The Daleks have been the Doctor's deadliest foes since they first debuted in Doctor Who, and their stories have been among the Time Lord's best. Debuting in the 1963 serial The Daleks, the metallic residents of Skaro instantly made a mark on the Doctor Who universe, and they were back to terrorize the Doctor just a season later. Known for their sweeping plans of universal extermination, the evil nature of the Daleks has never been in question, and each dastardly scheme seemed to top the last. Even as classic Who became new Who, the Daleks continued to be the sharpest thorn in the Doctor's side.
With their nearly indestructible metal bodies and deadly laser weapons, the Daleks were enough to vex the Time Lord. However, they often recruited henchmen and toughs that helped them compensate for any of their physical shortcomings. Every version of the Daleks seemed to improve upon the previous, and as the classic Doctor Who era wore on, they became more and more dangerous. Besides them being a fearsome enemy, the stories featuring the Daleks were often some of the best of the classic Who era, and they proved just how effective the Doctor's adventures through time and space could be.
15 The Chase (1965)
Though the premise of the Doctor Who serial The Chase was a brilliant evolution of the Daleks and their abilities, the execution was what made it lacking. Suddenly with the ability to travel through time, the evil Daleks pursued the Doctor and his companions to several different time periods in order to seize the TARDIS for themselves. The constant changes in scenery kept the six-part story fresh, but scenes involving the Daleks being attacked by Dracula and Frankenstein while in a haunted house were just too much. Despite The Chase featuring a cheesy Dalek plot, their new ability to time travel opened the door for new story possibilities.
14 Death To The Daleks (1974)
The Third Doctor's encounters with the Daleks were varied at best, and Death to the Daleks was the worst of Jon Pertwee's years. The plot concerned the planet Exxilion and the battle between humans, Daleks, and the native people for a mineral that was found there. Right off the bat, the Daleks were weakened by a story constraint that made their energy weapons useless. Their vulnerabilities continued throughout the serial, and they came off as rather weak when being destroyed by the primitive weapons of the native Exxilions. Sara Jane Smith and the Doctor had very little onscreen chemistry, and the whole thing fell flat compared to other Dalek serials.
13 Destiny Of The Daleks (1979)
After one of the best classic Doctor Who stories in 1975's Genesis of the Daleks, the long-awaited follow-up story, Destiny of the Daleks, felt somewhat flat by comparison. Set on the planet Skaro centuries after the events of the aforementioned serial, the Fourth Doctor encountered the Daleks as they sought the advice of their former leader, Davros. While it did offer a glimpse further into Dalek society, Davros was not the tyrannical villain he had previously been, and the Doctor felt out of place being simply caught in the crossfire of the Daleks' war with the Movellans.
12 Frontier In Space (1973)
Frontier in Space was a serial that had everything going for it, and yet it still missed the mark of perfection. The story saw the Daleks employ the intelligence of the Master to attempt to start a war between the humans and the Draconians. Newly freed from his exile on Earth, the Third Doctor put the TARDIS to good use, and the six-part story saw him visit a wide variety of different planets and times. Even so, the length of the story caused it to sag in the middle, and it was more about the Master than it was about the Daleks themselves.
11 Revelation Of The Daleks (1985)
Colin Baker's time in the role was short-lived, and as such, the Sixth Doctor only had one encounter with his old enemy. Revelation of the Daleks saw Davros pose as the head of a funeral home that converted humans into Daleks or into food for his army. The serial scored points for having an original take on the Daleks, and Davros was back to his usual evil best, but the format was what made it lackluster. Revelation of the Daleks was the last classic Doctor Who story that was made in the 45-minute format, and the first of the two parts was stuffed with too much filler for the Doctor.
10 Day Of The Daleks (1972)
The Third Doctor's exile on Earth made encounters with the Daleks difficult, but Day of the Daleks crafted a clever way to get around the constraint. The serial saw the Doctor and Jo transported to an alternate future where the Daleks had enslaved mankind after the outbreak of World War III. Crafted in only four parts, the quick story had absolutely no filler and was actually dense in its storytelling. It introduced the Ogrons as a new recurring villain, and though the final showdown with the Daleks was anticlimactic, the story utilized the alternate future idea quite deftly.
9 Planet Of The Daleks (1973)
The timeline of the Daleks was twisted and complicated, and the serial Planet of the Daleks brought back a long-forgotten detail about their history. Immediately after the events of Frontier in Space, the serial saw the Third Doctor attempt to stop the remaining Dalek forces from reviving an army of their compatriots. One of the few things that knocks Planet of the Daleks was that their plan was overly complex and involved the ability to turn invisible plus a deadly plague. Nevertheless, the action was high and the reintroduction of the Thals from 1963's The Daleks brought things full circle from their first appearance.
