Have David Banks say “Excellent!!” a time or two, and I’m sold.
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I’m pretty tired of the Daleks, tbh, and I’ve often felt their stories in the revival strained credulity so far as to make the story dreadful. Victory (Daleks in WWII), Asylum (asylum, really?!), and Resolution (Dalek chopped into pieces over a millenia ago is still alive, and can operate people?!) are a few examples of stories that start from such a ludicrous idea that I can never buy into them, no matter what else they have going for them.
So, what Dalek stories do I actually like? I have the audio of The Dalek Masterplan, and really enjoy listening to that. I think The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a strong story of people struggling to keep up the fight in a near-hopeless situation. I’m fond of Day of the Daleks, might be the first time I encountered the “caused the thing we went back in time to prevent” trope.
So, not all bad. I just think that most of the new series stories that use something called “Daleks” would have been better if they created a new race with the necessary characteristics instead of shoving a Dalek into a square hole.
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I mean this is spectacular recency bias on my part but I just watched The Evil of the Daleks this week and it was a fantastic Daleks-as-Nazis story. The only criticism I have is that Kemel should have got to do something more heroic, he deserved it
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Welcome to the forum @ArcticAtlantic - do pop over to Introductions and tell us more about yourself.
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Oh, strange, I thought I’d already done that. Maybe I was thinking of the discord server. Will do soon!
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Hard question for me, I think the classic series had almost zero bad dalek outings (the closet is maybe destiny, but even that I think is solid, even through it’s mainly for our two incredible leads).
In terms of favorite, I probably have to go with multiple. The 60s are easily the peak of Dalek Stories in my Eyes. For all its length, I think Daleks Masterplan is in many ways stellar, especially as a Dalek Epic. Power and Evil are both excellent, showing us some of the most cunning sides those iconic villains have, and you can’t do anything wrong with 2 and the Daleks.
As anybody else Dalek and Genesis are two unbelievable stories that I do adore but honestly not sure if I call them a favorite (Then again Dalek is probably my favorite for the revival show).
80s wise I think all three outings are pretty good, I do think Remembrance is the best (simply because of how tight the script is, and I am a bit bias to 7 + Ace) but also Revelation is pretty damn good! Davros and 6 just work!
I don’t have a favorite in the EU since really I have to get around listening and reading more of those Dalek ones
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The Daleks are such a mixed bag for me, truly. A lot of it is tied up in my dislike for Nicholas Briggs’ trite overuse of them; I’ve heard far more bad Big Finish Dalek stories than good ones. But the good? There’s a few.
Dalek/Jubilee is obviously the first mention - I’m not going to go into which one is better because I think fundamentally they’re two very different Dalek stories (not to mention how they relate to the specific Doctor in the story comes out very differently) but they’re both masterpieces of horror (traditional slasher horror for Dalek and the type of surrealist nightmare only Shearman can make in Jubilee) that use the Daleks to powerful effect.
I’ll echo the mention of Magician’s Apprentice/Witch’s Familiar upthread, although I agree that these are less Dalek stories than they are “ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING” stories, but I think that in this instance the maximalist nature pays off and actually gives the whole thing a very Classic feel. Also of course, the lore of Skaro, specifically that the Dalek sewers are alive, is delicious.
Resolution is up here for me because the Recon Dalek is pissing terrifying, but also because the script gave Jodie so much to work with when the preceding season really didn’t. It’s probably in my top three of 13’s tenure, if not fighting heavily with Power for the top spot.
Is Evil of the Daleks the one where Pertwee’s got a little mate and they have to solve environmental puzzles? Where the cliffhanger is just a patterned bit of floor and a scare chord? I can’t genuinely say it’s good but I love it so much.
I totally forgot TDMP! I’ve only read the two part novel by John Peel but it stuck with me long after finishing, which a lot of the Target novs don’t. The Daleks are genuinely frightening in this in a way they’ve never been before, and the Dalek Time Destructor is such a nightmarish, incomprehensible weapon (it’s just a sphere that UNMAKES REALITY) that those last sequences where The Doctor is trying to escape are so harrowing.
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I think you’re thinking of Death to the Daleks from Season 11. Evil is the Troughton story with the mirrors, Daleks factor and the introduction of Victoria from the end of Season 4.
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I was thinking of Death to the Daleks, thank you! Definitely not a contender for even top ten Dalek stories, but as many people point out, there’s the wonderful moment where you can see Pertwee decide he’s over the show. It’s very silly and camp.
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