‘THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

The Daleks Invade the Earth with the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara

For William Russell

We come now to what is considerably a significant story in the history of ‘Doctor Who’. This is especially since this six-episode story features the first return of one of the Doctor’s greatest foes in the TV series – both classic and new. With that said, I can’t help but have some issues with this story.

Now before I go any further, I want to stress that I know this ‘Doctor Who’ story means a lot to many people – both in terms of life-long fans and how it’s made an impact on the TV series in years to come. Quite frankly, I’m not really against that and I would be very willing to give this story a pass. 🙂

However, despite that, I can’t ignore certain aspects about this ‘Doctor Who’ story that make it underwhelming for me. And I’m speaking as someone who’s grown up with TV shows and movies in the 1990s and the 21st century. My expectations of this story differ to how things were done then. 😐

I’ll try my best to be fair on this story in my updated review based on the Season 2 Blu-ray box set. When it comes to talking about certain aspects of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ that I feel don’t work for me, I’ll explain why that’s the case and justify my reasons for it to establish my overall opinion. 🙂

But yes, ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ is the second TV adventure to feature the Daleks in the classic TV show’s history during the William Hartnell/First Doctor era. The story was shown from November to December 1964. This story must have been very exciting to check out at around Christmas time. 🙂

After the popularity of the Daleks in their first TV adventure from December 1963 to February 1964, it didn’t take long for the evil pepper pots to return to the classic TV series in the second season. Heck, it was around that time that Dalekmania, as it was known, managed to sweep up the world. 😀

This six-part adventure is by Terry Nation, who previously penned the first ‘Daleks’ story as well as ‘The Keys of Marinus’ in Season 1. The story is directed by Richard Martin, who previously directed episodes of the first ‘Daleks’ story with Christopher Barry. He would do more TV stories in Season 2. 🙂

Once again, William Hartnell as the First Doctor with his granddaughter Susan and her teachers Ian and Barbara confront the Daleks. This time however, it’s not on the planet Skaro where the battlefield is. The Daleks come to Earth and make their invasion and occupation in the 22nd century.

So, when the Ninth Doctor said to Rose that the 22nd century is ‘a bit boring’ in ‘The End of the World’, he wanted to avoid crossing paths with himself again; prevent Rose from meeting the Daleks then; and avoid confronting the Daleks once more following the Time War. It adds up very well here.

In the story, the TARDIS arrives in London by the River Thames. It seems the Doctor may have gotten Ian and Barbara back home after all. But not everything is at it seems, as our heroes find themselves in the 2160s, and apparently, ‘it is forbidden to dump bodies into the river’, according to big posters.

The Doctor and his friends end up helping the rebels on the planet Earth, as they’re fighting against the Daleks who’ve occupied the planet Earth for quite some time. They’ve killed many humans and have converted some into Robomen – which I guess you could say are pre-versions of the Cybermen.

As our heroes uncover more about what’s going on with the Daleks and the planet Earth, the Doctor is determined to foil the Daleks’ plans when they force humanity to mine into the Earth’s crust somewhere in Bedfordshire. Incidentally, I visited Bedford for ‘Bedford Who Charity Con 6’ in 2021.

In the 1960s, it must’ve been a terrifying concept for people to watch a devastated London on planet Earth with the Daleks taking over. There are echoes of Nazis and the Blitz in London throughout this story. Thinking about it, the notions of invasion, occupation and war are very frightening to this day.

You would also have to consider that the world was still recovering from the Second World War. The imagery of a war-torn England and an invasion followed by an occupation by the enemy was fresh in people’s minds. It almost matches how a global pandemic can be very fresh in people’s minds today.

This concept works great for the Daleks in this story, especially in terms of a visually striking image about world conquest. I’ve often wondered what it would like to live in the 1960s to experience that kind of world view, but I guess I would need to acknowledge things weren’t so simple in that period.

The images of Daleks patrolling the London streets, including on Westminster Bridge where Big Ben is and Trafalgar Square where the lions are is quite scary. It’s impressive that the production team were able to film those sequences very early in the morning, especially with no people being around.

