The Dalek Invasion of Earth

They're back! The Daleks! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! Season two goes in all guns blazing with the return of the mutant race from Skaro, but this time they're on Earth, they've conquered us, and they are tearing the planet apart. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan come into conflict with their old foes sometime after the year 2164, and are almost immediately separated in the ruins of London. The girls fall in with a resistance group planning bold yet ultimately suicidal attacks against the Daleks, while Ian and the Doctor are taken captive. Everyone makes their separate ways to Bedfordshire, where the Daleks have created a vast mine in their efforts to get at the Earth's core, and the final battle between humans and Daleks is set.

Some changed were made to the Dalek design for this episode; their bases were made taller to afford them better movement and a more indimidating presence. For some reason the voice processing was changed from the metallic reverberations in their first appearance to what now sounds like men holding their noses off to the side of the set, and the sound of a Dalek gun firing has also changed from a noise like metal being torn apart to a sinister hiss. But they're still Daleks, and tehre is plenty of exterminating to go around. And there are so many of them! Previously there were only four Daleks built for studio work but now we have six in one shot; five regular versions and one made over in all black. The Black Dalek, or the Dalek Supreme as it would later become known, made its first appearance in episode 3, Day of Reckoning.

Unlike any previous adventure, The Dalek Invasion of Earth has a lot of scenes recorded on location, including a particularly chilling sequence with Barbara and some resistance fighters crossing Dalek-occupied London through deserted streets and past famous landmarks. Anyone who has seen 28 Days Later will recognize Westminster Bridge, although this time the Daleks are crossing it in force, not hoardes of crazed zombies. There is an undead element in the story in the form of the Robomen; human beings processed to obey the Daleks and more or less becoming Daleks themselves in all but form. Bit slow though.

And then there's Susan. Yes, I know, it's time for the usual moaning about her. But she did okay. So okay that she fell in love with a handsome young man who was willing to offer her exactly what she has been after for a long time know: a single place and time to call her own. But it's not a choice she gets to make for herself; seeing that she has options now, the Doctor locks her out of the TARDIS and leaves her behind with her new man, knowing she would never willingly leave her grandfather while she felt he still needed her. Susan does not fly into a rage nor does she scream; she accepts her new life and goes off with David to help rebuild the planet once the Daleks have been beaten.

Lastly, a word on the format. BRILLIANT. I love the efforts of the Restoration Team. This story is one of the few that has received the full deluxe treatment on DVD so far, complete with completely remastered picture, better sound, and an option to choose newly-created CGI effects over the original wobbly pie plate spaceships that were giggled at even in 1964. I took the enhanced option, and why not. It's not like the integrity of the episodes are at stake here; if anything, Doctor Who challenged its viewers to use their imaginations and see past some of the weaker special effects, and the Restoration Team have done just that and given us a real treat with their visuals of Dalek saucers hovering in the skies above the smoking ruins of London. Unlike the controversial DVD release of the Star Wars trilogy last year, there is an option to either move with the times or enjoy some sweet nostalgia. Either way, it's the Daleks, so who cares.

NEXT EPISODE : VENUSIAN LULLABY