Doctor Who (TV Series) Remembrance of the Daleks: Part One (1988) User Reviews

The last of the Dalek serials, and it's good fun too

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 28 April 2015]

Review of the Complete Story:

REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS is one of the better serials from the Sylvester McCoy era of DR WHO. That's because it's an action-packed story that hearkens back to the days of DALEKS: INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. with the Doctor's greatest villains engaging in mass battles with plenty of explosions and pyrotechnic effects. There's even a special effects shot of a spaceship landing outside a school which looks actually decent for a change.

McCoy's era is unfortunately noted for its child-friendly atmosphere, apparently at the behest of BBC producers who complained that the Colin Baker era was too dark. This meant that many of the stories were silly and cheesy, but REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS avoids those pitfalls for the most part. It's also the final Dalek story for 'classic' Who, so it has a special place in my heart.

McCoy gets more to do here than usual, his Doctor coming across as an action man who takes centre stage for once. Ace is less annoying than she would be in some other serials, and the inevitable return of Davros is a real highlight. There are central roles for plenty of familiar faces, including George Sewell, GRANGE HILL's Michael Sheard (playing an evil headmaster!), even the guy who played the butler in THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR turns up! Watch out for Dalek-vs-Dalek battles and the memorable scene where a Dalek climbs the stairs.

Remembrance of the Daleks: Part One

[Prismark10 · 9/10 · 3 June 2023]

Wow where did that come from?

From sheer mediocrity of Season 24 to pulling out all the stops for Season 25. The influence of Andrew Cartmel's vision is only fully realised here. He was brought in last minute as script editor for the previous season so many of the scripts were commissioned before his arrival.

From the pre title sequence with speeches from JFK to MLK and Hitler. The anticipation is amped up.

The Doctor and Ace return to Totters Lane in November 1963 as he left something behind. There are sinister goings on at Cole Hill School with something bad occuring in the basement.

The Doctor along with some soldiers led by Group Captain Gilmore (Simon Williams) and scientific advisor Professor Rachel Jenson (Pamela Salem) manage to catch a lone dalek. The Doctor just knows more are on their way.

Remembrance of the Daleks very much saved the McCoy era. John Nathan Turner knew that he was in the last chance saloon with the future of the show. There was some care and attention here.

It has outside location shooting, the sets are more atmospheric and detailed. At times a little reminiscent of EastEnders such as the cafe scene. This might have been the house style for shows shot on video in that era.

More importantly it was exciting and you wanted to see more. The best was at the end, Ace kneeing the headmaster (Michael Sheard) and that dalek climbing the stairs.

Ex'stair'minate..............

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 22 October 2015]

The Doctor an Ace arrive at Cole Hill School, back to where it all started. All is not as it should be, the Doctor is being followed by an old enemy. The Doctor asserts he and Ace into the confidence of the local Military who are called to Totter's lane, where they're under attack, from a Dalek. The Doctor tells Ace all about the origins of the Daleks, and the reason for their presence, to obtain The Hand of Omega. Investigations lead Ace and the Doctor back to the School, but something is waiting in the cellar for them.

I have to start by saying I love this episode, talk about upping their game, moving from Dragonfire into Remembrance, must have felt like a Caribbean Cruise after a weekend with the Borgias. For my money this series overall rated as the best Dalek story since Genesis.

The Daleks are a little wobbly it's fair to say, but I think they look great, very new and fresh. The White Imperial Daleks especially look brilliant.

It was really well cast, Simon Williams was incredibly proper for the part. Pam Salem who several years ago had been tipped as a companion also showing how good she was.

Great use of music, it worked so well, perfectly in keeping with the story, and so much better then what had gone before for quite a while.

There were a few blips, some of the shots that got through featuring cars, buildings, windows etc that shouldn't have been there should have been identified and re-shot, somehow though they seem not to matter.

