This much-loved adventure featuring the debut of Davros, topped
the Doctor Who Magazine greatest story polls in 1998 and 2004,
and came third in 2003 and 2009. Genesis was voted the best
story of the 1970's for DWM's last major survey (The First 50
Years, 2014), and was placed third overall. The drama was
reappraised yet again for the publication's 60th anniversary poll,
and was now runner-up to City of Death.
It is the most repeated story of the classic run on British terrestrial
TV, shown again in 1975 (at Christmas), 1982, 1993, 1998, and
2000 (The Sea Devils has been re-shown four times).
The Target novelisation, penned by Terrance Dicks and published
in 1976, had the largest print run - over 100,000 - of any of the
original series, and this six-part gem also inspired a play, The
Trial of Davros, staged only twice, in 1993 and 2005.
So do these facts reinforce the popularity and merits of Terry
Nation's scripts? A tale now almost fifty years old still has
much to offer, and has been given a new lease of life. Genesis
was shown at BFI Southbank and selected American cinemas
to mark the release of Tom Baker's first season on Blu-ray.
BBC Records first issued the drama in an abridged sixty-minute
format on LP and tape in 1979, when Baker recorded new linking
narration.
BBC Audio then re-released Genesis (with Slipback) in 1988, and
again in 2001 (now paired with Exploration Earth). AudioGo's CD
variant (styled as a vinyl LP in 2011) was re-mastered by Doctor
Who composer Mark Ayres. Then in April 2016, Record Store
Day was marked with a brand new reissue of Genesis from
Demon Records, now pressed in blue vinyl.
And now, Big Finish Productions have recreated a new version
for The Lost Stories strand. Daleks! Genesis of Terror features
Baker, Sadie Miller (as Sarah), Christopher Naylor (Harry),
and Terry Molloy (Davros).
I fondly remember buying my first copy of Genesis on cassette
from Boots, circa 1981, and listening to it on my new Walkman.
Good times!
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