Dalek Invasion of Earth

DAVID: And what do you do?

SUSAN: I eat.

(Possibly Susan's best line in her entire time on the show)

DORTMUN: Obey motorised dustbins? We'll see.

DOCTOR: (To Craddock) Hold that and shut up, will you.

IAN: You know, Doctor, sometimes you astound me.
DOCTOR: Only sometimes, dear boy?

ASHTON: Are you one of these brotherhood of man kind of people?

DAVID: Your grandfather stood up to the journey fantastically well.
SUSAN: He’s a pretty fantastic sort of man.

(Yuck)

BARBARA: Right. This revolt is timed to start almost immediately. As in the case of the Indian mutiny, which I am sure
DALEK: Indian mutiny? We are the masters of India!
BARBARA: I was talking about Red Indians in disguise! The plan will run parallel with the Boston Tea Party. Naturally, you already have information about this.
DALEK: Wait! Why have I not been informed of this?
DALEK: There has been no information.
BARBARA: Good! That means the first part of the plan is a success. Now, I warn you, General Lee and the four, the fifth cavalry are already forming up to attack from the north side of the crater. The second wave, Hannibal’s forces, will of course come in from the Southern Alps.

• Ian and Barbara seem quite excited to be "on earth again". Since the last two stories were both set on earth, that nicely highlights the gaps between the stories, plenty of room in there for Big Finish adventures and even relaxing holidays. 
• These Daleks are very odd. For starters, what exactly do they have against Bedfordshire? Of all the places on earth to turn into a gigantic mine, why there? But the really stupid thing the Daleks do is leave a key in their prison cells. The Doctor somehow justifies this by saying, "suppose you were a Dalek and got yourself trapped in this room, what would you do?" What utterly bizarre reasoning! They leave a way to escape just on the off-chance that some Dalek will be thick enough to lock itself in? 
  
• That scene of Barbara, Jenny and Dortmun running around London with Daleks after them is bizarre in every way. Considering it's simply an excuse to get the Daleks out in front of a few landmarks, it actually works rather well. Even the music somehow works even though it shouldn't. 
• I like that episode six finishes so quickly, which gives us time to focus on Susan's departure. Much as I don't like her, that bit is done really well. To be fair, it's mostly made by Hartnell being exceptional, but it's still very nicely done. It's actually so well done that by the end I almost feel sad that Susan is leaving, even though I've been eagerly awaiting her departure! Peter Fraser is a bit wet and useless as David, but really that makes him a good partner for Susan. Two nonentities rebuilding the planet. I still want to know what happens when she gets old and regenerates, though. 
• Somehow I've never noticed this was scored by the brilliantly-named Francis Chagrin. It's not the most noticeable score, I found, but effective in places. 
• The Slyther is terrible.

Verdict

The story starts off well and ends very well, but the middle sags quite badly. Particularly in the Hartnell-free episode. Once again, his presence lifts the

production. Even Russell and Hill struggle a little, although the Barbara/Jenny scenes are fun, and Barbara confusing the Daleks at the beginning of the final episode is great fun. I prefer this to the Daleks, but it's still fairly standard Nation. And that's without counting the daftness of the plan the Daleks have cooked up. Okay, they want to remove the Earth's core and replace it with an engine and use the planet as a spaceship. Um, why? I can't see any benefits. I can't imagine it would be especially practical? There are good sections, though, such as the Larry/Phil subplot, which is quite horrific.