Back in 1963 I watched the first Dalek story, if not actually from behind the sofa, then at least through the crack in the door. Since the 1960s, however, the Daleks have rarely impressed me as a terrifying presence: while this is doubtless attributable in part to the effects upon me of advancing age, it also reflects the lacklustre treatment of the Daleks themselves in too many of their subsequent televisual appearances. Happily that trend has now been reversed by Rob Shearman's triumphant episode "Dalek", in which the eponymous alien finally reinstates its species as a powerful, ruthless and cunning force to be reckoned with.

In contrast with most of the preceding episodes of this season, there was little humour in "Dalek". That was, however, entirely appropriate given the nature of the story: and it is one of the many virtues of the new series that it can accommodate more than one tone of storytelling, from the essentially comic to something (as here) a good deal grimmer. In this respect the series' eclecticism is reminiscent of the Hartnell era.

"Dalek" is essentially a story of parallels, contrasts and transformations. When the caged Dalek comments to the Doctor - the only other survivor of the Time War - that "We are the same", the Doctor's initial reaction is to reject the comparison out of hand. However, he then appears to render it only too plausible by attempting to destroy the Dalek with a cry of "exterminate". Subsequent events show that this was not simply an isolated rhetorical gesture on the Doctor's part, but the beginning of a process which brings him perilously close to transformation into his arch-enemy: as the latter comments, "You would make a good Dalek".

In parallel to the Doctor's transformation is the Dalek's own (equally disconcerting) journey towards a form of humanity under the influence of Rose's DNA. Ultimately, both the Doctor and the Dalek come to a realisation of what is happening to them: while for the Doctor the resolution lies in regaining his own character, for the Dalek the only way out is by a final assertion of Dalek values through extermination - in this case, its own. The Dalek's cry of "exterminate" is not only fitting for the last utterance of the last Dalek, but also brings a satisfyng closure to the sequence of transformations which began with the Doctor's own use of the word back in the cage.

The demands of the story drew strong performances from all the cast, notably of course Chris and Billie. As for the third star of the show, the Dalek was the most impressive representative of its race since "The Evil of the Daleks" not only in terms of its character but also as a physical presence. The new casing was quite superb, being appropriately solid and with fine detailing: and I especially loved the rotating centre section when it went into "battle mode".

For me "Dalek" instantly takes its place as one of the finest Dalek - and indeed "Doctor Who" - stories ever made, and reminds me why I fell in love with this monster, and this programme, back in 1963.

When I was a relatively young and impressionable young chap, growing up long after my favourite television programme had been taken off the air, I was thrilled to bits when the BBC decided to repeat old ‘Doctor Who’ stories on BBC Two. Scouring through my already dog-eared copy of the 1991 ‘Doctor Who Yearbook’, I found out that the story to be transmitted next was ‘Revelation Of The Daleks’ and the Doctor in it was played by… ah, Colin Baker.

I was a bit apprehensive, and I was only seven years of age. The only other story with Colin Baker in which I had seen thus far was ‘The Twin Dilemma’ and it had left me feeling a tad cold- at the time, we were without Sky and (if I recall correctly) no other Colin Baker story was available to buy on VHS. And so it was on a cold evening that I sat down with my Parents and my Brother to watch ‘Doctor Who’. And it was great- really great. But what, even now, is the best thing about it for me is that, for the first time ever, ‘Doctor Who’ managed to scare me… but I’ll leave that until later on.

‘Revelation Of The Daleks’ is like a repeat of the success that was ‘The Caves Of Androzani’. They both have Graeme Harper as a Director; they both have Nicola Bryant reminding us all how good an actress she is, making Peri every bit as good as the character could be; they both have a great musical score by Roger Limb; and they are both a result of great directing meeting a great script.

Eric Saward is- not without reason- an author often criticised. Certainly with his previous Dalek story (‘Resurrection Of The Daleks’), there was simply too much going on that was irrelevant and the characters which were present varied between the forgettable and the wasted.

