Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Edition Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, well I figured it was time for another new review of sorts and this one will be on the recently released GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition, which sees remastered version of GTA III, GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas. 

So, given all the hype that has been surrounding the definitive edition leading it up to its release, how does the new edition fair??? Well, let's take a look and find out...

Now, the format of this review will be a bit different from my usual ones for games given that this is a trilogy we are looking at, so I figured I would try and lump in the features of the games into the one post, which might be a bit tricky but I will give it a go! 

I will first say a bit about the plot of each game just for a start.

GTA III

GTA III's story focuses on a silent criminal named Claude, who is betrayed by his girlfriend, Catalina, who leaves him for dead after a robbery. Claude is arrested but enroute to jail he is busted out and helped along by fellow criminal, Eightball, who manages to get Claude some work with the Mafia capo, Luigi. From here Claude gets more jobs to do and makes plenty of business contacts as he establishes himself in Liberty City but ultimately he also works his way toward getting revenge over Catalina...

GTA Vice City 

GTA Vice City story centers on Tommy Vercetti, a made guy from the Forelli crime family, who in 1986 has just been released from prison. The family boss, Sonny Forelli orders Tommy to attend a drug deal in Vice City but it soon goes badly wrong as the dealers are ambushed the mob's money is stolen. Sonny is outraged when he learns of the incident and warns Tommy he better return the money and from Tommy starts to work the local sleazy lawyer, Ken Rosenberg to retrieve it. Along the way, Tommy also makes plenty of other business contacts that include Lance Vance, who's brother was killed during the botched drug deal and together they soon plot to take revenge and take over the city...

GTA San Andreas

GTA San Andreas plot focuses on Carl Johnson or "CJ" as he is better known to his friends, a member of the Grove Street gang based in Los Santos. CJ returns home after living on the East Coast for 5 years on learning that his mother has been killed. However, as soon as CJ returns, two corrupt police officers arrest him, Frank Tenpenny and Edward Pulaski and pin a police officer's murder on him and dump him in a rival gang's neighborhood. On returning home, CJ is soon reunited with his other gang members that include his brother and gang leader, Sweet, Big Smoke and Ryder. Their gang however has split into factions and is struggling to maintain any kind of power as their rival gang, the Ballas own most of the territories in the city. So, its from here CJ must try and help Sweet and the other members to build up the Grove Street gang's power and reputation again while also having to deal with the corrupt police officers in Tenpenny and Pulaski...

THOUGHTS

Well this trilogy was released on somewhat short notice as its announcement was only two or three weeks prior to its release date of 11 November, so this left a few question marks as to how the trilogy would actually turn out. And unfortunately it really has to be said that GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition is far from definitive and it is more defective than anything else! Yep, the trilogy as it stands is a real mess and suffers from various graphical glitches, poor character models, terrible rain effects as well as even some game breaking bugs that require multiple restarts of missions!  

So, I would have to say that this really was a very frustrating attempt at remastering a classic trilogy that should have been a lot easier and more efficient to do than this! However it does appear that Rockstar Games were keen to get this released in time for Christmas as it would definitely serve as a big cash grab for them. However, as a result the games were released in a state that was far from complete and left many gamers angry and frustrated at the buggy mess these games have turned out to be. And it is definitely clear from what we've seen that these games shouldn't have been released yet as they were nowhere near ready for public consumption just like it was with Cyberpunk 2077 last year. 

GAMEPLAY

As for the gameplay, the game's largely remain unchanged with the trilogy but there are still some new changes to be found. The controls for all three games also remain very similar to as before although this time round there are some tweaks such as Tommy and CJ can no longer fall off motorbikes so easily anymore, which is a welcome change as it was very annoying flaw in the original games. 

The targeting system has also changed too making things a bit more efficient when locking on rather than in the original games where locking on to enemies could be a bit flaky. Further to this there is now the inclusion of a weapon wheel where your character can select their weapon of choice from a menu wheel. 

Another neat inclusion is a checkpoint save system during missions, so you no longer need to go and manually save after each mission at the nearest safe house, which is really handy and it also saves your progress automatically after you complete a mission. 

RADIO STATIONS

As for the radio stations, things are pretty much the same as they were in the original games with only some tracks missing from the original releases and this is mainly due to the expiration of the licenses of certain songs and Rockstar not renewing them. This however it still a disappointment though as it would have good if Rockstar had actually tried to restore the original soundtracks for both GTA Vice City and San Andreas although GTA III's soundtrack hasn't been affected by this.

GRAPHICS 

As for the graphics well this is where things are a bit of a mixed bag as the game's visuals have definitely been improved from an environmental standpoint however its not all good here. But I will start with the good stuff first, which is that the game's environments have definitely been improved and for the most part look great as there is much more detail on display in the visuals from the city streets of Liberty City to the desert of Las Venturas, the game definitely looks very impressive. There are still some problems with the visuals for the environments but I can mention more about them in the flaws section, which could be quite big! 

However this is where things start to take a bit of a nose dive because then we get onto the character models, which are definitely a mixed bag as some are better than others! But to be entirely fair, I think they did fairly good job with the character models for the three main protagonists Claude, Tommy and CJ with Claude I think looking the best of the three in his redesign, CJ in the middle and Tommy being the worst simply because his expressions don't always look right. Most of the supporting character models aren't too bad either although there are still the odd looking ones such as CJ's sister, Kendl, who looks a bit more like Serena Williams!

But unfortunately as for the rest of the games models they are definitely mixed in quality as they range from decent to bloody awful as there are some real casualties here such as CJ's girlfriend, Denise who has been redesigned to look like she's from the Middle East! Other character models also don't look quite right such as Ken Rosenberg in Vice City, Tommy's sleazy lawyer, Avery, who looks pretty weird and Mike Toreno from San Andreas looks weird as he has been given a strangely long looking neck (as which is noticeable in one of the desert flight missions). So, yeah I think its safe to say that Rockstar has put in questionable effort into upgrading all the characters here! 

FLAWS (Warning: there will be plenty ahead!)

As for flaws...well, where to begin with this one! Yes the GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition has its fair share!

And to start off, I think the overall main criticism that can be leveled at the trilogy here is that it simply wasn't ready for release as there are too many bugs, glitches and other issues in the games that makes them at times unplayable. And its actually shameful to think that Rockstar could get away with releasing the trilogy in this state with some platforms suffering more than others when its comes to the games glitches and problems. I myself have been playing the games on the Xbox Series X console and while I haven't encountered major problems with the game itself, I still have quite a few gripes all the same. 

To go into more details of the glitches in the trilogy, as a few examples, there was a mission in GTA III where you had to wire up a car with a bomb at a garage but I repeatedly kept trying to get the car to go into the garage but it simply wouldn't do it! So, I had drive away and come back to it before the game would let me go into the garage but I was at least after that able to complete the mission.

Another glitch I encountered was in San Andreas in the mission "Madd Dogg" where CJ attempts to save the troubled rapper, Madd Dogg from jumping off a rooftop after his rap career is ruined and in the mission you are supposed to be see Madd Dogg up on the roof drunkenly stagger around and you line up a pick-up truck below to catch him. However when I played this mission, Madd Dogg simply wouldn't move and was rooted to the spot and in the cutscene where we are supposed to see him jump. we don't see him jump at all and he ends up dying as a result! And I had this problem happen repeatedly even reloading the game in and I eventually had to restart the mission all over again and it eventually worked. 

And one last example is another San Andreas missions "A home in the hills" where CJ helps Madd Dogg take his mansion back from a bunch of drug dealers. And I had gotten to the checkpoint save at the mansion just before you chase the Big Poppa, the drug dealer, who has taken the mansion and before that my controller had frozen with CJ rooted to the spot and he couldn't move! So, I tried to reload the mission from the save and it was the same problem, so again I will have to restart the mission all over again! So yeah, this is just only a few examples of known bugs in the game but there are plenty more that I have seen online and it really is just not acceptable that the missions are like this.

Another really annoying issue with the trilogy are the game's rain effects, which on the game's initial release were simply horrendous as they totally drowned out the picture! In fact this is particularly bad in GTA III and there were several missions I played where the rain was so dense I could barely make out what was going on and I even failed a mission as a result! I think since then though, Rockstar has patched the rain effects to reduce them somewhat, so hopefully that will help things out more whenever a rain shower is on in the games.

Another issue relating to the graphics is the somewhat inconsistent amount of detail in the environments in certain areas where we are really seeing just the original textures here and there such as outside Diaz's mansion in Vice City, the arch to the entrance still has the low detail of the original while the surrounding area may have more upscaled details. So it is a pretty inconsistent mixture of detail that we are seeing in the games overall. 

And this brings me onto the issues of the trilogy's frame rate performance, which is definitely underwhelming because there are frequent dips to be found throughout. And the game has two modes, performance for frame rate and fidelity for improved visuals but the performance mode isn't even that smooth and there is plenty of frame rate stuttering to be found here as the games really do take a hit when it comes to heavy action with lots going on in the picture. And the fidelity mode also suffers from frame pacing issues where you also again get some jittering in the image that makes for a less than satisfying experience. Hopefully in the future, Rockstar will patch the trilogy to improve its frame rate performance.  

I also had encountered some issues with non responsiveness from the controls at times where I had to press "Y" twice on my Xbox controller for CJ to open a car door and even had to double tap the arrows buttons to change radio stations. I'm not sure this might have been to do with an issue with my controller but personally I don't think so, its most likely just another glitch and an annoying one too. 

