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Title:
Doctor Who: Genesis Of The Daleks: The Tom Baker Years 1974 – 1981: 2-Disc DVD
Video Set
Region:
One
Genre:
Sci-fi TV Series
Stars:
Tom Baker, Elizabeth Sladen, Ian Marter, Terry Molly, Peter Miles, John Franklyn-Robbins,
Dennis Chinnery, Stephen Yardley, James Garbutt, Jeremy Chandler, Richard
Reeves, Ivor Roberts, Harriet Philpin, and the voice of Roy Skelton as the
Daleks
Writer:
Terry Nation
Director:
David Maloney
Feature
length: 142 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary With Actors Tom Baker, Elizabeth Sladen, Peter Miles, and
Director David Maloney, “Genesis Of Classic” Documentary, “The Dalek
Tapes” Documentary, Blue Peter segment, Continuity Announcements, Photo
Gallery, Text Commentary
DVD-ROM
Extras: 1976 Doctor Who Annual and Radio Times Listings
Languages:
Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired
Packaging:
Single Size Two-Disc Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 6 Per Episode/36 Total
Sound:
Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Year
of DVD Release: 2006
Home
Video Distributor: BBC Video Through Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“Genesis
Of The Daleks” is every bit as much of a classic of science fiction television
in general as it is a classic serial from the 12th series of the
classic Doctor Who with Tom Baker as the iconic Fourth Doctor. The
episode was voted number one Doctor Who story in a 2003 Doctor Who
Magazine readers’ poll. People in America may not be entirely familiar
with Doctor Who in the States, but many people are familiar with the
iconic villains The Daleks even if they don’t know them by name. In the 1960s
two of the First Doctor serials were made into feature films with Peter Cushing
portraying the Doctor though the films don’t mention much of the character’s
background as a Time Lord. The two feature films had the Daleks as the villain
with the first film taking place on the Dalek homeworld of Skaros and the second
film a big screen adaptation of “The Dalek Invasion Of Earth” though at that
time the popularity of the Daleks was so vast that the feature film version was
released under the title Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Later home video
releases would restore the “Doctor Who” name to the film for the box cover
art at least. The film also starred Andrew Keir, who would go on the portray
Professor Quatermass in the third Hammer Studio feature film adaptation of Quatermass
And The Pit. Unfortunately that sci-fi serial is not nearly as known to
American audiences as Doctor Who, which is still the world’s longest
running science fiction series in television history with a new series featuring
the Ninth Doctor having recently completed it’s American premiere run on the
SCI FI Channel while the Tenth Doctor’s recent series of adventures just
completed it’s television premiere in the U.K.
In
case anyone doesn’t know, The Doctor is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey.
Though the Time Lords look just like human beings on the outside, they have a
different physiology on the inside. At the point of death, the Time Lords
regenerate into a new being with memories of their previous incarnations still
in their minds though their new regenerated selves usually are
characteristically and physically different from their previous incarnation. A
Time Lord can regenerate 13 times and this is how in part the Doctor Who
series has managed to survive over forty years and counting since this allows
new talent to come in and play a role that is every bit as iconic in England as
the various incarnations of Star Trek and the Starship Enterprise
is in American pop culture. Terry Nation, the writer who created the Daleks
wrote this fantastic story that runs for six episodes and details the origins of
the Daleks. This story is also quite important since Writer/Producer Russell T.
Davies, who has revitalized the Doctor Who series for the new millennia
points to this episode serial directly as the start of the Time War between the
Daleks and the Time Lords. This addition to the mythology of Doctor Who
has played an important role in the last two seasons or series as they are
referred to across the pond and will probably continue to have ramifications to
be explored in the future adventures of Doctor Who.
