55.33%

My first encounter with this story was the film remake starring Peter Cushing. My second encounter was the Terrance Dicks novelisation. I enjoyed both of these and so I was delighted when the story was included in the 1990 schedule of video releases.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth begins with a very good first episode. Terry Nation had a knack for getting his stories off to a good start. Equally memorable is the sequence in episode three when Barbara, Jenny and Dortmun hurry through the streets of London trying to avoid Dalek patrols. Apart from these I found little to mark this story out as exceptional. Its contribution to the series is undeniable - the first story to feature a returning foe, the first time a member of the regular cast left the series, the first story with the cast on location rather than in a studio.

Putting these aside The Dalek Invasion of Earth is unexceptional. I found it to be quite dull and plodding. I have seen better Hartnell stories with better dialogue and characterisation, which are better told. To put it simply, this is one of the few Doctor Who stories that I watch with reluctance - it does nothing for me. It isn't entertaining and the remaining five episodes do not live up to the promise of the first.

And, yes, I do prefer the Peter Cushing film - its a much tighter story which works in ways that the original TV adventure did not.