A truly iconic story and the introduction to the franchises most iconic villains. At 7 episodes long, this story might overstay it's welcome a little bit. But unlike the 3 cavemen episodes that came before it, that keep hitting the same beats and repeating the same conflicts (I don't need to hear anybody arguing about who can/can't make fire for awhile now), this story at least makes some effort to have every episode have something new happening in it.

The first Doctor remains ornery, arrogant, even at times condescending. But it feels so unlike any other Doctor (or many other heroes in all of fiction frankly) and Hartnell finds some lighter notes in his delivery to keep him from feeling too dour and unpleasant. Personally I'm having a blast revisiting this Doctor. I fear that I may grow tired of him being a grump, but memory is that he does start to soften at some point so this may not be an issue. But for now I'm really appreciating the very specific manner of this Doctor. He may not be one of my favourite Doctors, but in establishing the role and the show in such a delightfully unique manner, Hartnell gets two thumbs up from me.

But the main draw of this story is obviously the Daleks themselves. Instantly iconic, with one of the best villain introductions around. That POV shot of the eyestalk living up to it's name and stalking Barbara, as she screams and cowers against the wall has been imitated so often that I'd worried the original's power might've been diminished. It hasn't.

I have no idea what Ray Cusick was thinking when he designed the Daleks. It's such a flipping odd design, and without context looks kinda silly. But they look so different from your traditional monsters that they immediately stand out. Watching them in action on the show they just make sense, especially when paired with those iconic voices. I couldn't tell you why it works, but it does work. It really, really does.