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Doctor Who - Death to the Daleks [VHS]

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One of the Third Doctor's last stories is against his biggest foes, those salt-shakers the Daleks. And in this story, the members of the Earth Marine Space Corps and the Daleks are forced to undergo a temporary truce to figure out the power drainage that has forced their craft down. "We're all in this together, all equal, all powerless" the Doctor tells the Daleks. The Doctor and Sarah too are victims when the TARDIS is forced down on Exxilon. For once, the Daleks are forced to cooperate with humans, whom they consider inferior. However, the Doctor points out to the MSC that the Daleks are "brilliant technicians. It's their inventive genius that made them one of the greatest powers in the universe" something the humans acknowledge grudgingly.

Both the MSC and the Daleks are also after parrinium, a mineral that can cure and give immunity to a virulent plague that's killing millions of colonists in both empires. They need it in quantity and fast. However, they are captured by the native Exxilons, a silicon-based life-form wielding spears and arrows. Any chance of an amicable settlement is done when Sarah wanders into the sacred Exxilon city, a shrine-like place only the high priest can go. The realization of the city, with its touch-sensitized surfaces that glow when touched is a special effects triumph.

However, Dan Galloway, the grizzled and sour-faced weapons officer who's now in command, is ruthless enough to allow an alliance with the Daleks that has the Exxilons and the Doctor on the receiving end. To him, getting that parrinium and saving those millions are the main thing. "If some people we don't know have to die in the process, well, that's just too bad." His attitude appalls the more compassionate Lieutenant Peter Hamilton and civilian geologist Jill Tarrant, but he learns later that the Daleks aren't the best creatures to trust and make alliances with.

The way the Exxilon cloaks blend in with their surroundings is put to good effect in Episode 1. One moment, it seems like a huge rock, but then, it moves in pursuit of the Doctor.

The trip the Doctor and Bellal, one of a more enlightened faction of Exxilons who are friendly, take through the city, avoiding its traps and solving its puzzles, has a dungeon and dragons feel, but it demonstrates the problem-solving abilities of the Doctor. In fact the Venusian hopscotch game is later replicated in the checkerboard scene in The Five Doctors.

Some of Erich Von Daniken's theories of aliens landing on Earth (q.v. Chariot of the Gods) is touched on when the Doctor recognizes the symbols of the Exxilon city from a temple he saw in Peru. As he learns the Exxilons were technological superior when most races were primitive, he deduces that they must have visited Earth and shown the early people how to build temples.
The power drainage is a reference to the power cuts Britons experienced due to the 1973 oil embargo, which had a tremendous effect in 1974, the year this story aired. The scenes where the Doctor has to use an oil lamp for illumination and a crank handle to open the TARDIS door is a sobering realization of how dependent humans were/are on electricity and power.

John Abineri (Captain Railton) also appeared in the Who story The Ambassadors of Death as General Carrington. Duncan Lamont (Galloway) was a friend of Jon Pertwee's (the Doctor) at RADA and the two used to chase girls together. On Joy Harrison (Jill), whom Pertwee described as gorgeous, he remarked in his memoirs that it amazed him that female members of the expedition on a hostile planet always had perfect make-up and hair.

A good story made in Jon Pertwee's last season as the Doctor, with an abandoned Dorset quarry used for Exxilon.

A massive power loss strands the TARDIS on the planet Exxilon, where a wandering Sarah gets too close to the Exxilon city and is taken for sacrifice. The Doctor encounters an Earth expedition seeking a rare mineral that will help cure a space plague currently ravishing the human population but to get off the planet, he must get past the local natives and find out what is causing the power drain. Then the Daleks arrive...

The last Pertwee Dalek story is one of his best. It has a lot of nostalgic value with the deadly roots from the city, the beaming city light noise and the intelligence tests (especially the quasi-chess board) within the city. Also one of the first times you get to see the Daleks frightened when they realise they have no destructive capabilities due to the power drain. A much more darker tone than previous Dalek stories. This is one to show the friends. RECOMMENDED!!!

The Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive on a mysterious planet where it seems the TARDIS is dying. They soon find a bid to find minerals needed to stop a space plague, but before long the Daleks arrive.

Though this story has slabs of tedium later on with the Doctor in the grip of that old sci-fi cliche, the lost city, most of this adventure is entertaining enough to make it worthwhile.

Not the best Dalek story ever in Dr Who by a long shot, the Daleks seemingly there to provide comic relief more often than not, but still worth watching.

This is one of the best Dr Who stories and one of Jon Pertwee's best. It is also one of my favourites.
The TARDIS lands on a planet and is immediately subjected to a power drain.The Doctor thinks initially they have landed on another planet Florana, so they can have a vacation. But not so. They are forced to leave the spaceship and search for the source of the power drain, which is caused by a beacon atop a city which has been in existence for thousands of years.
The Doctor encounters members of an Earth expedition, who are on the planet because they need parrinium which cures the peoples of Earth of a space plague.
Sarah goes near the city and is nearly sacrificed by the inhabitants of the planet that consider the construction sacred. But outcasts of the race do not and try to help the doctor.
The Doctor, with the assistance of Bellal, one of the planet's inhabitants, enter the forbidden city and pass all the tests,and the Doctor gives the city the equivalent of a nervous breakdown. Unfortunately he still has the Daleks to contend with because they are on the planet too to get the Parrinium for their own evil plans.

