Doctor Who: The Daleks

Doctor Who: The Daleks (1963) starring William Hartnell, Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill

In Doctor Who: The Daleks, the TARDIS lands in an alien, petrified jungle. Beyond it lies a mysterious, deserted city. The Doctor insists on exploring, but soon the crew begins suffering from radiation sickness. Then, they discover the city isn’t deserted …

Doctor Who: The Daleks is The Doctor’s first encounter with the Daleks. It sets their character well, and introduces their alternate number, the Thals. It’s a well-done, very enjoyable Doctor Who serial.

Part 1 – The Dead Planet

First, the four travelers venture out onto the surface of a new world. There, everything seems dead . But beyond a petrified jungle, they see a huge metal city. After that, the First Doctor is determined to explore. However, curiosity killed the cat …. But Barbara is separated from the group …. Soon, she’s taken prisoner by an unseen creature — with a plunger.

Part 2 – The Survivors

While looking for Barbara, the Doctor, Ian, and Susan discover that they’ve been exposed to lethal doses of radiation. Then, the travelers are confronted by the city’s inhabitants – the Daleks! So, their only hope is for one of them to leave the city, and hopefully find medicine to cure them. Then, Susan summons her courage, and goes.

Part 3 – The Escape

First, Susan finds Alydon of the Thals. He’d left medicine for them to take, and supplies more. Next, they return to the city. Then, fearful of a Thal attack, the Daleks trick Susan into tricking the Thals. They pretend that they want peace with the Thals, but plan to kill them instead. However, realizing that the Daleks plan an ambush, the crew try to escape and warn the Thals.

Part 4 – The Ambush

While pretending to be a Dalek to help their escape, Ian is trapped inside the casing. Then the Doctor, Susan, and Barbara are forced to abandon him as the Daleks arrive and attack. He later escapes, and the foursome is reunited. They narrowly escape, as the Thal leader prepares to negotiate with the Daleks. Ian tries to warn the Thals of the trap. But Temmosus dies in the attack. The Doctor discovers the history of the Thals and Dals. And Ian realizes that the Daleks confiscated the essential piece of the TARDIS from him.

Part 5 – The Expedition

The Doctor and his companions realize that their only chance of recovering the fluid link is to persuade the Thals to fight back against the Daleks. The Thals are devout pacifists. So, Ian tries to reignite their willingness to fight in self-defense. Soon, Ian and Barbara join a Thal expedition. There, they hope to penetrate the Dalek city from the unguarded mountains behind it. However, the journey is dangerous … After all, the swamp monster’s hungry …

Part 6 – The Ordeal

Poor Elyon is eaten by the swamp creature. The Doctor and Susan are again taken prisoner by the Daleks. In the mountains, Ian, Barbara, and the Thals must cross a vast chasm to reach the city.

Part 7 – The Rescue

The Thals and the time travelers attack the Daleks from all sides. Meanwhile, the Daleks start the countdown to release deadly does of radiation into the atmosphere.

Cast

• William Hartnell (The Three Doctors) … The Doctor. His curiosity in exploring the city nearly gets them all killed. And he blatantly lies to Ian and Barbara about the TARDIS’ inability to leave. Which causes grief for the entire party.
• William Russell (The Great Escape) … Ian Chesterton. Temporarily paralyzed by the Daleks, lied to by the Doctor, and impersonating a Dalek. He’s having a busy day!
• Jacqueline Hill (The Romans) … Barbara Wright.
• Carole Ann Ford (An Unearthly Child) … Susan Foreman. Oddly, she suffers less from the radiation poisoning than the others. Likely due to her Time Lord heritage. She serves as the go-between for the near-starving Thals and the Daleks.
• Alan Wheatley … Temmosus. Leader of the Thals.
• John Lee … Alyson. Susan’s contact, and friend, with the Thals