Before watching 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth", which incidentally I was seeing for the first time, I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and watched a Hartnell story which didn't seem like something of an ordeal - admittedly the only ones I'd seen recently are 'An Unearthly Child', 'The Gunfighters' and 'The Tenth Planet', but I can't really remember thoroughly enjoying any I saw in the mid-1990s, when I had most of the BBC video releases.

'The Dalek Invasion of Earth', therefore, gave me something of a surprise by being largely gripping throughout. I'm not sure how well it would stand up to repeat viewings - while I enjoyed it at the time, splitting the cast up into three basic units [The Doctor, Susan and David Campbell; Barbara and Jenny; Ian] is textbook Terry Nation padding. First time round you don't know which plot threads are going to be the interesting ones, and which are there to give Jacqueline Hill something to do, seeing as Barbara isn't as smart as the Doctor, as strong as Ian or as good at getting into trouble as Susan. There are various faults throughout the story. The Robo-Men really give the impression that the actors are moving carefully to stop their headpieces falling off. The first episode cliffhanger is woefully undramatic - I don't mean its' shock value is rendered null and void by the picture of a Dalek on the front of the box, or that it's illogical [which it is - unless the Daleks routinely patrol the bottom of the Thames in case they need to rumble slowly out to give someone a bit of a surprise] - it's just a really badly directed and edited sequence, with the Dalek seen wobbling slowly out of the river while Ian and The Doctor argue with the Robo-Men, before a cut to a side-on shot of the Dalek which exposes just how much trouble it's having getting out to the Thames. While the Amicus film adaptation ['Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150A.D.'] is by far the weaker version [aside from a larger budget meaning more impressive Robo-Men and Dalek saucers], it does nail this sequence. It's a surprising failure as for the whole the direction ranges from solid to exemplary. The Slyther is not only as unconvincing as pretty much any shaky Who monster you'd like to shake an unrealistic rubber tentacle at, but also unnecessary and detrimental to the Daleks - why do they need to have a… whatever guarding their prison camp? Why not use, I dunno, a Dalek? Also, the actual ending's pretty bad - the Doctor and Barbara order the Robo-Men to turn on the Daleks, and that's that. The story turns in less time than it took me to write that sentence. It's a big shame as it utterly undermines the huge amount of background work done across the story, and ends up making the Daleks look a bit rubbish.

There are a few things often criticised that don't bother me. That the story shows the Daleks' dominance of the planet is only shown as covering Southern England is a pretty poor attack really, as Southern England is where the TARDIS lands, and we're following its' crew. Spending twenty minutes of screen-time on something utterly peripheral like the efforts of the Jamaican resistance would severely damage the story's pace. The story's general present-day feeling doesn't really bother me either - it's not like it tries constantly to convince us it's 2164, so this juxtaposition with the majority of the costumes or the unchanged London isn't thrown in the viewer's face… it's only really something that grates when you sit down afterwards and think about it, and thus as long as you don't decide to let it bother you the next time you watch, isn't a problem when viewing, only evaluating. That said, it's a bit of shame the production team didn't decide to set it in 1965 or something else near-future.

The regulars are on good form. Hartnell maintains credibility throughout, rarely terminally fluffing his lines or confusing everyone else in his scenes with his, erm, "ad-libbing". The Doctor's well-written, being principled without crossing over the line to pious, and Hartnell's performance gels with the grim tone when necessary. William Russell excels as Ian, who receives superlative writing, carrying his plot strand largely by himself, and being shown to be unflappable and resourceful. It's somehow fitting that he manages to keep his suit pretty much immaculate throughout. Jacqueline Hill has her moments as well - to be honest she does very well considering she's often paired with the dire WOMAN as Jenny, and while it's silly, I rather enjoy her attempt to confuse the Daleks with historical babble - it's a guilty pleasure for sure, but rather funny. Carole Ann Ford manages to suppress her stagey side most of the time. She occasionally lapses into melodrama, but otherwise convincingly portrays Susan's maturing persona, and her dilemma over whether to stay in the TARDIS, or settle with David.

