The Daleks are definitely not my favourite Doctor Who villain. Overall, as a villain I think they are actually overrated and sometimes even a bit silly. For me in the classic era they were far more of a menace and a foe than they ever have been since the show came back. The same old tales come thick and fast but stilted and repetitive scripting does not make for a brilliant villain. And in fact, I rather think the modern era has even made the Daleks laughable sissies. Because Daleks of the classic era of the show never Emergency Temporal Shifted every time, they came across something even they can't handle. EMT just makes them seem like babies and not wanting to stay for a fair fight. Something I feel would make Terry Nation turn in his grave. The Daleks of the classic era at least stayed to the bitter end of a fight.
And I think the one writer besides Terry Nation himself who really grasped the good aspects of the mutants from Skaro was David Whittaker. For Patrick Troughton's debut story, he made them truly devious and manipulative, and this made for an engrossing and much more fulfilling dalek story. The way the Daleks scheme and plan, minus their guns, is superb and really gave Patrick Troughton a classic introduction to the series. Then at the end of the same season came my favourite Dalek story ever. A story that again brings something new and different to the Daleks in a way the show would never do again. Too often later on the Daleks would become such a generic and uninteresting threat, but not so with the Evil of the Daleks.
Everything about the Evil of the Daleks exudes superbness. From the rich production values to the acting standard and direction, this story has all the hallmarks of one of the benchmarks of Doctor Who. This is the one Dalek tale I would recommend to anyone. Again, within this story the Daleks are scheming and have really interesting characters. And the superbly designed Emperor Dalek is something to behold. Surely this story has one of the very finest climaxes ever on the show. The Doctor has introduced humanity to some of the Daleks, and this is so novel and brilliant as we hear these Daleks digress to being childlike, to the extent where they play trains with the Doctor. These Daleks then begin to question the orders of the normal Daleks and their Emperor and this leads to one hell of a battle. The final climactic scenes rank as some of the most enjoyable and brilliantly directed scenes in the show's history. At the time this story was to be the last time the BBC would have the monsters on the show, and as a final end this would have been a very high note for the Daleks to go out on indeed.
We are also treated to the brilliant introduction of one of the most memorable companions of the classic era. Debbie Watling as Victoria is an inspired character. She is fearful and shy, but when she meets Jamie, he immediately takes to her and an immediate and palpable bond between them is born. This story brings Victoria to the series in such a superb way, and Debbie wastes no time in making Victoria brilliant and loveable as a character.
John Bailey is sublimely cast as Victoria's father, Edward. He portrays the caught and dominated father to award winning levels. And his final sacrifice to save the Doctor from the Daleks marks him as a truly heroic character who overcomes his bondage and thanks to his selfless actions his daughter survives.
Marius Goring is truly repugnant and evilly sublime as the slippery and slimy Theodore Maxtible. It is delightful to watch this despotic villain think he can stand a chance of defeating the Daleks. Sadly, he only really becomes one and ends up dying because of it. Marius always was a sublime character actor and this was one of his finest performances.
The element of darkness and manipulation that David Whittaker gives to the Second Doctor in this story makes him all the more mysterious too. Shades of this more manipulative and unknowable Doctor would later be utilised well by Sylvester McCoy, but this is the first inkling we get of a more unknowable and even not completely trustworthy Doctor coming out from underneath the sham of his apparent bumbling demeanour. Indeed, his scenes with the sickened and irate Jamie are some exquisite moments of drama. Jamie even going as far as to threaten to leave him because of his apparently callous and devious attitude. This adds some added extra spice to an already engrossing story.
It is also special to see stalwart Ice Warrior actor Sonny Caldinez in an actual human role. And as the strong but dependable Kemel he is incredible. His fight with Jamie is superbly conceived and done well. And it's great to see for once in a show of this era to have a strong silent man, still be able to use his brains and in the end, he stops fighting with Jamie and even becomes his friend. There are so many expertly written characters in the Evil of the Daleks.
One comes away from the Evil of the Daleks with the feeling that this is the core of all that makes the Daleks a good alien. Never once do the reduced and silly new era elements rear their ugly heads here. Instead we have a highly imaginative script that does the Daleks the best justice they deserve. If anyone were to ask me the mammoth of all Dalek stories, I would have no hesitation in stating Evil of the Daleks as the icing on the cake.
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