Doctor Who: The Daleks

Although I've spaced them out on the list, Rogers Video Direct (I was tempted to write "Roger's VD" but that would imply something wholly different) thinks I need more Doctor Who in my life, so I've now seen the seven-part serial The Daleks. I found this far more entertaining than the first serial, as the Doctor et al. find themselves trapped on the mostly dead planet Skaro, home to both the Daleks and human race the Thralls (sp?). The black-and-white cinematography works well here, giving the planet a creepy, desolate feel. Watching these old episodes, I find myself liking the First Doctor quite a bit, mostly because he has a nice air of mystery and unpredictability around him, along with a certain amount of cold-heartedness. Doctors Eccleston & (especially) Tenant, on the other hand, sometimes just seem too nice, as if they're the perfect incarnation of goodness in their abhorrence of violence, concern for the down-trodden, and unflagging optimism (they also all too often save the day at the very end of the episode with some impromptu techno-babble solution, but that's more bad plotting than bad characterization). Downsides for me here were the Thralls (better than the cavemen, but still kinda boring) and Susan (she has this really grating acting style whendver she's supposed to be nervous or frightened, which consists! of delivering! each line! of! dialogue breathlessly as if! she had just! finished running! a marathon!).