DOCTOR WHO - THE DALEKS (1963) [DVD]

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Introducing the individual Dalek on an emotional rather than spectacular level is at the same time a cautious and brave thing to do.

Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks [DVD] [Region 1] [US Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks [DVD] [Region 1] [US

I guess the only way to tackle this is to look at each episode (or two part episode) to assess whether it contributes, as the existence of the box set suggests, to a coherent, ongoing narrative of the Doctor versus the Daleks. The very existence of this box set could be a comforting reassurance to fans that everything has a destiny, that the Doctor’s story is pre-ordained, particularly apt when considering the ultimate example of retcon/loose-end tying in The Stolen Earth/ Journey’s End. This box set is a mixed bag of episodes that the target audience presumably already own or have seen four or five times on BBC Three. I can’t help thinking that if faced, as Robert Holmes was, with the challenge of writing The Five Doctors, Russell T Davies wouldn’t have blinked.For me, despite the claims of the production team at the time, the world of Art Deco and Dalek design don’t gel easily. Other than an interview with David Tennant, the box set contains no new material and with the strange omission of Army Of Ghosts/ Doomsday doesn’t even contain all the Dalek episodes in the new series. The Doctor Who Site also participates in various other affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commission on products purchased through our links. The sight of a legion of Daleks surrounding Billie Piper is one of the many memorable images of the new series, fulfilling thousands of fans’ dreams of seeing Daleks en-masse without the need to resort to unconvincing models or second hand Rolykin toys. Once again, the season ends on a downer, Donna’s ‘death’, but unlike the Doctor’s regeneration in The Parting Of The Ways, these scenes appear to be just delaying the end of the episode.

Doctor Who: The Dalek Collection DVD box set review Doctor Who: The Dalek Collection DVD box set review

Davies uses the two part nature of the episodes to throw the Doctor into the action from the outset. While it is certainly the weakest adventure in this box set, the story does have aspects that are commendable. Brave because it goes against audience expectation and delays the visual impact of a Dalek army, and cautious because it allows Davies, as nearly happened, to replace the Dalek at the last minute and introduce a replacement.The fact that this is released in the same month Frontier In Space and Planet Of the Daleks have been packaged together as the Dalek War box set, suggests a similar attempt to use the box set format to construct a retrospective mythology, a reverse engineered arc storyline that ties all the new series appearances of the Daleks together and pretends that Russell T Davies had a plan after all. While I can’t blame them for attempting this, I would suggest that it could be done in a cheaper and, perhaps, a less cynical way.

Doctor Who DVD Special Edition - Resurrection Of The Daleks Doctor Who DVD Special Edition - Resurrection Of The Daleks

In all, the season three Dalek episodes have the appearance of a desire to include the Daleks regardless of story.For items that are dispatched using our standard service, we ask that you wait 14 days from the date of dispatch before reporting any items as undelivered. The Doctor’s desperation as he attempts to ‘Plan A’ and ‘Plan B’ his way out of the situation ratchets up the tension and, at the same time, demonstrates the power and endurance of the Daleks. The concept of a human/Dalek hybrid is suitably creepy and well done, but I can’t help preferring the realisation of a similar idea in Revelation Of The Daleks. The final regeneration scene is, as in Caves Of Androzani, entirely in keeping with the preceding story.