Doctor Who is one of the longest-running TV dramas of all time. Since 1963, the Doctor and his TARDIS have been entertaining us all with tales of terrifying aliens, wondrous alien planets, and interesting historical adventures into Earth's past. While the Doctor has locked horns with countless terrifying villains during the show's 50-year run, perhaps the most iconic and loved by fans are the Daleks. The Daleks first appeared in the series 'The Dead Planet" during William Hartnell's run in the Tardis and terrified children and adults around the UK.
This article will list 5 reasons why the Daleks are the greatest Doctor Who villains and 5 reasons why they're not.
Greatest Foe: Emotion They Bring From The Doctor
Fans of Doctor Who will know that whenever the Daleks appear, the Doctor tends to get really mad. The two clearest examples of this come from the Ninth and Eleventh incarnations. The Ninth Doctor attacked and mocked the Dalek when he saw one for the first time after the Time War and the usually eccentric and whacky Eleventh Doctor attacked the Dalek too.
The harm Daleks have inflicted upon the Doctor and his people make them one of the most interesting villains for the Doctor to meet on his adventures.
Not Greatest Foe: Design
While the design of the Daleks was terrifying at the time, becoming an iconic design in the process, the Dalek can certainly look ridiculous today. For those who aren't aware of the history of the Daleks, the creature looks stupid with its toilet plunger and whisk weaponry.
While one can't just redesign the Daleks, this would be sacrilegious, any modern-day Doctor Who fan would have to admit that the Daleks do look dated.
Greatest Foe: Past Stories
The stories involving the Daleks have been some of the greatest in Doctor Who history. Just taking the modern revival of Doctor Who into account, stories such as Dalek, Doomsday, and Journey's End are some of the best and most memorable Doctor Who stories of all time.
A villain is only as good as the story they appear in and one can't dispute the greatness of the Dalek episodes, while not every episode will be great, this is as expected from the long life of the show,
Not Greatest Foe: Overused
While it is true that the Daleks have featured in some of the best Doctor Who stories of all time, there is also no denying there are constant accusations that the Daleks are overused in Doctor Who. While the Daleks are the Doctor's archnemesis, there are issues with overuse.
Overusing the Daleks leads to boredom around the creatures, making them far less intimidating and scary than they would be if they were gone for a while and then hyped up.
Greatest Foe: Nazi Allegory
Despite the fact that the Daleks are terrifying in their own right, one aspect of their creation that may make them even greater is the inspiration behind their motivations. Doctor Who was created less than 20 years after the conclusion of World War 2 and as such, the Nazis were still a terrifying and recent threat to many people in the UK.
Consequently, the showrunners based the Daleks off of the Nazi ideals of the 'Ubermensch' and the 'ideal race,' giving the Daleks a terrifying ideology based in real-world, recent history.
Not Greatest Foe: Not Scary Anymore
Due to the fact that the design is outdated and the Daleks have often been overused in recent years, the Daleks have lost the fear factor that used to make them so popular. Villains such as the Cybermen and the Weeping Angels have had more horrifying plots of late and been used relatively sparingly (though Cybermen are certainly close to overuse).
As such, many fans don't consider the Daleks to be scary anymore, which has dampened how the villains are perceived today.
Greatest Foe: Time War
After the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, then showrunner Russell T Davies introduced the in-canon explanation of the Time War as the reason behind the Doctor's disappearance. The Time War led the Ninth Incarnation of the Time Lord to be one of the most unique incarnations of the Time Lord ever.
The Time War was a truly genius idea from Davis and the Daleks were the villains who fought against the Time Lords in the conflict, inflicting even more agony on the Doctor.
Not Greatest Foe: One Dimensional Villain
Other villains in Doctor Who tend to have different plots when they appear in different stories. For instance, the Master is always up to something new, yet the Daleks are always doing one thing. The Daleks are always trying to exterminate life on a certain planet (or universe).
However, this does get kind of old after a while. While stories such as Daleks in Manhattan introduced variety to the Dalek mythos, it didn't stay around for too long.
Greatest Foe:Iconic
Despite the many issues surrounding the Daleks and their overuse and aged design, there is no denying that they are still one of the most popular Doctor Who villains of all time. This is a testament to the incredible history of the villainous race throughout the show's run and the impact it had on our childhoods.
Due to their vast history in the show, many would say that the Daleks are the greatest villain in Doctor Who and it would be hard to argue against due to their iconic status among fans.
Not Greatest Foe: Lack Of Recent Impact On The Doctor
This is more of an issue with how the Daleks have been written of late than an issue with the Daleks in and of themselves. While recent villains such as the Cybermen and the Weeping Angels have had huge impacts on the Doctor, the Daleks have not done so.
The Weeping Angels took Amy and Rory away and the Cybermen converted Bill Potts, yet the Daleks have barely inflicted any lasting physical or emotional impact on the Doctor over the last few seasons, which is a huge shame due to how iconic they are in Doctor Who canon.