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The Doctor is summoned against his will to the planet Sharo by a typically arrogant Time Lord, who explains his mission (whether he wants it or not) is to thwart the creation of the Time Lords' oldest enemies, the Daleks. And then the guy just dumps him and his two companions - Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan - off and leaves, apparently expecting them to figure out how to do it all on their own. What a jerk. Skaro is a war-torn planet. The two dominant civilizations, the Thals and the Kaleds, have been fighting each other for centuries, to the point where they aren't even aware that there is even any other life in the universe except on Skaro. During a commando raid by some Thal soldiers, Sarah gets knocked out. The Kaleds "rescue" the Doctor and Harry, killing the attacking Thals and taking them prisoner. Sarah is assumed dead and left outside, where she is helped by a friendly vagabond named Sevrin before the two get caught by a Thal patrol. The fascist Kaleds introduce the Doctor and Harry to their greatest scientist, Davros, an ancient, ugly man confined to a motorized wheelchair, who unveils his latest scheme to wipe out the Thals: mutant creatures inside of armored battle vehicles designed after his own conveyance. The Daleks! The Doctor's warnings about them fall on deaf ears. Davros is only concerned with seeing his Daleks come to fruition to wipe out the Thals as soon as possible, and when some of the Kaled leaders begin listening to the Doctor, Davros conspires with his assistant Nyder to wipe them out so their Daleks can reign supreme. Meanwhile, we learn that the Thals are little better than their enemies, as Sarah Jane, Sevrin and other prisoners are being used as slave labor to construct a powerful rocket to destroy the Kaled city with: the Thals' answer to the Daleks. Sarah Jane and the others begin making plans to escape so she can find the Doctor. But will she succeed? Can the Doctor prevent these two warmongering civilizations from annihilating each other and convince everyone of the evil the Daleks will unleash upon the universe? One of the darker and more depressing Doctor Who tales, with many a nail-biting moment. More than once we see the usually triumphant at very low points. Time and again he fails to ensure that the Daleks don't get created, and his efforts to bring the Thals and Kaleds together are met with hostile resistance to the idea. He almost literally finds himself in an unwinnable situation, and it takes the Daleks (of course) turning on their masters and deciding to kill both the Thals and the Kaleds to get anything done. A very tense and riveting if at times slow-moving story, one of Doctor Who's best.Read full review
The Daleks - the most famous item in Science Fiction to ever come from England. These little creatures first premiered in 1963 in the Doctor Who serial 'the Daleks,' and became insanely popular in the following years. By the end of the 1960's serials, there had been over 44 different Dalek stories written for the series - and Dalek comics, Dalek plays and merchandise grew to insane levels. And yet... the Daleks just vanished from Doctor Who for a few years, perhaps because their threat level had almost vanished after a while. But their triumphant return was something memorable. The 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks features the relatively-new Forth Doctor (played by Tom Baker), being sent back in time to the planet of Skaro in a period of time just before the Daleks were created. The Doctor's mission, given to him by the Time Lords themselves, is to either prevent the Dalek's creation or divert them to a more peaceful existence. However, things begin to go awry when the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane is accidentally abandoned on the surface and captured by another enemy force. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Harry are captured by the Kaleds... and meet the mad scientist Davros, who is intent on making a new transport pod for his mutating people, known as a Dalek. Can the Doctor talk Davros out of his plans, or will time simply take it's course as normal? This serial is a classic in terms of Doctor Who and science fiction in general. It re-introduces the Daleks all over again, this time from their beginning. The new character of Davros is excellently played and his interactions with the Doctor is something to behold onscreen. The writing is top-notch, and the moral dilemma the Doctor has to face is wonderfully done (though the resolution is a bit of a hand-wave), and the effects are actually insanely good for the time. The entire serial is just A+ work all across the board and certainly explains the lower-quality previous 2-episode serial 'The Sontaran Experiment.' As for the DVD's bonus features? Well, this is a 2-disc release - the first disc just containing the episodes alone. Found on the first disc is also an audio commentary track done by Tom Baker (the Doctor), Elizabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane), Peter Miles (Nyder) and the director David Maloney. The second disc, on the other hand, features two hours worth of bonus features. There's an hour-long documentary on just the making of this serial (including a neat little side-bit on how to speak like a Dalek), featuring interviews with just about everyone majorly involved with making the serial. The other major bit is the Dalek Tapes, narrated by Davros and covers by literally every single old-series appearance of the Daleks - all with nice little insights and behind-the-scenes notes on it, not to mention comments by certain Who fans. Literally, this disc is crammed with awe-inspiring levels of fun extras, something I was quite pleased with. In all, if you're a fan of Doctor Who, then you've got this in your collection. If not, you should. If you're a fan of sci-fi in general, you might want to consider renting/borrowing this one, because it's something that is a high point in Science Fiction as a whole.Read full review
I started watching "Dr Who" in college - the Tom Baker Doctor. My buddies & I became such fans that we'd leave the bar or wherever to watch the half-hour eps on the local PBS station then head back to the party, card game or bar. This was the 1st episode to really stick with me. The earlier story arcs were good but the Daleks really caught my attention then. I had read some of the US versions of the Who novels (based on TV scripts) so I knew who they, the Cybermen & others were. This story had a lot of interesting bits in it. A centuries-long war with weapons ranging from lasers to flintlocks. Mutants in a no-man's-land of waste. Two nations each ready to annihilate the other. And the origin of the Daleks. This also introduced Davros, the maimed, evil Kaled scientist who created the Daleks. He became a recurring character in several future Dalek stories but never as sinister as here. The real selling point to me was the moral question posed. Is it right to wipe out an entire species? Even if it saves billions in the future? The Doctor knows what the Daleks will become & how many worlds are victims of Dalek treachery. Still, he pauses as he debates, with himself mainly, the rightness of destroying an entire race. All in all, one of the best of the entire "Dr Who" series. Well worth the price. If you are a fan of the Doctor, this is a worthy addition to your collection.Read full review
I enjoyed the show. The dvd and case are in excellent condition. I feel I have made a great addition to my collection. I look forward to finding another one in the future.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
One of the greatest Doctor Who Stories ever told. Continuing with one of the most feared foes in the doctor who universe this episode features the Doctor (Played by the greatest Doctor ever Tom Baker) and his Gorgeous side Kick Sarah Jane (Mmmmm Sarah) as they go to the Home world of the Daleks on the cusp of their creation and subsequent extermination of the two races including the one that created them. The Dr. does his best to stop the birth of one of the most Fascist and destructive Alien races in the universe yet to no avail. I would give it 4 thumbs up if I had two extra hands. One of the best episodes to date!
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