Ah, the Daleks.

 

The producers have displayed remarkable restraint by waiting until Pertwee’s third season before rolling out the old pepperpots. As have we, avoiding them in our 16 reviews to date (excluding their pointless Five Doctors cameo, for any pedants getting twitchy).

 

At this stage in the show, the audience haven’t seen them for five years. The lucky sods.

 

The Daleks are, of course, the outright best baddie design of all time (sorry, Darth). But their characterisation here is pure gusset.

 

Insane one-dimensional megalomaniacs are all well and good, but they have to carry a threat. Otherwise their sole character trait is kinda flimsy. In this one, they spend their entire screen time screeching and shuddering with rage. Like Matron in the Carry On films.

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Cliché alert but it would be an idea for these merciless killing machines to actually consider meting out some good old fashioned killing every once in a while.

 

They have the Doctor strapped to a table and don’t EXTERMINATE HIM. The Controller not only repeatedly fails them but goads his Dalek masters for good measure - and they wait till episode four, having gone through a thorough competency procedure in consultation with Skaro’s HR team, until they finally off him. Vader would’ve force-choked the snivelling loser within the first minute.

 

Naturally, the Daleks can be awesome. But the early 70s are not exactly their hey-day, plunging them into a rather pathetic phase of self-parody – not helped by their presence always being announced in the story title as ratings-bait when a surprise appearance would be a better creative option. Damn you, Radio Times.

 

It goes without saying that the Ogrons should be the sole big bads here but you’re not going to win a battle with the marketing team (though they do get a token name-check in Carnival of Monsters next season).

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Yet despite the small matter of the main villains being inept… Whisper it, but this is a really strong Pertwee serial.

 

Jonny himself is rather anonymous in the whole thing, spending his time supping fine wine and enjoying dune buggy away days. It’s his coping mechanism for dealing with the trauma of being tortured on such a regular basis. We empathise: we’ve just watched Trial of a Time Lord.

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But if a story can be excellent without the main guy bringing much to the party, then something’s going right.

 

It’s propelled in that direction by a beauty of a plot that’s so good James Cameron would rip it off wholesale for The Terminator. Plagiarism is a compliment, guys. He’d go on to nick Warriors of the Deep for The Abyss and the mourning blue of Revelation of the Daleks inspired the Avatar palette. Famously, of course, True Lies was a shot-for-shot remake of The Gunfighters.

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The final episode of Day of the Daleks is genuine barnstorming brilliance. When the Daleks finally grow a pair by venturing out of their cosy metal hidey-hole and getting stuck into the action, they carry quite a punch.

 

It’s cool as hell to see them advancing on the house flanked by their mute Ogron chums. Yes, we know extra Daleks were digitally added many years later (and no, not every digital special edition is a ham-fisted effort involving PhotoShopping Han stomping on Jabba’s tail). The closing shoot-out itself is well executed and avoids outstaying its welcome, before it’s rounded off with an explosion that achieves the distinction of being actually not shoddy.

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Despite all this greatness, there’s something quintessentially Pertwee about the whole malarkey. If you were blindfolded, spun around and shown any scene in this story, you’d instantly identify it as a Third Doctor outing. The Pertwee Bingo calls come thick and fast:

 

1. The Doctor is tortured

2. Jo flashes her knickers

3. The Brigadier is on the phone

4. The Brigadier is shouting on the phone. The guy’s basically a Dalek

5. An uptight upper class English gent (this is the British Broadcasting Corporation after all, chaps)

6. A contractually obliged vehicle chase

7. Ridiculous martial art nonsense from the Doctor

8. Yates and Benton sharing dialogue that would make more budgetary sense to have only cast one of them to read out.

 

Despite these tropes of the era, Day of the Daleks benefits from a few nice touches that elevate it above the usual fusty fare.

 

Firstly, it’s a relief to get off contemporary Earth for a bit, even if it’s just so the Doctor can be waited on like he’s Caligula. There’s also a delightful moment where the Daleks scan the Doc and images of Troughton and Hartnell pop up. It’s the first time we’re aware of the production team pulling this neat nostalgia trick and it works a treat.

 

It’s also dripping in 70s-ness. The crap plinky-plink score while Susha creeps through vegetation towards his noble suicide (cue the Doctor accepting his sacrifice with uncomfortably hearty glee) is still ringing in our ears, and some of the closeups are so extreme we can smell the actors’ Old Spice. Most pleasingly, there’s a wonderfully 70s porn fella on Kyle Reese’s soldier team.

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​​​​​​On the downside, once again Jo doesn't have much to do, beyond refusing grapes and being caught between Benton-Yates’ sexual tension. Her outfit, though, is totes amaze – we suspect a Barbie special edition swiftly followed – and it’s touching that the Doctor goes through a timewarp in search of her.

 

He must be fond of her, even if he doesn’t show it through his words or his manner.

 

But she also gets terrified by a clock during their Ghost Adventures sleepover. There’s a sense that the writers don’t quite know what to do with Jo, that she’s a trial run laying the foundations for Sarah Jane’s arrival.

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But these niggles don’t hold the story back enough for Day of the Daleks to be anything other than a joyously fun romp. There are much, much worse Daleks stories to come, so our advice is to get comfy in your chaise longue, pour a glass of something sardonic and enjoy this one for what it is.

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