The Power of the Daleks

This 6 part story has been reconstructed with the original sound recordings and animated visuals which allow us to experience the story very well. Maybe in the future an amazing CGI version of this and other stories will give amazing new visuals of lost or inadequate visuals of the past? I personally would love that option.

This is the first story with Patrick Troughton following the Doctor's first regeneration. If Troughton had failed to work as the Doctor the series would have died so he really is of as much importance in establishing Doctor Who as William Hartnell. The characterisation is interesting to say the least and flirts with disaster in many ways. To make the Doctor SO incredibly different to Hartnell's Doctor that preceded him was astonishing in its bravery. He is a scruffy, strange acting, clownish figure who plays the recorder to 'help him concentrate'! At the start of the story they even have him behaving extremely evasively and mysteriously, making it even harder to cope with the change in lead actor. Nowadays we are more used to coping with huge changes in the Doctor's behaviour after regeneration and it still is creates huge online hysteria with people calling the new Doctor awful/not the Doctor etc. so to imagine viewers at the time being thrust into this change so dramatically is mind boggling. If the internet had existed back then Doctor Who would probably have been so attacked at various times that it would not have lasted! Perhaps modern viewers need to be a bit less hysterical online?

I think what really makes this change work are two things. Firstly Troughton's quality which comes through as he begins to establish himself later in the adventure, but this is slow to have an impact. The second is the truly excellent quality story from David Whitaker featuring Daleks which are at their very best.

The adventure is thrilling as the Daleks pretend to be harmless servants to unsuspecting human colonists whilst secretly creating a huge production line of Daleks to conquer and EXTERMINATE the humans. This story has certainly been very influential to Doctor Who since its return in 2005.

The whole story is top quality with strong performances and continuity provided by Michael Craze and Anneke Wills as companions Ben and Polly, really good human guest characters such as Lesterson (Robert James), great dialogue and brilliant Daleks which are the best yet with better voice performances than earlier stories and devious, threatening plans.

Great stuff! All 6 episodes 10/10.

A fantastic story, and an incredible start to Troughton's run. The Daleks are conniving and manipulative, the side characters are great (Lesterson is a particular highlight, he is very well written and acted) and the Doctor is vulnerable against his arch enemy which is very exciting to see.

Troughton steps up to the role in glorious fashion and knocks it out of the park with his performance. Really the only flaw I can think of is that I'm not really a fan of Ben and Polly, but that hardly ruins this fantastic story.

I just wish this masterpiece survived the BBC cleanse.

What a lovely refresh for this show.
The daleks are at their most cunning ever in this one and the characters are rich and motivated.
Don’t fuss about cheap animation, just take it in for what it is ... a absolute classic !

Simply put, The Power of the Daleks is a master piece. From the wonderful direction, to the incredible acting performances what's not to love about power? Not to mention that this is the bet portrayal of the daleks in doctor who history. They are the most disturbing and eerie they've ever been here, posing not only a physical effect, but a physiological effect too. This is demonstrated the best through the character of Lesterson, one of my most favourite one off characters. The way that he just falls apart by the end shows the true power of the daleks, if you pardon the pun, over the mind. Talking of them, the way in which they multiply so quickly and gradually dominate the colony proves what the doctor says, that only one Dalek is needed to wipe out the colony. Talking of the main man himself, Patrick Troughton gave a masterful first performance as the 2nd doctor, making the part his own. The dynamic between the newly changed doctor and his companions would be relatable to the audience as this is obviously the first time the doctor had changed. They help to ease the audience into the idea. Fine performances all round, the su;porting cast were absolutely exceptional and believable, especially the aforementioned Lesterson who is a well rounded, believable character who I felt very sorry for by the end. And, there are exceptional cliff hangers in this, 'We will Have our power' 'i am you're servent' and my personal favorite, episode 4 when Lesterson finds a dalek production line. Also, the direction in this episode is top notch. Especially with the dalek scenes, it only adds to the eeriness. So to review, the Power of the Daleks has expert direction, performances, plot, serves as an incredible post regeneration story, and has the best portrayal of the daleks in doctor who history. Truly a classic, 10 / 10