The Dalek Invasion of Earth

In March 1964, story editor David Whitaker formally commissioned Terry Nation to write a serial for Doctor Who's second season following the success of the Daleks from the titular serial of the first season, as well as Nation's quick and effective work on The Keys of Marinus.[4] The commission was made under the title Doctor Who and the Daleks. Nation delivered the storyline for the serial in mid-April 1964 under the name The Return of the Daleks.[5] The serial was retitled The Dalek Invasion of Earth by September; The Daleks in Europe appeared on some design material.[6]

The Dalek models were refurbished for the serial, adding new eyestalks, a dish receptor, improved bases for movement, and a new pedal mechanism.[lower-alpha 1][7] The serial's score was composed by Francis Chagrin. Around 18 minutes of incidental music for the first three episodes was recorded on 10 September 1964 at Maida Vale Studios,[8] and 12 minutes for the final three episodes was recorded by five musicians on 8 October.[9] Chagrin had conceived the music from the serial's final scene some time before production and was "dying to use it".[10]

The Dalek Invasion of Earth is the final regular appearance of Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman.

On 12 March 1964, trade paper Television Today announced that Carole Ann Ford would depart from her role as Susan at the end of her contract, due to her dissatisfaction with the character's development.[5] Whitaker wanted a strong reason for Susan's departure. To assist the story's development, Ford and Hartnell were invited to stay with Nation and his wife over a weekend in August.[11] In June 1964, head of serials Donald Wilson considered continuing the show without the character of Barbara, and with a younger actress for Susan.[12] Delays by Controller of Programmes Donald Baverstock to renew cast contracts meant that Susan's replacement, then intended to be Jenny (originally known as Saida), could not be introduced in the serial.[13] Director Richard Martin asked Ann Davies, who was cast as Jenny, if she would be available as a regular cast member, but he could not offer the role.[14]

The Dalek Invasion of Earth was the first speaking role of Nicholas Smith, who portrayed Wells. When Smith discovered he was only starring in one episode, he approached Martin; Martin asked him to return in a later episode to lead the human rebellion.[15] Jean Conroy, who played one of the women in the woods in the fifth episode, died in a street accident on 14 November; the episode was broadcast posthumously.[16]

The Dalek Invasion of Earth was the first major location shoot for Doctor Who. Filming in 35mm began at Trafalgar Square at around 5:30 a.m. on 23 August 1964, consisting of shots of a deserted city.[17] The design team added Dalek markings on landmarks such as Nelson's Column, which police requested they remove.[18] On the same day, filming took place at the statue of the Duke of Cambridge in Whitehall, Westminster Bridge, and the Royal Albert Hall. Martin had an agreement with police to vacate parts of central London for filming. Production resumed two days later on 25 August at the closed Wood Lane tube station.[19] On 27 August, filming took place at Hammersmith Bridge. The location was chosen as it provided easy access to a hospital in case any performers swallowed river water; a taxi remained on standby. Dalek operator Robert Jewell could not gain enough traction to move his Dalek out of the river; the prop was attached to a cable to help. Doctor Who's first filming in a quarry took place on 28 August at Stone, Kent.[20] Peter Hawkins and David Graham recorded Dalek voiceovers on 16 September.[8]

Rehearsals for the first episode began on 14 September in White City, and weekly studio recording began on 18 September in Studio 1 at Riverside Studios. Though smaller overall than Lime Grove Studios, the complex used for previous serials, Riverside offered well-equipped and larger individual studios.[8] During camera rehearsals for the third episode on 2 October, Hartnell injured his back when a prop ramp malfunctioned;[21] when Martin apologised for the incident, Hartnell assured that he would be fine, but producer Verity Lambert insisted that he take several days to rest.[22] Following discussions between Hartnell's solicitors and the BBC's, the BBC denied liability and paid for an X-ray. Hartnell was given a week off to recover, and the fourth episode underwent minor rewrites; Edmund Warwick doubled for Hartnell as The Doctor in the episode.[9] The final episode was recorded on 23 October, marking a year of production since the filming of the show's first serial;[23] recording was delayed by half an hour due to some technical facilities being used by coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics.[9] The production crew anticipated the final episode to be one of the most technically complex. The recording suffered some camera and sound issues, causing Hartnell to stumble some speeches. Hartnell omitted two lines from the Doctor's closing speech to Susan.[lower-alpha 2] Ford recorded footage of the cast between camera rehearsals on her personal 8 mm film camera.[23]

The Dalek Invasion of Earth was successful among viewers, with an additional four million viewers over the previous serial:[25] the first episode received 11.4 million viewers, which rose to 12.4 the following week. The third and fourth episodes received 11.9 million, which dropped to 11.4 for the fifth episode, and rose again to 12.4 for the final.[26] The first episode was the highest-rated BBC programme for northern England, and the third episode was the highest-rated for Wales and western England.[25] The fifth episode was ranked 18th in the national ratings for the week, tied with ITV's Thank Your Lucky Stars.[27] The Appreciation Index was highest for the first episode at 63, dropping to 59 for the second, third, and fourth episodes, and to 58 for the fifth, before rising to 60 for the final.[26] The serial was shown at the Longleat 20th Anniversary Celebration on 3 April 1983, and the first episode was screened at the National Film Theatre on 29 October 1983. All six episodes were screened at the theatre on 5 January 1999.[26]

At the BBC Programme Review Board after the broadcast of the first episode in November 1964, director of television Kenneth Adam called it "interesting".[25] The Audience Research Report was higher than usual, with praise for the production and atmosphere; the primary complaint was the lack of Daleks, and some viewers felt it was too gruesome for children.[27] The Review Board described the third episode as "outstanding".[31] The following week, executives of the Board felt that the show's quality was consistently high. Adam indicated that Director-General Hugh Greene was eager to see the Daleks return in future stories.[32] T. C. Worsley of the Financial Times praised the serial for creating a universal image for the Daleks. On 27 May 1965, critic Frederick Laws wrote that he had banned his children from watching Doctor Who due to the ending of the serial's first episode.[33]

Retrospective reviews of the serial were generally positive. In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping praised the exterior sequences of the Daleks, though noted the less impressive production of the Slyther.[34] In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker described the serial as "one of the series' all-time greats", with impressive scripting and location filming despite some clumsy direction; they also praised the "poignant and moving" final scene.[35] In A Critical History of Doctor Who (1999), John Kenneth Muir found the serial to be one of Doctor Who's darkest, and praised the location shooting and the characterisation of Susan, though noted some sexism in the Doctor's final remarks and criticised some "positively amateurish" special effects.[36]

In 2008, Mark Braxton of Radio Times praised the supporting cast, location filming, and emotional ending, but noted the continuity errors concerning the Daleks and the production shortcomings as a result of the serial's ambition.[30] In a 2011 review, The A.V. Club's Christopher Bahn criticised the serial's slow pacing and the uninteresting concept of the Robomen, and noted that Susan's departure lacked dramatic impact because the Doctor chose for her; however, he praised the first episode and its cliffhanger, and the characterisation of the Doctor.[1] In 2010, Charlie Jane Anders of io9 listed the first episode's cliffhanger as one of the greatest in the show's history.[2] The Dalek Invasion of Earth was voted the best First Doctor story by Doctor Who Magazine readers in 2020; writer Nick Setchfield cited the atmosphere, character, and narrative as its greatest elements, and the first episode's cliffhanger and Susan's departure among its best moments.[3]