And last of all another issue I have had with the game is the increase in the HP damage you take from gunfire as it has DEFINITELY been increased if not in all of the games than certainly in GTA San Andreas. And I say because there are several missions in the original San Andreas were I was able to complete the same mission only dying maybe once tops but in the "definitive edition" I had died about 12 times in the one mission, which was Green Goo where CJ steals a container off a military train. And in that mission, the soldier gunfire cut me to pieces whereas in the original, the damage was more manageable but not here. 

Its also very much the same in the final mission, End of the Line, as I go shot to hell trying to work my way through Big Smoke's crack warehouse and this is a mission I can usually do in one or two attempts but here it must have taken me about 20 or 30 goes! So, the increased HP damage to gunfire is definitely one of the most frustrating aspects of the remaster. 

Anyway that's it for the flaws but I will certainly add in more when I think about them! ;-)

SUM UP

So, to sum up, GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition is a big disappointment, which is a great pity because it promised to deliver so much but in the end we got a glitch ridden, buggy mess of a trilogy that fell way short of our expectations. The visuals to be fair have been improved somewhat in terms of their environments but the character models are a real mixed bag with some a lot worse than others even if the three main character models aren't too bad. 

However in the end the trilogy has too many issues that require to be fixed, even as Rockstar has began to patch these games and resolve the glitches, they simply should never have released these games in this condition and I can only imagine that they wanted to put them out as a cash grab for Christmas season. So, with its game breaking bugs, weird glitches, jittery frame rates, bizarre mix of character models and its awful rain effects, it is hard to recommend the Definitive Edition and in the end it is anything but and the rest of us really should wait for them to patch the games before buying them. The games are still fun to play though and they remain great in their own right but they still deserved something way better than this. 

So, I will give GTA Trilogy: The Defective Edition: 

4.5 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will be back next month for more posts. 

Until then its bye for now!

No Time To Die Review

 

 

 

 

 

Well, time for a new review and this one is on the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die, which was heavily delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and was finally released last month (or was it September??).

So, as Daniel Craig's swansong in the role of James Bond, how does it fair??? Well, lets find out!

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD (NOT TOO MANY THOUGH!) 

STORY 

And I've quoted some of the plot summary from Wikipedia below.

"In the past, a young Madeleine Swann witnesses the murder of her mother by Lyutsifer Safin in a failed attempt to murder her father Mr. White. Madeleine shoots Safin, but he survives. She flees onto a nearby frozen lake and falls through the ice, but he rescues her.

In the present, after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Madeleine is in Matera with James Bond. Spectre assassins ambush Bond when he visits Vesper Lynd's tomb. Though Bond and Madeleine escape the assassins led by Primo, he believes she has betrayed him, despite her pleas, and leaves her."

The story then cuts to 5 years later, where MI6 learn of a new threat, which is a bioweapon that is coded to a victim's DNA, which can kill them instantly and Safin has gained access to this weapon with the intent on mass producing it to kill millions. And so its up to Bond to try and stop him...

THOUGHTS

As a swansong for Daniel Craig, No Time To Die is a very entertaining Bond film that features plenty of intense action as well as some surprisingly emotional moments that you don't often get in many other 007 films. The film also has some real moments of intensity and in particular its opening sequence is perhaps one of the most chilling and suspenseful. However what I found also quite surprising about the film is the depiction of Bond himself as he become more humane and less of a ruthless killing machine like he was in Craig's other films and at least Craig has found Bond's humanity and care for others around him, not to say that he didn't care in his previous films to an extent but here things hit home more, which is one of the film's best aspects.

PERFORMANCES (No notable scenes but the odd plot reference may come up!)

As for the performances, the cast are all on excellent form. 

Starting with Daniel Craig who is great in his final performance as James Bond and I actually think this is his best performance as Bond, as here he scales back the ruthlessness of the character and shows a more human side to him as someone who does care for his friends and partner, Madeleine. Craig also has some nice moments of banter with the other cast members and good lines and its good to see him finish the role the was he has. 

Lea Seydoux also does an excellent job in her role as Madeleine Swann, Bond's partner, whom Bond has a troubled but ultimately fruitful relationship with. Lea has a key role in the film as Madeleine in that her character is tied to the main villain, Safin right from the beginning with Safin hunting her as a child. 

Rami Malek is pretty good too in his role as the main villain, Lyutsifer Safin, who is out for revenge over the SPECTRE organisation, who were responsible for the deaths of his family and later plans to use the bioweapon called Herceles for his own evil needs. Malek also affects a creepy accent that works well in the film and even though he isn't the best Bond villain, he still ranks as a decent one. 

Lashana Lynch also does well in her role as the new "007", Namoi, who replaced Bond after he retired from MI6. And Lynch playss the role well and is somewhat surprisingly ruthless in the later stage of the film and proves she is not to be messed with just like Bond. 

WARNING: PLOT SPOILER COMING UP!

Ben Wishaw also makes a welcome return as the younger Q, who of course works for MI6 and provides agent with special gadgetry. This time round they also even give away Q's sexuality as being gay as there is one scene where is preparing to cook at home for a date with another man but is interrupted by Bond and Moneypenny. Wishaw also provides some nice moments of comic relief too in the film as you would expect from Q. 

Naomie Harris is also very good as she reprises her role as Moneypenny, who is M's secretary and plays her part in the role of helping Bond find Safin. Harris also has the uniqueness of being the only version of Moneypenny to have shot James Bond.

Jeffrey Wright returns also to the film in his role as Felix Leiter and he does an excellent also and the film nicely establishes Felix's friendship with Bond. And there is a rather emotional scene between the two of them, which I won't go into here but again this is a rather emotional film. 

Christoph Waltz makes another return here as Blofeld althoug he doesn't appear in the film for long, he still makes a very creepy and effective impression in the scenes that he is in. Blofeld however here is locked away in MI6's custody but that doesn't mean he won't still cause chaos. 

And last of all is Ralph Fiennes as M (or Mallory) who is the head of MI6 and Bond's superior, who play a slightly dubious role here in his involvement with ther Herceles bio-weapon but ultimatley he is working with good intentions to stop Safin's evil plans.

DIRECTOR

As for the direction, Cary Joji Fukunaga, a Japenese-American director, does a fine job here in his first Bond film and he confidently handles the action scenes and delivers on providing an emotional conclusion to the film and the Craig era. Fukunaga previously has worked on films such as an adaptation of Stephen King's IT and TV shows such as True Detective. 

MUSIC 

As for the music score, it is by none other than Hans Zimmer, who provides a pretty decent score overall even if it isn't one of his very best. However it is still well suited to the film and thankfully doesn't have any annoying bombastic "BWAMMM!" moments that we have come to expect from Zimmer's movie scores in recent times. The theme song is sung by Billie Eilish and its actually quite good and Eilish's voice is great and has a chilling quality to it. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for flaws...yes No Time To Die does have some to an extent.

WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP!!!

For starters I think I have to make mention of the film's most controversial moment, which is of course Bond's death, which I'm sure split many fans and pissed off quite a few that they decided to kill him off. And this does leave the franchise with a bit of bind (or should that be without a Bond lol!) as where can they go with the series now that Bond has been killed off??! I mean, they could just reboot the franchise again with another actor as Bond and develop a new set of films around that, which would vary from Craig's era. It has to be said there is no real consistency in the series from Craig's era to the film's that proceeded it after all. 

It also raises the question of the "007" code name, which has always been associated with Bond but this film showed that any agent could have that code name applied to them as we see with Naomi. And they could of course based a new 007 on a different agent altogether, even a female one, which obviously would not be Bond or maybe a relative, Jasmine Bond or Jennifer Bond maybe?! ;-) 

So, I personally wasn't too offended by the death of Bond but ultimately I was a bit surprised at first that they went with it as it really does leave the prodcuers with a quandry as to where they can go next or what to do in the future with the franchise. 

I also felt that Safin while he was suitably creepy as a Bond villain, he still wasn't one of the better ones overall in the grand scheme of things. Also Safin wasn't really a physical match for Bond but then few them actually are as its usually their capacity for psychopathy and ruthlesness is what makes them villains rather than their brawn. 

I also had a minor complaint regarding Madelieine's character as she was always alot more serious than Vesper was, who had a lot more charm to her than worked so well with Bond but Madeilene here is more grim-faced most of the time. It makes you think that Bond's relationship with her kind of lacked that firey chemistry he had with Vesper and he needed someone a bit more light hearted that he could work off. 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP 

To sum up, No Time To Die is an enjoyable and fitting end to the Daniel Craig era of James Bond and Craig himself gives his best performance in the role showing both Bond's toughness but also humanity and the supporting are also excellent. The action scenes are also pretty intense and well staged and the film also has one of the most suspenseful opening sequences of any Bond film. 

It does have some issues of course with Safin being a somewhat average villain in the scheme of the franchise's villains and the ending proved to be quite controversial and leaves a big question mark over where the franchise can go next. 

However with that all aside, No Time To Die is still well worth checking out and a solid swanson for Daniel Craig.

So, I will give No Time To Die...

8 out of 10 

Right, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another review.

Until then, bye for now!    

Doctor Who Season 12 Part 5 - Revenge of the Cybermen "Cogito ergo sum!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, now its time for my final part of looking at Season 12 of the original Doctor Who series that starred Tom Baker in his first season as the Fourth Doctor. And this story is the finale of the season, Revenge of the Cybermen.