This story also features the last regular appearance of Carole Ann Ford as Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter. This marks the first time that a ‘Doctor Who’ companion makes her departure from the TV series. But is Susan’s departure just as effective when viewing it now compared to back then?

Originally, ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ was released on a 2-disc DVD set in 2003. The story was on Disc 1 and the special features were on Disc 2. I do recall purchasing the ‘Doctor Who’ story on DVD for my Dad on his birthday in November 2006. This was after seeing ‘The Beginnings’ DVD box set. 🙂

That contained ‘An Unearthly Child’, the forementioned and first ‘Daleks’ story and ‘The Edge of Destruction’. I think my Dad may have allowed me to keep the DVD for him over the years since then. 😀 I’m glad the story is now available in the Season 2 Blu-ray box set for people to check out. 🙂

When I first checked out ‘The Daleks Invasion of Earth’ on DVD in November 2006, I hoped it would be a superb Dalek story, matching to how the first ‘Daleks’ story turned out. After seeing it though, I’m afraid I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. I prefer the first ‘Daleks’ TV adventure more.

‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ isn’t one of my absolute favourite Dalek stories from the classic TV series, as I found it uninspiring and rather dull in places. I didn’t find it action-packed enough and I’m afraid I found the pacing slow in the story’s middle section compared to its beginning and its end. 😐

Now, I appreciate with the benefit of hindsight that the production team were on a learning curve, especially as this was the second story to feature the Daleks. But I feel this story is sandwiched between two great Dalek stories in the William Hartnell era, including their first story and ‘The Chase’.

Also, I enjoyed ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’ more, which is the film adaptation of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, starring Peter Cushing as Dr. Who, and it was released in 1966. I found the film version superior with its action-packed scenes, amazing visual effects and being presented in colour.

I suppose I have been spoilt by other Dalek adventures in the new TV series, particularly in the original Russell T. Davies era, to colour my opinion on how I view ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. I’ve also been spoilt by some of the Dalek audio stories by Big Finish that are far better than this TV story.

They’re more action-packed, including ‘Energy of the Daleks’, ‘The Mutant Phase’ and ‘The Four Doctors’, and they’ve showcased the Daleks and the Robomen in ’22nd century’ terms in a better light than ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. It’s ironic I’ve enjoyed those stories more than their original counterpart.

‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ is not dreadful by any means, but I wish it kept my attention compared to other Dalek stories I’ve seen and heard. I’m sure other people will disagree on how I view this story and they’re likely to see it in a better light compared to me, but that’s just my humble opinion.

I think it’s fair to say that there wasn’t much action in the first ‘Daleks’ story compared to recent TV adventures, but I still felt energised by the level of tension and atmosphere throughout that story. I didn’t feel the exact same thing when checking out ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ for the first time. 😐

Again, it’s a ‘me’ thing and I’m not expecting anyone to agree with me on this. But initially, it was a struggle for me to enjoy ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ compared to the first ‘Daleks’ story. It’s also ironic the ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’ movie impressed me more than the original BBC TV story.

Once again, I think it’s the visual effects, the better Dalek voices and the Robomen’s improved look in the film that spoiled it for me. I know ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’ had its flaws compared to the original BBC TV counterpart, but I can gain more enjoyment out of that film than the TV story. 😐

Peter Hawkins and David Graham provided the Dalek voices in this ‘Doctor Who’ adventure, as they did for the first ‘Daleks’ TV story in Season 1. They provide great voices in most of the 1960s ‘Doctor Who’ story featuring the Daleks. Unfortunately, I found the Daleks rather uninspiring in this TV story.

They don’t sound edgy enough like they would usually be, and this could be due to the fact that their voices weren’t given the electronic treatment they deserved, making them sound feeble and silly. This is especially when a Dalek declares out loud, “We are the Masters of Earth!”, and that’s three times it says that.

When I checked out ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ on Blu-ray, I watched it with the new enhanced dual mono sound audio mix option along with the CGI effects option. Honestly, I couldn’t tell much difference in the new enhanced dual mono sound audio mix option, as the Daleks sound the same. 😦

I expected the Daleks and the Robomen to sound more electronic in the new enhanced dual mono sound audio mix option, as that would have dispelled the misgivings I’ve had about this story. I would have at least been intimidated by the Daleks and the Robomen if their voices were electronic.

‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ could have benefited from having a Special Edition version on Blu-ray like ‘Day of the Daleks’ received theirs on DVD in 2011. The Daleks voices could have been redubbed by Nicholas Briggs. I’m so surprised the Blu-ray makers didn’t consider that in re-releasing this story.

One of my favourite scenes featured in this ‘Doctor Who’ story is when the Doctor defies and challenges a Dalek in the second episode. To me, it felt like a ‘new series’ moment. Here’s a version of that scene on YouTube with Tristram Cary’s music and Nicholas Briggs’ Dalek voice to be enjoyed.

If the Daleks sounded more like in the YouTube video compared to how they sound in the actual TV story, I would have found them compelling and intimidating to enjoy. As is, I feel I have to put up with the rather untreated Dalek voices that don’t sound threatening when they speak in the story. 😦

Talking about the Daleks’ space saucers in this story, I found the CGI effects version of them more impressive than the actual ones in the TV adventure. Now, I appreciate the production team did what they could at that time and the original saucers are decent, but I prefer the CGI versions more.

The Robomen, on the other hand, are less impressive than the Daleks in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. And I know I said they’re like pre-versions of Cybermen, which would have been fine if they were intimidating. Unfortunately, the zombie-like voices the actors use for them didn’t impress me much.

I found the Robomen rather daft in this ‘Doctor Who’ story, and like the Daleks, I would have preferred them having electronic voices to make them sound robotic. The voices they have sound boring and, to be rather frank, the actors sound so bored in saying their lines, which isn’t reassuring.

I’m sure they’re not meaning to sound bored, but that’s what it comes across as, which is a shame. Their headsets aren’t particularly impressive, as I’m sure it’s like ‘plates and saucers being put together’, as described by Bonnie Langford in the ‘Behind the Sofa’ item for this story, which is so apt.

It does make the Robomen in the film version of this story starring Peter Cushing more impressive, especially when they’re dressed up like shock troopers and they have guns instead of whips. At least, the emotional scene between Larry and his converted-brother Phi was quite effective in the story. 🙂

The story’s opening scene is effective too, especially when it has a Roboman committing suicide by ripping off his helmet slightly before walking into the Thames and drowning. Even in black-and-white, it’s quite a disturbing scene and you do wonder what goes on in a Roboman’s mind from that.

In this story, the Black Dalek happens to have a pet that’s called a Slyther, played by Nick Evans, who’s also one of the Dalek operators. In my opinion, I found the Slyther to be one of the worst ‘Doctor Who’ monsters ever made. I mean, I found it ridiculous, pathetic and not very threatening. 😦

Yes, I know it attacked Ian and Larry when they got inside a mining bucket suspended over a pit, but its attack didn’t last very long and Ian was able to defeat it by striking a rock onto it. There’s no explanation for what happened to it afterwards, as it only appeared in at least two episodes of this story.

Also, one wonders why the Daleks would keep such a pet or even bring it to Earth, assuming it came from the planet Skaro. I know Slythers have appeared in more ‘Doctor Who’ stories since then, such as the Sixth Doctor story ‘Masters of Earth’ and the Seventh Doctor story ‘The Slyther of Shoreditch’.

Whilst I’ve enjoyed those stories, I can’t say the Slyther has inspired me to include it in one of my ‘Doctor Who’ stories. Maybe I should, but it just comes across as a walking mass of tentacles and claws that doesn’t entirely excite me. Perhaps it’s more impressive in colour than in black-and-white.

I enjoyed William Hartnell’s performance as the First Doctor in this TV adventure. It was amusing from the start when the Doctor was in the TARDIS, suspecting that things weren’t right. This is also evident when he, his granddaughter and friends are examining London in its ruined, decayed state. 🙂

Apparently, William Hartnell suffered an accident when he was making this story, which is a great shame. When rehearsing or recording the third episode of the story, he got injured when an actor – I’m not sure who it was – had accidentally dropped him down the ramp of a Dalek ship. Ooh! Nasty!