The guest cast is excellent by and large. The likeable Peter Fraser brings life to David Campbell, while Alan Judd's portrayal of the driven Dortmunn is splendid - believable, dignified and deserving of begrudged respect, but never likeable or pitiable. Bernard Kay as the stoic Tyler is similarly convincing. The characters don't feel like they've just sprang into existence the second the TARDIS arrived, but give a genuine feel that they've spent their recent lives under the cosh of the Daleks. Only Anne Davies as Jenny really falls flat. Sometimes Jenny sometimes simply seems like a surly character, but the majority of the time it seems like the actress would really rather be somewhere else.

The location filming is exquisite. Sure, the odd car can be glimpsed, but otherwise it's jarring to see a dead London being patrolled by Daleks - the impact would probably have been lost if any real attempt had been made on the show's budget to create a future London. The scenes of Barbara, Dortmunn and Jenny fleeing through London are marvellous, and I really like the Dalek lettering that's been added to various monuments and signs. The abysmal Slyther, the saucer model shots and Robo-Men aside, production values are pretty solid - the sets look rather good, especially considering the number used.

As the other stars, the Daleks come across well. The redesign isn't as bad as it's often made out to be - the extended "bumper" around the bottom is unobtrusive, and the collector dishes are a nice touch of continuity, also serving to remove one weakness from their debut story. They're generally well-managed and shown to be difficult to kill, until the ending when they seemingly lose the ability to fire…

Overall, 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth' is a pretty solid story. Viewed now, it's a nice change from stories where aliens attempt to invade Earth - here, the Daleks glean a large amount of credibility from the very fact that they've already conquered the planet. It's not quite an absolute classic, and certainly not a good introduction for newer fans, but it's an enjoyable romp.

‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ is a good example of shoddy execution ruining a lot of decent ideas. Its reputation among fans seems to be fairly good – it consistently appears in the Top 50 at the Doctor Who Dynamic Rankings site – but I have to wonder how many of its enthusiasts have actually seen it recently.

You don’t have to get very far into the story for an example – the prologue, with the Roboman’s breakdown/suicide, is obviously intended to set the tone, but what it really does is show us too much of this bleak future London before the TARDIS crew even arrive, thus ruining the shock later. In fact, the direction pretty much flattens every surprise – the IT IS FORBIDDEN TO DUMP BODIES sign and the Dalek emerging from the river are wonderful, sinister ideas; and they might have been really frightening, if only the production team had accented their horror in some way (with music, editing, anything). But instead these things are simply shown - nothing more, nothing less. 

In fact, on paper ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ stands up fairly well. Reading the synopsis confirms that - Terry Nation’s story is filled with action, violence and horror. The idea of the Daleks ‘roughing up’ the Earth with meteors and plague before invading is convincing and compelling. But the flaccid direction results in tedium, and the acting doesn’t help much: the surviving rebels, while certainly downtrodden and cranky, hardly give the impression that they survived a holocaust on the scale of the one described. 

Of course, even if the artistic approach had been different, the story would have still fallen apart in the final episode, its resolution being patently ridiculous – the Daleks are defeated because the Robomen turn on them? Huh? What’s so special about them? They don’t have superhuman strength; they aren’t impervious to Dalek weapons. In other words, if the Daleks can be destroyed by a few unarmed men tipping them over, how did they ever invade in the first place?

Moving on to specific aesthetic elements, Susan is as annoying as ever, if not more so. Not only does she immediately twist her ankle, but once she’s latched on to her new boyfriend, she spends the rest of the story simply tagging along and doing what he tells her. Susan is heavy-handedly shown to be falling in love with David Campbell throughout the entire story; I’ll admit it’s a relief to know she’s on her way out the door, but this distracting subplot is frankly tedious. And listening to Carole Ann Ford nasally shrieking “David!!!” isn’t much better than listening to her nasally shrieking “Grandfather!!!” One of the most rankling continuity issues for some fans (myself among them) is that we are asked to accept this insipid, whining, helpless creature as a Time Lord, and, unfortunately, this farewell episode hardly helps rid us of any negative impressions.