Now, Revenge isn't always considered the best of stories form the Hinchcliffe era but after 46 years how does it still fair??? Well, let's take another look and find out...

And the usual warning follows...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!

STORY

Right so the story begins with the Doctor (Tom Baker) and his two companions, Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) spinning through the vortex of space (this carries on from the end of Genesis of the Daleks) using the time ring until they materialise back on the space station Nerva from the earlier story, The Ark in Space.  Sarah however notices that the TARDIS isn't there and the Doctor tells her that the TARDIS is drifting back through time and they will have to wait for it to catch up.  Also upon opening one of the doors onboard, a dead body drops out and as they make their way around outer corridors of the space station they find more dead bodies.

Meanwhile onboard the station in a communications room, a crewman Warner (Alec Wallis) warns away an approaching spaceship due to an outbreak of a plague onboard the ship.  The other surviving crewmembers onboard are Professor Kelman (Jeremy Wilkin), Commander Stevenson (Ronald Leigh-Hunt) and another officer, Lester (William Marlowe).  Kelman asks Stevenson how can they carry on manning the station with only three officers but Lester seems to think they can manage.  It is also revealed that Nerva's mission at this point is to warn away ships from Voga, a new asteroid which the station orbits until its presence is updated on all the starcharts of inbound ships.

Meanwhile the Doctor deduces that they have arrived thousands of years before the event of The Ark in Space when the crew of that time had been waiting thousands of years in suspended animation for the Earth to recover from solar flares that devastated the planet.  As the Doctor, Sarah and Harry however make their way through the ship a metallic creature is seen moving around the dead bodies: a cybermat.

Meanwhile on the surface of Voga, one of the native lifeforms, a Vogan is shot when trying to make outside contact with Nerva.  The body is soon taken to a Vogan leader, Vorus (David Collings) who is informed by his aide, Magrik (Michael Wisher) that the Vogan shot was frightened by Vorus's plan as he is working with unnamed agent onboard Nerva.  In the meantime however Warner is attacked by the cybermat and his skin ends up with glowing scars as a result.  And just about this time the Doctor, Sarah and Harry are discovered by Stevenson and Lester and Kellman alerts them of Warner's condition.

The Doctor offers to help them and Harry looks at Warner leaving the Doctor to go with Stevenson who tells him about Voga, which the Doctor instantly recognises as the planet of gold and that they are up against the Cybermen.  Meanwhile this goes on Kellman is shown to be the agent that Vorus mention as he spies on the Doctor and Stevenson from his room using a device after this he communicates a message to the Cybermen onboard their ship.

Meanwhile Harry tells the Doctor that Warner has died and the Doctor on examining Warner's body finds two puncture marks which suggest he was injected with poison which the Doctor then concludes that it was no plague that caused the deaths.  The Doctor then senses something else is wrong and he spies on Kellman's quarters finding the comms equipment, but he hides himself as Kellman returns, who is aware of the Doctor's presence and sets a trap for him to make it impossible for him to leave.  The Doctor however manages to escape just as Sarah is attacked by the Cybermat, after which the Doctor disables by throwing gold at it and he tells Harry to take her to the station's teleporter as Sarah can be cured if she is teleported it will disperse the poison in her body.

The Doctor then manages to repair the broken teleport beaming Sarah and Harry down, Sarah is cured of the poison but they are both captured by Vorus's men and taken to him.  Vorus's questioning is interrupted by the chief councillor Tyrum (Kevin Stoney) and Sarah and Harry is chained up.  The Doctor meanwhile confronts Kellman and uses the Cybermat to threaten him to find where the drive is to activate the teleport, which he gives up.  However the Doctor is a bit too late as Kellman has bought enough time for the Cybermen to board Nerva, where they knock out the Doctor and the others leaving Kellman.

And its from here the Doctor must try and find a way to stop the Cybermen from their plan to destroy Voga and rescue Sarah and Harry in the process.....

THOUGHTS

Well despite the negative reception this story has got over the years from Doctor Who fans, Revenge of the Cybermen is a fairly entertaining, solid story but next to the other stories in Tom Baker's first season as the Doctor, it admittedly lacks the quality the other stories in Baker's debut season had.  The story however written by the co-creator of the Cybemen, Gerry Davis, still stands head and shoulders over some of the more inferior Cybermen stories that followed during the 1980s (especially Silver Nemesis during the Sylvester McCoy era!).

Revenge of the Cybermen was also the first story to feature the Cybermen since Patrick Troughton's second Doctor story, The Invasion back in 1968 with the main reason being Terrance Dicks, the script editor during the Pertwee era, hated the Cybermen and never did a story featuring them in that whole time!

The story is also notable for another reason, which is that during its broadcast there was the sad news of William Hartnell's death, the actor who played the first doctor and had suffered from arteriosclerosis in the final years of his life and passed away on 23 April 1975 prior to the 2nd episode of this serial's broadcast.  

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES

As for the performances they are all pretty good for the most part and the supporting cast are all pretty solid. 

And to kick off with the regulars, Tom Baker puts in another fine performance as the Doctor and by this time he was starting to get to grips with his character very well and nailing the fourth doctor's quirky sense of humour and alien nature. 

Tom has plenty of good moments in the story and for starters there is the scene where the Doctor makes several deductions while looking around the control room. So, the Doctor says to Stevenson "I've just made a third interesting discovery about your plague virus, Commander" and Stevenson surprised asks "A third?" and the Doctor tells him "Yes. One, it scratches metal. Two, it attacks its victims so suddenly that they become unconscious before they can even raise the alarm, and three..." and Stevenson says "Go on..." and the Doctor finishes "It removes tape from video logs. It must be a very literate and inquisitive virus". Stevenson then finally asks the Doctor "What are trying to tell me, Doctor?" and the Doctor replies "Whatever is attacking your crew, commander, its certainly not a plague".

Then there is the scene where the Cybermen have taken control of the beacon and hold the Doctor and the others captive but the Doctor remains defiant as he questions the Cyber Leader.

So, the Doctor insults the Cyber Leader by saying "You have no home planet, no influence, nothing!  You're just a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking about the galaxy in an ancient spaceship!". The Leader however says "You speak unwisely. We are destined to become the rulers of the cosmos!" and the Doctor retorts "No, I don't think so. You tried that once already and were nearly wiped out!".  The Cyber Leader then says to the Doctor "Because of Voga and its gold. If the humans did not have the resources of Voga, the Cyber war would have ended in a glorious triumph!". The Doctor then sharply tells the Leader "It WAS a glorious triumph! For human ingenuity! They discovered your weakness and invented the glitter gun and that was the end of Cybermen except as gold plated souvenirs that people use as hat-stands!".

And in the same scene the Cyberleader becomes riled and grabs the Doctor by the throat and says "Cybermen can function more efficiently that animal organisms!  That is why we will rule the galaxy!" and the Doctor says "Loose thinking!  The trouble with Cybermen is they have hydraulic muscles and hydraulic brains to go with them!". So, after the Leader release the Doctor, the Doc grabs one of the cyber bombs and the Leader shouts "Put that down!". So, the Doctor warningly says to the Leader "Now, if I'm correct about what this contains and should accidentally DROP IT!" and he pretends to let go of it and continues "Now, I want something information from you, Cyber Leader!". 

Another good scene from Tom comes in the scene when the Doctor, Stevenson and Lester have bombs strapped to their backs and the Cyber Leader tells them "Cyber bombs. One of the most powerful explosive devices ever invented" and the Doctor says "Yes and their use was banned by the armageddon convention!". So, as the Cyber Leader orders the Doctor, Stevenson and Lester to get going, one of the Cybermen pushes the Doctor toward the transmat device and the Doctor quips "Careful, careful, I might explode!".

Then there is the scene where the Doctor, Stevenson and Lester once on the surface of Voga make their way toward their target and the Doctor says to Lester he has a better idea than waiting around and when Lester asks what it is he says "I don't know yet.  That's the trouble with ideas.  The only come a bit at a time!".

Then there is classic moment in the story where Harry inadvertently causes a rockfall in the shaft area of the caves which knocks out the Doctor (and kills Kellman as a result).  And as Harry sees the Doctor he tries to unbuckle his bomb strap but is stopped by Lester and the Doctor comes to and asks Harry "Were you trying to undo this?" and Harry says "Well naturally" and the Doctor continues "Did you make the rocks fall, Harry???" and Harry sheepishly says "Well yes I guess I must have done". So, the Doctor then laughs out loud and yells at the top of his lungs "HARRY SULLIVAN IS AN IMBECILE!!!!" before passing out!

And lastly there is the moment where the Doctor and Sarah onboard Nerva towards the end manage to avoid Vorus's rocket after it is launched and Stevenson redirects it to miss the station.  And the Doctor says over the mic "Cogito ergo sum!" and Sarah asks "What?" and the Doctor says "I think therefore it missed!" although it really means "I think therefore I am". However, Sarah nervously tells the Doctor "Yes, but we are still heading for the biggest bang in history!" and the Doctor says "Oh yes.." but then looks at the controls and says "Oh no! They've locked the gryo controls! The flight trimmers are jammed!" and Sarah asks "What does that mean?" and the Doctor tells her "It means were heading for the biggest bang in history!".

Elisabeth Sladen also does great in her role as Sarah Jane-Smith, the Doctor's companion (and possibly the most popular companion of all time).

