A new era dawns as the newly rejuvenated Doctor arrives in the form of Patrick Troughton. Distrusted by his companions, Polly and Ben, and mistaken as an investigator by the Vulcan colonists, the Doctor discovers a malevolent presence quietly infiltrating the colony.
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I loooooove Power of the Daleks! I think it’s incredibly paced, with potentially the best showing of the Daleks ever, and fantastic human villains.
But of course, the star of the show is Troughton. I love how mysterious and almost ambiguous he plays the role until nearer the end of the story, leaving viewers wondering “is this really The Doctor? What’s happened to him?”. And even though obviously that effect is taken away a little now that we know about 2 and regeneration, Whitaker’s script plus Troughton’s performance still are strong enough to have aged well and to leave 2 a delight to watch.
Fabulous story, and one of my favourites ever.
It’s perhaps one of the most important stories of the show and I absolutely love it. I especially like the almost thriller-like tension present throughout the story. Troughton is superb from the very beggining. It’s a shame that all the episodes are missing but at least we have an animation with this funny flabbergasted expression of the Doctor:
I remember really enjoying this one. It was a great first outing with 2, and they were definitely still figuring out regeneration, and the Daleks were being pretty clever in this serial.
I definitely consider this one of the top Dalek serials (though Remembrance is still number 1…).
I love Power of the Daleks. It’s a great first serial as the Doctor. It was my first 2nd Doctor serial and I quickly fell in love with it. The Daleks and the characters are great. This is one of my favorite Dalek stories.
I watched this not that long ago, finally watching the animated version I’d had on the shelf for years. I also watched the telesnap recon and was as flabbergasted as that picture of the Doctor at how many surviving clips were included. I was effectively watching brand new classic Who!
It’s a great story. It was my favourite out of the two Whitaker Dalek tales but for a while I sort of fell out of love with it but watching the animated and recon versions reignited my appreciation of it.
Lesterson’s decent into madness is done extremely well and Troughton is brilliantly enigmatic as this strange interloper who claims to be the Doctor.
And sneaky Daleks are the best type of Dalek.
We really need more of these! I feel like a lot of the time the Daleks are just used as big yelling blasting threats, but give me schemers! They’re so good for that, and that’s why Whitaker’s interpretation in this and Evil is my favourite version of them probably
That’s one of the reasons I like them here. They are intelligent and scheming, not just “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!” all the time…
It rivals Series One for best on-screen depiction of the Daleks, I’m not joking.
Perfectly delivering the first regeneration to the audience smoothly by placing Ben and Polly in the two mindsets of audiences at the time (resistant and accepting), whilst delivering one of the best Dalek stories ever, I am confident calling this episode a masterpiece.
David Whitaker gets the Daleks. Terry Nation created them but Whitaker really got them. Cunning, stealthy, patient, sinister, ruthless, this was the first episode that really makes them feel like an intelligent threat, plotting and manipulating the crew of the Vulcan Colony effortlessly. Their presence alone is terrifying in a way the show never really captured again as they slowly integrate themselves into the lives of the colonists.
This story line - of the Daleks pretending to be allies - has been replicated a number of times but never reaches the highs seen here.
Of course, Troughton comes out of the gate all guns blazing and immediately steals the show, his performance is an instant classic.
One of the most important stories the show’s ever had and one of the best too. Could be my favourite regeneration story - it’s this or The Eleventh Hour.
10/10
I also love this story. It is such a great move to have Ben and Polly having different opinions on whether he is the Doctor or not. That allows them to have a discussion that mirrors what the audience is experiencing.
The beginning of my favourite Doctor!
I adore Power of the Daleks, it’s such an atmospheric and slow-paced tale.
The Doctor gets to do a lot of things here, and that’s great! Especially compared to The Tenth Planet…
Sadly, Ben and Polly feel redundant and also forgettable as companions this time around.
David Whitaker is THE Man when writing Daleks, he just gets them better than Terry Nation or Eric Saward!
Here, they are ruthless and calculating creatures, ones that make you believe they are capable of exterminating almost everything in their way.
I also like the secondary cast of characters, such as Lesterson - who’s descent into madness feels genuine and believable to terrifying proportions.
And of course, the Man, the Myth, the Legend himself… Patrick Troughton. He’s the GOAT! He’s such an enigmatic character at first that slowly becomes more extroverted and friendly towards others.
10/10
This is easily my favorite Post Regeneration Story ever. Power of the Daleks is a Masterclass in building up tension. Every Part of the Story is used to set the Stage for the Atmosphere. Having the Daleks pretend to be helpful is a clever Way and highlights their manipulative Side, which I think a lot of their Stories can sadly forget or don’t use it to its full extent. There is also the Theme about trusting, reflecting with both the Daleks, and the new Doctor. Of course the Importance of this Story cannot be stretched enough, so it was a very clever Move from Whittaker to write one of our Companions very skeptical, while the other, does show trust early on. I think both Ben & Polly are shining yet again, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I think those two are really underrated and deserve more Love (which is a bit tricky with basically all of their Stories being missing to some extent).
The whole setting is great! And our Side Cast do all great Performances, especially Lesterson is the big highlight here.
Throughton himself gives a great Performance, it is clear that both he and the Team behind it don’t know properly how he should portray this new Version of the Doctor. But I must admit I was always fascinated by this early Period of the second Doctor, where he feels more cartoony and as I said it’s a good Performance regardless.
As for the Animation: I don’t think it’s one of the best. It’s very solid and has some great Movement to it, but I am not too huge on the more sketchy-like Artstyle. Considering they didn’t have that much Time with it and went back to it to re-do some Scenes, I am really impressed what they pulled off with it. Like, don’t get me wrong, the Animation is a really solid Watch but always feels like an odd-one out to me.
Either way, I adore this Story. One of the finest Daleks Tale the Show has ever seen! And I am really excited to discuss this Era going forward here! 
Love that even with the rating going down since the first few rates, it’s still at a 9.55 right now! Power just rules.
I think it’s an overall solid story, but it does meander a little in the beginning.
The animated version is great, but the recon suffers from a lot of action/tense scenes just being lost due to still images.
4/5.
This is a landmark serial. The beginning of a new era. The story that ensured the continued existence of this show. The one that gave us Pat Troughton and a return to properly deadly Daleks. And deadly they are - the body count is high!
This is also the one that originated the planet name Vulcan a few months before that other sci-fi show stole it and made it more famous 
It’s a marvellous story, especially in its colour animation!
9/10
The Power of the Daleks is Doctor Who at its very best: brave, bold, and quietly terrifying. It introduces a new Doctor with wit and subtlety, reinvents the Daleks by returning to their core menace, and builds its story with the kind of slow-burning dread most shows wouldn’t dare. Nearly 60 years on, it remains one of the show’s finest hours—a defining moment for both the Second Doctor and the Daleks.
You’re welcome to read my full review below (spoilers hidden):
Only a 9… My twin has betrayed me!
I can be your new Twin! I gave it a 10/10 
But, but, but, but, but… 
This is what happens when you are wrong
