Product Details

• Actors: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter, Michael Wisher
• Directors: David Maloney
• Writers: Terry Nation
• Producers: Philip Hinchcliffe
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: June 6, 2006
• Run Time: 142 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EMG918
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,933 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks (Story 78)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of the most popular story arcs from Doctor Who's "Fourth Doctor" period (starring Tom Baker as the Doctor), writer Terry Nation's Genesis of the Daleks not only fleshes out the back story of the Doctor's most fearsome nemeses--the megalomaniacal, robotic Daleks--but also serves up a thoughtful storyline that doesn't skimp on the action. First aired on the BBC in 1975, the six-episode story has the Doctor and companions Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) summoned to the Daleks' home planet of Skaros at a time prior to their rise to power. Hoping to prevent the domination-hungry beings from developing their warlike behavior, they soon find themselves in the middle of a war between two races, the Kaleds and the Thals, and uncover a plot by a Kaled scientist, Davros, to render his people invincible as the metal-encased Daleks. A gripping story with elements that remain topical even today (ancient cultures locked in an endless war, genetic experimentation, eugenics), Genesis of the Daleks is an excellent starting point for first-time Who viewers, and a fine reminder of the show at its best for longtime fans. The two-disc DVD offers a considerable amount of extras, most notably a commentary track by Baker, Sladen, co-star Peter Miles, and director David Maloney. "Genesis of a Classic" is an hour-long featurette about the story, with interviews from all the major (surviving) cast and crew members, while "The Dalek Tapes" explores the creatures' history via rare clips and interviews with performers and production staff. There's also a clip from a vintage episode of the U.K. children's series Blue Peter that's devoted to Doctor Who models and creatures, as well as the detailed photo gallery and subtitled text commentary that are standards on all Doctor Who DVDs. Those with DVD-ROM can access PDF documents of the 1976 Doctor Who Annual and listings from the Radio Times. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

The Time Lords send the Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah Jane and Harry on a daunting mission to the Daleks' home planet.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars RUNNERS ON YOUR MARK August 19, 2006

By Thomas E. O'Sullivan VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

In every sense of the word GENESIS OF THE DALEKS is a "classic".

It has classic scenes, classic lines, classic charcters, a classic setting and the classic of all classic DOCTOR WHO villains - THE DALEKS. How can you go wrong? With both eyes closed, it hardly seems you could... but even the most die hard fan must admit that while GENESIS aims high, it is often mired in a disjointed plot, long winded writing, and paced like a car wreck. It's all bits and pieces flying everywhere - and you can't take your eyes off it. GENESIS OF THE DALEKS is truly a mess - but a wonderful one.

Terry Nation takes us back to the origin of his most famous creations and manages to not only provide a crediable and interesting background story for the Daleks - but establish a new character, DAVROS, who has managed to last almost as long as the Daleks themselves. This is a high point in the story, and one of the main reason why you should own this collection - as for the rest, there are some problems. At six episodes GENESIS runs too long for the material - causing many charcters to reapeat actions, dialouge, plot and story over and over again. The Doctor, Sarah and Harry end up spending a lot of time walking (and running) in this story as well.

From one dome to the another. Above ground, underground, in corridors, under floors, up ladders and down trenches - they are always on the move and always just missing each other at every moment. This story also features one of the least classic monsters in DOCTOR WHO's history - the Giant Clam. It looks exactly like the plastic, spray painted and hand operated "monster" that it is - it's so bad, it's classic. Roger Corman would be proud. But, underneath all the studio cheek and filmed quarry sequences there lies a good story.... What do you do when you're presented with the chance to rewrite history? To stop interstellar war, horror and genocide - and what do you do when it's your mission? The Doctor faces these facts and fails to come up with any answers - this is not a bad thing.

GENESIS OF THE DALEKS comes packed as a two disc special edtion and even casual fans will find a number of things here to entertain and inform them. But there are a few downsides - the largest of which is the commentary provided by Baker (the Doctor), Sladen (Sarah), Miles (Nyder) and Maloney (director) - there are a few sparks, but far too many gaps, pauses and long silences as everyone involved tries to remember something. Names pop up, production problems rear their heads and Baker and Sladen demonstrate that chemistry that made them the duo that they were on screen. In fact, it's Sladen that rescues a lot of this commentary - from her references to the new DOCTOR WHO series, and her role in it - to her personal asides and feelings on the production. The worst though has to be Peter Miles who plays Nyder - a dark, vile charcter in the story - but Miles has little next to nothing to say about it. Perhaps there is nothing to be said - Nyder is evil. While I love the ideas behind these commentaries - they are hit and miss. While a Peter Davison and Frazer Hines commentary is bound to leave you informed and laughing - others are trials. A moderator, someone in the know, with facts in hand and the ability to not only prompt, but interview as well, is really required to bring the experience to life.

