Having been brought up on tales of my mother hiding behind the sofa when the Daleks came on screen I was more than excited to see their first appearance and I have to say it did not disappoint! They really are scary and in keeping with the general weird atmosphere the show seems to be going for.

The first  episode picks up directly where the previous serial left off, with the group’s hasty escape leaving them stranded on an unknown world, where a mysterious, abandoned city seems to offer their only hope of escaping back to earth. Before long however it becomes apparent that the city, and the planet, are not as dead as they seem.

This was a much more classic sci-fi episode, the show really finding its identity, against the wishes of the producers who apparently would never have made this serial if they had had any other scripts ready to shoot at the time. I guess that just goes to show that while success undoubtedly involves good ideas and genius it also requires a good deal of luck too. Like all good sci-fi, it is also remarkably topical, with the fear of nuclear apocalypse looming large over everything.

The Doctor seems to be slowly becoming more accepting of his companions, allowing Ian to lead various portions of the expedition without being quite so crotchety, though he is clearly still dismissive of their inferior intellects and more tolerating their presence than enjoying it.

Many other tropes for the series emerged in this serial. The endlessly reused corridor sets, the painted backdrops, and yes, the plungers. All were evident here but none detracted or distracted from the drama thanks to a solid story realised through a good script. That said, there were some portions that seemed a little dragged out, I felt the story could have been told in at least one less episode, but that is likely a product of the time period as much as anything.

An excellent serial that really felt like Who and had some genuinely scary and unsettling moments, The Daleks gets a big thumbs up.

Next: The Edge of Destruction