Here however, it all works. The supporting characters are all brilliant, and the several story strands are both necessary to the overall plot and damn enjoyable in their own right. Of all the writers to write for Season Twenty-Two and its forty-five minute episode-length format, it is Saward who writes best of all. What little padding there is remains undiscovered due to the humorous dialogue or inventive twists and turns in the plot. ‘Revelation Of The Daleks’ is engaging; it is witty and it is clever and it is scary… but I’ll return to that later.

Colin Baker excels as the Doctor here, showing all the naysayers exactly why it was that he was cast in the leading role. From the throwaway comedy moments such as trying to shake Davros’ hand after it has been blown off with a gun to the moments of genuine emotion like when he discovers quite what Davros has done with all the dead bodies, Baker’s acting abilities are thrown into the spotlight and he rises to the occasion in a most enjoyable fashion. What’s arguably most impressive of all about this is the fact that the Doctor and Peri are very much sidelined throughout the story, but this works very well as the supporting cast are all superb.

‘Revelation Of The Daleks’ is a story littered with double acts, from the lofty Kara and Vogel to the pseudo-historical pairing of Orcini and Bostock, the latter of which is given a great line where he observes that the aforementioned Kara and Vogel are “like a double act”! All such characters are both well written and well-acted, though specific mention must go to Clive Swift as the egotistical, pompous oaf Jobel who manages to make the character particularly memorable, despite the large host of memorable characters; his death scene too is simply wonderful.

As Tasambeker, Jenny Tomasin delivers what is arguably the weakest performance of the whole cast, though even that is gold-dust compare to other supporting actors who have appeared in ‘Doctor Who’ over the years.

Another knowing nod should go towards Alec Linstead as the remains of Arthur Stengos who manages to make a potentially sinister sequence very, very hard to watch due to the sheer power of his acting. When he begs- please note, that he BEGS- his own Daughter to kill him, it’s almost too much to bear. That’s not the moment which scared me though, and I mean really shook me up… but I’ll return to that later.

The Daleks themselves play second fiddle to Davros, but again this really works well for the script. Davros is for once given a lot more to do than simply rant and rave, and Terry Molloy is able to shed the long-term viewer of the opinion that Michael Wisher is the definitive Davros. Molloy’s vocal skills as an actor for the Radio really shine out here, and nearly every line he delivers is a gem in its own right.

The Dalek voices in ‘Revelation Of The Daleks’ are a bone of content for many viewers, sounding- as they do- very human. Certainly, this effect works very nicely with the Ivory coloured Daleks as they are meant to be made from human remains; however, this inferred opinion is somewhat marred by the fact that the Grey Daleks use the same type of voices, and so the Daleks in this story simply appear to be poorly modulated rather than different from each other, which is a shame. Still, hearing traces of Roy Skelton’s real voice is not as big a detriment as it could be, since he delivers the Dalek dialogue so well.

Graeme Harper’s Directing is simply brilliant; the camera moves around with ease in the cramped studio, giving everything a sense of grand scale despite the budget restraint and the cramped studio space. Little touches such as using Soft Focus in the DJ’s room to enhance the spaced-out atmosphere just add to the stunning visuals, which Harper is at pains to put on screen.

Overall, ‘Revelation Of The Daleks’ is not only the highlight of Season Twenty-Two, but also that of Colin Baker’s tenure as the Doctor. The characters all gel together, and the Directing is above and beyond the call of brilliance. The story is well-lit throughout too, adding a real moody ambience to the proceedings, which- coupled with Roger Limb’s music- help make this story as good as it is: not even a poorly realised flying Dalek and a bizarrely humorous Polystyrene statue of Colin Baker can ruin it for me. I shall wrap this review up now, but before that…

The moment that scared me: it happens when the DJ, played with suitable eccentricity by Alexei Sayle, is exterminated. Now, the Daleks are evil and nasty, I know that and knew that, but this was the first time that I actually took it on board properly. The DJ wasn’t a bad man, nor was he self-centred or nasty to Peri. He wanted to help her, and it costs him his life. Oh, and when he dies he screams. Loudly. Painfully. It hurts when you die; it was horrible to watch too. I was seven years old, and I was petrified.