Well, on to the Daleks. They are disappointingly bland presences here; more or less generic sci-fi aliens. Their voices don’t seem to have much distortion in them, which always robs them of some of their awfulness, I think. Although I actually like the gloating, guttural delivery of the line “WE ARE THE MASTERS OF EARTH” – it’s as close as a Dalek ever gets to an obscene phone caller (in the old series anyway). And there is one great Dalek moment: it happens when Susan and David are hiding in the underground and hear (but don’t see) the merciless execution of a rebel. That horrible voice: “STOP – STOP – STOP – STOP – STOP” . . . Dalek repetition is often mocked by fans (and non-fans, for that matter), but I often feel that it captures their alien quality, their ‘character,’ as well as anything else about them. Daleks are hideously functional creatures – the travel machines translate their thoughts into the simplest language necessary, and that’s why they will repeat the same command five times in identical words. Their lack of imagination is one of the most truly frightening things about them, in my view. 

As for the Doctor himself, well, let’s just say this is not one of William Hartnell’s better stories. His one-upping of the magnetized Dalek technology in his cell is good, but otherwise the character doesn’t come off too well here, instead seeming to display all the tics and stereotypes of which Hartnell’s detractors normally accuse him. He stutters, flubs, and seems generally half-hearted in his response to the Dalek threat; not only that, he inexplicably drops out of the story for an episode! Susan’s leaving scene almost redeems him, but overall the actor’s not having a good day here.

Of course not everything is bad about this story . . . but as the things that I like are generally reviled by fans, I’m almost afraid to list them. I actually find the shambling Robomen pretty disturbing – certainly scarier than the Daleks for most of the story. As for Ian and Barbara, they come off reasonably well – the conversations between Barbara and the war-hardened Jenny are particularly interesting (it’s almost too bad she didn’t come on as a companion after all). And then there’s the Slyther. I fail to see why this monster inspires such derision in fanboy circles. I find the thing rather convincing, actually (at least, in its second version) – maybe it was that I was watching a murky VHS copy, or maybe the contrast on my TV was screwed up. But from where I was sitting, the monster was just a dark shape with a vaguely reptilian hide – it was never shown clearly, or in its entirety, which helped it a lot, and the overdubbed alligator growl gave it a good impression of size and closeness. 

Ultimately, this one is recommended for Hartnell or Dalek completists only.

The Myth Makers' is something of an overlooked story, due to its absence from the archives and its tendency to be overshadowed by the more serious historicals. Hopefully, the release of the soundtrack on CD is increasing its status, for 'The Myth Makers' is very funny.