“Genesis
Of The Daleks” has the Doctor (Tom Baker) and his companions Sarah Jane and
Harry (Elizabeth Sladen & Ian
Marter) stranded on the planet Skaro at a time before the Daleks evolved. Before
the travelers will be allowed to return to the TARDIS, the Doctor has been
assigned by the Time Lords to either avert the creation of the Daleks or somehow
see to it they are altered in some way. Perhaps made less aggressive and more
humane. The Time Lords foresee a time when the Daleks could be a threat even to
them so while they usually do not interfere with the timeline, except for the
Doctor who is a maverick, though it could be argued his actions are preserving
or protecting the timeline and continuity of space. That is why the Doctor, who
already has had numerous encounters with the Daleks in the past, has been
chosen. Skaros is in the final stages of a devastating war that has depleted
much of the planet’s resources and scarred the world forever with radioactive
fallout and mutations exiled from the two remaining domed cities where the
humanoid Thals and the Kaleds desperately seek a way to annihilate each other
and end the centuries old conflict. The twisted Kaled scientist Davros (Terry
Molloy) has experimented on the genes of the Kaled people to find out what the
end result of their mutations will evolve into. Hoping to perpetuate himself
into the future, he has made the Daleks devoid of compassion, pity, and
reasoning in any form except for an unending will to survive and self perpetuate
as well as the drive to conquer and exterminate anything alien that either poses
a threat or has outlived any usefulness to them. Capturing the Doctor and
discovering he is a Time Lord, he forces the Doctor to reveal all of the known
encounters he has had with the Daleks and reveal any weaknesses that led to his
Daleks defeat in order to avert them. With time running out and most unwilling
or unable to assist, the Doctor must now prevent the knowledge of the Dalek’s
future from being imprinted upon the Daleks as well as save his companions and
ultimately decide whether or not the act of destroying his greatest enemies will
make him into the monster he trying to prevent from being created and whether or
not the existence of the Daleks somehow despite the great death and suffering
they will cause, will still lead to a universal good?
This
is the definitive story about the creation of the Daleks and in many ways the
episode is epic in scope and profound with its implications and at times the
action even seems poetic. In short, “Genesis Of The Daleks” deserves its
classic status and is a must own DVD set for any fan of the series. Distributed
in the United States by Warner Home Video, BBC Video’s American Region One
NTSC DVD release of Doctor
Who: Genesis Of The Daleks: The Tom Baker Years 1974 – 1981: 2-Disc DVD Video
Set has been digitally
remastered for the best possible video and audio presentation. The episode is
dark and monochromatic looking, but this is intended on various levels and
considering this episode is now 30 years old or so, even the filmed exterior
segments look surprisingly clear considering the usually dirt or speckled prints
often seen on BBC shows of various genres from the 1970s. The episode is
presented with the 4 by 3 aspect ratio of the original television broadcast
intact along with a clear English Two-Channel Monaural Soundtrack with optional
English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired encoded too. The audio
commentary featuring Actors Tom Baker, Elizabeth Sladen, Peter Miles, and Director David
Maloney was recorded recently with Elizabeth Sladen making comments about the
Ninth Doctor episode “The Doctor Dances” and her own appearance in a
recently aired Tenth Doctor episode during the commentary. Tom Baker keeps a
sense of humor about him and collectively the audio commentary is quite
entertaining to listen to. There is also an anecdote and fact filled text
commentary that reveals an unofficial origin of the Daleks story that appeared
in a comic strip form before Terry Nation’s definitive script. The storyline
runs for six total episodes with 6 chapter stops each. The episodes can be
viewed separately or in succession with opening and closing credits preserved
for each with a collective running time of approximately 2 hours and 22 minutes.
The
second disc contains the 2006 documentary “Genesis Of A Classic” (60:02),
which features newly recorded video as well as some archival footage featuring
much of cast and some of the crew for the episode as well as Roy Skelton,
demonstrating the six steps he uses in creating the Dalek voices for the series
with examples he takes from a direct reading of certain segments of the
“Genesis Of The Daleks” script. The history of the Daleks as narrated by
Terry Maloy as Davros entitled “The Dalek Tapes” (53:18) features clips from
the various episodes to feature the Daleks from the 1960s through the late
1980s, including some stories that do not feature the Doctor at all. A segment
with some very well crafted models made by a then 16 year old viewer of the
series from “Blue Peter” (7:13), continuity or TV spots from the mid 1970s
to the year 2000 for “Genesis Of The Daleks” (6:15) as well as a motion
color and black and white still gallery (7:55) wrap up the DVD-Video bonus
features on disc two. Windows and Macintosh DVD-ROM users will also have access
to PDF files containing the original Radio Times listing for the episodes
as well as the complete 1976 Doctor Who Annual magazine. A DVD spot for
the new Doctor Who series featuring Christopher
Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion Rose appears before the main menu on disc one (: 31) and
wraps up the extra value materials in this two-disc set. Doctor
Who: Genesis Of The Daleks: The Tom Baker Years 1974 – 1981: 2-Disc DVD Video
Set is available now at retailers on and offline courtesy of BBC Video.
©
Copyright 2006 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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