5 out of 5

Directed By: Richrd Martin

A returning villain automatically gives a viewer a shock for an episode cliffhanger…?  A pretty good sign that you’ve made it.  Post-apocalyptic might be a setting stereotype for sci-fi, but it can almost always be interesting if its realized fully enough.  Yes, economic woes and human uprising, blah blah, but just taking it a few steps further (and “hooks” – like ‘Revolution’s’ Old West setting don’t count) can often result in something at least watchable if not, ideally, thought provoking.  ‘Dalek Invasion of Earth’ may start somewhat atypically for a DW serial – a human with an odd construct on his head walks to river’s edge – where there’s a prominent sign warning against the dumping of bodies – screams, rips off his headgear and drowns himself (fairly easily, but whatever) – but the unsettling nature of the open is what helps set the stage for when the TARDIS lands in a seemingly deserted London.

Doctor and crew stumble about their surroundings until they find more of the headgear wearin’ humans… and then, surprise, a Dalek emerges from the water, an absolute awesome reveal.  The timeline is also fascinating, as discussed by the team: they are in a London many years past Barbara and Ian’s ‘present,’ and yet their first interaction with the Daleks was even years beyond that.  Interestingly, though, this version of the race seems more advanced, capable of traversing different types of terrain and with a type of ranking system represented by some Daleks completely colored black.  Special effects wise, these dudes also look a lot cooler, although there are some funny bits of humans in revolt hoisting the Daleks overhead when you realize they must not weigh all that much.

Anyhow, the team gets split apart – but convincingly – each with different splinters of the human underground, whose spirits are divided between uprising, giving in, or running away.  The group, of course, encourages the former, and each episode is honestly a pretty tense slice of trying to re-group across a decimated London, meanwhile trying to understand the exact reason the Daleks have enslaved everyone for some kind of mining operation.  A random creepy is tossed in one episode – the leader Dalek’s pet, a ‘Slyther’ – and it’s a pretty wicked costume – but unlike a lot of Who plot stuffings, it feels like a sensible extension of events, even if it is a seemingly random attribute for a Dalek.  (…It, to me, ended up building their oddness and coolness as characters overall.)  Some of the miniature work is hokey and the fight scenes are painfully staged, but the scope of the serial – some scenes shot on location, some truly classic shots of Daleks near famous London landmarks – shuttles past all that, and you can get a sense of the ‘wow’ we might’ve felt when our imaginations carried us beyond the confines of what could be shown.  The music, by Francis Chagrin, is also a considerable uptick from the oddly playful stuff that had discordantly dotted previous episodes.  His themes are thrilling, and a stumbling drumbeat during an exciting running sequence with Barbara reminded me of the surreality of The Prisoner.  Good stuff.

Susan’s romance gets a little stuffy, but it was a sensible way to end her character, and The Doctor’s handling of it (and resultant speech) enhance the strength Hartnell was bringing to the role, something all of the characters could, by then, attest to for their parts (save Susan, I guess): Ian’s chummy, always-in-suit and ready-for-action awesomeness, Barbara’s thoughtfulness and willful bravery, and the Doc’s hilarious boasts – it’s all making for a wonderful team who supported a full 2.5 hours of episode without a dull moment.  Super world-building from writer Terry Nation.