2.2: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
- Doctor: William Hartnell
- Companions: Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright
- Creators: Verity Lambert (Producer), Terry Nation (Writer), Richard Martin (Director)
- Season 2
What's the rating?
Must See.
What's interesting about it?
My favorite Doctor Who story so far, and one of my favorite of all time.
This is the story that let me know that even early Doctor Who could rock. There's no need to make excuses for this story or the presentation. (Well, maybe a couple of excuses for the original "flying saucer on a string" special effects, but you can now choose to watch a snazzier CGI version of the effects if you wish.)
Compared to the claustrophobic sets and the small feel of typical Doctor Who stories resulting from budget and time constraints, Invasion is a shockingly ambitious story and setting. As in, the Daleks have invaded actual Earth (where Earth equals London, of course) and we see them ruling over the actual London, not some $10-dollar model version of the city.
The opening sequence is perhaps the most arresting and intriguing of any in the Who canon. We first see this sign, rather amazing in itself for a children's show, a callback to the years of The Plague:
And then a man in strange headgear ripping off a neck-collar and drowning himself in the Thames. What is this madness?
The Doctor and company connect up with rebels fighting against the Daleks, and this is a group of unusually well-realized characters who have been through hell, have an impossible job to do, and have little time to coddle the time travelers; instead, they immediately make them sign up for the daily work roster!
Much of the story occurs outdoors around London, which provides a documentary-feel to the affair, punctuated by music in a thrilling percussion-driven avant-garde style. A re-telling of The Blitz, an event very familiar to Brits of the time, the story is gripping, and there's just one really terribly-executed monster to remind us that this is Doctor Who after all.
It's also Susan's last episode, and as such she's the first companion to have an exit scene, a particularly effective exit at that. The Doctor and Susan have an emotional and affectionate conversation, in which The Doctor realizes it's time to let his granddaughter live her own life, a complete reversal from his attitude in The Sensorites. He then takes most inconceivably difficult action of a parent by pushing her away to live her own life, refusing to allow her on the Tardis at the end of the story. I'm tempted to quote his parting speech, but it's the best dialogue in the show so far and you should experience it on your own.
So Susan got to be an interesting character only in the first episode of the show and the last in which she appeared. It's a crime they didn't do more with her, but at least we have this.
If you haven't seen any classic Doctor Who and none of the previous story descriptions has attracted you, then I say this is a great place to start your journey.
How can I see it?