9Death To The Daleks
The Third Doctor - 1974
I deliberated a while as to whether or not to put this higher, but when I looked through my list it came down to liking the others just a bit more and so Death to the Daleks sits in at number 9.
This story shows the Daleks being dastardly and cunning in a way that they hadn't really been seen before. This wasn't them bent on destruction, but more about gaining power. It also, of course, saw them powerless for the majority of it which puts an interesting spin on things when they decide to make an alliance with the Doctor. It was never going to that easy for him though, and it's not long before they double cross him and intend to blow up an entire planet. So I guess some destruction was on the cards, after all.
Another reason for the inclusion of this story is that the design of the Daleks in this one is my all time favourite. They looked absolutely brillant and while for the most part the changes in design over the years has been subtle (with some colourful exceptions) this one was perfect for me. Unfortunately, when they returned in the next story they were redesigned and didn't look half as good.
