Stories Television Doctor Who Season 4 Classic Who S4 Serial: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The Power of the Daleks 1 image Overview Episodes Characters How to Watch Reviews 10 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 7 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, November 5, 1966 Production Code EE Written by David Whitaker Directed by Christopher Barry Runtime 150 minutes Story Type New Doctor Introduction Time Travel Future Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Authority Figure, Base Under Siege, Daleks pretending to be good, Human Colony, Mistaken Identity Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) Dagger, Five Hundred Year Diary, Handheld mirror, Recorder, Signet ring Location (Potential Spoilers!) Vulcan Synopsis Following the Doctor's regeneration into a new, younger body, the TARDIS lands at an Earth colony on the planet Vulcan in the far future. Mistaken for an official Earth Examiner, the Doctor discovers that a scientist called Lesterson is attempting to reactivate three inanimate Daleks found in a crashed space rocket. Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save 6 Episodes Episode One Missing First aired Saturday, November 5, 1966 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Whitaker Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 7.9 million Appreciation Index 43 Synopsis The TARDIS arrives on the Earth colony of Vulcan where the newly-regenerated Doctor assumes the identity of an Earth Examiner. Episode Two Missing First aired Saturday, November 12, 1966 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Whitaker Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 7.8 million Appreciation Index 45 Synopsis While the Doctor worries about the inert Daleks in the capsules, Lesterson makes plan to reactivate one of them. Episode Three Missing First aired Saturday, November 19, 1966 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Whitaker Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 7.5 million Appreciation Index 44 Synopsis The Doctor fails to convince the colonists of the danger posed by the Daleks and soon the other two are also reactivated. Episode Four Missing First aired Saturday, November 26, 1966 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Whitaker Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 7.8 million Appreciation Index 47 Synopsis With Polly being held prisoner by the rebels, the Doctor and Ben decide to investigate them, while Lesterson discovers the Daleks are reproducing. Episode Five Missing First aired Saturday, December 3, 1966 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Whitaker Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 8 million Appreciation Index 48 Synopsis The Doctor and Quinn attempt to escape in order to stop Bragen using the Daleks to take over the colony. Episode Six Missing First aired Saturday, December 10, 1966 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Whitaker Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 7.8 million Appreciation Index 47 Synopsis With Bragen having taken over, the Daleks trick the rebels into turning them loose and only the Doctor can stop them wiping out the entire colony. Show All Episodes Characters Second Doctor Patrick Troughton Polly Wright Anneke Wills Ben Jackson Michael Craze Daleks Lesterson Bragen Janley Hensell Show All Characters (8) How to watch The Power of the Daleks: Watch on iPlayer Blu-Ray The Power of the Daleks: Special Edition Blu-Ray The Power of the Daleks [Steelbook] DVD The Power of the Daleks VHS Daleks: The Early Years (VHS) Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 10 reviews 15 March 2025 · 235 words Review by ThePertweeDoctor Spoilers This review contains spoilers! The Power of the Daleks is easily one of the most important stories in Doctor Who's 60+ history. We've got a new Doctor, we've got the Daleks, and we've got an S tier story to go along with them. Ben's distrust of the Doctor is really well-played by Michael Craze, as he is initially suspicious of who he considers to be an imposter. Polly, on the other hand, is more willing to accept the Doctor's new incarnation and personality. After all, stranger things have happened... The Daleks themselves are easily the highlight of this story. After being turned into a cheap joke in The Chase (1965), they felt like they had lost some of their menace. But this story shows the Daleks at their best; manipulating the human colonists of Vulcan to get their way. I have never been scared of the Daleks (personally I reckon the Cybermen are much more of a scary concept); but this story came close to making me scared of the Daleks. This really just goes to show that Dalek stories don't need some universe-ending threat to make us fear them. Overall, The Power of the Daleks is a 10/10, 5 star, S tier story. Easily one of the greats of not just the 1960s, but Doctor Who itself. Only downside is that none of it exists for us to enjoy, making those glimpses that are the 8mm film clips all the more precious. ThePertweeDoctor View profile Like Liked 0 11 March 2025 · 55 words Review by Scottybguud 1 A strong start for Patrick Troughton as the Doctor. Ben's doubt about him being the Doctor is interesting to watch. The Daleks are more serious here than almost any story in classic who, making them effective villains. Cool to see NewWho obviously took inspiration from this one with the Dalek line "I am your servant" Scottybguud View profile Like Liked 1 26 January 2025 · 114 words Review by greenLetterT 1 BANGER The team knew they had one shot to make a good regeneration story and ensure Doctor Who wouldn't fade away with William Hartnell's departure and by