Written by Guy Leopold, Day of the Daleks was the triumphant return of the Doctor’s most dreaded foes who had been unseen since 1968’s Evil of the Daleks starring Patrick Troughton. The 1972 stunner featured time traveling terrorists, ape-like henchmen armed with ray guns and plenty of chase scenes. It was also a bit of a rush job and therefore suffered some set backs such as less than impressive special effects, poor voice acting for the Daleks and only three of the creatures were ever seen! Granted, some fans do not enjoy this adventure, but for me, this is one of the better Dalek stories of the 70’s, even if it is simply because it is so unusual.
Next month, the folks at 2|entertain will amend these flaws with a special edition using CGi to create a future over-run by Daleks, new explosions and other fine tweaks. For posterity, the original version will also be included, of course.
(Click here to read my review)
Here are the DVD extras, as confirmed by the fine folks at Eye of Horus- click here for their early review of the DVD
DVD EXTRA Disc 1
4 x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio (Original Version).
Commentary – stereo. With actors Anna Barry and Jim Winston, producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks and vision mixer Mike Catherwood.
Blasting the Past (dur. 30’ 30”) – cast and crew look back on the making of this story. With actors Katy Manning, Jimmy Winston and, Anna Barry, producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks, monster maker John Friedlander, Dalek operator Ricky Newby, Dalek voice artiste Nicholas Briggs, classic series writer Ben Aaronovitch, new series writer Paul Cornell and Doctor Who Magazine writer Dave Owen.
A View from the Gallery – producer Barry Letts and vision mixer Mike Catherwood talk about the art of vision mixing on a multi-camera studio show like Doctor Who.
Nationwide – a report from a primary school on the day they took delivery of a Dalek, first prize in a Radio Times competition.Blue Peter – presenter Peter Purves remembers his time as a companion to William Hartnell’s Doctor and is joined in the studio by a trio of Daleks.
Photo Gallery – production, design and publicity photos from the story.
DVD EXTRA Disc 2
4 x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio (Special Edition).
The Making of Day of the Daleks – Special Edition – producer Steve Broster guides us through the creation of his Special Edition of this story. With voice artiste Nicholas Briggs, audio engineer Mark Ayres, cameraman John Kelly, Dalek builder Toby Chamberlain, UNIT soldier Kevan Looseley and Ogron Nick Nicholson.
Now and Then – the latest instalment of our long-running series revisits the locations used in Day of the Daleks to see how much or little they have changed over the years. Narrated by Toby Hadoke.
The UNIT Family – Part Two – the second instalment of our series looking at the Doctor’s years on Earth as scientific advisor to the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce and the strong family bonds created during that time. With Katy Manning, Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks, actors Nicholas Courtney, John Levene, Richard Franklin and Fernanda Marlowe, stuntman Derek Ware.
The UNIT Dating Conundrum – over the years, many fans have tried to rationalise the chronological setting of the UNIT stories from clues within the narrative, despite the obstacles seemingly put in their way by the production team. Narrator Toby Hadoke explains why dating the stories is so difficult, assisted by Terrance Dicks, Dave Owen, Nicholas Briggs and Ben Aaronovitch.
The Cheating Memory – Special Edition producer Steve Broster tries to discover why the reality of Day of the Daleks doesn’t quite live up to the memory he has of first seeing it, aged six. With psychologist Dr. Sarita Robinson, Nicholas Briggs and Ben Aaronovitch.
The Daily P.O.P. 
The UNIT dating feature sounds a great idea.
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As with The Sun Makers, I knew Day of the Daleks from the Target novelisation so my version of it is drawn from my imagination. That said I suspect that, again like The Sun Makers, I will enjoy the TV original because it’s a good story… and it has Aubrey Morris, Anna Barry (yum), and OGRONS in it! Anyway my imagination is strong enough to see beyond the flaws to the Platonic version underneath, if I may be a little pretentious! Still, the Special Edition version looks primo too.
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I’m so happy that 2e chose this story for the Special Edition treatment. Like many Doctor Who stories of the classic era, the lack of a budget often impacts the final production. I do enjoy the four episodes as is, but the added bells and whistles are just what Day of the Daleks needs to sell the story.
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Mmmnh, perhaps, Mr DailyPop, perhaps. Certainly the gussying-up can’t hurt. Some ’60s – ’80s Who stories are holed below the waterline by tonal mistakes or mediocre to misbegotten special/visual FX, costume designs, and lack of money. Nightmare of Eden for example requires you to excuse MANY poor decisions to see the good story underneath but something like Underworld would be crap no matter WHAT bells ‘n’ whistles were added. It’s interesting. Then again I’d argue that modern Who is so popular that it’s often praised for effects that aren’t very good and stories that are likewise. But that’s Just Me! Well done on your site.
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>>Then again I’d argue that modern Who is so popular that it’s often praised for effects that aren’t very good and stories that are likewise.
Oh yes, that’s an entirely different kettle of fish and a good example of trying to cover up bad stories with mediocre special fx. Thanks for the accolades!
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