of a plot". Writing in The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker found the serial weaker than previous Dalek stories, criticising the comedic and unbelievable nature of the locations; however, they lauded the final episode, praising the battle between the Daleks and the Mechonoids, the design of the latter, the departure of Ian and Barbara, and Purves's performance. In A Critical History of Doctor Who (1999), John Kenneth Muir similarly considered the serial weaker than its predecessors, with some "droll" and "pointless dead ends", though praised the final battle and farewell sequence. In 2009, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times described the serial as "unashamedly childish and comic-strip in tone and pace"; he praised the Daleks and the first, second, and sixth episodes, but found the fourth episode particularly disappointing. In 2010, Den of Geeks Cliff Chapman similarly considered the final episode the strongest, describing Hartnell's performance as "powerful", but otherwise noted that each viewer's appreciation of the episode "will depend on how you view budget squeezed, directed, Terry Nation scripted romps". In 2010, Nick Setchfield of SFX acknowledged the "tacky entertainment" of the serial but expressed disappointment when comparing it to "masterly" previous serials like An Unearthly Child; he found it an improvement over The Space Museum "only because it's powered by a demented, ramshackle energy that never allows for boredom". Writing for Doctor Who Magazine, Graham Kibble-White believed that the comedy undermined the Daleks, and wrote that the serial "suffers from structural oddities", as well as the unconvincing android Doctor; however, Kibble-White praised the Mechonoids and the main cast, feeling that Ian and Barbara's departure "positively negates the preceding six episodes of tom-guffery". John Sinnott of DVD Talk found that the story's unusual structure worked to its benefit. Total Sci-Fi Onlines Jonathan Wilkins likened the serial to pop art and felt that "only an utter grouch could dislike a Doctor Who story as zany and iconic as The Chase"; he highlighted the character work concerning Ian and Barbara and the "sense of epic science fiction that is only slightly betrayed by the ever-present problems of budget". In 2012, SFXs Steve O'Brien named the haunted house sequence and the android Doctor among the "silliest moments" in the show's history, though Will Salmon considered Ian and Barbara's departure as among the best of any companion; in 2021, Den of Geeks Andrew Blair echoed the latter sentiment. Commercial