Like its season twenty-four stable mates, ‘Delta and the Bannermen’ divides fan opinion straight down the middle. There are those who believe this story to display the worst excess’s of the McCoy era; garish visuals, badly cast guest stars and with a silly pantomime like theme running through. In many respects, these people are right. ‘Delta and the Bannermen’ has these qualities in copious amounts. However, I am of the opinion that watched on its own terms this serial is a lot of fun.

Malcolm Kohl has scripted the most wonderfully silly story here. The basic outline of the plot is thus; Delta, the last of the Chimerons, is fleeing persecution from the evil Bannermen, led by Gavrok. She manages to escape their clutches and tags along with a bunch of Navarino holiday makers, whose destination is 1959 Disneyland. Following a collision between the Navarino bus and an American satellite, the Navarion’s crash land not in Disneyland, but at the Shangi-La holiday camp in South Wales. Needless to say, the Bannermen aren’t far behind…

The cast for this story are a mixed bunch. Most famously Ken Dodd shows up as the toll master, complete with garish costume and, erm, ‘party hooter’? Actually, given the tone of the piece, Dodd isn’t as bad as you’d imagine. Besides, he’s barely in the thing. Don Henderson as Gavrok is wonderful. He plays the part totally straight and is a very menacing threat that the Doctor must defeat. Belinda Mayne, playing Delta and David Kinder playing Billy are the weak links here. This is a real problem for this serial, as the love story between Billy and Delta is one of the most important elements running throughout. As a consequence of their lack of chemistry and wooden acting I never really bought this element of the plot. Now, mention must go to Sara Griffiths, who plays Ray. Originally scripted as a possible replacement for Mel, Ray gets a lot to do in this story and fills in as a companion for the Doctor whilst Mel is busy doing whatever it is she does. Griffiths, despite some shaky moments, does well. She also has the benefit of being incredibly cute, which is never a bad thing in my book! Those who watch QVC in the UK will be familiar with Griffiths, and they can also attest that she still looks as good today as back in ’87.

Sylvester McCoy is still finding his feet here. For the most part he makes little impression. A few lines scattered throughout make up for this however, and at least he’s better here than in ‘Time and the Rani’. Bonnie Langford really isn’t too bad here. She seems to be playing Mel in a less hyperactive fashion, and although the role of traditional companion is taken by Ray here through a lot of this serial, when she is on-screen she doesn’t sink to the depths she did in, say ‘Paradise Towers’.

‘Delta and the Bannermen’ is a real mixed bag. The basic plot and story idea is quite entertaining, and as someone else has mentioned could have been penned by Douglas Adams. I enjoyed the opening action scenes on the Chimerons’ home planet, and the way the Doctor defeats the Bannermen through the use of honey is silly, but is in keeping with the rest of the script.

Unfortunately, bland direction from Chris Clough and some more awful incidental music from our mate Keff McCulloch stops this one from being thought of more highly by fans.

I can’t help but love ‘Delta and the Bannermen’. It’s a far from flawless production, and indeed in places is laughably bad, but the overall atmosphere of the piece is so joyous, I always end up getting swept with it. This isn’t the turkey some would have you believe. Oh, and did I mention Ray is pretty hot?

Um...wow.

What more can I add to that?

Well, this I guess:

[lj-cut text="EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"]

Well. This was definitely the 2nd best ever Dalek TV story (sorry, "Remembrance of the Daleks" still holds the title), and probably my favorite of the season so far. The atmosphere was tense, you knew there was going to be a high body count (that thing with the sprinklers? Daaaamn), and you knew we would see the Doctor in High Militant Mode when it comes to the Daleks. After all, he's already come yea shy of wiping them from history before they were born, he held a gun to Davros' head once, and oh yeah, also kinda sorta destroyed their home planet. So yeah, he's never really in the mood to be a nice guy where the Daleks are concerned.

