It feels simultaneously like a dalek-mania inspired love letter to the show and a subtle drama about how fascism can never work. All the while you get beautiful little character moments like the Doctor’s sugar speech and Ace finding the “no colours” sign. Yeah, this is really the best classic who story. People can love Androzani and Genesis all they want but Remembrance truly is something special with its maturity.
I prefer _Androzani_ - it’s -brutal, violent and ultimately the Doctor getting involved in a petty dual planets cartel war is pointless as he doesn’t really achieve anything and yet pays for his (somewhat inadvertent), involvement with his life as he gives his life (without any assuredness that he will regenerate), to save his companion. All of this after he’s kicked both the Daleks’ and the Master’s butts prior to it.
The novelization does an even better job, especially with the sign window scene. I don't recall the novel being overloaded with pointless references to the past as well.
This story was my first official introduction to Doctor Who in 2005. My dad was a fan of the show and tried to show me a story from his time, the Ark in Space, but the DVD was so badly damaged, we couldn't watch it. He tried again with Remembrance of the Daleks and I fell in love with the show, eventually seeing the 4th Doctor episode he wanted to show me and all the other Classic Who before we got started with New Who's introductory episode, Rose. All in all, this story holds a special place in this American's heart.
Agreed 100%. We need a modern Civil War story. This was unreal and I watched it back very recently. I adore the little moment of the school headmaster asking the Doctor if he’s at Coal Hill for the job of school caretaker 😂 I was like “ahh not yet!”. It’s maybe my favourite classic Who story and the one I’ve seen the most
There's an underrated scene that's one of McCoy's best as the Doctor--when he goes to pick up the Hand of Omega and is left alone with it. It's one if the few times we see the Seventh Doctor by himself, and we see his true self, not performing for Ace or other characters.
Remembrance and The Five Doctors were my first 2 classic episodes and I will forever cherish how amazing this is. Every time I revisit I just find more and more to love about it. Also, Ace is just the single best companion
I never get tired of watching this one, it's so well paced and switches up the settings just enough to keep it varied without losing focus. The music is awesome, the Daleks are potent, the Davros rant is top notch, and it's 7 at his best. Fantastic choice :D
This was also the first dalek story were the dalek guns no longer had those plastic strips what ever they were poking out of the gun stick when they fried them.
I had the Curse of Fenric on VHS as a kid. From that point Sylvester McCoy was my favourite timelord. I think before that it was John Pertwee. I loved, Death to the Dale's and Day of the Daleks.
I watched this only 2 or 3 months ago for the first time, and it breezed by in the best way possible and kept me entertained throughout. It's a shame that things didn't work out for classic Doctor Who in the end at the time, but they sure as hell sent the Daleks off with a spectacular bang - metaphorically and probably literally 😅 - and Ace and the 7th Doctor were amazing as a duo.
I think this story is the perfect conclusion to Classic Who’s Daleks. But it’s also the perfect setup for what the Doctor and the Daleks would become in RTD Who. The Doctor has seen so much death and destruction caused by the Daleks that he’s determined to not make the same mistake he did in Genesis. He doesn’t think twice about the morality behind destroying an entire planet as collateral, and the pure contempt he has for the last Dalek is carried over into Nine’s first Dalek story. It feels like this act set him on the path to the self-loathing regretful man he was by the end of Ten’s run, which is exactly what 4 was so scared of when he asked if he had the right to commit genocide And the Daleks’ obsession with purity being at direct odds with their purpose to always survive is explored a lot in the RTD seasons. As well as that, getting rid of their obvious weaknesses and making their weapons more visually spectacular. These aren’t the Daleks that were beaten by stairs in Destiny Having said that though, he’s still able to kill one with a hat so I bet that weakness is still there. Modern doctors should wear hats again
You know, I just realized that the reason why 9 feels the way he does in End of The World after the destruction of Earth is because, not only his memory of his home, but probably because not too long ago by his time, he expanded Skaro's sun and burnt the planet, and started that war to begin with. I know it probably didn't enter Russle's head when he wrote it, but if you look at it that way as a double whammy, it really ads another layer of emotion. Like a...well, one could say a rememberance.
The only episode of Sylvester McCoy doctor that I will watch over and over again. I remember reading in a magazine it took a week to render that One Dalek Death Ray shot near the begining.