It is difficult to discuss the production values of a story that is entirely missing, without even any clips (as far as I know) surviving. Nevertheless, the photographic evidence suggests that the sets and costumes are easily up to the same standards as 'The Romans' and 'The Crusade'. The orchestral incidental score is effective too, evoking a suitable sand-and-sandals epic feel. What are really impressive however about this serial are the acting and the script, which are so good that the story makes the transition to audio fairly easy, with only the second half of episode four seriously missing the visuals. The regulars are on their usual fine form, with Peter Purves proving himself to be fairly adept at comedy. The scene in which, as Diomede, he fights and surrenders to Paris, whom he then proceeds to flatter into believing that he is regarded as a legendary warrior by the Greeks, is highly entertaining and you can almost hear Steven's look of innocence. His relationship with the Doctor has by now settled into one of mutual respect, as he confidently informs Vicki that the Doctor will succeed in helping the Greeks into Troy – he clearly doesn't doubt this for one minute. Likewise, the Doctor obviously trusts him to rescue Vicki from Troy before the Greeks attack. Hartnell is again on fine form, paired up for most of the story with the brutal Odysseus who he is forced to help on pain of death. His slightly pompous impersonation of Zeus is priceless, even more so his attempt to maintain dignity when admitting to Odysseus that he is not the father of the Gods. His best bits are undoubtedly those involving his coercion to finding a way into Troy for the Greeks – note the smooth reversal of his attitude to his suggestion of catapulting Greek soldiers over the walls on giant darts once Odysseus suggests that he try it out himself first. His eventual reluctant decision to use a large wooden horse is inevitable, but made amusing by his earlier dismissive attitude to what he describes as an invention of Homer. His first scene outside the TARDIS is also highly amusing, as Achilles notes to the Doctor's indignation that Zeus has chosen to manifest himself as an old beggar. Finally, Vicki copes with the perils of Troy with her usual wide-eyed optimism, endearing herself to Paris, Priam and of course Troilus, despite the hostile intent of the shrill Cassandra. Her leaving scene doesn't work that well on audio, but seems well handled. At first impression, the Doctor's willingness to abandon his teenage companion in a relatively primitive city that is being invaded by the Greeks because she has a crush on someone seems questionable, but she asserts herself well when explaining her decision, reminding us that she has become increasingly independent since 'The Rescue', especially from 'The Space Museum' onwards – if she can survive as a stowaway on a Dalek time machine, she can probably cope with most things. The Doctor makes it clear that he will miss her, but seems to find this departure less traumatic than the departure of Susan (understandably) and Ian and Barbara – perhaps he's growing accustomed to a changing TARDIS crew. Katarina, Vicki's replacement, has obviously been crow-barred into the story at the last minute, and thus gets little time to establish her character. That said the idea of a companion to whom the TARDIS is far more incomprehensible than to a pair of 1960s teachers is potentially interesting. But more on that next time…

The guest cast is uniformly superb, with the ruthless and belligerent but intelligent Odysseus stealing the show. He is a fantastic character, getting the better of the undoubtedly smarter Doctor simply by threatening violence, which is clearly qualified to dispense. Hearing the Doctor seething as he struggles to maintain dignity is highly entertaining; having stood up to the Animus and the Daleks, he's constantly forced to concede in the face of an unsophisticated brute. I'm not condoning violence by any means, but it is quite funny to see the Doctor forced to design the Trojan horse. The Greeks are all immediately recognizable as individual characters, from the indignant and over-important Achilles, to the apathetic Menelaus. The Trojans too are well portrayed, with the wise Priam, the cowardly Paris, and the deliberately over-the-top and screeching Cassandra. The bickering between these three royals is hilarious, especially Paris's disparaging attitude towards his bloodthirsty sister. This really is the strength of 'The Myth Makers' – the dialogue is superb. Whilst 'The Crusade' went for a Shakespearean feel, 'The Myth Makers' imitates this style but send it up. The characters utter pompous and self-aggrandizing announcements, which are always followed by a deflating remark. This is most obvious when we first meet Agamemnon and Menelaus – as the Greek king tries to rouse his brother's spirit by asking him whether he wants Helen back, he is clearly put out to receive the blunt answer "no". Likewise, Achilles's self-important claims of meeting Zeus are met with down-to-Earth cynicism from Odysseus. The best examples though, occur between Cassandra and Paris – the former talks almost exclusively in aggressive portents of doom, only to have the piss taken out of her every time by her brother. As she proclaims "woe to Troy" with suitably Shakespearean grandeur, Paris responds "It's too late to say woah to the horse" - a very silly pun, but a perfect example of not only the obvious humour of the script, but the way in which it mocks the classics in true Life of Brian style. And it is entirely concerned with the classics – whereas its historical predecessors where based, however inaccurately in some cases, around actual historical events, 'The Myth Makers' draws upon The Iliad, The Aeneid, and Troilus and Cressida, for inspiration. The Greeks shown here are not the valiant and noble warriors of Hollywood epics, they are the drunken, murderous rabble of Homer's poems. The climax, like the battles in The Iliad, is brutal, and once the Greeks emerge from the horse, the comedy stops – the Trojans are slaughtered. The description of Priam and his family lying dead in their palace is chilling, given that only minutes before we heard them exchanging witty lines. Steven's wound makes for a somber ending, as the Doctor has no choice but to try and find help wherever the TARDIS lands next. His final scene with Odysseus is in keeping with this change in mood – after being at the Greek's mercy throughout to great comic effect, he finally takes a stand and denies him access to the TARDIS, and so determined and forceful is he that even Odysseus is left wondering if he were Zeus after all. Whilst gritty historical realism might have been slightly uncomfortable juxtaposed with comedy in 'The Reign of Terror', 'The Romans', and 'The Time Meddler', the decision to switch from comedy to gritty realism at the end of 'The Myth Makers' is hugely effective. 