I appreciated Ace reading the French Revolution in the School, a nice little heads up to an Unearthly Child when Susan did the same.

It's such a rich episode, I'll say again when compared to what had gone before it is on another level. It also solved the Dalek/Stairs issue, it's just brilliant. 10/0

A gem of a story

[beatnick49 · 15 January 2017]

I have this story-line on DVD and it never gets boring. It's one of McCoy's finest story-lines because it has a lot to use and it uses the material well. This story gives us a good combo of time travel and the Doctor battling off an alien menace to Earth.

The Doctor is in full form here. He's back in charge such as when he plans a strategy on the map, and also gains the trust and alliance of the military battalion. We also see it when he sabotages the Dalek transmat and goes through with his final plan calmly waving off an attempt to talk him out.

We also get to see his non-violence in action. Rather than lob a weapon he places the explosive in the path of the Renegade Dalek (you could say it's the fault of the Dalek for continuing when the there was a bomb in the way), he states weapons are always useless and talks the last Dalek into suicide. The first and last instances show an interesting dark side to non-violence. Rather than be violent, let them do the violence. It's also shown when he rigs the Hand of Omega and tricks the Imperial Daleks into taking it, using it, and destroying their home-world. Debatably the Doctor is indirectly responsible for a genocide. Perhaps he reasons, he didn't tell them to take it and didn't tell them it wouldn't destroy their home world.

We also get to see the Doctor think about actions and consequences in the tea shop. It's an interesting moment and worth considering. It's a break in main storyline, and without sentimentality or moping.

Ace is not a cry-baby as opposed to her earlier episodes. If fact she's curious and eager to help.

The foes are the Daleks who never get old. In fact, these Daleks are improvements; the ability to hover and overcome stairs, a special weapons Dalek, and an impressive warship. It also continues and ends the Dalek Civil War. We also get to see Davros in charge and ruthless and arrogant as ever. Plus the warship heading for Earth, gives a sense of horror and mystery and tells us this could be a formidable foe.

There are also nice nods to past episodes. Group Captain Gilmore is a nice nod to the Brigadier. The actor who played Professor Rachel Jensen was in The Robots Of Death. The undertaker also describes Hartnell's Doctor. The story is set in 1963, the same year Doctor Who premiered in real life, a nice little homage and a meta reference with the TV announcing the premiere of "Doctor..." before cutting to a new scene. Well timed as this was close to the anniversary.

Are there any bad bits? Sadly yes. We have the staple pandering to US audiences with a couple of soundbites to establish the time period. At least two of these are from the US. On top of that, there is the dramatic music that were an unfortunate feature of the series.

That said, they can't dim this storyline.

It's one of the best and well deserving of it's popularity. Truly a Classic.

Memorably Brilliant!

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 25 September 2019]

Review for all 4 episodes:

It is incredible and joyous to see the huge improvement and change for the better in this story compared to the disappointing previous season. The same team that presided over the low point in the show's history which I feel Season 24 was, here brings a magnificent revival in credibility, quality and entertainment. This production is not perfect as constraints of budget etc obviously do not allow for everything to be executed to the absolute maximum but really there is absolutely nothing in this story that detracts from the overall excellence created by all the best aspects of it. All 4 episodes are 10/10 for me.

Sylvester McCoy raises his game to match the high quality material he is given as he puts in by far his best performance up to this point and finally shows he can be a powerful, impressive Doctor as well as a likable and fun one. The Doctor's role in this adventure is layered, ranging from amusing and lighthearted through to dark and edgy. The characterisation is such a step up from the previous few seasons.

The story has The Doctor acting quite mysteriously as he revisits Totters Lane and Coal Hill School from the very first episode An Unearthly Child in 1963. It is revealed he had hidden the Hand of Omega, a device with huge power used to establish Timelord supremacy over time, when he was in London at that time. It suggests this is at least part of the reason for him fleeing Gallifrey. This is a suitable and wonderful idea for the show's 25th Anniversary which, along with numerous little touches, give nods to the show's history and add to its lore.

