DOCTOR WHO: THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH

It's always been somewhat difficult for modern audience to comprehend the impact that a story like "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" had on its original viewers - we've had 40 years to become blasé about the Daleks, after all, and while this serial may have been one of their finest outings, it doesn't always show them in the most flattering light. But this DVD release, with a beautiful new print created with the VidFire process, makes it much easier to understand why all those kids were ducking behind the sofa in 1964.

By November of that year, the craze called "Dalekmania" had already swept across England like a shock wave in the wake of the first Dalek serial, transmitted the previous winter. Daleks were everywhere: in the toy shops, in political cartoons, even in kitchens (as mothers created "Dalek teas," as seen on the children's show BLUE PETER, for their begging kids). The Daleks, as producer Verity Lambert reminds us in the commentary, has put DOCTOR WHO on the map, and now she and her production team would put the Daleks on that same map - in the very streets of London itself. The serial was trumpeted in the British equivalent of TV GUIDE, a widely read publication called THE RADIO TIMES, and the viewing figures for the first episode reflected the publicity - it was the first time the series made the Top 10, at the respectable 10 slot. Shame, then, that no Daleks appear until the last shot, and then it's only one coming out of the Thames (no doubt to wash off its casing). The kids were annoyed, naturally, but they tuned in religiously for the next six weeks - as did the adults - for a remarkable story.

Looking at the serial now, it's still remarkable, especially now that the original film prints have undergone the VidFire process that returns them to something close to their original broadcast quality. If this is what it looked like when it went out on BBC1 39 years ago, it's no wonder people were captivated. Richard Martin's direction is as innovative as it can get in a series of cramped studios, and that's surprisingly innovative - but the really wonderful stuff is shot on location, as the Daleks trundle across bridges and chase their prey around some of London's most famous monuments. The only real let-downs, as usual, are the special effects - the Dalek saucer is a badly-balanced pie plate on wires (even purists will agree that the optional CGI shots of the saucer are a welcome addition here); and the Supreme Dalek's "pet" the Slyther is perhaps one of the silliest monster costumes in an era notorious for silly monster costumes. But this is early DOCTOR WHO, after all, where a well-paced production and a good script can make all the difference, and here writer Terry Nation is at his best. There's a real sense of menace when the surviving human freedom fighters listen to the Daleks' radio broadcasts as they try to force the humans from hiding, and Susan's departure scene is arguably the most moving sendoff for a companion in the entire series.

Both regular and guest cast go balls to the wall for this one, too. Hartnell, for example, still has his usual problems with lines, especially on location, but he pulls it out brilliantly for the lion's share of the story. His scenes on the Dalek saucer are a particular triumph, as is his moving goodbye speech to his granddaughter. Jackie Hill is always brilliant, of course, and here she has the excellent Ann Davies to play off (which makes it an even bigger shame that Davies' character wasn't retained as Susan's replacement, as originally planned). Bernard Kay, Peter Fraser, and Alan Judd are all finer actors than one would expect in a children's series, and it's precisely because none of them are playing it like a children's series that it works so well. Judd's Churchill-esque performance, for example, would easily stand out in an adult dramatic series. The Daleks themselves have a few problems, most notably the fact that their voices aren't nearly as impressive as in the first serial, but visually they're fantastic.

This two-disc set is pretty amazing, too - it's jam-packed with extras, which comprise the entire second disc. The first disc is given over to the main story, with an entertaining commentary by producer Verity Lambert, director Martin, and regulars Russell and Ford, all guided by the able hand of Big Finish audio producer and all-around DOCTOR WHO whiz Gary Russell. When I'd originally heard that there would be a moderator for the proceedings, I had my misgivings, despite my respect for Russell's abilities - but after hearing the moderator-free commentary on "The Aztecs" disc by three of these same folks, I realized that having someone around to ask serious (if occasionally repeated) questions was a positive boon. One gets the impression that Martin and Lambert alone could have done a great commentary, though, as Martin is a wealth of information and Lambert has the same passion for the series now that she did then. The best part of the commentary are the stories that she and the regulars tell about Hartnell, which are affectionate but realistic about the occasional difficulties of working with the man.

The gloves come off when the guest cast remember Hartnell in the "Future Memories" featurette on the second disc, though - Bernard Kay in particular has some sharp things to say about him, and Davies admits to being frightened of him. The rest of the featurette (which also features Fraser, Dalek-operator Nick Evans, and Dalek voice artiste David Graham) is equally entertaining - it's a nice change of pace to see people who actually remember their experiences on the series, something series stars like Tom Baker can't always do! Evans in particular is a campy treat. "Future Visions," a featurette with designer Spencer Chapman, works just as well, though the Dalek voices featurette runs on a bit. The aforementioned "Dalek tea" clip from BLUE PETER is good fun, though it would have been even more fun if the executors of the Nation estate hadn't insisted on the end being clipped out. Showing real Daleks coming into to exterminate the Dalek tea was deemed "too disrespectful" of the Daleks - ironic, since that's exactly why the Daleks exterminate the tea! The brief rehearsal film shot by Ford is great, even with the double-exposure, and the radio drama "Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman?" is a nice touch.

The only two extras that don't work all that well are the Script-to-Screen feature, which ideally should have been done as an alternate angles function rather than plopping the footage, the script, <i>and</i> the studio blueprints all in the same screen where none of them can be seen properly; and the Easter Egg, which (no offense to narrator Gary Russell) isn't really worth the tape it's shot on. (It's on the second disc - keeping pressing left at each of the featurettes until a DOCTOR WHO logo is highlighted. You'll see what I mean. Cute, but ultimately too silly. And they were worried about being disrespectful to the Daleks?) But even with these few flaws, this is one of the best disc sets produced in the DOCTOR WHO range so far, and well worth the extra money for the extra disc. You'll never have this much fun watching humanity being subjugated again.