god did they smash it. Troughton plays a fantastic Doctor, sillier than Hartnell's but still serious when he needs to be, and Ben and Polly's reactions to this are great. The side characters are all great, with Lesterson and Janley being stand-out performances. Also, they made a good Dalek story?? We haven't really had a strong Dalek story for a while but this was good. I understand why so many people like it, and join the ranks of those who wish one day it will be recovered greenLetterT View profile Like Liked 1 13 November 2024 · 88 words Review by Dogtor Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! “Life depends on change, and renewal.” Un épisode vraiment fascinant ! C’est déjà malgré la perte de ce qui devait être une performance extraordinaire que Troughton impressionne encore, et brise (pourtant avec douceur et malice) toute certitude du public. Mais alors qu’il est déjà carrément chaotique et imprévisible quand il affronte des Daleks plus dangereux et calculateurs, c’est surtout quand tout explose que plus personne ne peut dire de quoi il est capable. Il est Docteur, avec lui TOUT est possible. Dogtor View profile Like Liked 2 16 August 2024 · 174 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 4 This review contains spoilers! There are countless fantastic quotes from The new Doctor in this story. "These lumps of metal - Daleks - I want them broken up or melted down. Up or down, I don't care which - but destroyed!" "It will end the colony's problems, because it will end the colony!" This Doctor is so much fun. The whole cast is on good form though. Janley is a fantastic character, a villainous calculating woman in this, who cleverly comes across as ordinary on the surface. Lesterson provides a unique and tortured performance. He slowly breaks down throughout the serial until he is utterly useless. The horror of being forced to realise what a monster he has brought to life is a fascinating development. There is a great shoot out in the final episode, of which I am sure would improve dramatically if I were able to actually witness the visuals. Even without vision it is clear that this story is brilliant, surely near the very top of most fan’s lists for stories they want recovered. 15thDoctor View profile Like Liked 4 Show All Reviews (10) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating460 members 4.09 / 5 Trakt.tv AVG. Rating542 votes 3.80 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 791 Favourited 128 Reviewed 10 Saved 3 Skipped 6 Related Stories Video Games LEGO Dimensions Rating: 4.08 Story Skipped Video Game Reviews(3) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Video Games Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Other adaptations of this story: We define an adaptation as a recreation of a similar story but on a different medium or with different characters. Target Collection Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks Rating: 4.06 Story Skipped Book More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Target Collection Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Audio Adaptations The Power of the Daleks (BBC Audio Soundtrack) Rating: 4.04 Story Skipped Soundtrack Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: BBC Audio Soundtracks Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Other variations of this story We define a variation as another way of experiencing the exact same story - like an autiobook, a reconstruction or an omnibus edition. Audio Adaptations The Power of the Daleks (BBC Audio Soundtrack) Rating: 4.04 Story Skipped Soundtrack Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: BBC Audio Soundtracks Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Animated Reconstructions The Power of the Daleks (Animated Reconstruction) Rating: 3.92 Story Skipped Animated Reviews(2) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Animated Reconstructions Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Animated Reconstructions The Power of the Daleks: Special Edition Rating: 3.94 Story Skipped Animated Reviews(2) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Animated Reconstructions Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved BBC Audio Soundtracks Reconstructed: The Power of the Daleks (BBC Audio Soundtrack) Rating: ??? Story Skipped Soundtrack Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: BBC Audio Soundtracks Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved BBC Audio Soundtracks The Power of the Daleks (BBC Audio Soundtrack) (2004) Rating: ??? Story Skipped Soundtrack Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: BBC Audio Soundtracks Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite DOCTOR: Life depends on change, and renewal. — Second Doctor, The Power of the Daleks Show All Quotes (7) Open in new window Transcript Needs checking (Transcribers note - this story exists in audio only.) Episode One [TARDIS] (The Doctor has regenerated after his ordeal with the Cybermen and energy-draining Mondas. Ben and Polly watched him change into a younger person.) POLLY: His face, his hair, look at it.BEN: He's breathing, and the TARDIS seems to be normal.POLLY: Ben, what are we going to do? We can't just leave the Doctor there.BEN: What, him? The Doctor?POLLY: Well, that's who came through the doors. There was no one else outside. Ben, do you remember what he said in the tracking room? Something about 'This old body of mine is wearing a bit thin.'BEN: So he gets himself a new one?POLLY: Well, yes.BEN: Oh, do me a favour.POLLY: Then whatever happened, happened in here.BEN: But it's impossible.POLLY: Not so long ago we'd have been saying that about a lot of things. Show Full Transcript Open in new window
