The Power of the Daleks

"Polly... Ben... Come in and meet the Daleks." 

Writer: David Whittaker

Format: TV

Broadcast: 5th November - 10th December 1966

Season: 4.03

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben

Synopsis 

Following the Doctor's renewal into a new, younger body, the TARDIS lands at an Earth colony on the planet Vulcan in the far future. Mistaken for an official Earth Examiner, the Doctor discovers that a scientist called Lesterton is attempting to deactivate two inanimate, subservient Daleks found in a crashed space rocket. The colonists refuse to heed the Doctor's dire warnings that the Daleks are dangerous. Once reactivated, the Daleks secretly begun to reproduce themselves in a bid to seize control of the colony. 

Verdict 

Welcome aboard Patrick Troughton! The Power of the Daleks is an absolutely brilliant story to debut the Second Doctor. I really liked how most of the first part was dealing with the aftermath of The Tenth Planet and the Doctors "renewal". Of course, the term 'regeneration' wasn't brought in until Jon Pertwee departed but that's what we were dealing with at the start of this serial. The Doctor's first regeneration was very intriguing. Things were extremely different now and despite the Second Doctor acting extremely different and out of character from what the viewer would have been used to, thanks to Polly it always felt like this man was still the Doctor. As she said, his body was wearing thin so he just got himself a new one. Ben's disbelief was great as I figured the viewer would have sided with him over Polly. Having a Dalek story to introduce the new Doctor was perfect in my opinion. Stick to things the viewer finds familiar and there hasn't been a more recognisable enemy in Doctor Who than the Daleks up to this point. If this man claiming to be the Doctor defeats the Daleks, would it be that hard to believe the Doctor could get himself a new body? If anyone could do it, it was the Doctor of course. I adored the fact that the First Doctor's clothes were massively too big for the new Doctor. The traits by Troughton selling the regeneration were top notch. The Crusade reference was wonderfully put in and I adored how the Second Doctor was talking of his previous incarnation in the third person. The mystery was always there, was Hartnell going to triumphantly return? As the story unfolded it was clear that Polly was right in believing the new man was still the same Doctor. The Daleks were back up to no good and after the mass defeat and destruction when we last saw them in The Daleks' Master Plan, things had changed here. The "I am your servant" line was genius and with it coming from a Dalek it was absolutely frightening! I was extremely intrigued by what the Daleks were up to in this serial. They'd willingly served humans, given up their firing exterminator and pretty much been embarrassed. But as each cliffhanger showed, their plan was advancing all the time. Three Daleks soon became more than a dozen and the reproduction scenes were like nothing ever seen in a Dalek story! They were rebuilding an army to take over Vulcan. The setting proved to be fantastic and I liked how Whittaker was somewhat returning the Daleks to their roots of The Daleks with the storage of static electricity. You shouldn't forget the origins of an enemy and it's great to see that it's not happening  in 1960s' Doctor Who. The Doctor's playing of the recorder throughout was terrific and I liked the humour element it added as well as the continued regeneration effect. Polly was wonderful yet again and despite a smaller role I just loved her. Since her introduction in The War Machines, she's starred in every story despite the massive change of the lead actor, and I hope she continues to do so. Ben has been good also but naturally I prefer the female companions and when they're as brilliant and beautiful as Polly it's hard to notice the other companion! That being said, the relationship between the companion pair here was lovely to see. They really did care for each other and that was lovely to see. The way the Doctor impersonated the Examiner was clever as it kept us away from the question of whether he was actually impersonating the Doctor also. But after the Dalek recognised a familiar foe, by episode three or four it was undoubtedly known that this man was the Doctor, simply renewed. The backdrop to the guest cast was tremendous and you had many excellent characters! Lesterton and Bragen stood out as being the best for me. Janley's role in the attempted revolution of the rebels was tremendous and I also thought Quinn and Hensell were marvellous also! The way the Doctor defeated the Daleks was very, very good in overloading the static electricity they were storing as power, causing them to decease. I absolutely loved the modesty of the Doctor when he awoke after destroying the Daleks once more. Utterly brilliant! Overall, a superb debut for the Second Doctor! 

Rating: 10/10