Doctor Who (TV Series) Day of the Daleks: Episode Four (1972) User Reviews

A fun four part Dalek story, I liked it.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 11 March 2008]

Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks: Episode Four starts as several guerrilla's lead by Anat (Anna Barry) manage to rescue the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) & Jo (Katy Manning) from the Daleks. The Doctor & Jo travel back in time to Auderley House in 1972 in order to stop Sir Reginald Styles (Wilfred Carter) & the peace conference from being blown up & thus prevent World War III & the eventual invasion of Earth by the Daleks, however back in the future the Daleks discover what the Doctor is up to & travel back in time themselves to stop him & make sure Auderley House & the everyone inside is blown up...

Episode 4 from season 9 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during January 1972, the first time Jon Pertwee's third Doctor faced the Daleks & the first time they appeared on screen in colour this was directed by Paul Bernard I have enjoyed Day of the Daleks a fair bit. The script by Louis Marks is maybe a little bit more intelligent & multi layered than the average Doctor Who story dealing the peculiarities, paradoxes & possibilities of time travel which I think it does in a fairly thoughtful & entertaining way. I liked the line spoken by a Dalek who says they invaded Earth again which is a direct reference to the William Hartnell story The Daleks Invasion of Earth (1964) from season two the last time they tried & failed! Again with the idea of time travel & it's possibilities Day of the Daleks suggests that just because they were defeated by the Doctor taking over the Earth once doesn't mean they can't take over it in another different time-line, actually if you really think about it it's enough to give you a headache! Like the previous three episodes the Daleks themselves haven't really been the main focus of the story & you can sort of tell their inclusion was more of a ratings pulling gimmick than a necessity but having said that they certainly don't harm the story either. The character's have all been well fleshed out in Day of the Daleks & actually feel like real people & there's been some good dialogue as well. When all edited together the four episodes of Day of the Daleks lasts for about 90 odd minutes so it has a film like running time which is easy to sit through in one go although none of the cliffhanger endings to the episodes are that good, in fact they are all pretty forgettable.

One has to feel a little sorry for director Bernard here in Episode Four as he has to try & stage a large scale battle between Ogron's, the Daleks & UNIT using just three Daleks which is nigh on impossible. To be fair to him he does an OK job & the battle between the waring sides is actually well staged & good fun even if it is a bit obvious at times that there are only three Daleks. This episode also has a small cameo by real BBC TV presenter & occasional actor the late Alex MacIntosh. There hasn't been that many special effects so there's nothing that really stands out as being bad, OK the effects look a bit dated but still hold up reasonably well for a cheap early 70's low budget telly series which isn't always the case with Doctor Who. The Doctor & Jo were meant to meet themselves in the past in a scene which mirrors what happened at the start of Episode One & reference to the events seen in the last Dalek story The Evil of the Daleks (1967) from season four were both cut for timing reasons.

Day of the Daleks: Episode Four is another entertaining episode in a great fast paced story that I enjoyed from start to finish. Overall I will give Day of the Daleks an impressive seven stars out of ten across it's four episodes. As was usually the case the Daleks would return during the tenth & next season in both Frontier in Space (1973) & Planet of the Daleks (1973).

An impressive final episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 28 February 2021]

The Doctor returns back to present day Earth, with the peace process set to take place, a battle royale commences.

It's the best episode of Day of The Daleks for me, not only is it a good story, with great characters, battles and a wonderful Jon Pertwee, but it also has a really interesting twist on historical events, them happening, having happened, and set to happen all over again, it's very nicely played out.

In its original format, it just doesn't work, let's surround the building..... with one Dalek, the special effects (I know I keep banging on about them,) but they make a massive difference.

I loved the scenes between The Doctor and The Controller, he isn't just a screaming one dimensional villain, he's very well drawn, reasoned, and attempts to justify his place in the foo chain. Aubrey Woods is remarkably good. People that say Doctor Who isn't political, they obviously haven't watched the series.

A nice mention of Dalekanium, we would hear about that substance throughout the show's history.

Very good, 8/10.

Take your time with the Dalek lines Oliver Gilbert.

[mbellfield · 7/10 · 8 August 2021]

After 5 years, alot of letters to blue Peter and needing Pertwees 3rd season to start with a bang the Daleks are back but only 3 of them with some very interesting voices.

Daleks aside the story's main focus is its time changing plot and it does it very well and doesn't over complicate things, proving you don't need to be very clever and do tons of techno babble or timey whimmy plots to make a story interesting or work out in the end. The story isn't perfect but it's time plot is very good it's an enjoyable watch/journey.