Even though the Daleks look a bit silly when they’re moving sometimes, the low budget of the show is obvious at times, but this story is brilliant. I’ve seen this so many times One of my favourite moments is when the Doctor asks Ace if she’s carrying any Nitro-9, she says she isn’t. Then later on when they encounter the first Dalek the Doctor says “Ace, quick give me some of that Nitro-9 you’re not carrying!” And she just immediately hands it to him without hesitation 😂 THAT cliffhanger at the end of episode 1 though, the first time the Dalek flies up the stairs and the Doctor is just absolutely shocked and terrified. Scared the absolute shit out of me as a kid
Out of the one's that have been released (not counting the incomplete The Daleks Masterplan), I would say that this is the best Dalek story of the classic series. Did you know though as The Hand of Omega went to the Imperial Dalek Mothership before it explodes, we see a little dot going downwards? My guesses say that little dot that falls is Davros's escape pod. Regardless though, Remembrance of the Daleks is a story that is definitely worth remembering for the ages and I also love the outtakes that this story have. Sylvester Mccoy saying: "You Chunky Lover!" being my favourite, even though that it took me a while to realise that he was referring to the type of gun and not the Kit-Kat biscuit variant 😂
The story gets off to a really good start when this is in Part 1- "Nothing even remotely human could have survived that!" "That's exactly the point! It isn't even remotely human!"
It's superb. and they followed it with The Happiness Patrol! Pink wigs, funguns,. Bertie Bassett and McCoy playing the spoons. I'd HIGHLY recommend the Target novel by Ben Aaronovitch (who also wrote the episode). Soem of the Target book were very thin and were basically just the script. But the novelisation of this story is terrific. In fact, it has a ton of stuff about Davros that was so good it was used in other stories liek the Big Finish ones. Liek Davros as a child playing "Hunt the Thal" in ruined cities with mutant beetles. And it tells the story of how Davros was crippled by a Thal shell hitting his laboratory, and how he woke up to find himself as we saw him in Genesis; the Thal medics left him in a room with a mirror and a lethal dose of poison. He deicides to live, but become sinsane in the process.
It sure was good and the best bit of the episode was The Doctor taunting Davros. “Powerful?! Crush the lesser races! Conquer the galaxy! Unimaginable power! UNLIMITED RICE PUDDING! Etc. Etc.”
Remembrance is probably my favourite. I love the Imperial Dalek design, it must have been the first tweak to the design of the Daleks since the Pertwee era. And unlike the change between the Time War to Paradigm design, it wasn’t so radical as to feel jarring. The Imperial Daleks are my all time favourite design. The Special Weapons Dalek also had a presence too, especially because it didn’t speak, it did not screw around. I also love Ace, such a radical departure from classic companions, I don’t even think New Who has had a companion like Ace. New Who’s long term companions tend to be weirdly gentle, they’re full of attitude, but seem to be incapable of meaningful violence except only in the direst DIREST circumstances. And when they wanted a violent companion, they introduced purpose-made assassin River Song, who’s good only because she loves the Doctor, and the Doctor believed she was good. Whereas Ace demonstrates you can be aggressive while still having a strong moral compass and be capable of compassion. River making a Dalek beg for mercy was kind of cool, if jarring because of Genesis and is an example of Moffat’s penchant for tell-don’t-show, but Ace holding her own against multiple Daleks without any training shows on a base level just how competent she is. “Who are you calling small?!”
It really started McCoy's second season off with a bang. It should of really been the 25th anniversary story. When DVDs had just started to be released, this story was one of the very first DVDs that I bought. It just had so many good things going for it : a great story with some social commentary(fascism and racial prejudice - those Daleks seem to like that sort of thing), great throwbacks to the series past, good characterisation with a pre-UNIT Earth military force, great action sequences(probably the best Dalek-on-Dalek fight scenes - and the "Special Weapons Dalek" - and Ace versus a Dalek), the 7th Doctor's mysterious plotting - and the "reveal" of Davros(I didn't know at the time of broadcast if he was in this story), the Dalek Civil War - and of course "unlimited rice pudding"! What is not to like? It's probably the best of the 1980s Daleks' stories - and it's also one of McCoy's best. It proved their was still life in Doctor Who(when it was 25 at the time).
It was a huge step up from the previous season, which gave us Paradise Towers and Delta and the Bannermen - Bonnie Langofrd is a good actress, but Mel was written as a virtual caricature of what the fans feared she'd be like. I remember seeign Remembrance, from that superb opening scene and thinking WOW...this is actual Doctor Who. It's a story thaty could easily fit into the "Golden Era" during Tom Baker's early years. Reembrance gets pretyt much everything right. And then we got The Happiness Patrol and Grestest Show in the Galaxy, which served to alienate casual viewers to say the least.
I cannot agree more. This episode is absolutely amazing and so iconic. The story is so fast paced too that it flies by. The only thing I’d say is there needed to be more scenes with the renegade Daleks in it as it’s not until the 3rd part that they really start to fight. I personally would have made it a 6 parter, would have probably allowed for more action sequences and and characterisation. Nonetheless this story ranks as the second best Dalek story in my ranking 2nd only to Power of the Daleks. I love everything about this story, I love the pacing, the designs, the references, the action sequences and the characters. This is doctor who’s true 25th anniversary special. I also love Terry Molloy as Davros in this story, he wasn’t really needed per say but as always he had great chemistry and line delivery between Him and the Doctor. This story is a clear 10/10 on my ranking list. For those wondering Genesis is 3rd on my ranking, as it’s not Thee definitive “Dalek” story IMO. This is just my personal opinion you may disagree and that is fine. To each their own as they say. What’s your favourite Dalek story from the classic series xx
This story, along with Resurrection of the Daleks, were my first introduction to Doctor Who. This is still one of my favourite, if not absolute favourite, Doctor Who stories of all time.