Liz also has some good moments in the story such as the scene where the Doctor is onto something as he is trying to work out what has been happening on the beacon regarding the plague deaths. So, the Doctor says "I smell a rat!" and walks out, leaving Stevenson puzzled and he says "You know I sometimes wonder if you're doctor friend is right in the head!" and Sarah tells him "If the Doctor has scented a rat, Commander, he'll find one!". 

Then there is the scene after Sarah has been poisoned by the Cybermat, the Doctor saves her by beaming her down to Voga along with Harry as the matter beam wiped out the viral cells.  And Harry who carries her is delighted to find out that it worked and he says "It worked, Doctor!  It worked!" and Sarah groggily says "Stop bawling down my ear.  You've got a voice like a foghorn!" and she suddenly notices that Harry is carrying her and she says "Hey!  What's going on here?!".

And then in another scene where Sarah and Harry are chained up by the Vogans, Harry tries to prise open Sarah's chains and he says "Tibias, or rather fetlocks like a carthorse!" and Sarah taking offence says "My ankles aren't thick!". And as Sarah manages to prise Harry's foot free of the shackles, he says "Maimed for life!" and Sarah irritably tells him "Honestly, I don't know why you're complaining! I got you free!".  

And lastly later on there is a nice little moment between the Doctor and Sarah as they are reunited on the space station and Sarah says to the Doctor "Doctor?  Its good to see you" and the Doctor says "Is it?" and Sarah smiles saying "yes" and the Doctor looks at her for moment and smiles "Oh, right.  Come on, quickly then".

Ian Marter is also again as excellent as Harry Sullivan, the Doctor's other trusty, yet clumsy companion although he gets more of an earful this time round from the Doctor then normal!

Ian also has some good moments in the story such as the scene at the start just after they arrive back on the space station, Harry says to the Doctor of the time ring "I'd rather like to have it" and Doctor smiles saying "Well you take very good care of it, Harry".  However as Harry reaches for the time ring it suddenly vanishes and Harry looks at the Doctor "You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?" and the Doctor smiles and nods. 

Then there is the scene when Harry and Sarah beam down to Voga and Harry is carrying Sarah, who had been infected by the Cybermat but the teleportation process cures Sarah. So, Harry shouts to himself "It worked, Doctor! It worked!". Sarah still a bit groggy then says "Stop bawling down my eat, you've got a voice like a fog horn!" and she suddenly notices that Harry is carrying her and she says "Hey! What's going on here?!" so Harry puts her down. Harry then walks off and angrily says to Sarah "Oh well, that's marvelous, isn't it?! Here I am trying to save your life..." and Sarah remembers "Save my life? That thing jumped on my neck!". Sarah looks around the caves and asks "Where are we?" and Harry tells her "A place called Voga I think. The Doctor trans-matted us to get rid of the poison. I might tell you, girl you were on the point of popping off!". 

Then there is the next moment where Harry spots gold lying around the caves and Sarah asks "What is it?" and Harry picks up a piece and says "It looks very much like gold. I can't believe it. There's some more of it over there!" and he moves around to find more "Look, its solid gold!" and Sarah knocks the gold out his hands and says "Harry, stop it! It isn't ours!" and Harry says "Well, its really anybody's just lying around". So, Harry  "I'm rich!  I can buy myself out of the navy, buy a quiet little practice in the country. Solid gold stethoscope!" but then he sees the Vogan guards approaching nearby and he says "That's torn it!".  

This is followed by the scene where Sarah and Harry are held captive by Vorus and they are locked in gold chains. So, Harry looks at the chains and says to her "Sarah, these chains are solid gold!" and Sarah impatiently says "Harry, will you shut up about your rotten gold!" and Harry says "24 karat by the look of it" and Sarah angrily says "Its cos of this gold we're in this mess!". Harry then says "Just thinking" and Sarah snaps "Well don't!" but Harry then firmly tells her "Gold is a soft metal, isn't it, Sarah, so if we find a decent bit of rock maybe we can file it through!" and Sarah says to him "Well, we can't just sit here glittering can we?".

And lastly there is the moment where Harry tries to free Sarah and as he struggles says to her as he tries to prise her foot from the gold chain "I think you might be able to get your foot through now. Come on, one more pull!". So, as they keep trying, Harry says to Sarah of her ankles "Tibias, or rather fretlocks like a carthorse!" and Sarah angrily tells him "My ankles aren't thick!". And this is followed by Sarah freeing Harry from his chains and he gronas as his chains break loose and Harry says "Maimed for life!" and Sarah sharply says "Honestly I don't why you are complaining!  I got you free!".

As for the story's supporting cast, Ronald Leigh-Hunt does very well in his role as Commander Stevenson and he also has some good scenes.

For starters there is the one where Stevenson speaks bitterly of Professor Kellman after Kellman tells them they deserve a medal for "self sacrifice beyond the bounds of stupidity!". So, Stevenson angrily says to Lester "I've lost most of my crew in these last months, some good friends among them, yet a THING like that is still alive!".

Then there is the scene where Stevenson and Lester spring a trap on Kellman as Stevenson pulls a gun on him in the corridors of the station and Kellman has a gun on him also.  And as Kellman tries to back away Lester comes from behind and grabs him and seizes Kellman's gun and Stevenson says to Lester "Well done, Lester.  You walked right into it!".

Another good scene from Leigh-Hunt is after Kellman has been captured and questioned by the Doctor, Stevenson angrily glares at Kellman, disgusted by his insubordination. So, Stevenson angrily tells Kellman "As a space service commander, there are some crimes where I can order immediate execution and YOU have murdered 47 members of my crew and jeapordised our mission!". 

Jeremy Wilkin is also very good as the double agent, Professor Kellman who is working both with the Cybermen and the Vogans.

Wilkin's good scenes include his first one where Kellman says to Stevenson and Lester of their futile manning of the space station due to the plague by saying "You deserve a medal for self sacrifice beyond the bounds of stupidity!".  And later on after Kellman shows Warner to the others once the Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive, Stevenson tells them to take Warner out of the room but the communication room must be left operational, which annoys Kellman and he spits out "Oh yes, at all costs!!" before storming out.

Then there is the scene where Kellman beams down to Voga and he is taken captive by Tyrum's aide, Sheprah and Kellman demands to speak to Vorus and Sheprah says "Vorus is no longer in charge here.  Take him away".  And Sheprah's guard grab Kellman and take him away as Kellman protests "Oh no, you don't understand.  I must see Vorus!  You're in danger, all of you!".

And in the scene where Kellman is taken to Tyrum he reveals his plan as he has been working with Vorus all along to defeat the Cybermen.  And Kellman says "We were working together.  We wanted to lure the Cybermen into a trap!" and Tyrum asks "What trap?" and Kellman shouts "The beacon of course!!  Vorus has a rocket aimed at the beacon!".  And when Kellman finally meets with Vorus he warns him that they are too late "The Cybermen have already landed!" and Vorus angrily says "What?!  Have you betrayed us?!" and Kellman yells back "Well I tried to warn you!!  Once they were on the Beacon, I couldn't delay them any further!".

And lastly as Kellman notices that Sarah has gone missing and Harry tells him she has gone back to the beacon to warn the Doctor, Kellman concerned says "If that girl reaches the beacon and starts blabbing about the rocket, the Cybermen will explode their bombs!".

David Collings is also excellent as Vorus, the Vogan leader who get's involved in a plan to destroy the Cybermen but also get's caught up in a civil war between his own people.

Collings's good scenes include when he meets with Sarah and Harry and he says to them "So, you are from the beacon. Why have you come to Voga? Was it to escape the plague?" and Sarah tells him "Yes, that's right, the plague" but Vorus angrily says "You are lying! Now tell me the truth!". Vorus then says to Sarah "When the plague had down its work there were to be four humans left alive, that was the plan! You were not among the four!". So, Vorus asks them "So, how many humans are on the beacon now?" and they say nothing and Vorus warns them "If you refuse to answer, you will suffer, and then I will ask you again and you will answer!  Do you understand?!" and Harry says "Yes. Vorus then says to Sarah and Harry "Humans are reported to have some intelligence. When Vorus, leader of the Guardians, asks you a question, it is not wise to refuse to answer". 

Then there is the scene when Vorus meets with Tyrum and they have a heated argument over their stance and Vorus's ambitions. So, Tyrum says "I know your ambitions, Vorus. I know you see Voga as a great power again, trading its gold with other planets in the galaxy" and Vorus defensively tells him "Why not?!  Why should we remain underground, cowering in the memory of something that happened centuries ago!". Tyrum then tells him that this way the Vogans remain safe and Vorus shouts "SAFE?! You have the philosophy of a cringing mouse, Tyrum!" and Tyrum tells him "And you are a gambler with a mad thirst for power!". So, Tyrum warns Vorus "That's why I no longer trust. My militia have moved into the goldmines. If there is any bloodshed, it will be on your hands!" and Vorus furiously says to Tyrum "I shall have you removed from office for this!" and he storms out. 

Another good moment is when Vorus meets with Tyrum's aid, Sheprah, once the Vogan's civil unrest has started and Sheprah says "Tyrum has given fresh orders.  My troops will hold their present positions and not attack your guild chambers" to which Vorus smugly says "He has shown sense!  Your city scum would be badly beaten!".

And lastly there is Collings last moment in the story where (SPOILER!!!!!) Vorus attempts to fire his rocket with the Doctor and Sarah still onboard and Tyrum shoots him but is too late as Vorus already has fired the rocket and in his dying breath says "My skystriker!  My Glory!".

