The first "Doctor Who" serial "An Unearthly Child" involved the Doctor travelling back in time to the Earth's remote past; in the second, "The Daleks", he travels through space to land on an alien planet. Although a few later serials were to involve time travel, space travel was over the years to prove the more popular of the two themes. This story also introduces the Doctor's greatest enemies, the Daleks, beings who have become instantly recognisable to many people who have never seen a single episode of the programme.
The plot of "The Daleks" owes a lot to earlier sci-fi such as the "Flash Gordon" serials and the "Dan Dare" comics. Following a malfunction of the TARDIS, the Doctor and his companions find themselves on an alien world which turns out to be Skaro, the home planet of the Daleks. The planet is actually home to two races, the aggressive, warlike Daleks and the more peaceful humanoid Thals. (The Thals have much in common with the Eloi in H.G Wells's novel "The Time Machine" and in the film made of it in 1960). We learn that the Thals have not always been so peaceful; at some time in the past a nuclear war fought between them and the Daleks led to the devastation of the planet, which remains heavily contaminated by radiation. (The fear of nuclear war was one of the great nightmares of the sixties; this serial was first shown in 1963/64, only a year or so after the Cuban Missile Crisis). The Thals are able to survive the fallout through the use of anti- radiation drugs, but the Daleks are forced to remain within their city. Because of their previous experiences the Thals have adopted a philosophy of pacifism and refuse to fight back even when threatened by the Daleks, until the Doctor's companion Ian is able to convince them of the soundness of the Just War doctrine. Further elucidation of the plot will probably be unnecessary; anyone familiar with the conventions of "Doctor Who" will realise that it revolves around how the Doctor and his party assist the Thals to frustrate the evil schemes of the Daleks.
This story also served as the basis for "Dr. Who and the Daleks", the first of two Doctor Who films starring Peter Cushing. Although this may sound like heresy to those Who purists who regard the Cushing films as "non-canonical", I actually preferred the film to the television version. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that the film was considerably shorter than the overlong television serial, which used seven episodes to tell a story that could easily have been dealt with in four or five. The opening few episodes are tense and exciting enough, but the tension dissipates in the later instalments, especially during those interminable scenes set in the caves under the Dalek city. (Was Terry Nation, I wonder, an enthusiastic speleologist who wanted to share his enthusiasm with his viewers?) The final battle, by contrast, is over too quickly and is badly staged.
My second main reason for preferring the film version was that I much preferred Cushing's interpretation of the Doctor to that of William Hartnell. Although I started my above synopsis by referring to "the Doctor and his companions", it might have been more appropriate had I worded it "two brave young London teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, land on the planet Skaro, accompanied by Susan Foreman, one of their pupils, and her grandfather, a testy, bad-tempered elderly eccentric who claims to be from an alien planet and who can frequently be cowardly, callous and selfish to the point of putting his companions' lives at risk". Although the Doctor is the title character of the programme, at this stage the real heroes were Ian and Barbara. (Doubtless much to the surprise of children watching the show who would not have been used to seeing their teachers cast in such a role).
In the film, by contrast, Cushing's character may be an eccentric, but he is also kindly and more sympathetic. By the time the film came out, the TV producers also seem to have realised that the original characterisation of the Doctor was a mistake as Hartnell's character was very much softened before the end of his tenure. In the film, moreover, there is no mention of Doctor Who being an alien; he is assumed to be a human scientist. Barbara and Ian are not teachers; Barbara is also the Doctor's granddaughter (and therefore either Susan's older sister or her cousin) and Ian her boyfriend.
The Daleks, of course, are the most important element in this serial. With their ruthlessness and contempt for those races they regard as their inferiors, Nation seems to have based them on the Nazis, and they quickly became the most iconic of all the Doctor's enemies. By the time I went to primary school, a few years after this serial was broadcast, children all over the country were marching round their playgrounds chanting "Exterminate! Exterminate!" So important were they to the series that Nation was obliged to ignore two plot elements from this serial. We learn here that the Daleks are so mutated that they cannot survive without radiation; no mention is made of this in later serials. And this story actually ends with the entire Dalek race being wiped out; a way obviously had to be found to resurrect them. Despite its weaknesses, "The Daleks" must rate as one of the most important serials in the whole history of "Doctor Who".