As a result, William Hartnell didn’t do much in the third episode and he’s mostly absent in the fourth episode. He’s filled in briefly by a bloke in a wig, played by Edmund Warwick, before he returned to be in the fifth and sixth episodes. This is another reason why I’m not such a big fan of this TV story. 😐

Now, there’s no-one to blame, as Edmund Warwick had to fill William Hartnell’s absence in the fourth episode as an emergency. But as a result, it lessens the Doctor’s impact and appearance in the story, and most of the action is taken up by his companions and by some of the guest characters.

I’m not sure how the Target novelization/audiobook by Terrance Dicks compares to the TV version of this story, but I’d like to think it has the First Doctor featured prominently compared to being absent in one episode. The Doctor’s impact is mostly felt in the first two and last two episodes of this story. 😐

Had William Hartnell not been injured and had his presence been strongly felt in the third and fourth episodes, maybe I would have been on board with this story being good, despite some hiccups. The absence of the First Doctor in the story’s middle section makes its pacing sag and feel underwhelming.

William Russell is very good as Ian Chesterton in this ‘Doctor Who’ adventure. I liked it when he and the Doctor were investigating the warehouse nearby the Thames. They discover a Roboman there and find him murdered before returning to the Thames to find Barbara and Susan gone and missing.

It was interesting to see Ian and the Doctor’s reactions to the ‘IT IS FORBIDDEN TO DUMP BODIES INTO THE RIVER’ poster by the Thames. The Doctor considers it ‘stupid’ whilst Ian says it’s a good place to put a poster if anyone should consider dumping a dead body into the river. It’s a really good scene. 🙂

Ian is shocked once he and the Doctor realise it’s the Daleks who have invaded and occupied Earth in the 22nd century. I like how Ian questioned why the Daleks are on Earth since they defeated them on Skaro in their first TV outing, and the Doctor explains what they’re seeing is the Daleks’ history. 🙂

In this story, Ian gets to have his own journey when he’s separated from the Doctor. I liked it when he joined up with Graham Rigby as Larry Madison, as they go via Dalek saucer to reach Bedfordshire and find his brother as well as Ian’s friends. Ian and Larry face obstacles along their perilous journey.

As well as Daleks, they end up dealing with black market spiffs like Patrick O’Connell as Ashton and escaping from the Slyther in the story’s fifth episode. It became rather tense when Ian was trapped inside an explosive capsule that was going to blow up Earth’s core and he had to disable it quickly. 😮

I also liked it when Ian and Larry went back to help Nicholas Smith as Wells, who’d been struck by a Roboman, and Ian told the Roboman to “Get new orders” which confused him. It also illustrates Ian’s frustration by the Robomen’s lack of compassion, especially as they’re controlled by the Daleks.

Jacqueline Hill is lovely as Barbara Wright and engaging to watch in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. I like how resourceful she is, especially when during the Dalek carnage on 22nd century Earth. I also like how she forms a good friendship with Ann Davies as Jenny when they endure Dalek terrors on Earth.

Apparently, Jacqueline Hill and Ann Davies became good friends in later life, according to behind-the-scenes interviews, which is nice. It was tense when Barbara and Ann were pushing Alan Judd as Dortmun in his wheelchair whilst dodging the Daleks, as they happened to be everywhere in London.

I like how Barbara’s hope and optimism shines throughout this story, especially when she’s convinced that the Doctor’s alive, despite Jenny’s doubts. She also tells Jenny that Dortmun’s self-sacrifice in the story gave them a chance. Barbara also enjoys running over some Daleks in a lorry. 😀

There’s quite a horrible sequence where Barbara and Jenny visit two women in the woods, played by Jean Conroy and Meriel Hobson, and they’re initially given food by them before being betrayed by them to the Daleks when trying to get to Bedfordshire. A pity Barbara and Jenny got caught like that.

I liked it when Barbara utilised her history knowledge and made things up about the rebels’ plan in order to confuse the Daleks when she and Jenny are inside the Daleks’ main control room in Bedfordshire. It’s where they discover the audio controls for the Robomen, operated by the Daleks.