Kevin Stoney who was always a solid dependable actor (and played Tobias Vaughan the main villain in the previous Cybermen story, The Invasion) does another fine job here as the Vogan chief councillor, Tyrum who Vorus falls out with.

Stoney also has some good moments that include the scene where Tyrum meets with Vorus and they have an argument which ends with Tyrum warning Vorus "You're men are outnumbered and the troops have orders to crush any resistance.  If there is any bloodshed, remember it will be on your hands!".

Then there is the moment where Sarah and Harry and they discuss Vorus which leaves Tyrum worried "My suspicions about Vorus are hardening into certainty. He's always had great ambition. This city we're in was once the survival chamber for our people. We've lived here ever since, unseen, and safe from further attack from the Cybermen. You know of the Cybermen?" and Sarah says "Yes, but I thought they weren't meant to wiped out ages ago". So, Tyrum ponders and asks "I wonder.  Has Vorus in the madness of a vanity brought down the vengeance of the Cybermen upon us again?" and he says to them both "You'll come with me" and Sarah asks where and Tyrum says "To the coal mines. Its time Vorus accounted for himself".

And last of all is the scene where Vorus meets with Kellman on Voga and Tyrum is with them as they discuss their plan to destroy the Cybermen with Vorus's rocket, So, Tyrum angrily tells Vorus "You're insane, Vorus! You've brought about the destruction of our race!". Vorus however tells Tyrum that he wanted to bring about freedom so they can live on the surface but Tyrum criticises Kellman's part in the plan "And this great plan was conceived in the company of such as he, a double agent, a despicable traitor, a murder of his own kind? A man whose only loyalty is to himself and the gold he hopes to win!".

William Marlowe is also good as Lester, one of the surviving space station's officers and he has some good moments as well such as the scene where he watches over Warner, who is dying after being poisoned by the cybermat.

And in that scene Lester says of Warner "Its always the same.  They just seem to burn up.  Warner's lasted longer than most" and Harry says "Strong constitution!" and Lester says "He's as tough as an old boot!". Sarah then asks Warner "How long is this been going on?" and Warner says "This is the 79th day" and Sarah surprised asks "And you've had no outside help?" and Warner says "We'll Earth control thought it was better to leave us rather than risk bringing an extra-terrestrial virus back to Earth". 

WARNING: SPOILERS IN THE NEXT TWO PARAGRAPHS 

And then there is the scene where after Harry unwittingly causes a rockslide that results in Kellman's death, he makes his way to the other side and finds the Doctor unconscious and he starts to try and undo the Doctor's explosive belt buckle but Warner stops him. So, Warner warns Harry "Harry, don't touch that! You open that and you'll be blown to Kingdom come!" and Harry asks "You mean its booby trapped?" and Warner says "These buckles can't be deactivated until the Cybermen beam their release signal". 

And lastly there is the scene where Lester sacrifices himself as the Cybermen managed to stop the Doctor and Harry from attacking them with the gold, so Lester unbuckles his bomb which blows himself and the Cybermen up.

Brian Grellis does well too as Sheprah, Tyrum head of the guards and he has some good moments too such as the scene where Sheprah desparately tells Tyrum "Councillor, the Cybermen are here!".  And Sheprah says to Tyrum "They landed on the first level.  We've suffered heavy casualties and we need reinforcements!".  And when Tyrum how many of them there are Shep says "Two of them at least!  Our weapons have no effect on them!".

And lastly there is the moment where Shep warns Vorus about his men as the civil unrest between the Vogans has begun "Unless we are provoked, Vorus.  Then we shall sweep you aside!".  And quickly  

Michael Wisher also does well enough in his role as Magrik, Vorus's rather weak willed aide but it is a far cry from the fearsome and unforgettable performance Wisher gave in the previous story of Genesis of the dalek as Davros.         

I will quickly mention just one of Michael's scenes and its his first one where a dead body of a Vogan is taken to Vorus, who tells his men to bury it. So, Vorus says to Magrik "Why?" and Magrik says "Your plan frightened him Vorus. Sometimes it frightens me" and Vorus warily asks him "But would you warn the humans? Do you feel kinship?!" and Magrik says "No, its simply there are so many things that can go wrong!".

And last of all there is Christopher Robbie as the Cyber Leader who it has to be said is the weak link in the cast here as his portrayal of the Cybermen is far from logical and is far more emotional sounding and Robbie also appears to have a strange tansatlantic accent which seems a bit peculiar for a Cyberman!

Regardless of that though Robbie still has some good moments in the story such as when the Cybermen first board the beacon and use their helmet beam weapons to knock out the Doctor and the answers and the Cyber Leader says "The beacon is ours!".

Then there is the scene when the Doctor riles the Cyber Leader who stalks toward him and he says "We have enough parts in our ship to build an entirely new Cyber army.  And this time, Doctor, it will be invincible!".  And the Cyber Leader then grabs the Doctor around the throat and says "Cybermen FUNCTION more efficiently than animal organisms!  That is why we will rule the galaxy!". So, the Doctor grabs one of the Cyber bombs and the leader warns him "Put that down!" and the Doctor says "I want some information from you, Cyber Leader! What's Kellman's cut in all this?" and the leader tells the Doc "Kellman wants power. He will rule this solar system, once we have conquered it!" but the Doctor is soon re-captured by another Cyberman and the Leader tells them "Do not kill them!".  

Another good scene is when the Doctor tries to attack one of the Cybermen aboard the beacon with gold but he is apprehended by one of the other Cybermen and the Doctor says "We surrender!  We surrender!" and the Cyber Leader demands the Doctor to tie Sarah up "Now tie her up.  Tie her up!".

And last of all there is the moment where the Cyber Leader and the other cybermen are about to depart the beacon when they hear about Vorus's rocket.  And the Cyber Leader says to the Doctor and Sarah "You two are especially privileged. You are about to die in the biggest explosion ever witnessed in this solar system. It will be a magnificent spectacle. Unhappily, you will be unable to appreciate it!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As for the director of the story, Michael E. Briant does a fine job here, having already directed the Sea Devils and The Green Death during the Jon Pertwee era.  Briant handles the action and pacing of the story quite confidently throughout and his prior experience on the show clearly made for a good choice.  Briant also made good use of the filming location of the Wookey hole caves in Somerset which were used for the shooting of the Vogan surface scenes and they help provide the story with some more atmosphere.

Getting onto the music well instead of using the series regular composer, Dudley Simpson, producer Philip Hinchcliffe went with Carey Blyton instead, who already previously composed a couple of stories during the Pertwee era.

Blyton's score is a bit of a mixed bag but overall its not a bad one and there are some good moments in it that add some atmosphere and tension to the story.  The score however also features additional synthesizer music by Peter Howell, who later on composed the new Doctor Who title theme in 1980 as well as for various stories from the end of the Tom Baker era until Colin Baker's era and Howell's score here isn't too bad either but overall its nothing too special either.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for flaws.......well yeah Revenge isn't quite perfect and for to kick off one of the main problems with the story is the portayal of the Cybermen, which are far from menacing or being that effective especially as they have all of a sudden become far more emotional rather than logical beings especially the Cyber Leader.  Their outfits are also just a bit silly looking aswell and if you look closely they seem almost be wearing silver fabric clothing that appears to flare at the bottom of their feet!  Its almost like they want to keep the Cybermen in check with the period of the 1970s!  

The program's budget also clearly didn't allow for that many Cybermen to be used as there appear to be only three or four Cybermen in the whole story!  And the Cyber Leader also makes a silly suggestion as to how they have enough parts onboard their ship to build an entire Cyber army!  OK but how can they?!  And what just exactly what parts do they have?!  If they have just armour and helmets and no actual bodies to put in them then it hardly makes any sense does it?!  And if they are the only Cybermen in the cosmos at this point then they are hardly in any position to conquer the galaxy!

In fact Lis Sladen during the DVD commentary for The Ark in Space poked fun at this story when the actor Brian Grellis, playing Sheprah said the line "The Cybermen are here!" and he joked by saying "The Cybermen are here!  All two of them!".  And that just about sums the Cybermen up in this story, there are very few of them in number to make any real difference to the big picture.  

It also has to be said that while its a fairly decent story its still not one of the more interesting ones plot wise and the internal struggles of the Vogans comes a bit boring after a while as Vorus and Tyrum squabble.  Admittedly their spats do provide some good moments of drama as both Collings and Stoney were and are (well Collings anyway as he still lives) fine actors.  But the Vogan subplot does let the proceedings down somewhat.  

Another problem I had with the story is even though Kellman is ultimately working towards destroying the Cybermen with Vorus it seems a bit excessive that they have to devise a plan to kill off most of the space station's crew with a plague.  Surely they could have worked out another way that didn't involve killing so many crewmen onboard the station in the first place, e.g. evacuate them somehow and leave a minimal crew behind.  So while Kellman is eventually working toward  positive ends his means are really pretty nasty and as such its hard to even support him after he reveals that he is a double agent. 

 

I also felt that some of the dialogue was a little poorly written in terms of context relating to some of its characters, specifically Commander Stevenson. And the reason I say this is because there is a scene where the Doctor says to Stevenson "I smell a rat!" as he goes on the hunt to find out who is behind the deaths on the beacon and Stevenson says "You know I sometimes wonder if your doctor friend is quite right in the head!". However, the way in which his sentence is worded with "sometimes" suggests he's known the Doctor for a long time when he's only just met him! So, I think this is certainly a line that could have been better worded to something like "You know I'm beginning to wonder if your Doctor friend is quite right in the head!" instead to give their recent meeting more context.