Thing is, despite the greatness of it all...I've experienced this story before. And oddly enough, it was by Rob Shearman too. Because about half the Dalek's dialogue was almost a direct lift from his Big Finish audio "Jubilee." "I NEED OR-DERRRS!" "I AM WAI-TING FOR OR-DERRRRS!" "YOU DO NOT FEAR ME EVE-LYN SMY--"ERRRR "ROSE TY-LER" "I AM A SOLLL-DIER!"

So yes, unfortunately there is an element of fandom who's seen a captured, tortured, insane, suicidal Dalek before. Or heard, rather. And dammit, aren't Dalek torture-screams about one of the most bloodcurdling things you've ever heard?

At the same time tho, once again Shearman uses the Daleks to say more about humanity, in the guise of Van Statten. What kind of man DOES it take to ruthlessly collect alien artefacts, rape them for technology, and oh yeah, capture and torture a live Dalek, anyway? The same kind of man who thinks he owns the Internet. And as with all Alpha Males, van Statten quickly realizes when there's a bigger, badder, meaner dog in the yard. Hell, he had no problem with letting 200 employees die, or torture the Doctor, either. Face it, when it comes to torture and death, we're #1! We're #1! We're #1!

Rose (and I'm sure, some viewers) saw sides of the Doctor she'd never seen, and didn't much like. But then he's not human, he never will be. (ANd for you continuity wankers, half-human does not equal human. Do the math.) He, too, is the last of his kind, and he doesn't much like it.

All in all, greatness, and I'm glad Shearman was able to tell the story (although I do wonder what his alternate script was....)

SQUEEEEEEEE!!

Oh yeah, and what's with the new companion, too? Hmm...tension on the TARDIS now?

As Sylvester McCoy’s first season closes, we are presented with ‘Dragonfire’; this is the story which uses clichés quite freely, which gives stereotypical characters stereotypical lines and which has a serious lack of budget, which is a pity.

Ah yes, if there was ever a story that was crying out for more money, ‘Dragonfire’ is it: imagine if Iceworld really did look icy, or if the sets looked less studio bound and more realistic. Whilst ‘Doctor Who’ was never the most aesthetically pleasing show, at times its visual flair was imaginative and memorable, but here the studios look like studios, and no amount of comedy slipping from Sylvester McCoy can disguise the fact that the snow is polystyrene.

That’s not to say that all the designs look terrible, far from it. The dragon costume, whilst still obviously a costume, looks fairly impressive, as does the interior of the Nosferatu, though both these examples are in relation to the story they are within.

Thus far, this review has been rather negative, but that is simply because I wanted to get the bad things out of the way first: now, onto the plus points….

The dialogue here sparkles. “Ah, an existentialist!” responds the Doctor after learning that Belazs wants to shoot Glitz. In three short episodes, we are given more quotable dialogue than the rest of Season Twenty-Four put together; from the Doctor’s philosophical ramblings to a guard, to the vast majority of what Glitz says, this is a story unafraid of using dialogue for decoration, though never gratuitously. The final scene between Mel and the Doctor is, in particular, a great example of how the dialogue throughout ‘Dragonfire’ shines.

A clever little trick Ian Briggs has used, as mentioned above briefly, is to not be ashamed of using staple clichés of different genres associated with ‘Doctor Who’. For the fantasy element, we have an ancient map and a Dragon; for the Sci-fi element, we’ve got a baddie who freezes people by touch; for the horror element, we have hoards of human zombies; Mel fulfils the role of stereotypical ‘Who’ companion, screaming her way through the cliffhanger to part one and then tripping over and knocking herself out for no real reason later on; and then, of course, we have the famous dangling-off-a-cliff cliffhanger, just to do the ultimate cliché.