Two opposing groups of Daleks are battling to gain possession of the Hand of Omega and the Doctor hatches a plan to thwart them both. The Daleks are exciting, menacing and interesting in this story and when Davros appears he adds to the excitement. The Doctor's confrontations with the daleks are thrilling and fun, especially his infamous and wonderful speech in response to Davros.

Ace is given great opportunity to show what a great companion she is. Sophie Aldred's endearing performance and her moral strength along with the feisty, action packed heroics lift Ace to companion greatness.

The rest of the cast are good, particularly Pamela Salem as Rachel and Michael Sheard as the Headmaster. George Sewell as Ratcliffe and Dursley McLinton as Mike also deserve mention and the subtle raising of the issue of race and xenophobia through their story is very welcome.

This story is highly enjoyable, admirable and clever. All 4 episodes 10/10.

Foreman or Forman?

[drrock57-647-522084 · 10/10 · 14 September 2019]

What happened to the E in Foreman? In the first ever episode on the gate ist says I. M. Foreman but in Rememberance of The Daleks t says I.M. Forman so what happened to the E? lol

The return of the Daleks.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 29 November 2007]

Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks: Part One starts as the TARDIS arrives on Earth, in England during Novemebr 1963 where the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) notices an unusual black van parked outside Coal Hill School. Upon further investigation the Doctor meets Professor Rachel Jensen (Pamela Salem) who is a scientific adviser to the army, suddenly she gets an emergency call to go to the I M Forman junkyard where the Doctor & Ace (Sophie Aldred) meets Group Captain Gilmore (Simon Williams) who has a dead soldier on his hands. The Doctor recognises the method by which he died, he was killed by the laser beam from a Dalek which means his old foes are back on Earth & up to no good...

Episode 1 from season 25 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during October 1988 & was the first story from Sylvester McCoy's second season as the Doctor, directed by Andrew Morgan this has been an OK start to what is probably one of the better stories from the show's later years. The third of the Dalek 'R' trilogy from the 80's (all the Doctor Who stories from the 80's that featured Daleks as the main enemy began with the letter 'R', Peter Davison in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984), Colin Baker in Revelation of the Daleks (1985) & Sylvester McCoy in this) Remembrance of the Daleks was part of Doctor Who's 25th anniversary season & as such this particular story tied in with the very first An Unearthly Child (1963) staring William Hartnell, the junkyard which is actually mis-spelt here as Forman rather than Foreman due to a production error & the Coal Hill School both feature along with tenuously explaining what the Doctor was doing on Earth at the time An Unearthly Child began. I suppose if your a die hard fan who loves to spot all the references & continuity then you will probably love all this, if however your looking for a good Doctor Who story you may not be so pleased. So far it's been alright but nothing special, certainly watchable at only 25 minutes in length but by this time the show really was on it's last legs & I think even the die hard fans knew it's time had come. How did Professor Jensen know to call them Daleks? She discusses them with another woman yet the Doctor never spoke the word Dalek in front of anyone except Ace in the van while they were alone, poor script editing methinks.

Shot almost entirely on location this would probably have benefited from being shot on film but by the time Remembrance of the Daleks was made all outside location filming was done on videotape along with the studio stuff which is a shame because I've always liked the look of film much more than videotape. There hasn't been too many special effects to complain about in this episode, the Daleks laser beams look OK & the shots of people being hit & their skeletons flashing is quite cool. I still don't like the Daleks that much though & I never have. Unusually there is a pre-credit sequence in which contains actual sound-bites from speeches by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Charles de Gaulle & the Duke of Edinburgh!

Remembrance of the Daleks: Part One is a decent enough opening episode to an OK story, I suppose at this point in the show's history we had to be grateful for anything we got that was even remotely good.

