Death to the Daleks

Directed by

UK Viewers

8.1 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The barren planet Exxilon, some time in the future. The TARDIS is forced down by a total power failure and the Doctor and Sarah meet a stranded Earth crew who came here to mine for priceless medical supplies. But what is causing the power failures? And why have the Daleks come here too?

Part Two

First aired

Saturday, March 2, 1974

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

9.5 million

Synopsis

The Doctor and the MSC crew join forces with the Daleks to mine the parrinium, only to come under attack from the Exxilons.

Part Three

First aired

Saturday, March 9, 1974

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

10.5 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and Sarah meet up with Bellal, who helps them escape from the Daleks and explains the origin of the City.

Part Four

First aired

Saturday, March 16, 1974

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

9.5 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and Bellal continue to penetrate the City's defences while Sarah and Jill try to stop the Daleks leaving with the parrinium.

Characters

Third Doctor

Sarah Jane Smith

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6 reviews

Still a bad story but definitely not as bad as I remember

Rock_Angel

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Review last edited on 24-11-24

This review contains spoilers!

This had a lot of potential. At first I was really excited by the idea of the Daleks being off balance in this story. Lacking their usual power, it really looked like they would need to make a sort of uneasy truce with the Doctor and humans to survive on a strange alien world. That idea has a lot of potential for a story. Unfortunately in execution, it feels like a bit of an unfocused mess. The Doctor and Sarah Jane remain strong here, but the story and everything around them is pretty lacklustre. I did like the design of the Type V Daleks used here. They just stand out a little bit and help them being taken seriously in a story where they kind of aren't the biggest threat. There are fun moments to that but it really doesn't come together. The aliens look way too goofy for me to take them seriously and too many of these episodes end on awkward little cliffhangers that kept taking me out of the story. I didn't have a good time with this one.

dema1020

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Review last edited on 16-11-24

This review contains spoilers!

Terry Nation has brilliance in him - but this is not brilliant. Whilst not without merit, this is pretty boring/ average Doctor Who in the shape of a boy's adventure tale. I loved The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth but since then I've been disappointed with Nations' The Chase and The Daleks' Master Plan which seemed to wander aimlessly. Then The Planet of the Daleks and this, Death to the Daleks which have both have good moments but quite a plain generic flavour (to my tastes). I am still waiting for Nation's triumphant return.

I was particularly disappointed with Sarah Jane's depiction in this story. Her first two adventures introduce her as a professional journalist with a strong will, more of an equal to The Doctor than Jo Grant. Here she is a wet pushover, there to scream and ask questions - what a shame.

The unique aspect of the story which worked was the power drainage that was felt throughout the planet. The holidaymakers/ power cut scene in the TARDIS at the beginning of episode one was beautifully shot and refreshingly different - it was nice to see the lighting played around with so effectively. The Dalek guns as an alternative for their usual weapons was another brilliant consequence of this concept.

The Exxilons are dreadfully boring creatures without any defining features - they are bland and uninspiring. The "nice" one was embarrassingly overacted, mawkish and had bizarre movements making it impossible to get into the story. The "bad" ones left less of a negative impact - but they felt like they were just filling screen time chasing our heroes. Does anyone love these creatures? Also, side note, when the Exxilon is on fire and in that pond, why did it not extinguish the flames before dying? It decided to stay stood up and burn to death - completely bizarre.

I liked that the guest human characters had to make tough decisions and as a viewer we are left to decide how moral the individual's actions are. I wish this moral complexity was visible elsewhere in the script.

This was not the first story to include tasks which our heroes to navigate in order to get to the next stage. These tasks do not translate to TV well at all - they are disinteresting and as dull as dishwater.

I didn't hate this story, but I just cannot feel the passion in Nation's writing which was so clearly visible in his initial 1960s Dalek adventures.

15thDoctor

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Review last edited on 14-11-24

Bilal my beloved <333

JustAsPlanned

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Review last edited on 13-09-24

This review contains spoilers!

An intriguing concept, with all the different factions at odds, but badly paced, with an overlong exposition leading to a rushed, underwhelming climax. The characterization is generally flat to boot, though at least Sarah gets to hold her own apart from the Doctor. And what ever happened to the probe-roots?

SophieScarlet

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Review last edited on 20-08-24