The plot of "The Daleks" owes a lot to earlier sci-fi such as the "Flash Gordon" serials and the "Dan Dare" comics. Following a malfunction of the TARDIS, the Doctor and his companions find themselves on an alien world which turns out to be Skaro, the home planet of the Daleks. The planet is actually home to two races, the aggressive, warlike Daleks and the more peaceful humanoid Thals. (The Thals have much in common with the Eloi in H.G Wells's novel "The Time Machine" and in the film made of it in 1960). We learn that the Thals have not always been so peaceful; at some time in the past a nuclear war fought between them and the Daleks led to the devastation of the planet, which remains heavily contaminated by radiation. (The fear of nuclear war was one of the great nightmares of the sixties; this serial was first shown in 1963/64, only a year or so after the Cuban Missile Crisis). The Thals are able to survive the fallout through the use of anti- radiation drugs, but the Daleks are forced to remain within their city. Because of their previous experiences the Thals have adopted a philosophy of pacifism and refuse to fight back even when threatened by the Daleks, until the Doctor's companion Ian is able to convince them of the soundness of the Just War doctrine. Further elucidation of the plot will probably be unnecessary; anyone familiar with the conventions of "Doctor Who" will realise that it revolves around how the Doctor and his party assist the Thals to frustrate the evil schemes of the Daleks.
This story also served as the basis for "Dr. Who and the Daleks", the first of two Doctor Who films starring Peter Cushing. Although this may sound like heresy to those Who purists who regard the Cushing films as "non-canonical", I actually preferred the film to the television version. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that the film was considerably shorter than the overlong television serial, which used seven episodes to tell a story that could easily have been dealt with in four or five. The opening few episodes are tense and exciting enough, but the tension dissipates in the later instalments, especially during those interminable scenes set in the caves under the Dalek city. (Was Terry Nation, I wonder, an enthusiastic speleologist who wanted to share his enthusiasm with his viewers?) The final battle, by contrast, is over too quickly and is badly staged.
My second main reason for preferring the film version was that I much preferred Cushing's interpretation of the Doctor to that of William Hartnell. Although I started my above synopsis by referring to "the Doctor and his companions", it might have been more appropriate had I worded it "two brave young London teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, land on the planet Skaro, accompanied by Susan Foreman, one of their pupils, and her grandfather, a testy, bad-tempered elderly eccentric who claims to be from an alien planet and who can frequently be cowardly, callous and selfish to the point of putting his companions' lives at risk". Although the Doctor is the title character of the programme, at this stage the real heroes were Ian and Barbara. (Doubtless much to the surprise of children watching the show who would not have been used to seeing their teachers cast in such a role).
In the film, by contrast, Cushing's character may be an eccentric, but he is also kindly and more sympathetic. By the time the film came out, the TV producers also seem to have realised that the original characterisation of the Doctor was a mistake as Hartnell's character was very much softened before the end of his tenure. In the film, moreover, there is no mention of Doctor Who being an alien; he is assumed to be a human scientist. Barbara and Ian are not teachers; Barbara is also the Doctor's granddaughter (and therefore either Susan's older sister or her cousin) and Ian her boyfriend.
The Daleks, of course, are the most important element in this serial. With their ruthlessness and contempt for those races they regard as their inferiors, Nation seems to have based them on the Nazis, and they quickly became the most iconic of all the Doctor's enemies. By the time I went to primary school, a few years after this serial was broadcast, children all over the country were marching round their playgrounds chanting "Exterminate! Exterminate!" So important were they to the series that Nation was obliged to ignore two plot elements from this serial. We learn here that the Daleks are so mutated that they cannot survive without radiation; no mention is made of this in later serials. And this story actually ends with the entire Dalek race being wiped out; a way obviously had to be found to resurrect them. Despite its weaknesses, "The Daleks" must rate as one of the most important serials in the whole history of "Doctor Who".