And lastly surely its a bit daft that a substance such as gold would have such a fatal effect on the Cybermen in the first place!  And the Doctor only very quickly says that it somehow effects the Cybermen's breathing apparatus and it thereby suffocates them and that's basically it.  And when you look at it the gold they use in the story when the Doctor tries to attack the Cybermen hand to hand, the gold has no effect whatsoever until the Doctor loads up the Cybermat with gold and reprograms it to kill one of the Cybermen onboard the beacon.  But this also raises the question if the Cybermat is allergic to gold aswell then just how could the Doctor be able to get it working again in the first place?!  It doesn't quite sit right.  

Anyways that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up, Revenge of the Cybermen while its not a perfect story, it is still a good one and despite its flaws the story is still enjoyable and it is helped by a strong cast, some decent action scenes and the effective use of its film location in the Wookey hole caves.  But in comparison to the other Doctor Who stories of the Philip Hinchcliffe-Baker era it doesn't quite stack up as well as that era's very best ones.

So, I will give Revenge of the Cybermen a rating of:

7.5 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will return with another post of sorts soon.

Until then its bye for now!

Doctor Who Season 12 Review Part 4 - Genesis of the Daleks "Do I have the right?!"

 

 

 

 

Right, so its time for part four of my look at Season 12 of the original series of Doctor Who, starring Tom Baker in his debut season as the fourth doctor. And this post will over what is often hailed as one of the greatest stories of all time from the original series, Genesis of the Daleks. 

So, after 46 years how does this story hold up???  Is it still a great classic??? Well, let's take another look and find out....

And yes the usual warning is coming up....

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So the story starts with the Doctor being intercepted by the Time Lords while he is traveling to space station Nerva (from the earlier story in the same season "The Ark in Space").  The Doctor meets with a Time Lord (John Franklyn-Robbins) who tells him that he is on the planet Skaro, and gives him the mission to either stop the development of the Daleks, or change their genetic make-up to ensure they don't become evil creatures to which the Doctor accepts.   

The Doctor is soon joined by his companions, Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) as they look at their surroundings, which is a barren desolate war ground, as the two warring races on the planet, the Thals and Kaleds, have been engaged in a thousand year war.  The Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive in a trench and soon attacked by a group of Thals, but the Kaleds soon come to their rescue, however Sarah is left for dead in the trenches, and is soon found by a group of Mutos (Kaleds who are mutated and were banished from the kaled dome).  Sarah is later captured by a group of Thal soldiers who take her and one of the mutos, Severin (Stephen Yardley) for slave labour in the Thal dome.    

Inside the Kaled dome, the Doctor and Harry are taken for interrogation, and the Doctor has his belongings confiscated, which includes the time ring, given to him by the Time Lord, which let them return to the TARDIS.  The Doctor and Harry soon stand witness to the unveiling of the first prototype dalek at a presentation given by the scientific elite's leader, Davros (Michael Wisher).  The Dalek armed with its weapon is about to kill the Doctor and Harry, but one of the scientists, Ronson (James Garbutt) intervenes in time to stop it.

Later, Ronson meets with The Doctor and Harry in the prison cells, where he admits his concerns over the dalek project, and how Davros has created a monster with no morals or conscience.  The Doctor and Harry escape from their cell with Ronson's help, as they agree to reach the Kaled councilors and express their concerns and insist they shut down Davros's research.

However Davros's personal guard and security commander, Nyder (Peter Miles) has his spies discover of Ronson's treachery and also of the council's decision to investigate his work with the daleks.  On this basis, Davros decides there is no alternative but to destroy the Kaled race and the dome, as he makes a journey to the Thal dome with Nyder and gives them a formula to destroy the Kaled dome.

The Thals agree to use the formula and the Doctor along with Harry arrives in time to free Sarah from the labour prison before the rocket is launched, but he is too late to stop the countdown, as the Thals launch their rocket and Kaled dome is destroyed.

Meanwhile Davros exposes Ronson as a spy and has one of his daleks exterminate him, and with 20 new daleks in place, Davros uses them to infiltrate the Thals dome and exterminate them.  Back in the Kaled bunker the Doctor and his companions are captured by Nyder and Davros interrogates the Doctor, realising that he is from another planet and time, he forces the Doctor to reveal his knowledge of the Daleks defeats and how they can be avoided, which is recorded on tape.

And from here the Doctor must try and find a way to stop Davros, destroy the dalek force and prevent them from evolving into the most evil dominant species in the universe, if he can....

THOUGHTS 

There is no doubt that Genesis of the Daleks stands easily as one of the very best Doctor Who stories of all time.  The script is brilliantly written by Terry Nation, and the setting is great, a thousand year war between two warring races, and from this war the daleks are born.  And with the new hard hitting style of the show under the producer at the time, Philip Hinchcliffe, Genesis here shows the perfect mix of suspense and drama.

Terry Nation shows his affinity for fascism in Genesis as well, as the Kaleds are dressed in very Nazi-esque uniforms, and the Elite, lead by Nyder, are dressed in almost SS type clothing.  And he would later on use similar themes in Blake's 7 where the human population are controlled by the Federation, a fascist regime, who show ruthlessness to those who opposed them.

The daleks themselve are brilliantly introduced into this story and the concept of their creation is really well devised, with the daleks having been born out of mutations, and in one scene Ronson shows the Doctor and Harry a screen room where the dalek embryos are grown, and Ronson grimly tells them that is the future for the Kaled race. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section my contain spoilers!)

Getting on to the performances they are all top notch, starting with Tom Baker as the Doctor, who by this time had started to grow into his role. In fact this story was recorded as the last one for that season even though it was broadcast 4th with Revenge of the Cybermen being the final aired serial for that season. In fact to correct that further, Terror of the Zygons was in fact the final story recorded for Season 12 originally but it was held back as the opener for Season 13. 

In the early stories everything is still pretty dramatic, but Tom still allows for a few moments of humour here and there in the story and he has his share of great scenes and these include the one where the Doctor asks one of the elite Kaled officers, Tane for a cup of tea.  And in the scene as Nyder leaves, the Doctor says to Tane "Good. Well, now he's gone, any chance of a cup of tea? and Tane looks outraged and barks "WHAT??!!".  And the Doctor continues "Or coffee. My friend and I have had a very trying experience. Haven't we had a trying experience, Harry?" and Harry offers up "Very trying, Doctor!".  

And Tane sharply says to them "Step into the security scan!" and the Doctor says "What no tea?!" and Tane sternly says "Let me point out to you that you have no rights whatsoever. I have full authority to torture and kill any prisoner who does not comply absolutely with my orders. That is your first and last warning!" which leaves the Doctor with nothing else to say to Harry but "No tea, Harry". 

Then there is the scene where the Doctor addresses the Kaled council members at a meeting as he warns them about the Daleks.  And the Doctor delivers a fine speech which goes "Some of what I will tell you relates to events in the future. Not only on this planet but also on others whose existence you don't even know of. But my knowledge is scientific fact. Now, Davros has created a machine creature, a monster which will terrorise and destroy millions and millions of lives and lands throughout all eternity. He has given this machine a name, a Dalek. It is a word new to you, but for a thousand generations it is a name that will bring fear and terror. Now undoubtedly Davros has one of the finest scientific minds in existence, but he has a fanatical desire to perpetuate himself in his machine. He works without conscience, without soul, without pity, and his machines are equally devoid of these qualities".

Then there is the amusing scene where the Doctor and Sarah along with Harry make their way back to the Kaled dome via the subteranean tunnels.  And Sarah says to the Doctor "Listen, I've been down tunnels before and I've just had a rather nasty thought" and the Doctor says "Really?" and Sarah says "Yes.  Suppose there is something waiting for us in there" and the Doctor says "That is nasty. Better not tell Harry, he's gone first".  And in a later scene, the Doctor, Sarah and Harry emerge out of the shafts into the same room where Davros and Nyder are and Davros greets them saying "Welcome back!" and the Doctor turns to Sarah and says "You were right, Sarah, about there being something nasty waiting for us!".

Another highlight from Tom is in his scene with Davros where he pleads with him to stop the development of the daleks, and as he realises he is looking at a madman, he grabs Davros's one hand.  And in the scene the Doctor says to Davros "Order the destruction of the incubation section!" and Davros says "Destroy the daleks?!  Never!" and the Doctor presses the button that turns off Davros's life support system, which causes him to wilt physically.  And the Doctor warns  Davros "I'm warning you, Davros, next time that switch stays pressed, now give the order!" and Davros says "Even if I do this, there will be no escape for you!" and the Doctor says "I'll take that chance, now give the ORDER!".

And lastly there is the scene where the Doctor is faced with dilemma of destroying the Daleks by detonating the incubator section and he asks Sarah if he is doing the right thing.  And the Doctor says to her "Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other and that's it. The Daleks cease to exist. Hundreds of millions of people, thousands of generations can live without fear, in peace, and never even know the word Dalek!".  And Sarah tries to convince the Doctor that he should and if here were dealing with a disease of some kind he wouldn't hesitate, but the Doctor is still hesitant and he says to Sarah "But I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent lifeform, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks!". 

