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Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion Of Earth
01/04/2005 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
DVD Region 2. BBC WHSDVD 04. 149 minutes. Price: £15.99 (UK) but this varies so shop around for the best deal. Buy Doctor Who in the USA - or Buy Doctor Who in the UK  Y'know, I haven't seen this 7 episode story since it was first released in 1964. I know, I know. It shows my age but how many early TV programmes have you been able to watch again with modern day sensibilities? All right. There's more of them available but its still nice to see them again, even with adult eyes.
This is the second Dalek story ever in 'Doctor Who' from the William Hartnell era. As such, it holds significance, especially as in the middle of the 22nd century, the Daleks invade the Earth, wanting its crust to make a planet-size spaceship. It was also used as the basis for second 'Doctor Who' film starring Peter Cushing. If you're only familiar with that film, then you'll have some idea of the plot.
The Doctor with his grand-daughter, Susan and their companions, Ian and Barbara, arrive by TARDIS in London. There, they discover the place is somewhat rundown and the collapse of part of a bridge blocks them off from the TARDIS. Leaving Barbara looking after Susan's twisted ankle, the Doctor and Ian go searching a nearby warehouse for some tools to move the junk. The girls are whisked away by human resistance fighters while, on their return, the Doctor and Ian are captured by Robo-Men and a Dalek who surfaces from out of the Thames. I have to confess that that particular scene was scary back in 1964 and still a tad spooky today. Shame none of the scriptwriters since ever exploited the Daleks' submersible properties since.
The division of the group with the Daleks attempting to robotise the Doctor has a cross-match across these episodes. Hartnell had a week's holiday during filming but with so much action going on elsewhere, you don't even notice he was missing for most of an episode. Couldn't do that with later Doctor regenerations. In any event, with various members of the resistance, they all make their way from London to Bedfordshire. There, the Daleks are using a human labour force to dig down so a device can be planted that will spill the Earth's magnetic core so they can put in one of their own devices and take our planet with them. Of course, they can't succeed but why give the game away here although I wouldn't recommend living in Bedfordshire in the next century as there won't be much in the way of building sites and you'll have to love mining to survive.
In many ways, this story is dragged out for 7 episodes. This was rather the norm for this time period and scriptwriters invariably had to pad things out to keep things going. The special effects budget was also rather limited. However, if you consider that 'Doctor Who' was really only one of a kind back then, anything fantastic always stirred the imagination and the visuals were only the tip of the iceberg rather than the whole thing as it was seen today. Dalekmania had kicked off with their first story and their re-appearance only enhanced their reputation. No one wanted to be exterminated by the Daleks although we were fascinated by their lack of heart...not to mention other organs as we learnt more about them later on.
Interestingly, the head gadget on the Robo-Men looks almost like a proto-type for what was developed for the Cybermen two years later. I have to confess to some wry amusement over their dialogue. As guards they did their job but considering the Daleks chose them from the smartest humans they captured, their dialogue had much in common with those Monty Python team's men in short sleeved jumpers and shorts with handkerchiefs knotted on their heads. One could be forgiven to think that this was a possible influence.
Whatever, this is a blast from the past. There's no extras on the DVD. Indeed, the episodes started an soon as I put the DVD in my machine so be warned, there is no episode selection choice. If you're not prepared to watch it all the way through in one sitting, be prepared to play with your remote's Step command a lot. Anything else? Yep. Beware of meteor showers followed by biological warfare. You never know who's leading the attack.
GF Willmetts
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