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78) GENESIS OF THE DALEKS

8 March - 12 April 1975

Average Viewing Figure: 9.6M

Plot

The Doctor is assigned a task by the Time Lords to stop The Daleks from ever being created but will The Doctor finish his task?

Cast

Tom Baker (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Ian Marter (Harry Sullivan), Michael Wisher (Davros)

Peter Miles (Nyder), Dennis Chinnery (Gharman), Steven Yardley (Servin), James Garbutt (Ronson), Guy Siner (Ravon)

John Franklyn-Robbins (Time Lord), Richard Reeves (Kaled Leader), Drew Wood (Tane), Jeremy Chandler (Gerrill)

Pat Gorman (Thal Soldier), Tom Georgeson (Kavell), Ivor Roberts (Mogran), Harriet Philpin (Bettan), Michael Lynch (Thal Politician)

Hilary Minster (Thal Soldier), Max Faulkner (Thal Guard), Peter Mantle (Kaled Guard), Andrew Johns (Kravos)

John Gleeson (Thal Soldier), John Scott Martin, Cy Town, Keith Ashley (Daleks), Roy Skelton (Dalek Voices)

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Uncredited Cast

Michael Crane, John Sowerbutt, John Delieu, James Muir, Stephen Calcutt, Christopher Holmes, Terry Walsh, Roger Slater (Mutos)

David Billa, David Cleeve, Tim Blackstone, Julian Hudson, Terry Walsh, Alan Chuntz (Soldiers), Peter Duke (Dead Soldier)

Terry Walsh, David Billa, Tim Blackstone, David Cleeve, Max Faulkner, Philip Mather, Rick Carroll, Julian Hudson

Ryan Craven (Thal Soldiers), Alan Chuntz, Peter Kodak, Giles Melville (Kaled Soldiers), Barry Summerford, Bob Watson

Petet Kodak, Giles Melville, Roy Caesar (Elite Guards), Richard Orme, Harry van Engel, Charles Rayford, Pat Travis, William Ashely

John Timberlake, Charles Erskine, Alan Charles Thomas, Mike Rynell, Tony Hayes (Scientists), Dod Watson (Thing)

76) THE ARK IN SPACE

Crew

Terry Nation (Writer), George Gallaccio (Production Unit Manager), Rosemary Crowson (Production Assistant), Ron Grainer (Theme Music)

Bernard Lodge (Title Sequence), Dudley Simpson (Incidental Music), Dick Mills (Special Sound), Peter Day (Visual Effects Designer)

John Friedlander (Davros' Mask), Barbara Kidd (Costume Designer), Sylvia James (Make-Up), Duncan Brown (Studio Lighting)

Tony Millier (Studio Sound), Elmer Cossey (Film Cameraman), Bill Meekums (Film Sound), Larry Toft (Film Editor), Robert Holmes (Script Editor)

David Spode (Designer), Philip Hinchcliffe (Producer), David Maloney (Director)

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Uncredited  Crew

Tony Harding, Andy Lazell (Visual Effects Assistants), Carolyn Perry (Make-Up Assistant), Alf Trustram (Armourer)

Doreen James (Costume Assistant), Gordon Phillipson (Grams Operator), Ian Brindle (Film Unit Manager), Phil Robertson (Design Assistant)

Ann Carrington (Producer's Secretary), Hazel Marriott (Director's Assistant), Val Birch (Floor Assistant), John Gorman (Vision Mixer)​

Broadcast

Filming Locations

  • Betchworth Quarry, Betchworth, Surrey

  • Ealing Film Studios: Stage 2

  • Bura & Hardwick, North London

  • Television Centre: Studio 1

  • Television Centre: Studio 6

  • Television Centre: Studio 8

Number of Production Days: 5

Deaths

  • Nyder [exterminated by the Daleks]

  • Gharman [exterminated by the Daleks]

  • Ronson [exterminated by a Dalek]

  • Ravon [killed in the destruction of the Kaled Dome]

  • Kaled Leader [shot by a Thal Soldier]

  • Gerrill [shot by a Thal Patrol]

  • Mogran [killed in the destruction of the Kaled Dome]

  • Thal Politician [exterminated by the Daleks]

  • Kravos [exterminated by the Daleks]

    • various Thals, Kaleds and Mutos are also killed

Production Days

  • 14 Days between Monday 6 January - Tuesday 25 February 1975

Production Errors

  1. During part one, some of the corpses The Doctor finds in the trench, are clearly still breathing 

  2. During part six, before the Thals have detonated their explosives, smoke wafts through the door 

  3. Towards the end of the serial, one of the Daleks' dome lights are not working 

  4. How could a war last for a thousand years, when both the Kaled and Thal cities are so close to each other?

  5. If the war has devastated the entire planet surface, how can the Kaled and Thal cities be so well maintained?

Working Titles

  • Daleks - Genesis of Terror - (storyline)

Verdict

Genesis of the Daleks descends into the world of the Daleks unlike any other Dalek story finally revealing who creating them – Davros. One of the best acted and written villains in the history of Doctor Who. Michael Wisher provides a chilling performance which almost seems fitting considering he himself voiced The Daleks less than a year ago. The story at times can feel like a repeat of Planet of the Daleks with continual captures and escapes from small confined spaces and dangers which The Doctor always finds himself getting into. The plotting can feel stilted and laborious and can often lacks in tension at times but the intelligence and imagination of Nation steeps into every corner. There is some nice work with the construction of war landscapes and imagery and the opening few seconds are some of the best the show will ever know. There are some conveniently written moments which enable The Doctor to obtain vital information from the people he is fighting and some very obvious cliches often seen in War movies. Nation manages to deliver some excellent monologues which raises questions of the moral and good vs. evil. There are top notch production values and cliffhangers especially episode one. There is excellent make-up and costume designs and special effects. It is no surprise that Genesis of the Daleks is so well remembered for Doctor Who fans both new and old. ****​

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