Actively working against his Companions, including his own granddaughter, is one of the things I love about The Doctor in these early episodes, as it certainly gives the character, and the show, somewhere to go. The tension built across the first two episodes is masterful, with actual stakes and menacing suspense served well by being in black and white. We haven't reached the slower part of the story yet, nor have I seen The Daleks in Colour, but the first two parts of this are fantastic. Some of the elements in the third episode were iffy, but it remains markedly better than the final three episodes of the previous story. By the fourth episode, you start to feel the stretching to make this story seven parts, though I did like the discussion with Ian's semantics. Episodes five and six I feel are the weakest of the story, or at least the most padded. The burbling noise Elyon makes at the end of one episode as he's sucked into the whirlpool is a nice touch, and the fact that we're treated to it a second time at the beginning of the next is just fantastic. Well, that's the end of the Daleks. They'll never show up again, right? While a little padded, this was still a very enjoyable story - 4.5 stars.

The Daleks - ★★★½☆

When it comes to introducing Doctor Who's most important villains - and the most frequent ones, too - it's hard to treat this story as anything other than how iconic it is. There are two main points that stand out: the visuals and the development of the characters. Having left the prehistoric Earth wherein they were trapped, our group of protagonists - consisting of the First Doctor, his granddaughter Susan, and teachers Ian and Barbara - land on a strange planet. Its forests are petrified, there is no sign of life in sight and the entire place looks like it has been devastated by a nuclear bomb.

The main driving force of the story is, of course, the characters. The First Doctor is still, at this point, stuborn and arrogant. Overcome by curiosity about the city they saw from afar, he drags the others on a fake search for mercury, pretending that the TARDIS is faulty. This is because everyone else, like any sensible person, wants to get away from there as quickly as possible. What none of them realize is that the radiation levels on the planet are very high and that the lost city they want to explore is still quite inhabited - and so they are captured by the Daleks.

The Daleks is a story in three acts - the first part is quite enjoyable, with them exploring the planet. There are several imminent dangers, the radiation being the most glaring, but the episode is much more marked by a heavy and scary atmosphere than by a physical enemy. In parts two to four, much of the time is devoted to the characters' escape from the Dalek city, while in the last three parts they must return there and, in the process, rid Skaro of the plague of salt shakers. Each has its merits - I particularly like the tension building in the scenes where the characters venture through Skaro, whether in the first part or when they traverse the local jungle in the second half of the story.

Ian Chesterton is the MVP this round. All of the regular cast have good scenes, but overall he is the one who commands the story and steals the show. A highlight is the moment when he enters a Dalek carcass, in order to pretend to be one so that they can escape. The Doctor has an interesting role, which highlights both his worst traits (after all, he puts everyone at risk) and shows more pleasant glimpses of his character - despite several disagreements, he ends this story on a much friendlier relationship with Ian and his role in the plot during the second half of the story makes his scientific spirit shine.

Both Barbara and Susan have at least some agency in this story, and stand out in contrast to the female Thals - who are terrible. The First Doctor era is marked for me by surprisingly strong female characters for the time, but the writing is still, at times, misogynistic. Although in The Daleks this doesn't spill over into the main cast - Barbara is as much a part of the story as Ian - the Thal women are either background decoration or a disservice. I particurlaly like how Barbara agrees with the Doctor at times; them siding with each other against Ian and Susan even if at the moment Barbara is not close to him at all. It highlights a bit of her moral complexity while also establishing that they're not so unlike each other after all.

The most important element of this story, and one that has a lot of repercussions from now on, is all the text and subtext surrounding the Daleks. Doctor Who starts airing in the middle of the Cold War, so the reason Skaro is the way it is becomes pretty self-explanatory. It's the unconscious fear of the threat of the atomic bomb taking shape in the horrors of science fiction. Another key aspect is the scene in which Ian explains to the Thals why the Daleks would attack without provocation - they are driven by hatred. By intolerance. This is an idea that isn't explored much in this first appearance of them, but it comes to the fore in later ones - especially in their next story, The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

If I must point out flaws, there are two. I really like two Thal characters in this story - Temmosus and Alydon -, but they are by far the most annoying part of it. It always irritates me a little when they show up again. It's no wonder that they are an element that has been somewhat forgotten over time. Worse than that, I think their existence works against the author's intention because they are a very idealized vision of the white man and are placed almost on a pedestal. The other problem is a matter of pacing. I love the scenes of the characters' journey through the Skaro jungle in the last parts, but you could probably trim the fat a bit and speed up the escaping bit in parts 2-4 and voila, you've got one less part. Turning this into a one-hour story is crazy, you'd be losing a lot - especially good character interactions - but I do think there is a hypothetical slightly sharper version of this script that is also a little shorter.

Tense, oppressive, with beautiful scenery and full of good moments for the regular cast, The Daleks does have lots of merits that justify its impact on the future of the series.

TARDIS report #1: I feel a little mean saying this, but the scene where Ian accidentally crushes the flower Susan was showing because Barbara screamed always makes me laugh.

TARDIS report #2: that moment when Ian and the Doctor take the Dalek out of its shell, without us seeing what they're seeing, is my favorite scene. I get chills every time it cuts to the tentacles coming out from under the blanket as they're leaving. The story never shows what they look like, but just the suggestion is terrifying.

I had been told that it'd be tedious to watch this, but even if it did feel a bit long, it's nothing too bothersome. Very funny to see people nowadays complaining about this show being "too woke" when it began with progressive storylines like these. It's not world-changing but it is very telling of what DW is about. Honorary mention to Ian always being the hero and protecting everyone while also arguing constantly with The Doctor, he's just amazing. The Daleks are iconic, as always, btw.

A good introduction to the most iconic villains of the show. Drags a bit in the middle with the Thals. Would have been a fantastic four parter, but it's still a good watch.