Terrific time travel tales!!!

These may be two of the best Dr. Who eps of all time. Baker really had begun hitting his stride, moving outside the script from time to time. Elisabeth Sladen was one of the few companions who could actually keep up with him in these deviations, although ultimately all companions are "screamers." If you're looking for their best work together, you might want to find a copy of Pyramid of Mars, but back to the topics at hand...

Genesis is classic BBC story telling at its best, written and performed at a time when many broadcast writers had done (and continued) to write for radio. However, 'Who' was benefitting from some excellent set work, with directors who understood that tight settings with the right props could create a huge image in the viewer's mind when budgets and technology did not allow for the kind of FX we now are used to.

Our heros are forced to challenge their views of right and wrong, and over how far one may have to go to deal with great evil. Secondary characters provide stories of craven collaboration and heroic challenges to authority.

This story also is a good example of why the Daleks became such a fascinating topic over and over again for Doctor Who. Ultimately, they (like evil) never are completely defeated. They have no mercy, only their goal of creating a perfect, Dalek society.

The Sontaran Experiment is a little more of a straight forward adventure yarn, again populated by interesting sub characters. The Sontarans, despite their technology and vast numbers, inevitably succumb to their own rigidity. A much better Sontaran episode emerges down the road, when the Doctor becomes president of Galifry, only to turn the whole plant over to the Sontarans!

These two tales should make almost anyone a fan of Doctor Who, and the whole Tom Baker era represents much of the best of what that show ever offered.

Great Who story

I must admit - I never caught "The Sontaran Experiment". I never much appreciated the Sontarans - these guys have gone a long way towards conquering time itself, yet otherwise involve themselves in a meaningless war with the Rutans. Obvioulsy, the jewel of this collection is "Genesis of the Daleks". This story is part of an arc that began with "Ark in Space" and concluded with the next serial "Revenge of the Cybermen". Returning to the Doctor's TARDIS, the Doctor (Baker) and his companions Harry (Marter) and Sarah (Sladden) are intercepted by one of the Doctor's fellow timelords, and brought to the war torn planet of Skaro. Who fans know that Skaro was the home planet of the insidious Daleks - horribly mutated creatures that live inside machines. Though the Daleks would eventually extend their grip across the universe, they were for once bound to Skaro. Anticipating an era in which the Daleks would attain dominance over the universe, the timelords sent the Doctor on a desperate mission to an era on Skaro that saw their creation. Learn as much as possible about them, inhibit their evolution and, if possible, destroy them. Unfortunately (and as you'd expect for a Who story), are characters become embroiled with the politics of Skaro: between the two warring humanoid races of the planet - the Kaleds and the Thals, and between factions of the Kaleds, the apparent progenitors of the Daleks. We also meet Davros, a horribly mutated Kaled who actually engineers the Daleks. With their planet scarred by every known form of weaponry - including chemical, bacteriological and nuclear - there seems no hope in preventing the Kaleds from mutating into globby things that will need to travel inside the machines that will become the Daleks. However, Davros has a mind and soul to match his scarred body - he also engineers a new form of organic life devoid of conscience or any sense of compassion. Rather than mutant Kaleds, it is these twisted organisms that will become the dreaded Daleks. The Doctor struggles against both Thals and Kaleds, while occasionally making use of both.

This was a great episode that lives up to its hype. Though it loses steam in the latter half - in which the insidious Davros uses every form of trickery he knows to protect his project from doubting Kaleds - it's always riveting in true "Who" tradition. The planet Skaro - burned by centuries of futile war - is a compelling setting, while Davros makes an engaging new enemy - he's something of a Dalek himself. In a powerful exchange between Davros and the Doctor, the two debate the meaning of power over life and death and the morality that must come with it (somewhat prefiguring a similar conversation between Fiennes and Neeson in "Schindler"). Though a kid's story, the dilemma the Doctor faces is very mature - he finds himself empowered to destroy the Daleks before they can threaten the universe - but does he have the right to commit genocide against a then-innocent life-form?

FOR THOSE WHO KNOW NO "WHO" - this is one of the stand-out stories that makes a great entry for those knowing little about the show. "The Doctor" is apparently human, but is actually an alien timelord (over 700 years old, two hearts, and the ability to regenerate every time the role needs to be re-cast). Having a time-spaceship (not seen in this story) the Doctor can travel anywhere in time and space. Though originally a kid show, this era of "Who" coincided with the show's inroads to older American viewers. Though production values are low, they're more than adequate given the crisp writing which puts the shows light-years ahead of the sedate and sterile thrills of "Star Trek" of the late 1980's. Best of all, the story is a perfect highlight for Tom Baker's dramatic range - his ability to go from a child's whimsy to an adult fury. Baker was still new to the role (he held it for about 7 years) and the producers scheduled this and a Cybermen story ("Revenge") to get him up to speed. Toss in Sarah-Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan as prototypical modern-day British who can go anywhere (or time) the Doctor goes, but never seek to understand what they're doing there. This was strangely the last Dalek story for years, and probably the last really good one for even longer.

What the others didnt mention

Contrary to popular belief, the sontaran experiment was always a two parter. Going directly on from Ark in Space, so by extension it became a six part adventure. These two would have been better combined as the Genesis of the Daleks would have been with Revenge of the Cybermen. I noticed this after someone mentioned it to me. Styres mission to Earth was a bit pointless, but then it wouldnt have been too dramatic, now would it?. Exactly why does he need to lure a Gal-Sec mission to an EMPTY planet?Since they are planning to go through Earths Solar system and not the colony worlds. It isnt a gripe at all. I have always liked the single-minded Sontarans.

As for Genesis, like others have said, wall yourselves in your city and ignore the other guys. But of course I loved seeing Davros for the second time, I had seen Destiny of the Daleks first. I thought a great design idea to get Davros and his daleks even closer subtley for the viewers would have been to make the Daleks black and silver like his chair. And yes it could have lost the Muto subplot and the rocket subplot could have been tightened up to make it a four parter. But over-all I was thoroughly creeped out by Davros's ability to turn life and death into a simple dinner time discussion. "Yes I would do it, that power would set me up amongst the Gods!"