Product Details

• Actors: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison
• Writers: Sydney Newman
• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: July 19, 2000
• Run Time: 174 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004WGAR
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,070 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Classic Beginning of an Era!, January 12, 2001

By 

C. Christopher Hart (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews

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

When the TARDIS lands on the seemingly dead planet of Skaro, the Doctor suspects that there is nothing alive on the ashen world. However he and his companions come in the middle of a blood feud between the warlike cyborg Daleks and the peace-loving Thals. When interference becomes their only way out, they must challenge the Daleks or remain on Skaro... forever! Collector's Note: This story, sometimes refered to as "The Mutants" is the first appearance of the Daleks, the most popular monsters in the Doctor Who series!

When these collected episodes first aired, they created a massive following for the series. The Daleks became synonymous with Doctor Who and vice-versa. The Daleks combined fairy-tale monsters of old with science-fiction, a formula that would serve Doctor Who and the many TV shows that followed it.

Why the popularity? Consider the first episode, a true landmark of quality for the series, which stands up compared to the best of "The Twilight Zone." Consider the Dalek itself: iconic, strange, completely inhuman, yet with a camp value that parents and other "mature" viewers could wink and smile at. Indeed, it has been said many times that the Daleks aren't very fun unless you don't take them too seriously! Despite this "silliness," the Daleks are completely sinister. Unlike later appearances, some of which are incredibly dull or lame, the Daleks of the 1960's are truly a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, the cast is superb. Hartnell is still playing the Doctor as manipulative, sinister, and utterly untrustworthy. Still, he manages to be charming, only able to create chaos where it is needed. As Ian and Barbara Willaim Russell and Jackie Hill are excellent. Thier characters are beginning to get the idea they may never get home, which brings out fear and desperation, but also the characters' bravery and resourcefulness. It is also fun watching them get closer as the series moves on; nothing more than the implication of love, but a charming pairing nontheless. Carole Anne Ford as the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan, is giving perhaps the most interesting performance of all the regulars. Her "Unearthly Child" performance is still in play here, a young woman who is in many ways innocent to the events that surround her. Yes, she screams very loudly and laughs at innapropriate moments, but one cannot help but think that these are truly human qualities with an "alien" touch.

In all, a true classic of science-fiction television. Without "The Daleks," it could be easily said that Doctor Who would not have continued past its first season. Though the story is very long and may try some viewers' patience, it is meant to be viewed one episode per sitting, which could give your family days, weeks, even months of entertainment. Collector's note: This is not to be confused with "Doctor Who and the Daleks," the film created a few years later, which is basically an abridged retelling of this story. Many admirers of Dr. Who enjoy "DW&TD," but prefer the superior original television serial.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hiding Behind the sofa!, May 5, 2002

By 

Junglies (Morrisville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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

Admission time. I always liked to myths, legends and science fiction. When Doctor Who was first broadcast I, like many other children in England, missed it but with the second episode of the first story I became a regular viewer.

The relevance of this will soon become apparent. After leaving behind our bloodthirsty ancestors, the TARDIS materialises in a petrified forest. The Doctor, wishing to explore, deceives Susan, Ian and Barbara, into thinking that they need to find a supply of mercury for the fluid link and so they end up in a mysterious, seemingly deserted, city.

During the course of the story we follow the travellers as they make their way around the dead planet. As children, nay young children, we were unprepared for our first glimpse of what was to become the Doctor's deadliest foes. When the first Dalek hit the screen the effect was incredible. Thus far science fiction had pretty much always been about humanoid type "monsters". This was something so different and so alien that for a lot of us it scared the living daylights out of us. Coupled with the fact that the appearance of the Daleks had been built up to add to the suspense and the effect was magnified. What did we do? We hid behind the sofa! That was the talking point at schools up and down the country for days until the next episode and even made the papers and television news and had such an impact that the future of Doctor Who was assured.

Back to the story. The introduction of the Daleks is set out here. The inhuman creatures inside the machines without feeling against their humanoid enemies, the peace loving Thals clearly written against the backdrop of the cold war. At this point the Doctor is keen to avoid another atomic debacle and therefore aligns himself with the Thals ultimately leading them to victory and establishing the principle of the just war.

Although with hindsight this is a slower paced story it does an excellent job setting the scene and building up the right level of suspense in introducing the Daleks. My eight year old, reared on a diet of modern special effects and cinematography was a little bored at times but ecstatic over the Daleks. It is a great piece of drama with serious political and social questions intertwined with a good yarn.

And what an impact. Who would have thought that almost forty years afterwards there would be so many people for whom those magic words 'Exterminate, exterminate' would mean so much.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Start., February 23, 2001

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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

For people who wish to get into the Dr. WHO? universe this is a perfect episode to begin with. Skaro is a strange planet, with swamps, mountains, stone trees and a city of metal. The Daleks are one of the best sci-fi races I have ever seen, with great engineering skills and advanced scientific knowledge mixed with paranoia and racism. In later episodes they will seem both slow to grasp even the simplest of problems and too pigheaded to care. But in the first appearance they are intelligent and cunning, with a strong belief in the power of science and that all problems can be solved with time. The Doctor, played by William Hartnell, is not somebody you feel you can totally trust and causes more trouble for all when he lets his interest in the city override common sense. The rest of the cast also get split up a couple of times, allowing you to get a feel of their characters and how they react to problems. Racism, nuclear war and even pacifism are thrown into the mix of adventure and even a 'quest' in the second tape. If you liked this episode I would also suggest THE WEB PLANET and THE KEYS OF MARINUS. All are a mixture of mystery, adventure and sci-fi.