| THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH by Terry Nation |
| Story 10 Synopsis: The Ship lands in a desolate part of London, seemingly abandoned and run down. Before long, some discarded girders have fallen in front of the Ship's doors, and so the Doctor determines that they need to explore, and find someone to help. Ian finds a calendar for 2164 in an empty warehouse. Barbara grazes her forehead, and Susan stays with her whilst the Doctor and Ian explore. By the water's edge, the Doctor gets a sense of imminent trouble. They come face to face with a Roboman. But worse, a Dalek rises from the Thames. They are marched to the Dalek spaceship. It seems that Earth has been invaded, nay, conquered. Barbara and Susan are led to safety by members of a resistance movement, humans who oppose the Daleks, and seek to usurp their dominant position. In an attack on the Dalek craft, the Doctor is rescued, but Ian isn't. He has to pose as a Roboman to prevent being turned into one. The Doctor meets up with Susan, who is becoming pally with one of the resistance fighters, David. To cut to the chase, the time travellers make their way to Bedfordshire, where the Daleks have built a huge open-cast mine, as they are tunnelling to the Earth's crust. They intend to drop a huge bomb down into the centre of the Earth. Ian diverts the bomb, which instead blows up the Daleks mining operations, freeing Earth from the yoke of the Daleks. Susan opts to stay with David, and the Doctor gives her his blessing. |
| Review:- Possibly one of the most significant Dr Who stories of all time, this was the first indication of aliens invading Earth, and a strong return for the successful Daleks. This was the 2nd story of 2 to be recreated on the silver screen, and it works pretty well. The Doctor takes a large role, investigating with Ian, facing down the Daleks, mending Susan's shoes, escaping a Dalek cell, inspiring the resistance and bidding Susan goodbye. He is all over the story, an agent of change. Ian gets a fair whack to do, and is the key element in saving the world by diverting the bomb. Barbara travels a lot, gets to drive, and protect Susan and miss Ian. Susan falls in love, and pushes off. OK, I don't like everyone. The Dalek plan falls down at the essence of dropping the bomb into the Earth. Having pretty impressively conquerred London and Bedfordshire, and set Robomen at large all over, it still lacks that certain something that would show total invasion. It may as well be the Dalek Invasion of South-East England. Now parochial visions of invasion are nothing new, and certainly not isolated to this country, cf. Independence Day (the 1996 film with Will Smith & others). But it does seem quirky to suggest that 2 centuries have passed when the events take place. This story is followed up by books as diverse as Lucifer Rising (OK, it's more of a prequel) and Legacy Of The Daleks.and by the audio The Mutant Phase. Overall, I quite like this story. On a personal note, it is quite possible that this was the very very first novelisation of the series I ever read. Oh, and obviously, I've seen the film. Which is also good. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of the novelisation, and I've seen the video. |