The Evil of the Daleks

Patrick Troughton's final adventure in his first season is, in my opinion, the wildest and most extravagant yet. Not only is it set in three completely different areas, it's also filled with some massive sets, location shooting, and lots of explosions.

Basically, when the Doctor and Jamie return to the TARDIS in the airport, they find that someone's stolen it, and a trail has been left for the Doctor to an antique shop, where the owner:  Mr. Waterfield, has been traveling in time back to the victorian era. Taking the Doctor and Jamie back with him, he and his friend Maxtible explain that they were forced to by the Daleks. The Daleks want the Doctor to figure out what makes the humans defeat the daleks all the time, and to do so, he must use Jamie in an experiment. The Doctor willingly proceeds but is deceived as the Daleks take his calculations and formula and reverse them. They then follow the Daleks back to Skaro in order to stop them from using 'the Dalek factor' on all of humankind.

It's complicated, yes, and it is quite a large expansive plot, but it is executed perfectly. Fast paced and filled with suspense, danger, and character, there is pretty much nothing to fault at all. From the start, you can see the story looks great and is acted brilliantly. The modern day guest stars are brilliant, and the victorian actors are as well. Waterfield expertly conveys a man under pressure, and Maxtible's got the mad scientist look and voice perfectly. Victoria Waterfield is great too, and there's a lovely subplot involving Kemel, a jamaican slave, having feelings for her. It's believable, as is the bond between Jamie and Kemel.

The Doctor however, shows a different kind of acting towards his companion. Here, he plays the audience into questioning his allegiances and friends, all while having great fun doing so. It's a testimonial to Troughton's skill that he can go from being delighted and enthralled by a tune on his recorder to being dark, serious, and scarily morbid about a situation or subject.

I could go on for hours, days even, on "The Evil of the Daleks"; there's simply so much to write about and discuss, and there are so many interesting themes, from slavery and the class system, to friendship, obedience, and despair. It doesn't get much better than this.

As an afterthought, I'd like to add that the human Daleks are hilarious and a delight to watch.