Shame the skeleton was only used once in this story, since we only see one person killed, where as the rest are either dead off screen or sent flying instead
I've always hailed Remembrance as the best bridge between old and new. You're introduced to a new (modern) ass-kicking companion, backed by a scheming Doctor who the audience has to catch up with. It wears topics on its sleeve (eg. fascism and racism) without shoving them down your neck, providing some mature layers over an otherwise light, explosive, fast-paced romp versus the top villians of Who. The cast are all wonderful, the pacing is perfect, and whenever I hear the word "Dalek", I instantly think of Roy Skelton's voice as the Dalek hovers up the stairs during that epic cliffhanger -- which is just one of many awesome moments.
this was my intro to classic Who after RTD brought it back. I'd watch it religiously over and over... and that cliffhanger. Oh the best Cliffhanger in Doctor Who as a whole hands down, nothing before or after could top Sylvester McCoy paralysed in fear that the Daleks can now fly up stairs, putting in the audiences reaction so they don't have to.
They could levitate in "Revelation" as well, just as a humdrum event and not as grand spectacle, which is why "Remembrance" sells the spectacle to perfect effect. It never got beat.
Remembrance of the Daleks is my all time favourite Doctor Who story. It has tremendous nostalgia value for me (the 30th anniversary vhs tin was the first Doctor Who media I was given), and there's only more to appreciate as you get older. Everything you said is absolutely spot on. The tone, setting, main and side characters, action... As you say; the perfect swansong for the Daleks in the classic era. It's also the perfect Dalek story in terms of it being a no-nonsense critique of the ugly Dalek ideology, drawing direct parallels between the Daleks and the worst elements of human society. It's easy enough to lump Ratcliffe in with all the other monster collaborators from the series like Mavic Chen or Soldeed, but Ratcliffe is something far more real and far worse: a BUF fanatic... And that reality and that parallel gives the story an edge. It shows how that xenopbia and race hatred can begin as grooming of people you might otherwise like, like Mike by people like Ratcliffe. And - through the Dalek civil war - shows its ultimate, inevitable, destructive folly. As you say, perfect. The only thing arguably better is the novelisation.
I haven’t watched much Classic Who, but I've watched this story. Twice. In close succession. To be fair, I bought a few Big Finish audios that link in to Remembrance of the Daleks, and I like to experience a Doctor Who story at least 2-3 times before forming an opinion of it.
One thing I like about rhis episode that I thought you might bring up is “The other” story line planted in part two of this story, which ain was to bring a mythic anonymous to the doctor via 7 which make the doctor a Demi god isn’t my cup of coffee but it would’ve been interesting where it could’ve gone if the show continued into the 90’s
As much as I enjoyed Silver Nemesis this really should've been the anniversary special, it'd have worked a lot better as callbacks to the first two Doctor Who stories along with having the greatest Dalek ever; The Special Weapons Dalek!
Except for Genesis this is hands down the best episode of the daleks. I can't find any fault with this story. If anything I just wish that group Captain Gilmore Rachel and Alison would come back. That's my only gripe with this episode. It fantastic from beginning to end. Social commentary is amazing. And the turn with the little girl was phenomenal normally I'm able to guess the plot twist with Doctor Who that was the first time they caught me. Can you do something about her I just didn't figure that she was sitting in that chair
Everyone loves this so far in comments.. but the doctor does allow a number of humans to die as collatoral for the end game of tricking his enemies. So much for his favourite alien species Homo sapiens
He does try to get the military out of the way, but Group Captain Gilmore initially doesn't listen to him, and he didn't anticipate the Imperials landing their shuttle in the playground again
The only disappointment about the Daleks in this brilliant story is how much they wobble across some of the streets/roads. I found it hard to take them seriously in the scene where they threaten to exterminate Mike as they move along the cobbled street.
That’s due to the nature of how the props were built. They needed to be more terrain capable causing them to wobble with the new wheels that the props were given
I think it works if you think this way. The Imperials are Rookies, Raw Recruits, not entirely used to their Hoverdrives, so they wobble with operator error due to youthful inexperience. The Renegades are Battle Hardened Veterans, but they are old and badly maintained and have been damaged in their many Battles, so their Hoverdrives are failing! So they wobble with mechanical failure due to.. Old Age!
Remembrance is a story which really hammers home why New Who's single episode story format just doesn't work for me. The action sequences and the quiet sequences get the chance to be without you feeling like you're being flung between them. And I love the tea scene. There's a comment on the clip here on RU-vid whining that it's 'stupid pre-woke, woke scene'... But it's a perfect illustration of how such simple things can have big consequences which is the essence of the show.
