The Daleks

I love these episodes so much. It is so impressive how realized the Daleks were early on. Their design has held true for just about 60 years for a very good reason and The Daleks is an excellent showcase of that. The story itself manages to be creative while also clearly inspired by Terry Nation's perspective on fascism. It's a little slow and uneven at times but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it and thinking it is a very accessible, excellent introduction to the most iconic villains in all of Doctor Who.

The big introduction! Interesting how the daleks are so calm and calculating here (also, I think I heard the word “exterminate” only 2 times). The Thaals are pretty boring to me, but the characters sell it again! Which really surprises me from this era. I expected generic monster stories, like a cartoon for kids, but there’s really some good moments and characterization in the background. The doctor being mischievous leads into this entire adventure. Susan wanders the jungle, possibly alone for the first time ever. Barbara forms a believable relationship with one of the thaals and Ian proves his worth in many scenario’s. The doctor himself is mostly relegated to sitting around this episode. But at the end he gets his moment:

“I’ll never give you advice, never! But if I did: Always search for truth. My truth is in the stars, yours might be here.” That could be a modern day speech and no-one would bat an eye. It shows that twinkle of a man who wants to travel more than anything else, yet also keeps that stubbornness which he still has. Amazing.

Doctor Who: The Hartnell Years Season 01 Serial 02

The debut of the fascist pepper potts. While being a good story, I think it should have had less parts.

god this story is boring
it should've been four parts, maybe five
seven is taking the piss, especially when marco polo is two stories later and actually uses its runtime well
they spend at least half of episode 6 in a cave
to be fair, marco polo did that too, but that story also had an interesting setting
don't get me wrong, this story does have some good moments
but they're buried under a mountain of padding
it's always a good sign when it feels like the story is actively wasting your time