EVIL OF THE DALEKS

"The Daleks say I'm going to do something for them. Something I would rather die than do."

This page looks back to the Patrick Troughton story from 1967, Evil of the Daleks.

The Emperor Dalek.

The Story The TARDIS has been stolen from Gatwick Airport. Stranded in 1960s London, the Doctor and Jamie follow the trail to Edward Waterfield's antique shop. Waterfield traps them and transports them back to 1866. When they awake, the Doctor and Jamie find themselves in the house of a Victorian Gentleman, Theodore Maxtible, near Canterbury in Kent. Maxtible and Waterfield have been experimenting with time travel and have inadvertently opened up a channel for the Daleks, who have overrun the house and kidnapped Waterfield's daughter, Victoria. Now they have the TARDIS as well. The Doctor is forced to trick Jamie into rescuing Victoria, all the time analysing his performance and feelings to create "The Human Factor" - which the Daleks want to make them invincible. The scene is set for a final showdown with the Dalek Emperor on Skaro.

The final battle on Skaro.

The Production This story is regarded as one of the all time classics, and rightly so. The viewer is hooked, from the opening scene of the TARDIS being driven out of the airport on a lorry, to the final battle on Skaro. Unlike some of Dr Who's other seven-part stories, this one doesn't drag. Patrick Troughton turns in his usual excellent performance. At times, the Doctor seems to be behaving very strangely, almost furtively. The story also introduces new companion, Victoria, who joins the TARDIS crew at the end of the story. It is a great pity that only one episode of the story (episode two) still exists in the BBC Archives.

Things to look out for The Beatles ("Paperback Writer") and The Seekers ("Nobody knows the trouble I've seen") are heard on the jukebox in the coffee bar in episode one. This scene was dropped in the BBC cassette release in 1992. Windsor Davies has a small role as ruffian Toby in episodes two and three. Brigit Forsyth plays Ruth Maxtible. She later played Bob's long-suffering wife, Thelma, in "The Likely Lads" Patrick Troughton and Deborah Watling appear only in pre-filmed inserts in episode 4 as both were on holiday the week it was recorded. For the final battle sequence on Skaro, some Louis Marks 'tricky action' Dalek toys were used (see photo above).

Availability Episode two was included in the BBC video "Daleks - The Early Years", (BBCV 4810), released in 1991. The story was released on a BBC double audio cassette in 1992 with linking narration by Tom Baker. Part of the final battle on Skaro in episode seven has been reconstructed from 8mm movie film dubbed with the soundtrack and this is included as one of the extras on the BBC DVD of "Tomb of the Cybermen".