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Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks – why the special edition is the definitive version

By James Aggas

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Is the special edition of Day of the Daleks the superior version? We (and BritBox) certainly seem to think so.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

With the story now on BritBox, we take a look at the classic Doctor Who serial Day of the Daleks, and why exactly the special edition of the story is the best version.

So earlier this week – on Halloween, in fact – BritBox added several complete Dalek stories to their library. These included Remembrance of the Daleks, which just last month actually celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, and the Jon Pertwee classic Day of the Daleks.

I’ve mentioned before how fantastic the story of Day of the Daleks was, focusing on themes that would be shared by the Terminator films, and the classic X-Men story, Days of Future Past.

In my summary for each of the new stories on BritBox, I had also mentioned that the special edition of Day was fantastic. However, I was sure that it would remain a DVD only exclusive, but I was more than happy to watch the original version again.

However, when I saw the trailer that BritBox had uploaded on their Facebook page for the newly uploaded stories, something stuck out to me about the Day of the Daleks clips. Many of them were distinctly clips from the special edition, not the original. I was curious enough to wonder if BritBox had uploaded the special edition instead of the original, or were simply using those clips purely for promotional purposes.

However, having just watched Day of the Daleks on BritBox, I can confirm: it is the special edition they’ve uploaded, not the original. For purists who never want any changes made, this may be a problem. But for this Whovian, it’s the undoubtedly the best version they’ve uploaded.

We’ll take a look at why the special edition is the stronger version of the story in a moment. But first, let’s take at the story itself, and what makes it so good.

Day of the Daleks featured a very strong story across all four episodes.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

A strong story

While the special edition of Day of the Daleks is arguably the superior version, without a good story and strong performances in the first place, no edition of the story would actually be good.

And these are exactly what we get with this serial. Watching it again, I was surprised at how tightly plotted and paced it was. Now, perhaps watching Planet of the Spiders only yesterday probably helped in showing me just how fast-paced it is by comparison. But it does get in a lot of plot over its four episodes.

One thing that helps is having two distinct time zones. We have the present day setting for primarily the first two episodes, in which the Third Doctor and Jo investigate the strange appearance of “ghosts” around Auderly House. The second half focuses more on them in a dark, dystopian future, where the Daleks have completely taken over.

Admittedly, Planet of the Spiders had something similar with both its Earth setting and Metebelis Three. But Day of the Daleks was able to balance that out with a story that kept moving, while also giving us a lot of questions to ask along the way.

The only thing I’ll say is perhaps a little too much explanation is left for the final episode. For example, we don’t find out exactly why the guerillas want to kill Styles until the middle of part four. But at the same time, it says a lot about the story that until that moment, there was little time to truly get that explanation.

But it’s not just the story or setting that make Day of the Daleks stand out so well…

Day of the Daleks features some very strong performances, including Anna Barry as Anat.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Excellent performances

The characters also really make this story work, too. The guerillas fighting to change history are especially interesting. When the story begins, they initially come across as the bad guys, making threats to the Doctor and Jo and initially holding them hostage, all to kill a seemingly innocent politician.

But as the story goes on, you very quickly find out why they’re doing all of these things. And they grow to become very sympathetic. It’s something that can command a lot from an actor, but there was some really strong casting used here.

Particularly for Anna Barry as Anat. She comes across as someone who’s had a tough life but genuinely wants to do the right thing, and while she’s dedicated to her cause, she’s not happy with the idea of taking things too far.

The Controller

But perhaps the character who stands out the most in this story is the Controller. Played by Aubrey Woods, who some of you may know as the Candy Man from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Woods plays a very interesting and complex character.

The Controller is charming and sounds reasonable, but he’s also working with the Daleks. He may not like the way things are, but he can’t see any other way. His conversations with the Doctor particularly stand out. Both men see themselves in the right. The Doctor is happy to label him as a traitor, but the Controller genuinely believes that he’s improved things.

With such a complex and interesting character, the story really needed a strong actor to give a great performance, and that’s exactly what we get from Woods.

So we’ve got a serial with a great story and some very strong performances. So what lets it down?

The original version, while very strong, still had its problems.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Problems in the original version

Looking back, there actually aren’t too many problems for most of Day of the Daleks. It’s well-paced, the action scenes flow well, and a lot of the story competently holds up. So what would make it need a special edition?

Honestly? The Daleks themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, they look good, at least. True to their original appearance, but updated just a little for the new world of color. And it’s nice to see a gold Dalek mixed in with the gray ones, too.

However, their voices are noticeably off. And not just because it’s the Seventies, either. Even based on what came before, the Dalek voices weren’t quite right in the original version. So that lets it down a bit.

There’s also the final battle scene. This is, of course, where Doctor Who‘s low budget can be a problem. Because you can clearly see that they have only three Dalek props for this story, and as such, the battle of UNIT versus the Daleks isn’t quite as impressive as it should be.

And this is where the special edition comes in.

A new look at a classic

In 2011, when Day of the Daleks was released on DVD, a special edition of the story had been included. This wasn’t simply new CGI effects that had been inserted into the story, which was a common option to have on many Classic Who DVDs. There were many other little additions too, some big, some small.

For example, some short, brand new shots had been created with new actors, mainly of UNIT soldiers getting shot or killed by Daleks or Ogrons. These moments weren’t intrusive, and in fact were graded to match the picture quality of the rest of the story.

They just added a little bit of color, particularly to the final battle scene. We get to see a lot more Daleks than before, and the whole sequence comes across as feeling a lot more action packed and epic. It’s a huge step up compared to what we originally got.

Dalek voices

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But the biggest change of all were the Dalek voices. For this new edition of Day of the Daleks, Nicholas Briggs – a man who voices the Daleks both in the New Series and on audio – recorded some lines in a voice much closer to one you’d hear in Planet of the Daleks from the very next season.

For this Dalek fan, this is definitely the best thing about the special edition. It may sound small, but Dalek voices are very distinctive. Like so much about Doctor Who, they’ve changed relatively little over the decades. So it’s great that the special edition got right which should’ve been handled well at the time.

Day of the Daleks has always had a very strong story. But the special edition really highlights just how strong it is. Apart from one or two specific effects shots, it rarely detracts from the story.

Rather, it helps to highlight just how great the original story is. It’s fast-paced and action-packed, but it also has a very intelligent plot, too. If you’re a fan of Dalek stories, or want to see a fresh take on a classic story done right, be sure to check out Day of the Daleks on BritBox or DVD now.

Next. Review: Night Thoughts – one of the most horrific audios ever made?. dark

Have you seen Day of the Daleks? Do you prefer the special edition over the original? Or do you think the original should be celebrated, warts and all? Let us know in the comments below.

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