The Dalek Invasion of Earth vs. The Chase

The Chase to me has always been a much bigger disappointment than The Dalek Invasion of Earth was. There are parts of it which have the potential to be fun like the robotic duplicate, the TARDIS landing in the realm of human imagination, even the premise itself is one of my favourites, but much of it is just so cringeworthy. It feels a lot like the Amicus Dalek films in its tone and it just falls flat for me, I was never too much of a fan of their attempts at comedy. My childhood memory of watching these episodes was a tense hunt through space and time with our characters' lives on the line. I was a bit disappointed by the reality, it was one of the very few stories that didn't live up to the memory.

I'm always a bit baffled by criticisms aimed towards the Daleks' objectives in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. I would've thought that the use of a parasitised planet would be self-evident, it's the ultimate fortress and the fact that its surface would be rendered desolate by the shift wouldn't be a problem for the Daleks themselves in their bonded polycarbide casings. You would have an entire world to use as a war factory for your soldiers, raiding countless other planets across the solar system with the ability to disguise itself as a rogue to throw off suspicion. The Earth would essentially become a retrofitted Death Star. I'd say that the production values are only a slight downgrade from Christopher Barry's work on The Daleks. Same is true of the pacing, although I will admit that there is a bit of a lull in The End of Tomorrow due to Hartnell's absence. There's a great deal of atmosphere to the deserted London, it's tense and dour with one character throwing away his life just to have the scant opportunity to hurt his oppressors. Barbara and Jenny running across the city with Dortmann is one of my favourite moments in that serial, as is the confirmation that Larry's brother has been robotised.