Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks

The Doctor's Oldest Enemies Return in This 4-part Adventure from Season 21 (1984)

R.E. Norton
R.E. Norton, Yahoo! Contributor Network
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Resurrection of the Daleks marked the return of the Doctor's oldest enemies for the first time in four years. This story is set on two opposing ends of a time corridor generated by the Daleks. One end is in 1984 London, where the Daleks are keeping samples of the deadly Movellan virus that has wiped out untold numbers of Daleks. The other end is aboard the Daleks' command ship several centuries into the future where their creator Davros has been imprisoned aboard a space station for the last 90 years.

The Daleks' plan is to rescue Davros and free him from his cryogenic chamber, and then force him to develop a cure for the Movellan virus. The Doctor's TARDIS gets caught in the time corridor and is dragged to London, where the Doctor begins to seek out what's being guarded in the warehouse nearby, and why it is so important. We see some great performances from several supporting cast members in this story, including Rula Lenska (as Styles) and Rodney Bewes (Stein), Lesley Grantham (Kiston) and, of course Terry Molloy as Davros (played in previous stories by Michael Wisher and David Gooderson). Molloy would return as Davros in 1985's Revelation of the Daleks and 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks.

Included among the DVD's bonus features is an on location documentary filmed in and around the warehouses where the scenes in 1984 London were filmed. Actors Peter Davison and Janet Fielding join with director Matthew Robinson on the commentary track. Also included are the original BBC 1 trailer, interviews from the BBC's Breakfast Time program, extended and deleted scenes and the ever-popular pop-up production notes.

Resurrection is one of the stronger Dalek stories during the latter years of the classic Doctor Who series, and one of the best DW stories of the 80's. It also represents the beginning in the turnover in DW's cast that took place during the show's twenty-first season as Tegan Jovanka (played by Janet Fielding) leaves the series at the end of this story. The following story, Planet of Fire, included the introduction of Nicola Bryant as Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown as well as the departure of Mark Strickson as Turlough. And then of course, The Caves of Androzani sees the departure of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and the introduction of Colin Baker as Doctor Number Six. Resurrection of the Daleks was one of the strongest stories of what was arguably the best season of Peter Davison's run as the Doctor.

If you enjoyed Resurrection of the Daleks, you might also enjoy these Doctor Who adventures:

Genesis of the Daleks (starring Tom Baker as the Doctor)

Revelation of the Daleks (starring Colin Baker as the Doctor)

Doctor Who: The Complete First Series(The first season of the new series)

Doctor Who: The Beginning Collection(The first three stories of the classic DW series)

Published by R.E. Norton

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  • Resurrection of the Daleks is the Fifth Doctor's only encounter with the Daleks.
  • Terry Molloy makes his first appearance as Davros, the Daleks' creator.
  • This is Janet Fielding's last story as Tegan Jovanka.
Resurrection of the Daleks was originally written as the Season 20 finale, but after a strike at the BBC halted production of the story, writer/script editor Eric Saward and producer John Nathan-Turner held onto the script to use for Season 21.

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