The Daleks

Strictly speaking, the term В“B-MovieВ” refers to a film without a very large budget or very big stars. The decade most associated with the В“B-MovieВ” is of course the 1950s--the atomic era. IВ’ve read many reviews of this serial on-line and they all seem to compare The Daleks to one of these films. LetВ’s take a moment or two to examine The Daleks in relation to other В“B-Movies.В” IВ’ve found that The Daleks is murky mix of 1950В’s style SF and a new, more thoughtful 1960В’s moral melodrama. 

The Daleks, of course, is at its crux a parable of the Atomic age. The metaphors are very clear. Daleks are Post-WW III Communists and the Thals post WW III Westerners. Not quite as hamfisted as the Nazi costumes in Genesis of the Daleks but itВ’s close. Aliens are commonly portrayed not as individuals but as a massive organism bent on conquest. Ever since H.G. WellsВ’ War of the Worlds this has been a classic paradigm. During the Cold War this portrayal brought new meaning. Aliens, of course, become analogous to the communist threat. An analogy that was so blatant, many less talented writers could easily use it. These films were a way to tell cheap stories to capitalize on western fears of a communist take over. NationВ’s monsters do, however, differ somewhat from the typical commie/bug eyed monster. The Daleks were not ruthless intergalactic tyrants in this first serial. They are just driven by their hate for the Thals. These Daleks do want a Dalek empire throughout the Universe, they just want every Thal dead. Communism is an internationalist doctrine, yet these Daleks seem happy to rule their ruined little planet. The analogy would actually become more apt with The Dalek Invasion of Earth. The Daleks are close to being textbook 1950s monsters, but the Thals and the TARDIS crew are textbook 1960s heroes.

True to 1950s stylistic convention, the westerners are cast as the heroes. The similarity ends there. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Susan, and the Thals are far from the В“Man in the Grey Flannel SuitВ” heroes of such films as The Deadly Mantis and Tarantula. The Doctor and the Thals are both dressed in an odd and archaic manner. Even in this second Doctor Who story it is established that the Doctor is a perennial individual. The Doctor does, however, play into SF convention when he removes the fluid link. His scientific curiosity puts his life and his companions at risk (i.e. Fiend Without a Face and The Fly). The Thals have given up on the post-war decadeВ’s religion of industry and trade--they have reverted to a totally agrarian lifestyle. Susan, the В“Unearthly Child,В” is also a unique character. Young people are usually portrayed as wide-eyed observers (Invaders from Mars) or victims of their own foolishness and predatory elders (I was a Teenage Werewolf). In The Daleks, Susan is an active participant in the action--not just an appendage. Barbara and Ian are the most formulaic of the TARDIS crew. Ian was very stalwart and Babs was a screamer, yet even they differ from most B-Movie heroes/heroines. They are not romantically involved with each other--Barbara falls for an alien something a good B-movie female should never do unless under some sort of alien mind control. Ian, for the most part, plays the В“square.В” But heВ’s extremely irritable and hostile, qualities not usually found in a good BEM fighting leading man. While The Daleks may differ from the 1950s B-movie with its heroes, some of the serialВ’s morals are much more similar.

The serial condemns the Daleks for being aggressive but it also condemns the Thals for being complacent--a very bare bones version of Cold War era morals. The condemnation of both the Daleks and the Thals is the thematic centerpiece of the serial therefore the serial has the mentality of a B-movie. But what about the theme of the armageddon? The first episode of this serial is entitled В“The Dead Planet.В” In fact that other theme, the theme of destruction-through-violence, casts some doubt as to how The Daleks stands on the Thals. Is battle that necessary? Is it right for the Thals have to fight the Daleks and restart the cycle that nearly destroyed eons? This brings up another key difference to the Daleks in relation to B-movies--a ethical haziness. In Them!, War of the Worlds, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, and The Thing there is no question on whether the aliens needed to be wiped out. Consequences for mankindВ’s actions were never shown. The aliens were evil and needed to be killed. The Doctor triumphantly watch as the last DalekВ’s eyestalk shoots upward as it dies. Yet, killing has only brought Skaro misery. This conflict is interesting for sure, but not intentional. Terry Nation started to write a serial showcasing the foolishness of prolonged conflict and then began writing a serial that denounced pacifism. Its rare to find coexisting at the same time in popular culture, however, it was probably just Terry NationВ’s lazy plotting and not a social comment. 

The Daleks is first and foremost family adventure entertainment. It is quite like a B-movie. It has many of the same generic trademarks of the genre but I have found out that once you start to look at those similarities you find many differences as well. Now that have blabbed on about how The Daleks relates to movies of a similar ilk--I will turn my attention to reviewing it as a Doctor Who story. 

We first meet our heroes covered in Cro Magnon dung after just having their first adventure with a bunch of Cavemen. One thing that struck me, was how puffy BillВ’s wig is. His hair is nearly as big as BabsВ’. The TARDIS crew is the strongest point of The Daleks. These early stories show that three companions can be successful. The Doctor may be the title character but he is no more important than any of the other TARDIS team. This is what went wrong with Season 19. The Doctor was the star and the rest were just satellites, banging around in unstable orbits. The Daleks has some really great bits of Doctor/companion action (shut up) like when The Doctor reveals having trouble relating to Susan. Ian and the DoctorВ’s confrontation. All great stuff--still impressive nearly forty years later. 

The Daleks and the Thals have the distinction of being Doctor WhoВ’s first aliens--not counting the Doctor and Susan. The Daleks look excellent in their first outing. They are constantly twitching and scheming. These Daleks are new and shiny, they havenВ’t been used and re-used yet. The Thals seem sort of wooden and are much less interesting than the Daleks. Which is odd because theyВ’re supposed to be the free spirited individuals. Plus, they wear possibly the worst pants in WhoВ’s history. 

The direction is top notch. This serial begins as one of the best directed stories of Doctor Who. The cheap sets are filmed so that the make atmosphere. SusanВ’s run the jungle is especially well filmed. This suspenseful direction goes bye-bye after the first four episodes. Starting with В“The ExpeditionВ” the serial becomes a play-by-play on walking traveling through Skaro. Painfully padded and plodding, episodes five & six make you not even care about the ending. What really sucks about this is that the first four episodes were so good! Terry Nation sets up a dangerous precedent with The Daleks.