Genesis of the Daleks: Part Five

Episode aired Apr 5, 1975
TV-G
23m

IMDb RATING

8.9/10

YOUR RATING

Tom Baker and Michael Wisher in Doctor Who (1963)

Adventure Drama Family Sci-Fi

The Doctor is forced to give Davros full details of future Dalek victories but opposition to Davros' plans is growing among the Kaleds and soon there is open rebellion.The Doctor is forced to give Davros full details of future Dalek victories but opposition to Davros' plans is growing among the Kaleds and soon there is open rebellion.The Doctor is forced to give Davros full details of future Dalek victories but opposition to Davros' plans is growing among the Kaleds and soon there is open rebellion.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.9/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews4

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Featured reviews

10A_Kind_Of_CineMagic

Rightly considered one of the true classic stories in Doctor Who.

Review of all 6 episodes:

One of the most famous and most loved stories in Doctor Who history, this really deserves the fame and praise it receives. It is a fabulous story with brilliance in every aspect of its production.

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry are intercepted by the Time Lords as they try to return to the Nerva space station via Transmat. The Time Lord who speaks to The Doctor gives him a mission to interfere with the creation of the Daleks as they are considered a threat to the Universe. He is told he can stop their creation or influence their nature for the better. They find themselves in the middle of a war on Skaro between the Thals and the Kaleds. The war has gone on for a very long time and scientist Davros has created the Daleks in order to bring the war to an end. Davros is power crazed and has evil intent for his Daleks to become all powerful creatures. There are adventures as The Doctor seeks to interfere with Davros' plans. Finally when he has the chance to destroy the Daleks, The Doctor has a moral dilemma as to whether to destroy the Dalek race is excusable due to their evil or if it makes him as bad as the Daleks with such a genocidal act.

The script, story and acting are top class throughout. Davros is an inspired creation, a villain of the finest quality and acted amazingly well by Michael Wisher. Baker is on top form and his scenes with Davros and their intellectual duelling is gripping. The scene with the dilemma of conscience for The Doctor trying to decide whether to destroy the Daleks is genius and the story as a whole is exceptionally well written.

One of the most exceptional stories in Doctor Who and therefore television history.

10Sleepin_Dragon

Quality throughout, and that cliffhanger!

I always think that the best Dr Who stories are those that can be watched and enjoyed by people that aren't necessarily Dr Who fans, and all the way through this episode there's enough going on, enough excitement, enough engagement for even casual viewers to enjoy.

The fifth part is great the whole way through, but despite all the excellent scenes, it's all about one scene in particular, that brilliant, chilling cliffhanger. Genesis has had excellent cliffhangers at every point, each one has meant something, I'm certain that Tom improvised in this one, as there wasn't one originally scripted, and he got it bang on, one of, if not the best cliffhanger to ever come out of the show, it's scary, and would have left kids in torment for a whole week when originally broadcast.

Dr Who doesn't get better then this. 10/10

9Xstal

Davros the Diplomat...

The creator is conjuring a plan, surreptitiously the flames have a fan, monsters are recalled, an ultimatum is stonewalled while the genocide of the Daleks is begun.

Trivia
The original cliffhanger was the Doctor's question of whether he had the right to destroy the Daleks.

Quotes
[Through the threat of torturing Sarah and Harry, Davros has managed to coerce the Doctor into revealing how the Daleks will get defeated in future battles. Davros is pleased and now wants to have a more civil conversation with the Doctor, alone, "not as prisoner and captor, but as men of science"]
Davros: Now, future errors will be eradicated. Defeats will become victories. You have changed the future of the universe, Doctor.
Doctor Who: I have betrayed the future. Davros, for the last time, consider what you're doing. Stop the development of the Daleks.
Davros: Impossible. It is beyond my control. The workshops are already fully automated to produce the Dalek machines.
Doctor Who: It's not the machines, it's the minds of the creatures inside them. Minds that you created. They are totally evil.
Davros: Evil? No. No, I will not accept that. They are conditioned simply to survive. They can survive only by becoming the dominant species. When all other life forms are suppressed, when the Daleks are the supreme rulers of the universe, then you will have peace. Wars will end. They are the power not of evil, but of good.
Doctor Who: Davros, if you had created a virus in your laboratory, something contagious and infectious that killed on contact, a virus that would destroy all other forms of life, would you allow its use?
Davros: It is an interesting conjecture.
Doctor Who: Would you do it?
Davros: The only living thing, a microscopic organism reigning supreme... A fascinating idea.
Doctor Who: But would you do it?
Davros: Yes... Yes...
[raises hand as if holding the metaphorical capsule]
Davros: 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 of 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!