Fiftieth anniversary of "Genesis of the Daleks"

It was fifty years ago today, on March 8th 1975, that the BBC transmitted part one of the Doctor Who story "Genesis of the Daleks".

It has since gone on to be regarded as one of the very best Doctor Who tales in the history of the franchise and one of the greatest science-fiction stories ever committed to the visual medium.  "Genesis of the Daleks", written by Terry Nation, packed a lot!  The part that I most often think about is when The Doctor (the Fourth, played by Tom Baker) is agonizing over the choice that is his to make: to either destroy the Daleks before they can become the universal menace he knows them to be, or to save them and let history run its course.  It was pretty strong stuff for a show still considered to be made for young audiences.

So it is that today is the fiftieth anniversary of the debut of Davros, the genius-but-insane creator of the Daleks.  Personally, I think that Davros is one of the greatest villains in fictional history.  When you consider that he has only one hand but that hand is stained with the blood of trillions of innocent lives... that is incalculable evil.

And to celebrate, here is a video that I discovered many years ago that someone very brilliant compiled and posted to YouTube. This predates Davros's appearance in the series that has been running since 2005, so it's almost all from the classic productions.

Here is "Davros Versus The Universe":

EDIT: 03/10/2025:  A reader of this blog has informed me that the complete "Genesis of the Daleks", all six episodes, is available to watch on the official Doctor Who YouTube channel!

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The most bestest scene from "The Day of the Doctor"

"The Day of the Doctor" became a truly epic event: the kind of cultural milestone ranking up there with the premiere of Star Wars in 1977, Woodstock and the final episode of M*A*S*H.  The day after the fiftieth anniversary special of Doctor Who aired, Guinness certified it as the most-watched simulcast of a dramatic presentation ever.

I purchased "The Day of the Doctor" from iTunes as soon as it was made available and have watched it all the way through twice and some scenes many times.  And they were plentiful: "NO MORE", the Moment, the tribute to past companions (including Captain Jack Harkness, and why are River Song's red high-heels hanging there anyway??) in the Black Archive, all of those TARDISes that swooped out of nowhere, that very fleeting glimpse - with an anger and determination that would cower Hell itself - of the Twelfth Doctor's eyes, finally seeing the regeneration that produced the Ninth Doctor, the dream sequence of the Eleventh Doctor joining his previous lives as they look toward Gallifrey, all accompanied by a majestic score by Murray Gold...

All very wonderful.  Very beautiful.  Steven Moffat and his team pulled off what can only be described as the perfect Doctor Who story for the fiftieth anniversary.  One loaded with iconic scenes that have already become beloved by fans.

But there was one scene that stood tallest of them all.

It was the scene that most paid homage to where The Doctor has gone before while setting the stage for that which is yet to come.  The scene that sent Doctor Who fans worldwide into a collective gasp followed by screams of wild rejoicing.  And certainly what will prove to be the most pivotal scene of the series since its revival in 2005.

Here it is again for your viewing pleasure...


That surely will go down as the high point of Matt Smith's career as the Eleventh Doctor.  You just can't top sharing a scene with Tom Baker: the one who will, for many of us, forever be "my favorite Doctor".

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Behold the very strange and bizarre "Dimensions in Time" DOCTOR WHO special from 1993!

During the first afternoon of Mysticon in Roanoke this past weekend, following the opening panel with Peter Davison there was a special treat(?) presented by the good folks at Gallifrey Pirate Radio.  This was the last time that all of the then-surviving Doctors were brought together for a story.  Although as you can see the canonicity of this is debatable (okay, pretty much null and void) and you'll no doubt notice how William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton are resurrected with all the glorious CGI capability that the early Nineties had to offer, it's still a fun lil' vignette for Doctor Who fans...

Fourth Doctor: "Mayday! Mayday! This is an urgent message for all the Doctors. It's vitally important that you listen carefully to me for once. Our whole existence is being threatened by a renegade Time Lord known only as the Rani! She hates me. She even hates children! Two of my earlier selves have already been snared in her vicious trap. The grumpy one and the flautist, do you remember? She wants to put us out of action, lock us away in a dreary backwater of London's East End, trapped in a time-loop in perpetuity. Her evil is all around us! I can hear the heart beat of a killer. She's out there somewhere. We must be on our guard and we must stop her before she destroys all of my other selves! Oh... Good luck, my dears!"

So from 1993 here are Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and a whole gaggle of Doctor's companions, classic enemies and whatnot fighting The Rani (Kate O'Mara) in a crossover with the BBC's EastEnders.  In the very first Doctor Who special for Children in Need, here is... "Dimensions in Time"!


If you thought that was something, you should try to sit through The Airzone Solution as Kristen and I did on Sunday afternoon.  I've got just one thing to say: "Colin Baker in the shower".

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