Well the Daleks had Genesis of the Daleks (1975), Cybermen had Spare Parts (2002) and finally 31 years after he made his first appearance in Doctor Who, Davros’ early years are told. We find out how he became the evil genius he is and how he ended up in the chair. Over four episodes we will see him grow from a child to the leader we see in the Tom Baker story. The first instalment is set when Davros is a child. The story is written by Gary Hopkins who previous credits include The Last (2004) and Other Lives (2005). Hopkins clearly had been watching Rome or I,Claudius because there is a distinct Roman Empire feel to the story.
The characters in this story are really well written and acted out brilliantly. There is such a broad spectrum of feelings towards these people. You start to understand why Davros ended up the way he did partly because of his parents. Calcula who is Davros’ mother is totally manipulative and she is so unlikeable. His father who is Colonel Nasgard is a military man who is your typical army guy.
Richard Franklin who played Mike Yates during the Jon Pertwee years is very good as Nasgard. He sounds the part and is totally believable as what we are loosely told is Davros’ father. Carolyn Jones is simply brilliant as Davros’ mother and I don’t think that anyone would have made the part work like Jones did. Rory Jennings who was recently seen in TV Who was really good as Young Davros. He managed to capture some of the evil genius elements of Genesis Davros. The moment when Davros causes Magrantine’s death was really grim and a bold move by the producers. What was perhaps even more grip was the fact that when Davros took his mother to the laboratory that he wasn’t death but horribly mutated.
Opening stories are very tricky things and very often don’t quite work because most of the story is spent setting up the characters and also the various plot strands. However this story is a really solid opener. It bodes well for the rest of the series.
The characters in this story are really well written and acted out brilliantly. There is such a broad spectrum of feelings towards these people. You start to understand why Davros ended up the way he did partly because of his parents. Calcula who is Davros’ mother is totally manipulative and she is so unlikeable. His father who is Colonel Nasgard is a military man who is your typical army guy.
Richard Franklin who played Mike Yates during the Jon Pertwee years is very good as Nasgard. He sounds the part and is totally believable as what we are loosely told is Davros’ father. Carolyn Jones is simply brilliant as Davros’ mother and I don’t think that anyone would have made the part work like Jones did. Rory Jennings who was recently seen in TV Who was really good as Young Davros. He managed to capture some of the evil genius elements of Genesis Davros. The moment when Davros causes Magrantine’s death was really grim and a bold move by the producers. What was perhaps even more grip was the fact that when Davros took his mother to the laboratory that he wasn’t death but horribly mutated.
Opening stories are very tricky things and very often don’t quite work because most of the story is spent setting up the characters and also the various plot strands. However this story is a really solid opener. It bodes well for the rest of the series.
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