I found it funny when Barbara tried to sound like a Dalek and was giving the order to the Robomen to ‘turn on the Daleks’ before the Doctor stepped in and took over. Obviously, he wasn’t impressed by Barbara’s Dalek-sounding voice. 😀 Almost like a Tenth Doctor “No, no, don’t do that” moment. 🙂

Carole Ann Ford shines throughout as Susan in this, her last, ‘Doctor Who’ story in the classic TV series. It’s interesting how Susan departs in this ‘Doctor Who’ story, since for a while, behind-the-scenes, Carole wasn’t happy with how her character was being developed since the TV series began.

There was this expectation on Carole’s part that she would have plenty to do, especially considering she was the Doctor’s granddaughter and there was hope that more would be explored regarding Susan’s mystery. Sadly, she seemed to be reduced to being a typical teenage girl that screamed a lot.

I mean, it’s not helped when she twists her ankle after falling down from a wall near the Thames in the story’s first episode. Regardless, I actually like how ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ touches on Susan reflecting her time in the TARDIS and considering settling in one place and in one time permanently.

I mean, she has faced a lot of danger and terrors in her travels with her grandfather, and as the story progresses, Susan grows to like the idea of rebuilding Earth once the Daleks have been defeated. It’s a side of her we don’t get to see very often, especially as her origins, at this point, are quite vague. 😐

I like how, in this story, Susan gets to know Peter Fraser as David, one of the resistance fighters, and she falls in love with him. Admittedly, depending on how long they have known each other throughout this story, the romance is debatable as to whether it’s considered well-developed or not.

For me, the romantic element of this story appeals to me, especially as I’m a sloppy guy myself. I like how Susan gets torn with the decision to stay with David or to go on travelling in the TARDIS to look after her grandfather. Also, Susan gets to kiss David in the story, which is rare to see in the classic TV series.

The guest cast includes Bernard Kay as Carl Tyler, one of the London rebels. This is Bernard Kay’s first ‘Doctor Who’ TV appearance, since he would go on to be in three more stories, including ‘The Crusade’, ‘The Faceless Ones’ and ‘Colony In Space’. I recall him more in this story than the others. 😀

In ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, Tyler is a blunt, no-nonsense man who isn’t willing to make friends, especially with the Dalek occupation going on. He’s a good guy, but he’s seen many terrible things during the Dalek invasion. He struggles in surviving the terrors occurring whilst fighting the Daleks. 😐

Peter Fraser guest stars as David Campbell, another London rebel that Susan falls in love with. I assume David moved from Scotland to be in London, considering Peter Fraser is a Scottish actor. 😀 I like David, since he’s a decent, honest young man who, like Tyler, is struggling in fighting the Daleks.

It’s easy to see why Susan fell in love with David, especially as he offers her a time, place and identity where she can be stable once he asks her to marry him. It’s also amusing to see David playing with Susan with a fish whilst she’s making dinner. The ‘Behind the Sofa’ groups found it very amusing too.

Alan Judd guest stars as Dortmum, a wheel-bound scientist who is determined to destroy the Daleks by using his bombs to break their casings. Unfortunately, the bombs don’t work effectively as he would like them to, since as he didn’t test them beforehand and they can’t penetrate Dalekanium. 😐

Despite that, Dortmum is determined to continue his research, especially when he, Barbara and Jenny move from their base of operations and avoid the Daleks in London. It’s interesting how he self-sacrifices himself in this story when going to face the Daleks in the open, using a bomb on them.

Ann Davies guest stars as Jenny, another London rebel that Barbara becomes friends with. The late Ann Davies was married to Richard Briers (who later did the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘Paradise Towers’ and the ‘Torchwood’ episode ‘A Day In The Death’). They also did ‘Ever Decreasing Circles’ together.

In this story, Jenny seems to be a young woman with a tough exterior, struggling to survive the Dalek occupation of Earth. Despite her hard manner, she’s a good person underneath. I like how the friendship Jenny forms with Barbara is developed, though I’m not really a fan of her black balaclava.

Graham Rigby guest stars as Larry Madison, whom Ian meets aboard the Dalek saucer on its way to Bedfordshire. Graham Rigby would go on to be in the original ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ TV series, playing Mr. Ripley in the 1985 Christmas Special, a Series 4 episode and a Series 6 episode.