On the whole, 'The Myth Makers' is another successful attempt to do comedy in Doctor Who and another great historical. The change in tone at the end is also well done and leads perfectly into the relentless drama that is to follow...

I always wondered why “The Massacre” was chosen to launch the BBC Radio Collection’s range of ‘lost’ stories on CD. Not only is it pretty awful, but it is completely and utterly dependent on the purely visual ploy of the Doctor and the Abbott of Amboise being almost physically identical! Perhaps the lack of telesnaps make this serial stand out as being ‘more lost’ than most others; in fact, “The Massacre” is one of the few Doctor Who TV serials (alongside “Galaxy 4” and “The Myth Makers”) that I have only been able to enjoy on audio CD.

Lucarotti and Tosh’s script tells an interesting tale set around a historical event that many people (myself included) know little of. The format of the serial is quite refreshing as for most of the story we do not see the Doctor; the story is told entirely from the viewpoint of his companion Steven. Peter Purves does a tremendous job of carrying the story almost single-handedly, so somehow it seems fitting that he should provide the linking narration. As “The Massacre” can now only be listened to, it is through Steven’s dialogue and Purves’ narration that we learn that the Abbott of Amboise is the Doctor’s double, and this works surprisingly well as the audience is unsure as to whether the Doctor really is the Abbott or not. Undoubtedly, on TV this would have been a far more effective gimmick, but thanks to Purves’ quite excellent narration at least the plot can be understood and followed on audio.

“I was right to do as I did… Even after all this time he cannot understand. I dare not change the course of history. Well at least I taught him to take some precautions. He did remember to look at the scanner before he opened the doors…”

I found the final episode to be the best of the four by far. “Bell of Doom” in a way mirrors the events of the earlier historical, “The Aztecs,” as the Doctor’s companion wants to change history. “The TARDIS leaves Paris as the carnage and the slaughter begins…”, and Steven is far from happy. He believes that makeshift companion Anne Chaplet will have been killed in the massacre, and blames the Doctor for not trying to save her, resulting in his decision to leave the TARDIS. As Steven disembarks in Wimbledon Common, we are treated to a rare Hartnell soliloquy (a la “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”) which highlights the more tragic side of the Doctor’s character – not Ian, nor Barbara, Vicki or even his “little Susan” could understand him, and now, like them, Steven has left him. The Doctor is so forlorn that he even contemplates returning to his home world, however, it is not to be as in one of the weirdest companion introductions ever Dodo Chaplet bursts into the TARDIS expecting to find a Policeman, Steven hot on her heels! It seems that Anne Chaplet may have survived after all… unfortunately. 

I say ‘unfortunately’ because I cannot stand Dodo. She’s horrible. She’s stupid. Really, really stupid! It takes her about five minutes to realise that she has wandered into a dimensionally transcendental time machine! “Where’s the telephone? There’s something odd going on here…” she eventually says. When the Doctor suddenly dematerialises the TARDIS, snatching her away from her customary time and place, likely never to return, she doesn’t even care! Steven is more annoyed with the Doctor than she is! I can understand the production team not wanting to re-hash the Ian and Barbara storyline, but this…

At the end of the day, “The Massacre” is certainly no lost classic, and if you never listen to it you aren’t really depriving yourself of a pivotal part of the Doctor Who canon. Generally speaking, I don’t think that the standard of Doctor Who’s (almost extinct) third season is up to the standards of seasons one and two; stories like “The Massacre” and companions like Dodo certainly not doing the show’s third run any favours!

How depressing. Ten million years from now, mankind will be led by a leering old man and every man, woman, and child will choose to wear stringy togas as the new fashion. 