Text commentary fills in a number of the gaps - but have your remote at the ready. There are times when whole passages of text appear on the screen for two seconds or less, causing you to rewind and pause to read. Also - there are a few errors in facts and some "duh" mistakes that you can't help but laugh at - but they can be forgiven.

GENESIS is a classic. It's one of my all time favorites - and for those new to the series, it's a must own. Look past the extras and just enjoy the show. Read more ›

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars At last! Genesis of the Daleks finally comes to DVD! March 9, 2006

By rnorton828

Format:DVD

Genesis of the Daleks was one of the first Doctor Who stories I remember watching when I first started watching the program on PBS. Genesis was actually the first Dalek story I had ever seen, and it remains my overall favorite today, as well as one of my overall favorite Doctor Who stories. After years of thrilling stories with the Doctor's oldest archenemies, The DW production staff, along with writer/Dalek creator Terry Nation, decided to explain the origins of the psychotic, megalomaniacal pepperpots in Genesis of the Daleks. The Doctor (Tom Baker) and his companions Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) are brought to Skaro, the Daleks' homeworld, by the Time Lords at a time before the Dalek race existed. The Time Lords want the Doctor to either prevent the Daleks from having ever existed, or alter their development so that they evolve into less aggressive creatures. The Doctor, Harry and Sarah find themselves in the middle of a long-running war of attrition between two humanoid races--the Kaleds and the Thals. They discover that the nuclear bombardments have caused people on both sides to mutate. The Kaleds, who are into racial purity, have expelled their mutants (called Mutos) into the wastelands outside their city. One exception is Davros (Michael Wisher), their chief scientist. Davros, believing these mutations are speeding up the evolution of the Kaleds, is performing experiments which lead to the creation of the first Daleks. But Davros' experiments cause the Daleks to lose their sense of emotion--love, hate, pity, compassion. They are driven by one thing--the need for power over the Thals and other "lesser" races. Davros betrays the Kaleds by helping the Thals nuke the Kaled city and destroy his own race.... He then turns on the Thals by sending an army of Daleks into their city to exterminate them, sending the survivors running into the wastelands. In addition to Baker, Marter, Sladen and Wisher, some other great performances come from Peter Miles as Nyder, Harriet Philpin as Bettan and James Garbutt as Ronson. Although Resurrection of the Daleks was a very good story, Genesis of the Daleks is probably the last Dalek story from the original series that could truly be considered a classic, and I am thrilled that it is finally coming to DVD. Read more ›

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Suppose somebody told you a certain child would grow to be an evil dictator- could you then destroy that child? March 18, 2006

By Kevin J. Loria VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Imagine you could pick your favorite villains, from your favorite TV show, and do more than just reinvent those villains, but invent those villains, infront of the eyes of a viewer totally familiar with who those villains are, then go back and tell the story of their origin from the perspective of the protagonist. When that protagonist is a TIMELORD, it's easy to tell that story. That is just what Genesis of the Daleks is, the story of how the Doctor's greatest enemy comes to be. But, this concept is taken further than just telling their origin, the Doctor's mission is to stop that origin!

This is truely one of the best story arcs of the 4th incarnation of the Doctor, as played by fan-favorite, Tom Baker (currently narrator on the successful "Little Brittain" series).

This gritty and sometimes extremely dark story is one I and many fans have been waiting on for DVD release. The Doctor questions his own morality, wrestling with the decision to wipe out the Daleks like some terrible disease: To destroy an intelligent life form, wiping out a race, would 'he' be any better than the Daleks.

One short-coming is the price of BBC 2-disc sets is high and the special-bonus material is usually less-than special.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Doctor Who stories ever March 25, 2006

By Dennis Maloney

Format:DVD

This was the story that got me hooked on Doctor Who back in the early 80's. My friend was a fan long before me and was always getting me to sit down and watch episodes on local TV with commercials. I was not impressed by what I saw until they ran Genesis of the Daleks during a PBS pledge drive. That was all it took to make me a diehard fan. Other reviewers have gone into detail about why this story is so good so I won't repeat their excellent comments here.

With this release my Top 5 favorite stories are now on DVD. Shame about the price increase though. On the plus side we're getting one of the Tom Baker's best stories and he's even doing a commentary!

Now if the BBC will only release Pertwee's Dalek stories...