too. But oddly enough, and rather like a lot of Season Four, there's just something about this story I can't quite connect with. (Probably because so much of it is missing, to be fair!) So although I was tempted to give it a 9, in the end I've gone with an 8.

[Andrew Curnow]

It always seemed, and still seems, to be spoken of with such awe, that clearly it made a huge impact on the audience in 1967 - yet I've never quite warmed to Evil of the Daleks somehow, in the main I think because of its rather tenuous plot about identifying the Human Factor. If it had been a Nu-Who story, I'm sure we'd have spent pages & pages bemoaning that it doesn't really make sense, and that the story doesn't really explain how Jamie's actions to rescue a complete stranger can be converted into a means of identifying humanity's strength over the Daleks...

Maybe if we could see the whole thing it would be a bit like Pyramids of Mars - another one which has a really weak plot, but somehow manages to have crackling dialogue, great performances, and superb direction, meaning that it gets a better rep than it probably warrants.

And to be fair to the 1967 audience, I can sort of see why a story going back to Skaro and the city of the Daleks (and therefore almost going back to the very start of the show nearly 4 years ago, a long time for a child in a non-repeat age) would excite and thrill and fire the imagination.

For me, I'll take Power over Evil anyday!!

[SiHart]

Evil is good, very good, but not as good as its reputation suggests. It's not as tightly written as Power of the Daleks is, and falls down in the middle with all the stuff with the tests for Jamie. That's all a bit tenuous, and feels like padding.

It's a shame because this is obviously deigned to an epic adventure- taking in three time zones, two planets and a Dalek civil war. The stuff about the Daleks is done very well indeed, and I love the idea of their civilisation being undermined by three Daleks questioning their orders. Very clever and nicely done by Whittaker. As is the Emperor facing off against the Doctor.

[J.R. Southall]

It's Doctor Who's first self-consciously deliberate season finale!

[SiHart]

Oh yes indeed. The final end!

[Alex Me]

This story has always intrigued me, it seems so epic. Set across 3 times zones including modern day earth and Skaro and featuring the empire of the dalek, not to mention an army of 'good daleks' fighting a civil with their evil brethren.

It a shame so little of it exists, but the part the remains is very good, and the soundtrack and telesnaps seems to suggest it probably was quite a good story. 7/10

[Anthony Williams]

Perhaps it's nostalgia, but I absolutely love this one, and I have done ever since I first heard it on cassette tape, with Tom Baker's wonderful narration. I absolutely adore it.

Many people seem to rate The Power of the Daleks over this one, when it comes to the two Season 4 Dalek stories. But to me, this one reigns supreme. The way that it twists and turns is just marvellous. It starts in the-then present day, before going into the past and finally ending in the future. It showcases all the elements that Doctor Who does so well - the BBC costume drama, the science fiction elements and then the Daleks themselves.

As always, the BBC excels with costume drama. While the majority of the episodes no longer exist in a visual medium, it's obvious from the telesnaps and the extant episode that's available that the sets and costumes were just marvellous. The BBC would later seem to struggle with sets for events taking place on alien worlds or in the future, but the events on Skaro seem to be well done, too - from the photos, I can't imagine walls falling over should you happen to blow on them slightly too hard, for example!

As many people here know, the Seventh Doctor is my favourite Doctor. Here, we see the seeds of that manipulative and devious side of the character in the Second Doctor, as he manipulates Jamie into carrying out his plan, knowing what would ultimately happen, should everything go according to his plan. And like in Remembrance of the Daleks, his actions result in the destruction of the Daleks.

It's easy to see the origins of the future Dalek stories here. While they don't carry on from this, per se, we have a Dalek civil war, and Daleks seeking alternative methods to try and win victory over their enemies. Hell, we even have a writer determined to make the Daleks bigger and more impressive than ever before (e.g. the Dalek Emperor) - something that will be repeated as time goes on. Certainly, they have their silly moments here - "dizzy Daleks" being the most notable - but that's more than made up for by just about everything else. Then there's the final battle... well, there's nothing that can be said about that amazing, climactic end that hasn't been said before.

Beyond that, we have one of the Doctor's greatest companions at his absolute best, and the introduction of the lovely Victoria - the first attempt since Katarina who wasn't from contemporary Earth (and a much more successful attempt, too!) The supporting characters are all masterfully written, and every one of them has a motivation for what they're doing, be it money (Maxtible and Hall), or just the desire to save their daughter (Waterfield). It really is to the credit of David Whitaker that these are all characters that I really come to care about deeply over the course of the story, feeling strong emotions towards all of them.

It really is absolutely tragic that we have, say, The Dominators and not this. I truly believe that this is one of the greatest stories of Doctor Who, and I really hope that within my lifetime, we may be able to enjoy slightly more of it. This is a sprawling epic, masterfully written, and it gets a full 10/10 from me. I love it.

[Stuart Wallis]

Possibly a little padded-out, but otherwise I agree with Ant. 9/10

[Si Hunt]

This is a very odd story. It looks amazing, and there is some considerable acting talent and characterisation on display. The characters of Maxtible and Waterfield are really distinct and interesting; Troughton is at his best. Episode 1 and 2 are great, sinister stuff, with the TARDIS being stolen, the mysterious trip back in time and the antiques shop.

But then things begin to really unravel. The Daleks plan is ridiculous. But not as ridiculous as the initial scheme to trap the Doctor, involving people changing their names who the Doctor doesn't know anyway, and a photo being placed in a box to release some gas. Jamie is kidnapped by a bloke we haven't seen before, then taken away, and another bloke we haven't seen before seems to be having personality switches, and brings him back again. Then the Doctor tricks Jamie into doing some tests, which are apparently to determine "the human factor" which is going to be used to create the Dalek Factor. So the very essence of being a Dalek can be extrapolated from Jamie avoiding some spikes.

The Doctor isn't suitable for this task as he has "travelled through time too much". Jamie is suitable because, even though he has also travelled through time, he hasn't been in time quite as much. I smell bollocks.

There are too many characters and the plot is just utter rot. But it all looks gorgeous and is masterfully staged, acted and directed.

The "Ghost Light" of the sixties?

Si.