"The Ark" is inconsequential and (at times) silly. The monoids look ridiculous with their Davy Jones-style haircuts (Obviously put there at the last minute by a worried costumer. Imagine how rude they'd look without the wig.). Tristam Cary's score from "The Daleks" is used for the umpteenth time. And why does mankind travel 700 years just to colonise one planet? Let's not get too picky. Surely there are more than a few habitable planets along the way? 

One bright spot stands out amongst all these sore points - Dodo, the Doctor's new companion. Ah, Dodo, when you sneezed and indignantly told the Doctor, "Me nose is runnin'!" you stole my heart forever...

The Massacre is quite possibly the best historical story ever produced for Doctor Who. It certainly is not a children’s programme. It’s heavy. It’s about politics. It’s about the killing of thousands of people and the events leading up to this barbaric ordeal. At the end of Part Three it is quite possible that the Doctor is lying dead in the street.

Put this in perspective: The Daleks’ Master Plan has just ended. Two companions have died. The surface of an entire planet, together with all its inhabitants, however hostile, has been completely devastated and the Doctor and Steven are left upset and in need of escape. Then The Massacre comes along.

So begins a truly terrible few days in Paris in which court intrigue and religious friction result in mass slaughter. Given the bleakness of the programme at this stage it is entirely plausible and probable for an audience to expect the Doctor to come to a similar fate and the Part Three cliff-hanger is easily The Massacre’s defining and most awful moment.

The dialogue is so rich. It is easily listenable and makes for just as good radio drama as it does television, as is proved by the BBC CD release. So many good voices too: Leonard Sachs for God’s sake!

It is the gloomy mood and sense of inevitability that seeps through the drama that makes it work. Every episode comprises a day’s events. Thus every episode is destined to end in darkness and indeed does! Just look at the last bloody instalment!

Even the production’s quietest moments are full of energy. De Coligny’s sad speech at the end of Part Two is so heart-breaking and terrifying. “You, De Coligny will go down in history as the sea beggar…the sea beggar…it’s a title I’d be proud of.” Only the audience and Steven know that the sea beggar is about to be assassinated… It’s a quiet, unsettling and unusual cliff-hanger that really causes great unease.

The horror and barbarism is always felt throughout the story. These quiet moments of solitude are treasures of television as the characters await the inevitable and pure quotations are in abundance. “At dawn tomorrow this city will weep tears of blood.”

The guest cast are uniformly excellent although it is the regulars who steal the show here. Peter Purves’ performances are always dependable but here, given centre stage, he shines! He is positively living the story. A fine, fine performance and certainly Purves’ best. Hartnell on the other hand, despite rumour to the contrary, offers little new in the way of the Abbot. However, this acts as a strength! He is so dangerously close to his performance as the Doctor that the Doctor’s death seems all the more possible. His absence from much of the story is also a masterstroke on the part of whichever writer is responsible for it. It makes the audience believe almost unquestionably that the Abbot is the Doctor!

Perhaps The Massacre’s only failing is its lack of explanation. Unless one has studied the period, one is left to guess at the relationships between some of the characters and often question exactly which denomination they fall into! The viewer actually feels a certain pride however to be made privy to the life of “high” society and that the audience’s intelligence is never insulted makes the result far less alienating. Because the drama feels so well-crafted and the dialogue is so ornate one excuses the lack of explanation, as we feel that the writers certainly know what is going on. It is up to us to look into it, to study it for ourselves. This drama is not about answering these questions but gaining an incite into the lives of those responsible for such horrific atrocities no matter who they are.

All in all, The Massacre is a fabulously constructed (Christ, four days until doom!) and superbly acted, written and designed (probably, looking at the photos). Just when you think things can’t get any blacker they do! That final soliloquy of the Doctor’s (perfectly delivered) is the height of this bleakness and only when Dodo arrives are we brought back into the cosy world of everyone’s favourite Time Lord. No wonder people hate her, for The Massacre is one of the most petrifyingly frightening tales of human horror ever filmed for Doctor who. A truly forgotten classic and a much-missed gem.