I like how Larry and Ian get on well with each other in this story, especially since they have the same goals of looking for people, including Larry searching for his brother Phil and Ian searching for his friends: the Doctor, Barbara and Susan. It’s sad Larry finds his brother and sees him as a Roboman. 😦

The story also features Michael Goldie as Jack Craddock, whom the Doctor and Ian meet in a prison cell aboard a Dalek saucer. Unfortunately, he gets robotised and becomes a Roboman in the third episode. There’s also Richard McNeff as Baker, another London rebel that sadly gets killed in this story.

It’s interesting that most of the human characters in this ‘Doctor Who’ story aren’t as clear-cut and friendly as maybe audience members would like them to be. This especially concerns characters like the black-market spiff Ashton and the two wood women who have their own agendas in this story. 😐

Eventually, the Daleks are defeated once the Doctor and Barbara have managed to get the Robomen to turn on the Daleks. A volcanic eruption occurs in England, soon destroying the Daleks on Earth. And I’m sure we’ll never see the Daleks ever again in the rest of the TV series’ long history to date. 😀

All is well once the humans start to rebuild the Earth following the Daleks’ defeat. I liked the scenes between the Doctor and Tyler when they witness the volcanic eruption and hear the chimes of Big Ben again. Incidentally, I wonder if Carl Tyler is a descendant of Rose Tyler on 22nd century Earth. 😀

The story’s closing scenes are very moving and touching. This is when David asks Susan to stay on Earth and to marry him, despite her saying that her grandfather needs her. It’s clearly evident that Susan loves David very much and I like how that’s played between Carole Ann Ford and Peter Fraser.

Once the Doctor realises what’s happening, he locks Susan out of the TARDIS so she can stay with David to spend her life with him. I hadn’t seen many ‘Doctor Who’ stories of the William Hartnell era till then when I saw ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ for the first time in 2006, but it quite surprised me.

I was in tears when watching that scene on DVD. Even on Blu-ray and even as I’m updating my review on this story, I find myself in tears. It’s because William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford play their characters so well and deliver amazing performances when doing those last scenes of the story.

And of course, this is where the Doctor delivers his famous speech to Susan that fundamentally ends with, “One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back…” It’s a speech that’s been used in ‘The Five Doctors’, ‘An Adventure In Space and Time’ and my 60th anniversary story – ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’.

I wish I could show you the full scene of the TARDIS leaving Susan behind, as the music by Francis Chagrin which follows is very effective and moving, illustrating the beautiful simplicity of Susan realising that her grandfather is gone. It’s a lovely moment that brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.

David’s line, “He knew. He knew you could never leave him” is also very effective as Susan goes with him at the story’s end. It highlights a whole new change in the series’ direction, especially with the Doctor losing her granddaughter and now travelling with Ian and Barbara in the next story after this.

I admit, it does seem a shame that Susan didn’t get to say goodbye to Ian and Barbara at the story’s end compared to how the Doctor got to say goodbye to her. I don’t mind that so much, since it was all in a rush and the Doctor himself didn’t give Susan much of a chance to leave of her own free will.

Mind you, I’ve been able to make up for that disappointment by continuing the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara’s story from ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ in ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’. I’ve even written a scene where Susan gets to say goodbye to Ian and Barbara before she leaves the TARDIS. 🙂

In that story for them, ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ takes place during the closing scenes of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. I’m very pleased that I’ve been able to write that story for them and touch upon on Susan’s reluctance and her eventual acceptance about leaving her grandfather to stay with David.

There’s the Big Finish audio story called ‘After the Daleks’, which takes place after ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, showcasing Susan’s efforts to rebuild the Earth with people like David and Jenny. I’ve yet to hear that story at the time of this review, but I’m certain I’ll enjoy it when I get to hear it.

The original DVD special features were as follows. There were CGI effects sequences along with a CGI effects option of the story to enjoy. There were two BBC trailers for the story, a dual mono sound audio mix option for the story, and an audio commentary with William Russell, Carole Ann Ford, producer Verity Lambert and director Richard Martin, moderated by Gary Russell. There was also an info-text commentary option to enjoy.

