Day of the Daleks

[kiebo03]

What do you think of Day of the Daleks

[Matt]

Painful to watch - it's dreadfully repetitive and hardly any action. One of Jon's worst stories IMO!

[a64]

I've read the novelisation and it's a great core idea. Doesn't use the Daleks much sadly, but it's quite good.

[Yarvelyn]

I like Day of the Daleks, it was one of the first video's i bought. The version of the future with all it's prefab concrete and bendit neru style uniforms match my hopes for the future. The architecture and control room sets depicted in that and the frontier in space to me show utopia, as i've always liked the concrete lovelyness of the south bank and in a way it reminds me of where i grew up not to far out of london. The moral arguments it raises and the colaberation issues with the controller alone should lead to an allnight debate about the points it raises and parelels with history.

[Efun]

Can someone capitalize the title? For some reason it's annoying me. Looking very forward to this being released on DVD.

[starbug]

I quite liked this story up until the final battle scene with where you find there are only 3 daleks, but when i was a kid i thougth WOW they must be really powerfull as there are only 3 and nothings touching them, then i learned as i got older they only had 3 props in relative good condition. Also you could tell that they hadn't used daleks in a long time! Not jons best, but still good. The novel is far better, but also remember the Daleks were put in this story at the last minute, as it wasn't meant to feature them. There is a scene that was filmed but cut, where the doctor is on the mind anaylsis machine i think and the gold Daleks explain that the humanised daleks were wiped out and that the emperor survived, i hope they include that in the DVD release.

[Callum Metcalfe]

Worst story of the third doctors. It's really boring!

[Beep]

I got the Day of the Daleks recently and while the original story is certainly lacking something, the SE version is really fantastic!

[a64]

Saw this last night for the first time (read the novelisation though).

It's not a very good Dalek story - they were hardly in it! - but the rest of it's not bad. The plot, except maybe the time-travelling twist, is a little bit basic, and for a lot of episodes nothing much happens!

The first episode impressed me for its unusual style (fading between scenes, that kind of thing) and great sets and design. The friendly UNIT feel is great, even if the Doctor behaves like an arse. However the direction is a bit wobbly when it comes to the reprises of the cliffhangers and some stilted Daleks.

As a Pertwee, it's alright, and quite ambitious. The final Dalek fight (though why they go back, really, I don't know - it causes all kinds of paradoxes) has lots of explosions but few Daleks. And the ending's a bit botched and abrupt. It must have been a shame to wait six years or something for a Dalek story after Evil of the Daleks, and for it to be this one. It'll be interesting to see how the Special Edition version compares... (when I get round to watching it).

Oh and Anna Barry in this looks just like Lara Pulver, honestly.

[Efun]

I watched this again over a period of about 3 days, finished it just tonight. Here are my thoughts.

+ A story I am very fond of now - I love the plot, acting and characters involved. I wasn't bothered about the lack of Daleks - I got over it.
+ The Dalek voices are also not an issue - I rather grew fond of them in the last couple of episodes. It kind of gives them more character - I always look at my figure of the gold Dalek cheif and imagine his voice like that.
- However, they could perhaps have been better operated.
- The ending is also a bit botched, as A64 and maybe others have pointed out..but on repeated viewings it's not as much as a kick in the face as an unexpected end to a good story.
+ I also liked the controller and ogrons - I don't know about you guys, but I am very easy to please with classic who - I just love it no matter how much the low budget shows - and can always enjoy a good battered set or costume.
+ Lots of great little moments.
The extra FX and visuals on the DVD are a nice add, but I find them jarring, especially Nick Brigg's overdone Dalek vocals, which don't suit those Daleks at all. I much prefer the unedited original.
+ However, the added footage of Auderly house at night, Dalek closeups etc are nice.

[a64]

So, I've just watched the Special Edition. (That's three interepretations I've seen now...)

I wasn't sure - think I read somewhere, but probably getting confused - if there was any 'deleted scenes'? Like extra lines or something. It's probably just my bad memory, or watching it again, but I thought the Controller was a bit more sympathetic this time, ha!

The effects are top notch, really - the added gunfire, glowing and disintegrating when they shoot people are all brilliant. The Dalek voices themselves are perfect to someone who's first story was 'Dalek'. They've fixed a couple of errors (like the monitor screens - though I did like 'No Complications') and added some clever new footage - I noticed the house at night, a few more Dalek closeups, lots more Daleks in the final battle, a couple of UNIT soldiers, an Ogron approaching the house, that kinda thing.
However, as nice as they look on their own, the establishing shots of futuristic, dystopian skyscrapers look a bit out of place sometimes. I know there's only, like, three of them, but still. And the trike chase is still a bit pointless, even with explosions!

As a 'replacement' to new viewers though, it's quite good actually. Doesn't solve a lot of the story problems really, but good for fans who know the story already.