During a peace conference, sir Reginald Styles is brought in to hopefully stop ww3 from happening. An explosion went off and Styles was blamed leading to uproar of country's and conspiracy, leading to war until all sides was weak and slowly dieing out. Which the Daleks used as an opportunity to invade and enslave the planet. The problem is Styles didn't cause the explosion, the three gorillas who went back to change everything/stop and kill Styles did. But another member cut off from the group Shura went to fulfill his orders and causes it himself.

The ideas Is pretty good and very enjoyable learning how it happened, I love how the Daleks decided to just wait and watch and then invade the humans. Something I strongly believe/prefer in. Why cause so much hassle invading when you can make the enemy wipe themselfs out or wait. The more you think about the plot the more possible loop holes appear such as the doctor and Jos involvement. Technically they caused Shura to go off get injured and then cut off from the group so aren't they also stuck in the time paradox?.

The next problem is who put the time machine deceive in the tunnel? The whole story is the controller and the Daleks trying pin point which timezone the gorillas have gone to. But the ogrons went there in part 1 so why did it take so long? If the gorilla hides it in the tunnel then we needed to see it. I think a problem with the time stuff comes from it not being able to show us, the audience the difference. When we go to the future run by Daleks it looks quite poor and lacking. The dvd did an excellent job at showing a better version of this though.

Another critism the story often gets is its lack of Daleks. I've never understood this personally as both classic and newwho has set up the idea how just one Daleks is needed to wipe out people. Look at power for example. I think if you wanted to show there was more Daleks then the gold Dalek is really the main problem. It should of been the same colour as the others with a slight difference so it could of been easily repainted. Or just film the two Grey's and have the gold stay in the future. Or even have a few additional lines about how these Daleks are the surviving ones from the last story evil. Add another about how because of something to do with the timelines only those Daleks can go back and sort it. However big finish *Planet of the ogrons" has fixed this slightly. The ogrons seen here are actually experiment ogrons with special skills and super abilitys because of the experimental Dalek overseer.

There is alot of things that do/can slightly ruin this story but I can look past those as there is some really good moments here. Especially with its side characters such as the Controller. Aubrey Woods plays him brilliantly, a hint of evil but also some fear and care deep down. I can see him as a master. His arc here is very good, often times in who the villians are just evil or love being evil but here we have someone who has been evil but he isn't a bad person. He was forced into this position because of his past familys tradition and he is just to scared to challenge the Daleks. He's done some nasty things such as threaten a guards family, but he has tried to save people in hard times. In the end he gets a chance to redeem himself once the Dr saves him. He then saves the Dr and in a brilliant last line tells the Daleks "who knows perhaps I have helped to exterminate you.

There are other great side characters too such as the cell guards, one who tries to help the Dr while he acts secretly with the gorillas and in one great scene warns the Dr with a shaken head about Jo/the controllers honesty. The other is also quite enjoyable, he's a typical brut and eventually snitches on the controller to get his role.

The ogrons are great fun though and give me my favourite line in classic who, all thanks to the actor that day. The no complications scene. One actors gives it his all, the other just wants his extra money. The Dalek voices here are also both annoying but comedic, sadly there diologue takes way to long to be said. Thankfully the SE dvd did fix this. There a few funny moments here such as when Jo tries to give Benton some food only to have Mike take it instead.

There's also some great cool action from Pertwee as always, such as him karate chopping someone while still drinking some wine and a slightly comedic motorbuggy chase. Jo sadly doesn't get to much here but Katy as always gives it her all and even if jo was more involved in this story, her unfortunate flashing would still be remembered the most, but Katy Manning has a good sense of humour and just laughs about this now, bless her heart.

Overall this isn't perfect but I do really enjoy this story. It's the only time in this marathon I'll get to talk about my favourite era group. Jon Pertwee as the 3rd Dr, Jo grant, the brigadier, Mike Yates and Benton, and of course Rogers Master. It's my era/doctor who. For me it's still the most constantly good and best era due to the brilliant team such as Terrance dicks, Barry Letts, etc. That era for me was like a warm second family and I love revisiting them.

Rating: 3/5 7/10

Special edition rating: 3/5 8/10.

