The Power of the Daleks - Episode 5

The penultimate episode of this story starts with the Daleks being made in great numbers and it’s a great start to the episode. It’s made even better when Lesterson starts getting worried and emotional. He ends by being very hysterical and it’s at this moment that he realises just what a fool he has been. It’s quite impressive how far Lesterson has fallen since the early episodes. Sadly shortly after the episode has got going, it starts to stagger a bit. It’s a shame really but it’s inevitable with six part stories and it’s easy to see why this is the first six parter since ‘The Chase’ in 1965. Quite why they chose to do a six part adventure at this crucial time is a mystery to me.

There are some good moments apart from the very start of the episode. Such as when the Daleks talk about being servants they don’t say it in quite the same way. It’s clear that they are acting and doing it badly. It’s quite fun to see how the Daleks are acting. It’s the most creative what that they have been used for some time and its interesting that its not Terry Nation that has written this story. Yes the supporting characters story isn’t quite as interesting as it would have been had Nation’s name been used as the writer but its how the Daleks are used that’s what has been the best thing about this story. Not much mention of the regulars so far and that’s because in my mind they haven’t really been much to write about.

There is another cracking cliffhanger which involves the Daleks ranting which is becoming a regular theme in these episodes. The thing is that the plot is starting to run out of pace but luckily it’s just happening at the right time but it seems like the Daleks now are the only good point. It’s the weakest episode of the story so far but as a story its still got some good points and at least the quality is better than it was towards the end of the Hartnell era. The final episode should hopefully end the story on a high note.