Review: Doctor Who - Day of the Daleks

Originally posted on www.moviemuser.co.uk

The third Doctor is back with the 1970s story arc, Day of the Daleks, which is brought to DVD for all to remember. In classic Doctor Who style, this serial finds world peace once again hanging in the balance, and the only person standing between mankind and the possibility of a third and final world war is diplomat Reginald Styles. However the diplomat’s fate is also in jeopardy, as a 22nd century guerrilla force believes that Styles helped shape their horrific world, and therefore he needs to die.

After being thrown into the world being policed by the guerrillas, the Doctor and his assistant Jo soon discover that this force are the least of their problems, as they come face to face with the Doctors arch enemies, the Daleks.

Soon, with the Daleks invading Earth and enslaving the population, the Doctor is left in a difficult position, where he must decide whether to stick to what he believes in or betray his beliefs and condone the murder of Styles, thereby changing the course of history forever.

This particular serial does sound like a very appealing and compelling watch, however the episodes do tend to drag a bit, while at the same it still manages to feel like there’s too much going on for the four episodes that the story arc runs. I personally think there are much better episodes from the original run of Doctor Who with this feeling like a bit of a missed opportunity.

The one potentially good thing about this serial is the fact that they have updated the special effects for the episodes on disc two. However this does appear to be a bit of a mistake as the special effects of the new paired with the old doesn’t really work and they stick out like a sore thumb.

Overall Verdict: The overall appeal of this DVD and story arc is pretty limited. If you are a huge fan of the original run then you should be happy enough, but for anyone who loves the new series and wants to discover more about the original run, then there are much better episodes out there for you to start with.