Next is Elisabeth Sladen, who is great again as Sarah Jane-Smith and she displays Sarah again as being a strong independent women, who in the scene where she is placed in the Thal labour camp, organises an escape attempt to climb up the rocket scaffolding. 

And to kick off Liz's scenes I will mention the one where she weakly tells the others with her, Sevrin and a young Kaled soldier after having finished a shift of loading for the rocket that they must try and escape.

So, Sarah says to the others "We have to do something now. If we work another shift, we won't have the strength to take any kind of action". And the Kaled soldier asks "What do you mean?" and Sarah says "I mean we have to get out of here" and the Kaled says "So we get out into the rocket silo. Where then? The only other exit goes out through a command point, and that's going to be crawling with Thal troops!". Sarah has an idea and says "There is another way. The scaffolding. It goes right up to the nose cone of the rocket. Now, if we could get up there, then there's a chance we could get out onto the surface of the dome". Sevrin however is not so keen and says "That scaffolding is so high" but Sarah tells him "Its the only way. Its our only chance". 
  
Although later on the Thal soldiers capture her, and one of them takes a hold of her arm and kicks her feet away underneath, dangling her off the side of the rocket, and he says "I hear that people who fall from great heights are dead before they hit the ground.  I don't believe that.  Do you??". However, the soldier relents and lifts her back up onto the platform and tells her "You're going back to work. In a day or so, you'll wish I had let you drop. Right, get over!".

Then there is the scene where Doctor is about to destroy the Dalek embryos in the incubation section by wiring it with explosive charges and he holds two wires in his hands. Som the Doctor tells Sarah "Just touch these two strands together and the daleks are finished!" but he pauses and asks Sarah "Have I done right?" and Sarah says to him "To destroy the Daleks?! You can't doubt it!". However the Doctor then asks Sarah "Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?!". And Sarah firmly says to him "We're talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented. You must destroy them. You must complete your mission for the Time Lords!". 

However the Doctor is still not sure and he looks at the two wires in his hands and says "Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other and that's it" and Sarah pleads with him "Then why wait? If it was a disease or some sort of bacteria you were destroying, you wouldn't hesitate!".  But the Doctor still ponders "But I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent lifeform, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks!" and Sarah says to him "Think of all the suffering there'll be if you don't do it!". 

Ian Marter is also great once more as Harry and for once is actually shown to be a bit more adept at dealing with the action and situations, and a bit less clumsy as he was before.

Other good moments from Ian include the scene where the Doctor, Sarah and Harry near the start of the story wander around the wastelands and find dead bodies and mixed equipment.  And Harry observes the equipment "Radiation detector and a gas mask. The two things don't go together, do they?" and the Doctor says "It's like finding the remains of a stone age man with a transistor radio" and Harry jokes "Playing rock music!". 

Then there is the tense scene where the Doctor stands on a landmine, which appears to be inactive but it is situated unsteadily and runs the risk that it could go off so Harry uses some rocks to prop up the mine so the Doctor lift his foot off.  And in the scene the Doctor says to Harry "Harry, I'm standing on a land mine.  If I move my foot, it might detonate it" and Harry says "Don't move your foot!" and the Doctor says "I won't!".

And the Doctor then tells Harry to back up once he has wedged some thin pieces of rock underneath the gap but Harry tells him "No, Doctor, you'll have a better chance if I hold it firm" and the Doctor says quietly "Come on, Harry, don't be difficult" and Harry firmly says "Don't you argue, Doctor!".  And Harry tells the Doctor "Now just lift your foot very, very gently" and the Doctor does so and nothing happens and the Doctor relaxes, smiles and looks to Harry and says "Thank you, Harry" and Harry says "My pleasure!". 

And last of all is of course that rather unintentionally funny scene where the Doctor and Harry wander through the caves to reach the Kaled government HQ and Harry get's his foot caught in a giant clam. So, after the Doctor manages to prise open the clam and release's Harry foot and the Doctor asks "One of Davros's experiments!" and Harry exclaims "Magna peloris!" and the Doctor asks "What?" and Harry says "Latin" and the Doctor says "Never mind the Latin. Let's have a look at your foot!". So, the Doctor examines it and says "Nothing seems to be broken. Its incredible" and Harry frustrated asks "Why is it always me that puts a foot in it?!". 

As for the guest cast members Peter Miles is great as the conniving and manipulative Nyder, Davros's right hand man, who remains loyal till the bitter end.  Miles has some good moments in his performance, particularly where he tells the Doctor what Mutos are "Mutos are the scarred relics of ourselves.  Monsters created by the chemical weapons used in the first century of this war. They were banished into the wastelands where they live and scavenge like animals".  And the Doctor says "In otherwords genetically wounded?" and Nyder says "Your views are not important". 

And later on in the scene where Nyder approaches Gharman (Dennis Chinnery) and pretends to be on his side by showing his concerns over Davros's ruthless ambitions with the Dalek project.  And Nyder says to Gharman "You know that I have served Davros faithfully for many years. I've never questioned anything he has ever done. But he has become a megalomaniac. He's ready to sacrifice everything and everyone, including us, just so that the Dalek project can be completed!". 

Then in the following scene Gharman meets with Nyder in private and he tells him his concerns in full and that he hopes to get some more men to back him up, which Nyder goes along with briefly.  And Nyder says to Gharman "Right, I'll try and get some of the military Elite on our side. Who can you count on?" and Gharman says "Kavell, Frenton, and Parran, but there'll be more soon, I'm sure of it!" and Nyder all of a sudden loudly says "Thank you!  That what I wanted to know!" and then out of nowhere Davros appears and says to a shocked Gharman "That information will prove most helpful!".

James Garbutt as the Kaled scientist Ronson is also very good and at times you feel sorry for his character as you realise he has good intentions but ultimately he is sure to be doomed.

And Garbutt has some good moments too that include the scene where Ronson expresses his concerns over the Dalek project to the Doctor and Harry.  And in the scene Ronson says "You see, we believe that Davros has changed the direction of our research into something which is immoral, evil. You see, the Elite was formed to produce weapons that would end this war. We soon saw that this was futile and changed the direction of our research into the survival of our race. But our chemical weapons had already started to produce genetic mutations".  

And Ronson continues saying "Now Davros, he believed that there was no way to reverse this trend and so he started experiments to establish our final mutational form. He took living cells, treated them with chemicals and produced the ultimate creature. Come with me!".  So Ronson leads the Doctor and Harry to the incubation unit where he shows them a screen door containing inside the Dalek embryos.  And Ronson says to the Doctor "Now this is what the Kaleds will become" and the Doctor and Harry look and see something green slithering and making growling noises and Ronson grimly says to them "That is our future!" and the Doctor quietly says "You've got troubles!". 

Guy Siner, who plays the young General Raven, gives a decent account of himself, although his main scene is a bit over the top when he angrily shouts about how they will defeat the Thals.  

 

And Raven in the scene rants "When victory is ours, we'll wipe every trace of the Thals and their city from the face of this land!  We will avenge the deaths of all Kaleds who've fallen in the cause of right and justice, and build a peace which will be a monument to their sacrifice!  Our battle cry will be, "TOTAL EXTERMINATION OF THE THALS!".

 

And lastly I will mention the scene where the Doctor and Harry manage to escape their cell with the help of Ronson and make contact with tribunal members to persuade them to stop Davros's development of the dalek project. And in the scene, Raven who attends the meeting and informs the Doctor that there is word of Sarah being held captive by the Thals and they are using slave labour to work on their rocket they intend to use to destroy the Kaled dome. 

 

So, in the scene Raven says to the Doctor "The thals are using prisoners to load their last great rocket" and Harry asks "Rocket?" and Raven says "They think they'll win the war with it. What they don't know is that no matter how powerful their rocket, it cannot penetrate our protective dome! Only a matter of months ago, Davros perfected a new substance which has the strength of thirty foot thick reinforced concrete!". The Doctor then interrupts him and says "Never mind about all that, can you help us to find Sarah?" and Raven says "One of my agents could lead you into shafts underneath the Thal city" and the Doctor says "Oh good, good" and Raven warns him "But after that you're strictly on your own!".   

Stephen Yardley also does well in his role as the sympathetic Muto, Sevrin, who helps out Sarah when they are captured.

Yardley's most notable scene is his first where Sevrin and one of his fellow Mutos, Gerrill find Sarah unconscious in the wastelands.  And Sevrin says to Gerrill "She's beautiful. No deformities, no imperfections" and Gerrill says "She is a norm!  All norms are our enemies!  Kill her for what she has done to her kind!".  However Sevrin refuses and says "No, why? Why must we always destroy beauty? Why kill another creature because it is not in our image?!" but Gerrill angrily says "Kill her!  It is the law. All norms must die!" and he produces a knife and says "And if you won't, I will!" and the two of them struggle but are interrupted by patrolling Thals who shoot Gerrill who tries to escape, leaving Sevrin and Sarah to be captured. 

As for Harriet Philpin as the Thal girl, Bettan, she does well here and she does have some notable moments in the story even if her character is a bit underwritten.

But I will for time only mention one of her scenes and its her first one where after the Doctor has been captured by the Thals, is released by them just after they have victoriously fired their rocket and destroyed the Kaled dome. So, Bettan asks the Doctor, who sits solemnly "Did you have friends in the Kaled city" and the Doctor grimly says "Yes. Two people very dear to me. I sent them into that holocaust".

