Themes and Analysis
Nation, who grew up during World War II, intentionally based the Daleks on the Nazis, and this episode contains many deliberate parallels. The Kaleds dress in uniforms reminiscent of the Nazis and display "fascist salutes". The Kaleds look to "keep race pure" by banishing the Thals and Mutos. Cast and crew members described it as a "warning to the world" about the danger of allowing authoritarianism take over. Physical comparisons have been drawn between the appearance of Nyder and Heinrich Himmler; aside from the resemblance, both wear insignias and spectacles.
Ed Webb and Mark Wardecker, in a paper in Doctor Who and Philosophy, interpreted the Dalek history shown in Genesis of the Daleks as a warning that "scientists will be the one to bring about the ultimate destruction, the ultimate evil, and deliberately so". They also commented that the serial showed that the Daleks were evil by design, rather than evolution. Davros represents a mad scientist who creates a monster that then consumes him. Sarah Honeychurch and Niall Burr, in the same book, wrote that the corruption of the Daleks showed that creatures should not be created with "such limited moral reasoning," and that in our world we cannot "impose our own personal human standards on everybody else".
Genesis of the Daleks also displays a battle between good and evil. Letts enjoyed the fact that the story did not have clear heroes and villains, but rather a conflict of principle. The discussion between the Doctor and Davros about the hypothetical viral weapon is regarded as a classic moment from Doctor Who. Hinchcliffe described it as the "hero meets antihero" moment, with he two engaged in "intellectual grappling". The episode also presents the "moral dilemma" of whether the Doctor should destroy the Daleks. The Doctor's comparison to knowingly killing a childhood who would grow up to be a dictator shows how the Doctor's ethics are influenced by his non-linear experience of time. He considers the good things that may come out of the Daleks, such as that "many future worlds would become allies". The Doctor's conclusion that he does not have the right is an example of utilitarian reasoning, and a "duty-based ethical" position.
Comparisons to other stories have been drawn. The Time Lord who appears at the story's beginning is intentionally costumed to resemble Death in Ingmar Bergman's film The Seventh Seal. Gareth Roberts has compared this character to the ghost of Hamlet's father, setting the protagonist (the Doctor) on a violent mission with which he has moral qualms. Martin Wiggins, senior lecturer and fellow at the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-upon-Avon, suggests that the Doctor's indecision about destroying the Dalek embryos in the "have I the right?" scene is derived from The Brothers Karamazov.
Read more about this topic: Genesis Of The Daleks
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