Dalek Invasion of Earth 1 - World's End

"It is forbidden to dump bodies in the river" - How dark does your society have to get that you need to put a sign up to stop people doing that?

I know this story mainly from the movie version, but I have to say, I think the moodiness of this first episode outdoes the movie, depsite the sets being clearly not as impressive, but the use of abandoned, sometimes bombed places in London is just superb.

This is the closest Doctor Who has got so far to the contemporary Earth setting, Nation's writing chops have got a lot better, especially for characterization, probably because it's closer to real life rather than the odder, more fantastical settings of his other stories. Although apparently sexism is rife in the 22nd century if Dortmun is anything to go by.

Anyway, it's a brilliantly dark first episode, and of course, the dalek coming out of the water is a classic image, even if there's no real reason for it to be there.