There was a ‘Future Visions’ design featurette with designer Spencer Chapman; and there was the ‘Future Memories’ making-of documentary, featuring behind-the-scenes interview with the guest cast, including Ann Davies, Peter Fraser, Bernard Kay, Nicholas Smith, Nick Evans, Robert Jewell (one of the Dalek operators), David Graham and Peter Hawkins. There was also the ‘Talking Daleks’ featurette with David Graham, Peter Hawkins and sound designer Brian Hodgson; the ‘Now and Then’ featurette, looking into the filming locations used in the story; the ‘Script to Screen’ featurette, which an animated demonstration of how the sixth episode was recorded; and a ‘Blue Peter’ item looking into how to make Dalek cakes. Yummy! 😀 There was the ‘Whatever Happened to… Susan?’ radio play, which is an intriguing albeit unsatisfying spoof about Susan, set after ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. There was ‘Rehearsal Film’, which is a short silent 8mm colour film by Carole Ann Ford on the making of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. There was a photo gallery of the story, two DVD introductions, and two ‘Sid the Slyther’ sketches that were originally released as Easter Eggs on Disc 2 of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ 2-disc DVD set.

On Disc 2 of the ‘Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 2’ Blu-ray; the CGI effects sequences, the CGI effects option, the dual mono sound audio mix option, the DVD audio commentary, the ‘Future Visions’ design featurette, the ‘Future Memories’ making-of documentary, the ‘Talking Daleks’ featurette, the ‘Now and Then’ featurette, the ‘Script to Screen’ featurette, the ‘Whatever Happened to… Susan?’ radio play, the ‘Rehearsal Film’, the two DVD introductions and the two ‘Sid the Slyther’ sketches can be found on there. The BBC trailers, the info-text commentary option and the photo gallery have been updated for 2022 on the Blu-ray. Sadly, the ‘Blue Peter’ item about making Dalek cakes isn’t included on ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ Blu-ray disc.

The new special features on Blu-ray include the ‘Behind the Sofa’ feature on ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ with Maureen O’Brien (Vicki), Peter Purves (Steven) and Carole Ann Ford (Susan) as well as Janet Fielding (Tegan), Wendy Padbury (Zoe) and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) as well as Bonnie Langford (Mel) and Sophie Aldred (Ace). There’s the ‘Suddenly Susan’ 2003 interview with Carole Ann Ford (taken from the ‘Planet of Giants’ DVD), and there’s the ‘coming soon’ trailer for ‘The Rescue’ and ‘The Romans’, starring William Hartnell, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill and Maureen O’Brien (taken from the ‘Full Circle’, ‘State of Decay’ and ‘Warriors’ Gate’ DVDs). There’s also the new enhanced dual mono sound audio mix option for this story.

On the PDF front, there are production documents, six camera scripts, a studio floor plan for the story’s sixth episode, photographer John Cura’s telesnaps of the story, and a ‘Radio Times Listings’ of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. You need a special Blu-ray computer drive for that.

I didn’t find ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ very exciting and inspiring as a ‘Doctor Who’ adventure featuring the Daleks. I appreciate how highly regarded it is and there’s no denying that it has a significant place in ‘Doctor Who’s history, especially with being the second TV story about the Daleks.

But I wish the story was more action-packed and pacier compared to other Dalek stories I’ve seen and heard. The Daleks and the Robomen aren’t dynamic and threatening enough. I still enjoyed the story and I’m very pleased it features a touching and moving departure for Carole Ann Ford as Susan.

‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ rating – 6/10

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The previous story For the First Doctor was ‘Home Again, Home Again’ (ST/Audio) ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ For Susan was ‘Home Again, Home Again’ (ST/Audio) ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ For Ian was ‘Home Again, Home Again’ (ST/Audio) ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ For Barbara was ‘Home Again, Home Again’ (ST/Audio) ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’	The next story For the First Doctor is ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ ‘Venusian Lullaby’ (Book) For Susan is ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ ‘After the Daleks’ (Audio) For Ian is ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ ‘Venusian Lullaby’ (Book) For Barbara is ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ ‘Venusian Lullaby’ (Book)
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