The Evil of the Daleks bring the first season of Patrick Troughton’s tenure as the Doctor to a close. It’s quite fitting that the Daleks were chosen to introduce Troughton and they have been chosen to bring the curtain down on the fourth season. The story follows on immediately from The Faceless Ones so there is no room to pause for a moment about the departure of Ben and Polly but instead discover who has nicked the TARDIS. Written by David Whittaker who’s previous contribution was Power of the Daleks and the first issue that I have with the story is that at seven episodes long, it is about 3 or 4 episodes too long. It’s not until Episode Three that the story really gets going and sadly its only episode two that exists on video. It’s a nice teaser for what the story could have been like.
The story goes from 1966 to 1866 where Edward Waterfield has been instructed to bring the Doctor and Jamie to the 19th Century where his daughter has been held captive by the Daleks. I didn’t really like the character of Edward Waterfield because I never believed in the character. He was just a bit too spineless for my liking and had it not being that I think Debroah Watling is such a nice person then I wouldn’t have cared what happened to Edward or Victoria Waterfield. On the subject of Victoria Waterfield, I have always a liking for the character. Ok she wasn’t in the show for very long and she did say ‘Jamie’ in a slightly irritating tone but I think that Debroah Watling was very good in this story despite starting off in the Dalek’s custody.
Patrick Troughton is well and truly the Doctor. After a slightly dodgy start where the producers were still trying to get a story that would suit Troughton’s Doctor, we are getting a good run of stories and Troughton has settled into the role. Frazer Hines has also settled into the role and now that Anneke Wills and Michael Craze have departed from the show it means that Hines can shine and take his place alongside Troughton. I also like how he was defiant against the Doctor and showed us how tough the character can be. Well done to both.
This story sees the introduction of the Emperor Dalek, this is the most high profile Dalek that we had seen up until this point and to be honest it’s a slight disappointment. It’s got nothing to do with the version we see in Bad Wolf and Parting of the Ways but you think that it sounds better than it looks and it’s the first time in listening to the cds that its better than it would have been on video. The idea that Daleks at one point have resorted to wanting to play child games is something that must have seemed barmy in 1967 but nowadays its quite a nice twist on their character and works in the context of this story.
The most notable thing about this story is that it was intended to be the final story to feature the Daleks. After four years and several stories, Terry Nation was going to take his creations to America and give them their own series but that obviously never turned up. This is quite a definet ending for them but as we know that they would return in five years time, this ending can be appreciated in a different way and its one of the best endings to a Dalek story that we have ever had. The Evil of the Daleks is an ok story and despite some people on the web claiming that it was one of the best Dalek stories ever, I have to say that its in the middle as far as I am concerned. But in the context of the fourth series its one of the best because it’s a Dalek story and it’s a nice way to end the series.
The story goes from 1966 to 1866 where Edward Waterfield has been instructed to bring the Doctor and Jamie to the 19th Century where his daughter has been held captive by the Daleks. I didn’t really like the character of Edward Waterfield because I never believed in the character. He was just a bit too spineless for my liking and had it not being that I think Debroah Watling is such a nice person then I wouldn’t have cared what happened to Edward or Victoria Waterfield. On the subject of Victoria Waterfield, I have always a liking for the character. Ok she wasn’t in the show for very long and she did say ‘Jamie’ in a slightly irritating tone but I think that Debroah Watling was very good in this story despite starting off in the Dalek’s custody.
Patrick Troughton is well and truly the Doctor. After a slightly dodgy start where the producers were still trying to get a story that would suit Troughton’s Doctor, we are getting a good run of stories and Troughton has settled into the role. Frazer Hines has also settled into the role and now that Anneke Wills and Michael Craze have departed from the show it means that Hines can shine and take his place alongside Troughton. I also like how he was defiant against the Doctor and showed us how tough the character can be. Well done to both.
This story sees the introduction of the Emperor Dalek, this is the most high profile Dalek that we had seen up until this point and to be honest it’s a slight disappointment. It’s got nothing to do with the version we see in Bad Wolf and Parting of the Ways but you think that it sounds better than it looks and it’s the first time in listening to the cds that its better than it would have been on video. The idea that Daleks at one point have resorted to wanting to play child games is something that must have seemed barmy in 1967 but nowadays its quite a nice twist on their character and works in the context of this story.
The most notable thing about this story is that it was intended to be the final story to feature the Daleks. After four years and several stories, Terry Nation was going to take his creations to America and give them their own series but that obviously never turned up. This is quite a definet ending for them but as we know that they would return in five years time, this ending can be appreciated in a different way and its one of the best endings to a Dalek story that we have ever had. The Evil of the Daleks is an ok story and despite some people on the web claiming that it was one of the best Dalek stories ever, I have to say that its in the middle as far as I am concerned. But in the context of the fourth series its one of the best because it’s a Dalek story and it’s a nice way to end the series.
No comments:
Post a Comment