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“THE POWER OF THE DALEKS: A NEW DOCTOR, A FAMILIAR FOE, AND A MASTERCLASS IN SLOW-BURN TERROR”

The Power of the Daleks is not just an important story in the Doctor Who canon—it’s a landmark. Tasked with introducing the series’ first post-regeneration Doctor, it lays the groundwork for one of the show’s most daring narrative devices: changing the lead actor without changing the character. Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor is as much a mystery to the audience as he is to his companions, Ben and Polly. The story leans into that uncertainty, with Troughton playing the early scenes with a deliberately ambiguous mix of whimsy and aloofness. Is this man really the Doctor? Even the audience isn’t sure at first.

The early scenes in the TARDIS, with Ben and Polly unsure whether this strange man really is their friend, are full of surreal touches—trippy visuals, dissonant sound design—that make the transition between Doctors feel uneasy and uncanny. It’s a daring and fascinating choice, and one that pays off. Rather than immediately reassuring the audience, Power lets them feel the discomfort, only gradually revealing Troughton’s strength and moral compass. By the story’s end, he has earned the mantle of the Doctor, proving himself through quiet ingenuity and fierce moral resolve.

PLANET VULCAN, POLITICS AND PARANOIA

The setting—the barren, volcanic planet Vulcan—is rich with atmosphere. Long before Star Trek claimed the name, Vulcan was a desolate colony riddled with political tension. The story cleverly grounds its sci-fi in recognisable colonial paranoia: Earth authorities are suspicious, rebellion is brewing, and opportunists like Bragen lurk, ready to seize power. Into this chaos walks the new Doctor, posing as an Earth Examiner, whose sudden arrival triggers both suspicion and opportunity.

The supporting cast is sharp and archetypal, yet not without nuance. Bragen is the classic power-hungry schemer, slowly manoeuvring his way to dominance. Hensell, the nominal authority figure, is gradually sidelined. But the standout is Lesterson, whose arc from curious scientist to broken wreck mirrors the Daleks’ own transformation. Played with jittery brilliance by Robert James, Lesterson starts out thrilled by the Daleks’ reactivation, his wide-eyed excitement masking his lack of foresight. His eventual breakdown—when he realises he’s helped unleash a monster—is a chilling portrait of scientific hubris gone horribly wrong.

THE DALEKS REBORN—AND RELOADED

If the audience is unsure of the Doctor, they’re never in doubt about the Daleks. Power reinvents them not by changing what they are, but by changing how they rise. Initially inert, coated in cobwebs, they’re discovered like relics in a downed spacecraft—silent and eerie. Their reawakening is slow and deliberate: first one, then three, then dozens. The Daleks here don’t invade; they infiltrate. They pretend. They serve. And they wait.

Their catchphrase—“I am your servant”—is both comic and terrifying. It's clear from the start that the Daleks are lying, but the colonists are too eager, too arrogant, or too naïve to see it. The story milks this dramatic irony to perfection. We know they’re dangerous. The Doctor knows they’re dangerous. But we’re powerless to stop the slow, inevitable rise.

The production escalates beautifully. The Part 4 cliffhanger reveals an assembly line churning out Daleks at scale—one of the most chilling images in classic Who. The Daleks’ betrayal is not a surprise, but the scale of it is. The final episode is a bloodbath. The Daleks don’t just revolt—they massacre. The story doesn’t shy away from showing the cost, and it's one of the highest body counts in the series. The floor littered with corpses is a haunting visual, a stark reminder that when the Daleks win, they do so absolutely.

THE COMPANIONS AND THE DOCTOR

Ben and Polly are key to the story’s emotional grounding. Polly, ever trusting, acts as a surrogate for those willing to embrace the change. Ben, more sceptical, speaks for the doubters. Their dynamic reflects the viewers’ own journey, and it’s a smart bit of meta-narrative. Though Polly is underused—missing for most of Part 5—her rapport with Ben and the Doctor remains strong, and there’s a lovely sense of camaraderie already blossoming between them.

Ben’s instinctive distrust of the Daleks, despite his wariness of the Doctor, is a nice touch. It keeps him on the right moral side even as he questions the man leading them. And when he finally clicks with the Doctor, they make a formidable pair. Troughton, meanwhile, establishes key traits that will define his incarnation—his recorder, his cryptic manner, his sharp intellect buried beneath a clownish exterior. He’s elusive, playful, but deadly serious when it counts.

POLITICS, POWER PLAYS AND TRAGIC SCIENTISTS

The human subplot—the power struggle within the colony—is functional if familiar. Bragen’s scheming and Janley’s cold ambition drive the middle acts, though they pale next to the slow-burn horror of the Daleks. Still, the politics do serve the plot, giving the Daleks pawns to manipulate and showing how human ambition can be just as destructive.

Janley stands out as a sharp and dangerous operator, a welcome change from more passive female characters of the era. Her role as Bragen’s ally-turned-rival adds a second layer of tension. And Lesterson’s descent into madness remains the story’s most affecting subplot, his scientific pride transformed into horror as he realises too late what he’s done.

A DEADLY FINALE, A LASTING LEGACY

The final part is pure chaos. Rebellion and Dalek genocide collide. The colonists’ revolt is smothered by the Daleks' precision and ruthlessness. The Doctor’s last-minute gambit to overload their power source is a desperate act, and even then, the victory feels hollow. The final image—a ruined Dalek with a slowly twitching eyestalk—suggests the threat is never truly gone. And it never would be.

Though the original episodes are lost, the animated reconstructions—especially the colour version from 2020—bring the story vividly to life. The animation is occasionally stiff, but the mood and pacing are preserved. The volcanic setting, the retro-futuristic tech, and the eerie quiet of the Daleks’ slow resurrection all work brilliantly.

📝VERDICT: 9/10

The Power of the Daleks is Doctor Who at its very best: brave, bold, and quietly terrifying. It introduces a new Doctor with wit and subtlety, reinvents the Daleks by returning to their core menace, and builds its story with the kind of slow-burning dread most shows wouldn’t dare. Nearly 60 years on, it remains one of the show’s finest hours—a defining moment for both the Second Doctor and the Daleks.