Amazing Special Edition puts right production deficiencies which were its only real problem

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 28 September 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

Special Edition 10/10, Original version 9/10, Overall 9.5/10

The story and script of this 4 parter are terrific. Time travel, its possibilities and its complications are more up front and centre here than in any previous story. This is done superbly well and it predates The Terminator by over 10 years with its ideas of going back in time to change history and inadvertently creating some of the history you wish to change. Great ideas, well executed and with thoughtful and interesting dialogue as well as good action. Pertwee and UNIT are on form again with some great support particularly from the leader of the human collaborators working for the Daleks.

The story has the Daleks using alien 'minions' the Ogrons and human collaborators to conquer and control a future Earth and to pursue the human resistance. Both the resistance and the Ogrons/Daleks have equipment allowing them to travel in time into contemporary Earth at a time when UNIT and The Doctor are working to protect a vital world peace conference. Both sets of time travellers try to ensure their history goes the way they want and it is up to The Doctor to intervene.

The aspects which let this story down badly in its original form are almost entirely down to money and available resources. The Special Edition puts these right wonderfully. Effects for the time travelling, weaponry, tremendous 'exploding body' deaths etc. are massive improvements throughout every episode which helps a lot but more importantly the climactic battle is turned from a lame let down to a great triumph. Originally they could only use 3 Daleks and this is painfully evident making their attack look pathetic. The addition of seemingly large amounts of attacking Daleks makes the battle believable, impressive and exciting. This in combination with the effects save the story from being let down visually. However, as important as all that is, of perhaps even greater impact is the enormous improvement made to the Dalek voices. Originally the Dalek voices in this story were the worst ever in my opinion. The unimpressive voice sound and weak voice acting negatively impacts scenes they appear in and makes the Daleks involvement pointless and a hindrance to the credibility and enjoyment of the story. The Special Edition replaces these with the marvellous Nicholas Briggs performance of Dalek voices. This lifts the overall feel of the story by not just bringing the dialogue to life but making every Dalek scene electrifying. After their long absence this is the glorious return denied to them by the original productions problems.

I feel satisfied that these technical changes only serve to present what they originally intended and Pertwee's dislike for this story was based on these lame executions of great possibilities. The storyline, dialogue, characters and themes in this adventure were always absolutely brilliant as were Pertwee and his usual UNIT team. It was only technical shortcomings that held it back from 10/10 classic status. Now the story is presented in a truly classic form which the story, script and performances deserve.

S9: Day of the Daleks: Good opening serial for the ideas but gets messy

[bob the moo · 14 November 2014]

The start of the ninth season of Doctor Who gave me conflicting feelings as I watched it. On one hand, it was the return of the Daleks; I don't know all the detail but their absence had been noted for the last few years as the 'owner' was in some sort of rights dispute, so their return to the show was quite a big deal, which I guess is why they were the big opener for the new season. However, at the same time, they are really not particularly connected to the best aspects of the serial, which are the ideas and the delivery of those.

The plot sees a group coming back in time to commit an assassination of some sort, although their motives at first are not totally clear. While such time-jumping shenanigans are fairly common-place today whether it be in blockbuster films or TV shows, this show long pre-dates Terminator. Whether it is familiar or not, the idea as the basis of this serial is a good foundation and I enjoyed the way that the plot changed the viewer's understanding of certain groups as the story went on. I also enjoyed the discussions of playing with time, changing it and so on – okay to my modern ears it is nothing new, but it is still interesting.

The presence of the Daleks sort of take-away from this, and it is odd that this happens. Considering how high-profile these creatures are (even at this point), one has to wonder why they are stuck on the edges of their own story. The human villains in the future are much more menacing and interesting (specifically The Controller) and yet here they are. The Daleks finally get a bit of a run-out in the later episodes, where they invade earth; but even this is an odd set of events. We have a handful of Daleks starting their global invasion on the tow-path by the side of a canal; to be truly authentic all that was really needed to add were some discarded empty cans of larger and an old bloke walking his dog giving them a tut of disapproval (lot of canals near where I live). I'm not saying the serial should have gone 'spectacle crazy' about the Daleks like the new Doctor Who does, but it is odd to see them on the edges of the serial and then when they get their spotlight, it is hardly that memorable.

However, the serial still works very well because it is the dialogue, the human performances, and the ideas that drive it. Pertwee is good as always, and he has a good foil in Woods' Controller; the latter being menacing but yet flexible in his performance. The rest of the supporting cast is decent enough, and the Orgons make good soldiers if not particularly good characters. The production looks good, with nice locations – but as I say, it is the writing that made me enjoy this one; just a shame the Daleks are minor players on their own stage.