Doctor Who: Genesis Of The Daleks
“There’s only one thing Mary Whitehouse hated more than sex, and that was Doctor Who,” Terrance Dicks cheerfully offers in one of this DVD’s bonus segments, and that really sets the tone for the presentation of the all-time Tom Baker era classic Genesis Of The Daleks on DVD. With an unusual gestation of its own, this story spanned two production teams, and may well stand as a signpost of where producer Philip Hinchcliffe’s era really began: with Robert Holmes as his script editor, Hinchcliffe sought to darken the series considerably, introducing elements of gothic horror and showing violence that had real, tangible effects…all of which served to repeatedly bring their era of Doctor Who into the crosshairs of self-appointed TV crusader Mary Whitehouse.
Genesis was one of the earliest Doctor Who adventures to merit her attention, though with its not-that-stylized moments of WWII-style violence (admittedly, we’re not talking Saving Private Ryan here, but it was a good deal more explicit in its treatment of violence than Jon Pertwee’s last couple of seasons), it may be easy to see why. Criticism and complaints dogged the show so much that it actually showed on air: the filming of the six episodes was running close enough to their actual broadcast that a Nazi iron cross medallion disappears from one character’s chest somewhere in episode three, following viewer complaints from the first episode!
The main bonus feature, Genesis Of A Classic, traces the story’s origins from the Barry Letts/Terrance Dicks regime through its eventual development and production under the Hinchcliffe/Holmes regime. And the funny thing is, as universally well-regarded as this story was, it might never have been made if Hinchcliffe had his way at the time - he saw the Dalek, Sontaran and Cyberman stories of his first season as a necessary evil set up by his predecessors to ensure decent ratings for the incoming Doctor, who had yet to be embraced by the viewing public. Hinchcliffe admits, in an interview, that he wasn’t happy with his first season as producer since all of the stories had been set up by Letts, and most of them seemed to revolve around old enemies. Original Dalek voice man Roy Skelton pops up from time to time to instruct viewers on how to talk like a Dalek.
The other main feature, The Dalek Tapes, weighs in at nearly an hour long and provides a look at the development of the Daleks throughout classic Doctor Who, both from a fictional perspective and from a critical perspective. Narrated by Terry “Davros in the ’80s” Molloy, this is actually quite a fascinating little documentary, though it loses a few points for barely acknowledging - and certainly not analyzing - the Daleks’ development in the two Peter Cushing Doctor Who films in the ’60s. Otherwise, it makes for a solid history of the Daleks, and its critical viewpoint is more or less in line with my own: the development of the Daleks has been haphazard and occasionally hamfisted, and it’s really a testament to the incredibly iconic nature of the Daleks that they’ve held up this well over the years. The documentary does not venture into new series territory, which is a bit of a shame, since the new series’ vision of the Daleks has both complemented and countermanded various aspects of their mythology from the first 26 years of Doctor Who.
The commentary features director David Maloney (who has since passed away), Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and Peter “Nyder” Miles. As usual, Baker spends a lot of the time being silly, but somewhere around part three, even he ends up being engrossed by the whole thing. To say that the other participants in the commentary have no end of praise for Michael Wisher’s portrayal of Davros is an understatement; Wisher has also left us, so he’s not there to speak for himself, but his director and fellow actors heap admiration upon the seriousness with which he took the part of Davros. With the character’s mask and slightly wobbly “Dalek chair”, there are plenty of things that, truth be told, could be made fun of, but Wisher’s performance makes the megalomaniac creator of the Daleks a terrifying creature to behold. Other actors played the part from Davros’ next appearance onward, but - with all due respect to Terry Molloy - none quite so effectively. Somewhat unusually, the classic Dudley Simpson musical score also receives praise, especially from Elisabeth Sladen, who wonders if it’s been released. (It has, after a fashion.) Director David Maloney, in one of his final DVD commentaries, is also on the receiving end of well-deserved kudos from his repertoire of actors.
It’s a nice package overall, and anyone wishing to catch up on the most essential chapter in the mythology of Davros would do well to start here - say, in the next week or so.