8 Resurrection Of The Daleks (1984)
Classic Doctor Who was always considered light and fun family entertainment, but Resurrection of the Daleks took things to a darker place. The story concerned the Fifth Doctor as he attempted to stop Davros, newly revived after 90 years of imprisonment, from enacting an evil plan to destroy his own creation, the Daleks. Unlike other serials that suffered from the 45-minute format, Resurrection of the Daleks had enough going on to never feel dull. In fact, the serial was quite violent compared to other Doctor Who stories, and the body count alone made Davros seem like a truly dastardly villain.
7 The Power Of The Daleks (1966)
The Power of the Daleks was not only a Dalek story, but it was also the full debut of the Second Doctor, who had just regenerated. Set on the planet Vulcan, the story followed the new Doctor as he discovered a human colony that used three Daleks as servants. The story was effective because of the simplicity of the Daleks' plan, and with the evil creatures biding their time, there was a level of suspense that permeated the story. Unfortunately, it suffers because, due to the BBC's policy of trashing old episodes, every part of the Doctor Who serial was partially lost and had to be reconstructed through animation.
6 The Daleks (1963)
Though the early days of Doctor Who were a far cry from what the show eventually became, The Daleks shined as a prime example of how great the series could be. In this serial, the First Doctor and his companions landed on the planet Skaro where they encountered the two warring races of the planet, the Daleks and Thals. Though a lot of what was established in the serial was later retconned, it was clear from the start that the Daleks were special. Aside from being their big debut, the serial was gripping and political, and it showed a more subdued Dalek from what would come later.
5 The Evil Of The Daleks (1967)
The plot of The Evil of the Daleks was quite ingenious and truly lived up to the serial's lofty title. Once again on Skaro, the Second Doctor was tasked with stopping the deadly Daleks from making themselves even more dangerous by implementing the "human factor." By humanizing themselves, the Daleks intended to be even more effective killers which was a brilliant piece of sci-fi commentary. On top of that, the serial introduced the imposing Dalek emperor and hinted at the much larger hierarchy that existed within their society. Though largely missing, Evil of the Daleks was just as effective in its recreated animation format.
4 The Dalek Invasion Of Earth (1964)
After the Daleks' amazing start in the first season of Doctor Who, The Dalek Invasion of Earth was where they really became the nightmarish villains that are beloved to this day. In the story, the First Doctor discovered that the Daleks had taken over the Earth in the 22nd century and teamed up with resistance fighters to defeat them. The Daleks shed their original weakness of static electricity and were set loose on location in various places around London. Though the serial was a bit overlong at seven parts, it nevertheless introduced the deadly exterminating Daleks and positioned them as the Doctor's archenemy.
3 The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-1966)
Featuring the one-off episode "Mission to the Unknown," the 13-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan was by far the longest in the classic Doctor Who era. In it, the Daleks conspired to deploy a weapon that was capable of exterminating all life and the fabric of time itself in the process. The story was epic in scale, and it also showed an escalation of the Daleks from any of their previous appearances. The story featured the deaths of two of the First Doctor's companions, and it featured a much darker tone than any serial of that era. Even in its incomplete form, The Daleks' Master Plan was quintessential Doctor Who.
2 Remembrance Of The Daleks (1988)
Coming as the last Dalek story of the classic Doctor Who era, Remembrance of the Daleks was a massive undertaking that made the Daleks important again. The serial saw the Seventh Doctor travel back to the year 1963 to retrieve the Hand of Omega before the Daleks could. The story offered nostalgia and action in equal measure as the year 1963 represented the beginning of the series itself. Though the MacGuffin-based plot was simple, the production made up for it with a heaping helping of action, and it even hinted at a further evolution of the Daleks through the Special Weapons model and their ability to hover.
1 Genesis Of The Daleks (1975)
Beloved for his eccentric performance, the Fourth Doctor has often been regarded as the gold standard of classic Doctor Who, and Genesis of the Daleks stood as proof of that idea. Dispatched by the Time Lords to the planet Skaro in the distant past, the Doctor was tasked with stopping Davros from ever creating the Daleks. Even though the Daleks themselves actually played a diminished role, Genesis of the Daleks' focus on Davros introduced one of the greatest villains in the franchise. The serial drew clever parallels between Davros and despotic figures from Earth's past, and it improved upon their original origins as described in 1963's The Daleks.