I am become death, the destroyer of worlds

[JamesHitchcock · 28 March 2022]

"Remembrance of the Daleks" was the last "classic" Doctor Who serial to feature his most iconic enemies, and the only occasion on which the Seventh Doctor was confronted with them. It is also the story in which we learn how Daleks can climb stairs, a feat of which they had previously been believed to be incapable. The story does not involve anyone remembering the Daleks, but the title may have been chosen to alliterate with the two previous Dalek stories, "Resurrection of the Daleks" and "Revelation of the Daleks". Alternatively, it may allude to the fact that the story is a nostalgic look back to the very first Doctor Who story, "An Unearthly Child", first broadcast 25 years earlier in 1963. "Remembrance" is set in that year and features settings from "An Unearthly Child", such as Coal Hill School and the Totter's Lane junkyard, both in Shoreditch, East London.

As in "Resurrection" and "Revelation", the plot revolves around the schism between two Dalek factions, the Imperial Daleks loyal to the Emperor Davros (the scientist who originally created the Daleks) and the Renegade Daleks, loyal to a leader referred to as the Supreme Dalek. Davros was supposed to have been killed in the Fourth Doctor adventure, "Genesis of the Daleks", but he was too good a character to waste and a way was found to resurrect him. This schism is not a battle of good against evil but of evil against evil; the two sides are not fighting over principles, simply over power. Both factions have sent groups back to 1963 to try and recover the Hand of Omega, a device invented by Time Lords which will give its possessors immense powers. It falls to the Doctor and his companion Ace to foil their plans. In this they have the assistance of a military unit with certain resemblances to UNIT, although that term is never used. Its leader Group Captain Gilmore is also reminiscent of UNIT's commander Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

As was often done in "Doctor Who" serials from the eighties (and sometimes in the seventies as well) the scriptwriter Ben Aaronovitch takes the opportunity to make some comments on contemporary British politics, in this case the politics of race. Sophie is shocked to see a sign in a boarding house reading "No coloureds", something that was still legal in 1963, although it was to be outlawed by the Race Relations Act 1968. The Daleks are assisted by a racist, fascist local politician named Ratcliffe, possibly based on Sir Oswald Mosley. It is even suggested that the schism between Imperial and Renegade Daleks may be based upon a dispute as to which faction is more "racially pure" than the other.

I will not hide the fact that Sylvester McCoy was never my favourite Doctor; indeed, he is a prime candidate for the title of my least favourite. He took on the role when Michael Grade, the Controller of BBC1 and a more formidable foe of the Doctor than Daleks or Cybermen ever could be, high-handedly engineered the sacking of his predecessor Colin Baker. McCoy, originally a comic actor, tried to play the Doctor as a clown, but when this proved unpopular with both the producers and the viewing public, the scriptwriters tried to make his character darker- closer, in fact, to Baker's interpretation- but he never really seemed able to convey this. He also had to cope with some spectacularly bad scripts such as "Silver Nemesis" and the virtually incomprehensible "The Curse of Fenric". "Remembrance of the Daleks", however, is one of the better Seventh Doctor adventures, with an intelligent, well-written script.

There is, however, a disturbing ending which shows why McCoy has become known as the "dark clown". The Doctor tricks the Imperial Daleks, who have defeated their Renegade enemies, into using the Hand of Omega to destroy their home planet, Skaro. The ruthlessness which he displays here contrasts sharply with the humanity he showed in the Fourth Doctor adventure, "Genesis of the Daleks", when he refused to take an opportunity to wipe out the entire Dalek race. Watching this ending I was reminded of the quote from the Bhagavad Gita made famous by the American physicist Robert Oppenheimer: "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds". Not what the Doctor should be.

A goof. On a bright, sunny day we hear a television announcer saying "It's 5.15 and it's time for the BBC's new science fiction series 'Doctor Who' ". The programme was first broadcast on 23rd November 1963. As we know the year is 1963, the month must therefore be either late November or December when it would be dark at 5.15 pm.