Genesis of the Daleks: 40 Years On

Guest contributor Dorf Johnson gives a first view on the revered story 40 years on.

I have been a fan of the revived series of Doctor Who for a fairly long time, but only recently have I decided to go back and watch some of the classic series. I have watched quite a few of these stories now, but one of them really stood out to me, and that’s the revered Genesis of the Daleks. This story does all of the things that a Doctor Who story should, and then it does even more. It’s a truly fantastic piece of writing.

Despite the title of the story, the Daleks are in fact a very small part of this story, but they use the little screen time they have to produce one of their scariest, most impressive appearances ever, turning on their creator, Davros, and the other scientists that are in the room. It is such an iconic and powerful moment when Davros asks the Daleks to show him and his loyal scientists mercy, but the Daleks reply that they have no concept of the word. It is just so chilling and perfectly sums up all that the Daleks are as well as the interesting and strange relationship between Davros and the Daleks. My only fault with the Daleks here is their design, and there wasn’t much that could have been done about that. But just think, how much more impressive would the Time War Daleks been in this scene of total extermination of the scientists? But that is only a minor problem, and the Daleks are on top form in this story.

The true main villain of this story, however, is Davros, and his interactions with the Doctor make the whole thing. Davros is such an interesting villain because he is so hungry for power and the desire to leave his mark on the universe, and yet he also has a concept of mercy and attempts to convince the Daleks to spare not only him but also the scientists that have helped him. However Davros’ best scenes are when he is interacting with the Doctor. When the Doctor asks if Davros would release the most deadly and powerful plague on the universe, Davros answers that yes, he would, which perfectly demonstrates his desire to leave his mark on the universe.

The most interesting thing about Davros’ desire to leave his mark and to be remembered, though, is that it actually makes him a sort of sympathetic villain. Part of the reason Davros is so scary, to me at least, is that it seems like he is not very far off from humanity. Like he is what most humans would become if they had that power. Most humans want to be remembered after they die and are gone, and that is really all of Davros’ motivation to create the Daleks is. So the question Davros’ character imposes is: Would you have the decency to resist the temptation to leave your mark on history forever?

The companions in this story, Harry Sullivan and fan-favorite Sarah Jane Smith, were very enjoyable and helped to keep the plot moving and give us a more in-depth look into the story. My personal favorite companion scene in this story is probably the reveal of the Daleks while Sarah Jane watches. The expression on her face is just so completely perfect for the scene and perfectly encapsulates the fear that everyone from the Doctor Who universe feel when confronted by the Daleks.

With that being said, I actually enjoyed Harry Sullivan more than Sarah Jane in this story. Sarah Jane’s whole storyline was mostly to get trapped and show us the Thal side of the war, whereas Harry seems to be more involved and really be a more three-dimensional character. (Disclaimer: I do like Sarah Jane Smith in many other stories, she just felt kind of flat and forgotten in this script.)

And, as always, one of the highlights of the story is Tom Baker as the Doctor, and he has some great comedic scenes as well as dramatic and though-provoking scenes. My two favorite scenes are when he is pulling things out of his pocket for the Kaleds and just doesn’t seem to stop, and the climactic scene when he asks if he has the right to exterminate all the Daleks from the universe in order to save million lives and fulfil his mission for the Time Lords. This is obviously a painful decision for the Doctor, and this is shown tremendously well by Tom Baker during the story. Some of the other highlights are the interactions between the Doctor and Davros, and these two characters really clash with each other and their interactions are a marvellous thing to see on screen, with both actors giving their all.

Overall, Genesis of the Daleks is a marvellous Doctor Who story that expertly portrays the humanity of Davros, the horror of the Doctor’s decision, and the terror imposed by the Daleks (This really is an story for the letter “D”). If you are a fan of the revived series and would like to begin watching the Classic series, I highly recommend this story as it is on par with many of the better stories of the revived series and really blew me away when I first watched it.