Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks (Story 72)

Nice Episode! One Disc DVD Extras are Fun!
This a pretty good episode of Dr. Who. The Daleks seem to show more initiative than I usually give them credit for. When their standard laser make-you-disappear weapons don't work, they fit themselves out with old-fashioned mechanical guns and even practice on a model TARDIS (which they must carry with them for fun?!).

"Death to the Daleks" originally aired in 1974. Story Synopsis: The TARDIS has (yet another) glitch, goes off course, and ends up on the planet of Exxilon. Something drains the TARDIS' power, and they're stranded. The Doctor and Sarah Jane leave to investigate. The Doctor meets up with a similarly stranded Marine Space Corp patrol. They came to Exxilon to gather the element parrinium, the only known antidote to a massive plague that is sweeping the galaxy.

Sarah Jane is fascinated with a giant white building with a beacon flashing on top. She is captured by a group of native Exxilons, who say she has defiled their city and must die. Unbeknownst to...

Humor, sci-fi, Pertwee...
First off, the Daleks are one of my favorite bad guys and Jon Pertwee is also a favorite of mine, not just as the Doctor but as a actor. I like the idea of a living city, even if it was inorganic in structure, and the acting was not that bad. I also like that the Daleks have tiny a TARDIS for target practice! Yes, the planet of Exxilon seems boring and lifeless. Yes, the natives look like something a five year old created. The idea that they would blend into the cave walls and sometimes glow seemed to be a interesting idea that does not REALLY comes across very well on the small screen. The special effects were, after all, BBC 1970's special effects so there is that. The maze to get into the city isn't half bad and the idea of aliens just visiting Earth is refreshing when compared to all the aliens who seem to have either tried to invade it or crash landed on it. How do you not see a planet? Were you adjusting the radio? Er...back to topic.
The plot is simple. The...

Classic Doctor Who: DEATH TO THE DALEKS
The 5-Star rating is for the quality and value of the DVD. Superb job as is typical of the Doctor Who restoration team for Classic Era Doctor Who DVD products.

DEATH TO THE DALEKS
Story # 72
Season 11's Third Story
Third Doctor, Jon Perwee Era, final season 1973-74
Third Classic Sarah Jane Smith Story

OVERALL STORY RATING 7/10
In Elisabeth Sladen's opinion, DEATH TO THE DALEKS was always an underrated and overlooked story. I agree totally with her assessment. I was pleasantly surprised to find DEATH TO THE DALEKS a very well-paced and entertaining story, full of interesting and unusual Sci-Fi concepts, as well as being a very unique Dalek story. Other than some very minor acting or special effects bobbles, DEATH TO THE DALEKS is a solid story and production.

It is entirely possible that the main reason DEATH TO THE DALEKS is not well-remembered among WHO fans is because the musical track is unusual in its support or...

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Doctor Who: The Krotons (Story 47)

It's all in the mind
This is a clever Doctor Who story ostensibly about crystalline aliens who are dissolved in solvent and who can be restored by brainpower which can also drive their spaceship. The indigenous population are reared like sheep and educated in the learning halls to develop the intellect that the Krotons need whereupon they will leave the p;anet. Of course, the Doctor and his companions arrive and upset the applecart in their usual manner.

Why is this a clever story? Well the thrust of the plot is about the technologically superior aliens, crystalline based and susceptible to acid attack. However, the sub-plot revolves around the servile and passive Gonds who serve up their best and their brightest to be dispersed by the Krotons after they have been tested for brainpower. The interest lies in the revolutionary feelings of some of the younger members of the group, the staid conservatism of the leader and the almost complete disinterest in intellectual advancement. What occurs leads into...

Another man against machine Who story
The ying-yang like halves opening in the wall of the Gond people's teaching hall foreshadows a fight between good and bad. Two students, Abu and Vana, have been given the highest honour, to become companions of the Krotons. Yet Thara, the hot-headed son of Council leader Selris, adamantly tries to stop his girlfriend from going. "Why do we take their orders? We don't even know if they exist."

Landing on a rocky planet that "looks dead, smells dead," the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe, encounter a machine and rescue Vana from certain death from it. Companions of the Krotons, huh?

When Selris learns the truth, the enormity of it sinks in. "The Krotons have been our benefactors. ... Our two best students join the Krotons. They can't all have been murdered!" He also fears that if other Gonds learn the truth, they will rise up against the Krotons, only to be slaughtered. That is being planned under Selris's deputy Eelek. Yet the Gonds' main problem is that they are dependent on the...

Another Great Troughton Who episode
I've been buying loads of Doctor Who videos and DVDs recently, most of which I have never seen. Being a fan of the series, I knew who Patrick Troughton was, but never saw any of his episodes. His appearance in The Five Doctors was just a glimps into what the second Doctor was like and "Who" he was. Needless to say I wanted more. Tomb of the Cybermen was my first Troughton episode...I'm convinced he is one of the best Doctors ever. The Krotons is another excellent episode. An interesting story, cold, creepy and truly alien aliens with bizarre technology and a solid cast. The Kroton's accent made me laugh a few times (don't always sound so bright) but somehow that just added to the charm of this episode. Is it just me, or does black and white seem more believable? I pity the latter generations who may never see anything broadcasted black and white on the TV... Another quality episode recommended for any fan of Dr Who or Sci-fi.

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Michael Wood's Story of England

Superb
This is a fascinating and superb series that very colorfully and entertainingly covers the entire history of England, from pre-Roman times to the 1950s, via the village(s) of Kibworth in the county of Leicestershire. Through various means -- archeological, documents, topographical studies, and local and oral history -- we find out the true story of real and ordinary people. History comes vividly alive in a way that the endless successive repetition of wars, monarchs, and squabbling aristocrats never can.

We are never patronized or asked to indulge in glorious fantasies here. History is told via the words of the people themselves -- through, for instance the amazingly in-depth documents and scholarship that have been preserved throughout the centuries in this uniquely placed village. As it turns out, there's a lot more here than even remotely meets the eye. We get a much fuller and more comprehensive and understandable history of this England than I ever would have thought...

The Journey Of One Town Through History: An Educational Experiment That Succeeds Spectacularly As Entertainment
As far as non-fiction television programming goes, I think that "Michael Wood's Story of England" is one of the most unique examples imaginable. An exciting and informative trip through history, Wood's and his team seek to recreate a working timeline as it affected one small town. The quaint English burg of Kibworth, Leicestershire is host to this educational experiment. The first recorded instance of Kibworth being recognized was in 1086. So Wood begins with archeological findings, then digs through annotated history, and then wraps with more personal accounts on this world wind journey through the ages. The narrative advances through various time periods up until present day to see just how the different eras impacted this sleepy little town. This is taking living history to its most personal level! Not only do the inhabitants share in the story, they are eager participants in the documentary. Part of why this is so captivating is Wood's appeal, but mostly it is how...

HISTORY FROM ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
I really enjoyed this method of telling, in a basic way, the history of England through the experiences of a small town. British history is pretty detailed and extends back many millennia, unlike American history (or the American history most of us know about). Wood veers away from the escapades of kings and queens and various nobility and instead gives us a more populist version, which might be dubbed the "ordinary man's story." We watch as a region and a town is transformed by time and migration, by war and by love. I liked that approach, and I learned as much about the various cultures that crossed that island nation--and possibly more--than I would have learned by the traditional names-and-dates approach.

The videos (CDS or DVDs actually) consist of several episodes and can be watched over several sittings. I enjoyed how he got the local townspeople--of all ages--involved in helping him tell his story. It's "beginner" British history, in many respects. But it...

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