Product Details

• Actors: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison
• Writers: Sydney Newman
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: July 19, 2000
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004WG6U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,353 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars DalekMania!, June 9, 1999

By 

Martin S. Hennessee "SeeingI" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who - Daleks, The Early Years [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This collection, stiffly narrated by Peter Davison (Doctor #5) compiles interviews with author Terry Nation and designer Ray Cusick to reveal how the Daleks were created. Also in the mix are some on-air promos, clips from the first Dalek stories, and the only remaining episodes of "Evil of the Daleks" and "The Dalek Masterplan." These are especially entertaining. But one could have wished for a more thorough exploration of "DalekMania," the wave of popularity the metal monsters enjoyed, as well as information on the two Dalek feature films starring Peter Cushing. On the whole, however, an invaluable additon to any "WHO" fan's library.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dalek History 101 for Whovians, June 28, 2003

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who - Daleks, The Early Years [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Hideous machine-like creatures, they are legless, moving ion a round base. They have no human features. A lens on a flexible shaft acts as an eye, arms with mechanical grips for hands. The creatures hold strange weapons in their hands."

From the first two sentences, one would've thought I was talking about politicians, but no, the above was writer Terry Nation's description of his creations the Daleks, the monsters who put 8 million viewers and made Dr. Who an overnight success.

Like many DW fans, the Daleks are my favourite villains and in fact the impetus behind my wanting to watch the series in the first place. Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor, hosts this special program from the Museum of the Moving Image, in front of some Daleks at the permanent Dr. Who exhibit. He talks of Terry Nation, the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 1 of the first Dalek story that had people waiting in anticipation for Episode 2, and presents the original BBC trailer for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth.

There are recollections by Terry Nation, who was looking for something totally non-human as opposed to a human in an obviously bad costume, Roy Skelton, who did the voices for the Daleks, John Scott Martin, who was inside the actual Dalek machines, and Raymond Cusick, the one who actually designed the machines and who gets the most commentary here, as he deserves it. If Cusick hadn't been free, a certain Ridley Scott, then also a designer at the BBC, would have designed the Daleks. Cusick didn't get as much money as he deserves, as he also had to design all the special props and sets!

Three complete episodes are shown here--parts 5 and 10 of the Dalek Master Plan, the twelve-part epic sadly no longer available in the BBC Archives, and episode 2 of the 7-part Evil Of The Daleks, which presumably saw the final end of the machine creatures. There is a clip from Episode 4 of the DMP, where one of the Doctor's companions sacrifices herself. She isn't the only one in this story. Sara Kingdom, a Special Security agent, dies in the final episode. She was played by Jean Marsh, best known as Rose in Upstairs Downstairs, but was also the first wife of the future Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. She is particularly ruthless in Episode 5--"They must be shot on sight, but aim for the head!" As for Evil, it was the debut of the companion Victoria, played by lovely Deborah Watling. There's also a brief clip from The Power Of The Daleks, Patrick Troughton's debut story, which features a bunch of Daleks screaming out "Daleks conquer and destroy!"

A good special documentary featuring the Daleks, who are as much a part of Doctor Who as the title character.

4.0 out of 5 stars Daleks-the earky years, April 21, 2001

By 

Kam-Ho Tsang (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who - Daleks, The Early Years [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Exterminated"! The classic battle cry of one of the famous villains in sci-fi history. Daleks-The Early Years captivate how the monsters' first appearence in science fiction's longest running show Doctor Who. With this videos wonderful narration by the Fifth Doctor himself Peter Davidson. The documentory features interviews by Daleks creator Terry Nation. Daleks designer Raymond P. Cusacks and also features surviving episodes of stories like The Daleks' Masterplan, Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks. Complete eipsodes that no longer exist to the public eye. I highly recommend this wonderful docmentary to all Doctor Who fans new and old.