The second best Dalek episode of the Pertwee Era (behind "Day of the Daleks"). Yes, the music is hardly suspenseful and the human characters are boring beyond belief, but the Daleks look smashing, and actually use their brains. The Exxilons look very good, and Bellal is a wonderful character. Pertwee and Elizabeth Sladen are dependable as always, and the scenes in the Exxilon city are excellent. I actually recommend this movie version over the episodic - this episode is known for it's unimpressive cliffhangers, so this way you don't have to suffer through them. All in all, it's a visually super story (exploding Daleks, great alien landscape [even if it -is- another quarry]) with a decent plot to boot.

I have to say, despite other negative reviews, this is my favorite Jon Pertwee adventure. I think the final Pertwee season is his best and the Chemistry between he and Liz Sladen (sorry Katy Manning enthusiasts) is excellent.

The first and last episodes are the best in this. The TARDIS losing power in the beginning is very creepy and creates a nice tone. The Doctor's navigation through the Exxillon City in the final episode is also nicely executed.

As I said, the final Pertwee year I think had some of the best stories (Time Warrior, Dinosaur Invastion, Death to the Daleks). Many in the US associate Sarah Jane with Tom Baker's Doctor and never realize she had a full season with Pertwee. If you like Pertwee era Doctor Who I highly recommend this.

Death to the Daleks is an excellent script by Terry Nation, creator of the famous creatures. It's laden with interesting science fiction concepts from a self-defending city to aliens landing on a primitive Earth. It's quality is above most Dalek stories today and is, in my honest opinion, the best Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith story. Unlike later Dalek stories, such as Destiny of the Daleks, this story stays true to the concept of Daleks not being robots but living beings in metal casing. The supporting cast's acting is average and the effects range from good (Dalek blowing up) to subpar (the Dalek spaceship and destruction of the Exillon City). Jon Pertwee's performance is excellent, proving that he was a good Doctor right up til the end.
However, Death to the Daleks is not without it's flaws. My main issue with this story is the rather silly, lighthearted music that keeps playing at dramatic moments during the episode. This music undermines the seriousness of this episode completely. When the Daleks first exit their ship, rather than having a frightening moment such as when the Daleks first came to full view in their debut story, this is a lighthearted, humorous moment due to the totally inappropriate music. Also, the destruction of the Exxilon city becomes very funny and stupid with the music and the bad effects. When this iis finally released on DVD, I hope an option will be given for an alternate audio track without this truly terrible music. Another issue with this story is the title. Even though most Dalek titles are generic (Power of the Daleks, Evil of the Daleks), Death to the Daleks simply does not fit as it implies that this story would focus on hunting the Daleks down. The only scene to support the title is the destruction of one of the Dalels. A more favorable title would have been The City of Exxilon.
Death to the Daleks is a rather good episode but its flaws weigh it down. I would rate Terry Nation's script 9/10 and the actual episodes 6/10. I would recommend waiting until the DVD to buy this as the VHS transfer has many flaws such as video noise. Also the DVD release might have a better alternate audio track that will raise this story to a 9/10 rating.

This Doctor Who adventure starring Jon Pertwee is another of those Doctor Who adventures popular in the 1970's dealing with the environment.

The TARDIS is thrown off course by a peculiar energy drain and manages to land on the planet of the Exxilons. The Exxilons area savage race who worship the gods who inhabit a deserted city which is dominated by a tremendous beacon. On the planet too, is a party of Earth soldiers who are seeking a mineral to help defeat a galaxy-wide plague which threatens human existance. Shortly afterwards another spaceship crashes onto the surface which brings a party of Daleks to Exxilon and who are also rendered powerless. A series of shifting alliances and some double dealing eventually pits the Doctor and the humans against the Daleks but of course, the Doctor emerges triumphant at the end, the Daleks are thwarted and humanity is saved.

The story has anumber of holes in the plot and is also a thinly disguised attack on the policies of energy corporations. The portrayal of the Exxilons (no guessing who these guys are supposed to be) as savage creatures prone to fearing the unknown who are no match for the higher brained, reasoning humans and Daleks is an obvious sybolism for the short sighted policies of the oil companies versus the longer term policies of environmental groups and well meaning governments.

A well told tale even if the story has it's faults. The most glaring of which is the whole thing about the Daleks being able to move around at all. The Daleks a la Fred Flintstone is a ridiculous concept although a funny one. The plot really does not stand up to much of a close inspection but there you go.

The Tardis suffers from a power drain and lands on the planet Exxilon. The Doctor encounters an Earth expedition, a native race known as the Exxilons, and yet again, the Daleks. Although this story is nothing special, It has got a couple of interesting features. Like when you see the Daleks armed with automatic firearms instead of blasters. The only real let down is the cheap title.

The best of the Pertwee Dalek stories! With the exception of the root and the sleepwalking guest actors, "Death to the Daleks" is very tolerable. The Daleks themselves are pretty good, their staging is swift and Michael Wisher's voices are fast and to the point. Even the Exxillons aren't all that bad. As I said, the guest cast and some rotten CSO in episode 1 really spoil everything. The story does feel a little inconsequential, since we really don't see the effects of the plague. And talk about horrible location shooting! The quarry does nothing to help this one. One has to wonder if the whole thing should have been studio bound to put more money into the budget. A story trapped inside the city would have been a lot more interesting. Still, it really isn't that bad, but you hardly call it "a must see".