The characters are also well aware of their grounding in stereotypes- witness how Glitz, when dead set on revenge, stares into the camera, gnashes his teeth and simply says: “Kane”- we’re given more characterisation in that one moment alone, however cheesy, than many stories give throughout their running time. Also, Ace- the immature teenager with an attitude problem- is given dialogue that makes her look like an immature teenager with an attitude problem. She irritates the viewer, just as she irritates the supporting characters. She’s given clichéd lines to say, which work well in their context and are delivered perfectly by Sophie Aldred.

Speaking of Sophie Aldred, she instantly makes an impression as good companion material; the contrasts between her and Mel are striking, and so she arouses the interest of the viewer, and you are genuinely left wondering how the relationship between the doctor and Ace is going to develop- and, of course, develop it did. From the very next story, ‘Remembrance Of The Daleks’, you are aware that something very different is going on, and thankfully so as it would have otherwise been a waste of such a very different character.

Not everything in ‘Dragonfire’ works: Ace’s repeated cries of her name are irritating as best, down right annoying at worst. As mentioned before, ‘Dragonfire’ could really have done with some extra money, as bits of it look very cheap indeed.

However, there is much to recommend in ‘Dragonfire’; the cast all appear to be having fun, and Edward Peel turns in a terrific performance as Kane. Once more, Tony Selby as Glitz is great and highly watchable, and his interaction with all the various characters works well. Added to all this, Dominic Glynn’s incidental music is quite nice, and it compliments the look of the story very well. One particularly nice moment is when the synthesised thuds of the keyboard match the footsteps of one of Glitz’s ex-crewmembers as he stumbles down the metal stairs whilst searching for Ace and Mel.

‘Dragonfire’ is not the perfect story, but then again most ‘Doctor Who’ stories are not. It stands hand and tails above the other stories in Season Twenty-Four in my opinion, and boasts some terrific dialogue and set pieces to boot. It’s not the best of the best, but it rather proudly stands above average.

Dalek is an accomplished story, which redeems the Daleks from years of frankly below par stories. Which naturally leads us to ask, is this the best Dalek story? Yes indeed it is! Borrowing heavily from Rob Shearman’s excellent Big Finish audio story Jubilee, Dalek takes the best elements of that story and mines them for all they are worth! Above all it is perhaps the strong sense of moral ambiguity that makes the story really stand out. It’s the dialectics at the centre of the script which linger. We are presented with the ultimate killing machine, and by the end of the episode our feelings have been complexly subverted as we “feel” sympathy for the Dalek, an outstanding achievement.

Daleks are genuinely chilling and this episode proves it better than any other episode in Doctor Who’s history! Note the scene were the Dalek chillingly electrocutes the soldiers. Finally we get a visceral insight into why the Doctor fears the denizens of Skaro so much. . . . The Daleks will no longer be a joke!

Christopher Eccleston’s performance in this story is what really drives it, his fear, guilt and his passion. It’s clear now that the Ninth Doctor is a wounded soul, who’s not always thinking straight. Rose sees a side to the Doctor in Dalek which she has not only not seen before, but finds questionable, and indeed so does the audience! That initial scene between the Doctor and the Dalek in the locked cell was absolutely electric, beautifully directed too by Joe Ahearn, notice the way the Doctor addresses the Dalek’s eyestalk directly! Oh the intensity. You can clearly see why Joe Ahearn is directing five of the series thirteen episodes. The bottom line hear is that the Doctor comes tantalisingly close to becoming what he fears most! Mention should also be made of Nicholas Briggs’ superb performance as the Dalek. Nick was spot when he said that what was needed was a real characterisation, rather than just a cod robotic voice. The end result is nothing short of extraordinary.

Again the script is brimming with contemporary satire. An American who holds a Dalek prisoner illegally and tortures it.. . . . On the subject of Van Statten, he was a witty and quite enjoyable villain, albeit he was straight from the James Bond mould. The references to the Internet and the cure for the common cold were particularly enjoyable.

The only thing that very slightly mars this episode is Bruno Langley’s performance as Adam Mitchell, which while passable enough was a bit patchy at times, but I’m sure he will be redeemed.