Bettan then asks the Doctor what he will do now and he tells her he will start again to find a way to stop the daleks being developed. So, Bettan puzzled asks "Daleks?" and the Doctor tells her "Yes. Machine creatures Davros is developing. Monsters" and Bettan says to the Doctor "Davros? No, you're wrong. It was he who told us how to destroy the Kaled dome. His only interest is in achieveing peace!". The Doctor then tells Bettan "Let me tell you something. The Kaled government was on the point of stopping Davros's experiments, and rather than let that happen, he helped you to destroy his own race!". Bettan then says "You'll never convince my people of that. Davros is a hero" and the Doctor somberly says "Yes, for how long I wonder?". Bettan then says to the Doctor "I must go. Under the general amnesty you are free to leave whenever you want" and the Doctor quietly says "Thank you".   

Tom Georgeson is also very good in his role as the Kaled scientist, Kavell, who joins Gharman in his revolt against Davros's ruthless development of the Daleks.  And Tom has some good moments too that include the one where Kavell quietly tells Ronson he knows that he helped the Doctor and Harry to escape their cell.  

And in the scene Kavell says to Ronson "Does Davros know the prisoners have escaped?" and Ronson says to him "I don't know what you mean.  The prisoners are in their cell" but Kavell tells him "Well, I have news for you. They've reached the city and made contact with the leaders whose names you gave them".  And Ronson looks surprised and asks "How do you know?" and Kavell grins and says "There is some advantage in being in charge of the communication system. All we can hope for now is that they convince the leaders that Davros' work here must be ended" and Ronson hushes with desparation "They must!  They must!". 

And last but by no means least at all is Michael Wisher as Davros, who is simply magnificent as one of the show's most memorable villains. 

And despite the physical limitations that Wisher had as Davros, as he was encased in a half Dalek chair, and he only had the use of one hand (with the other curled into a limp state) his vocal performance is sheer perfection, as he produces the perfect mix of megalomania, hysteria and controlled manipulation. Its certainly one of the finest performances you will ever see on the small screen (or big screen even!).

Wisher has various great moments in the story and to start off there is the scene where Davros does a demonstration of his prototype Dalek, who is about to exterminate the Doctor and Harry but Ronson interrupts and turns off Davros's power switch for the Dalek, leaving the crippled scientist in a state of fury.

And Davros says to Ronson "You dare to interfere! You have the audacity to interrupt one of my experiments?!" and Ronson anxiously says "But it would have destroyed them!" but Davros with rising anger shouts "So you think the saving of a worthless life more important than the progress we have made? My creature showed a natural desire, an instinct to destroy, and YOU INTERCEDED!! YOU WILL BE PUNISHED FOR THIS!!".

And one of Wisher's best scenes is where Davros interrogates the Doctor on his knowledge of the Daleks, and he says to him "Now, you will tell me the reason for every Dalek defeat. With that knowledge I will program them, with that knowledge they will know their mistakes and how to avoid them, with that knowledge there will be no defeats! WE WILL BEGIN!".  And the Doctor pleads with Davros saying "Davros, if I tell you what you want to know I will betray millions of people in the future.  I can't do that!" but Davros angrily shouts at him "But you can!  You will tell me!!  You will tell me!!  YOU WILL TELL ME!!".    

Also in the scene where the Doctor asks Davros if he would have created a virus that would kill all life, would he use it and Davros admits he would.  And Wisher here delivers a chilling speech as Davros says "Yes. Yes! To hold in my hand a capsule that contains such power, to know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To know that the tiny pressure on my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end everything! Yes, I WOULD do it! That power would set me up above the gods. AND THROUGH THE DALEKS I SHALL HAVE THAT POWER!".

And in the next moment Nyder knocks out the Doctor and asks Davros "What do you want done with this?" and Davros says "For the moment he must be kept alive. He has knowledge that is vital to our future, and I will drain every last detail of it from his mind!  And then, he will learn the true meaning of pain!".  

And last of all there is the scene where Davros makes a final plea to the Kaled scientists and personnel who are against him.  And Davros angrily says "Do you believe that I would let a lifetime's work be ended by the will of spineless fools like you?!  You have won nothing!  I allowed this charade to be played out for one reason only. To find those men who were truly loyal to me and to discover those who would betray me!  We, I shall GO ON!!".  

 

Lastly there is the scene where the Daleks become self aware and start the production line process for the Daleks without Davros's orders. 

 

So, Davros says as he sees a light come on a panel "The automatic dalek production line has been started. I gave no such order. Who did?" and a Dalek says "I gave the command". Davros then turns to it and says "You will give no such orders unless made by me. The production line is to be halted immediately! Obey!" but the Dalek says nothing and Davros shouts "OBEY!" but the Dalek does nothing and Davros says to Nyder "Nyder..." and Nyder goes to switch off the production line but is exterminated by a Dalek, who says "The production will continue!". 

And this is followed by the Daleks showing greater signs of self awareness and their evil nature coming to the fore as they continue to ignore Davros's orders and they even exterminate his scientists. So, Davros pleads with the Dalek as they corner him "For the last time, I am your creator, you MUST, YOU WILL OBEY ME!!" and the Dalek says "We obey no one! We are the superior beings!". And Davros finally realising the monsters he has created, makes a last ditch attempt to hit the self destruct but the Dalek orders his extermination and we hear Davros let out an agonising scream.   

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

In terms of the direction David Maloney, a regular director with the show, well he rarely puts a foot wrong here, as he keeps the mood of the story as intense and brooding as you could hope for.  And Maloney was no stranger to directing some of the show's best classics such as The Talons of Weng Chiang, The Mind Robber, The Deadly Assassin and of course this one.    

And as for the incidental music, by the regular composer, Dudley Simpson, again there are some great passages of music, especially in the scenes with the daleks being introduced and overall he produces here one of his best scores for the show.  And by this time Simpson had gotten away from the cheesier sounding incidental music he scored during the Pertwee era and in the early Baker era he started to introduce a far more intense and dramatic sound for the show, which works just great.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may also contain spoilers!)

As for Genesis of the Daleks flaws.... well the story has a few but nothing too glaring or serious but it does have to be said that one or two of the cliffhangers are a bit weak, such as in episode two where Sarah falls from the rocket scaffolding and the picture is freeze framed, it makes for a pretty duff one.  Then there is the one at the end of part three where the Doctor is zapped by electricity when he attempts to sabotage the Thals rocket but I think a better climax would be when the Doctor looks on in horror as the Kaled dome is destroyed by that rocket and he says "And I sent Sarah and Harry in there!". 

Also there are one or two cheesy inclusions, one of which is the uninentionally funny inclusion of Davros's "destruct button" which has the words "Total Destruct" written on it in the scene where he dares the scientists to destroy his work.  And it serves as unintentionally funny moment in an otherwise pretty dramatic and intense scene.

The inclusion of the giant clam is also really daft, as it is yet another crappy looking prop in the show, where Harry get's his foot caught in it, and the Doctor feebly uses a big rock to hit the clam and force it to let go of its grip on Harry.  Its another laughable moment in the story that serves as an unintentional laugh and you even see later on the Doctor telling Sarah and Harry to be watch out for them as they head their way back to the Kaled dome, yet in the scene the clams aren't even moving!

Another issue with the plot was to do with Sarah being exposed to toxic radiation during her time being held captive by the Thals and as she is forced to do manual labour to load up the Thals rocket with explosives.  And clearly you see how weak Sarah looks as she is affected by radiation and it makes you wonder how she didn't actually end up dying from exposure to it!  And when the Doctor turns up to save her, she suddenly becomes animated and springs to life like the radiation effects on were never there!

You could also argue that by the end of the show that the Doctor really hasn't accomplished anything with trying to prevent the Daleks from turning into an evil race, as they still will grow into the evil scumbags that we have come to know in the series, so you could aruge from that point of view the story was a waste of time!  However that doesn't stop it from being a classic does it?!  Nah.

Then there is the moment where the Doctor faces his moral quandry over wiping out the Daleks as he holds the two wires with which all he has to do is touch them together to detonate the incubation room the Dalek embryos are in. However Gharman enters and saves the Doctor the bother by telling him that the Kaled scientists and personnel have won and defeated Davros in their power struggle. However...Gharman doesn't even seem to notice what the Doctor was about to do by holding the wires to set off the explosives to wipe out the Dalek embryos! Its like Gharman never thought to ask "Wait a minute? What's that you are holding there in your hands?! What are you up to??". Basically this guy really isn't that inquistive it has to be said!  

WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP!!!

And last of all I find it a bit strange how Davros somehow did not find a way to encode or ensure that the Daleks would end up not obeying his commands as they (SPOILER!) turn on him at the end of the story.  And its here where Davros finally realises that he has made a dreadful mistake in creating them without a moral conscience but only just a little too late it has to be said!  So in the end, Davros, despite his genius intellect really is a prize numpty! 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So in summing up, Genesis of the Daleks still remains one of the great classic stories in the show's history and its a story that has just about everything with a great script, a great villain and great performances particularly from Michael Wisher, who delivers the performance of a lifetime here as Davros.

And yes the story has its niggles of course, which I've already mentioned above but they are totally outweighed by the story's good points and this remains one of the very best stories the original series had to offer, which is still great after 46 years.

So, I will give Genesis of the Daleks:

10 out of 10 

Right, that's it for now and I will be back soon with the final part of this season which will be on the 5th story, Revenge of the Cybermen.

Until then its bye for now!