"You would make a good Dalek."
Writer: Robert Shearman
Format: TV
Broadcast: 30th April 2005
Series: 1.06
Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose
Synopsis
The Doctor and Rose arrive in Utah, 2012, to answer a distress signal and meet a collector of alien artefacts who has one living specimen. However, the Doctor is horrified to find out that the creature is a member of a race he thought destroyed: a Dalek.
Verdict
Dalek is just an absolutely outstanding episode of Doctor Who and it's easily my favourite Ninth Doctor adventure by quite a long way actually! It's the only Christopher Eccleston story to rank inside my top 10 episodes of the revival (though this is subject to change as I'm yet to revise the list to include the Twelfth Doctor's stories). With Doctor Who returning to our screens, the Daleks had to come back as well and I love the idea of there just being one sole Dalek. It reminds those viewers who watched the programme from 1963-1989 just how destructive one Dalek can be. With their return in the series finale not far away either, it shows new viewers just how powerful and fearful one Dalek can be so it escalates the odds stacked against the Doctor in The Parting of the Ways when there's an entire fleet. Watching now, nearly a decade after broadcast, the 2012 setting is quite humorous seeing as for the story and Rose it's 7 years into her future but for me it's 3 years into my past. To be honest though, it didn't make a difference at all where and when this was set. With Utah, we knew the museum was obviously in the United States but that's all we needed really. The arrival of the TARDIS into the museum, 53 floors below ground, was brilliant. They'd got hold of a distress signal and now were coming to help. The artefacts in the museum were incredible. I'm sure we could have had a couple of more references to the Classic series but I wasn't complaining really as we saw the claw of a Slitheen which saw Rose disgusted despite the recent encounter but then the Doctor saw the head of a Cyberman. Probably my favourite design of them too! Is this where Kate retrieved the head to cooly reference The Invasion at the beginning of Death in Heaven? I'd certainly like to think so. Henry Van Statten was a brilliant character and I loved how greedy he was when it came to money and his collection of alien artefacts. The musical instrument Adam had paid $800,000 for he just tossed aside despite the Doctor showing him how to use it ever so delicately. Adam was a good character and I liked how well he got on with Rose, with the added flirtation too. He was a genius and I liked how much he enjoyed his job. Who wouldn't enjoy working for a man who owned the internet in a hidden museum full of alien exhibits. Van Statten devising the name 'Metaltron' was pretty cool but the torturing was hard to watch. That's what made the start of this episode so incredible for me. We felt sorry for a Dalek. The Doctor would not show the same remourse though in the moment the Dalek was revealed. A wonderful revelation. The Doctor showed just how evil these were as he cowered away and begged to be let out. The Time War must have been something incredible and we'd later learn a great deal about it in The Day of the Doctor. Some dialogue nicely continued in line with what was said in the anniversary episode which I think is very important. The Doctor's reference to Davros without namedropping him was outstanding. It was up there with his upmost joy at knowing that the Dalek was useless. It's weaponry was useless. The Doctor had to end it. After all the suffering of the Last Great Time War, he had to see the Daleks were ridded from the universe. So he attempted to extermimate it but Van Staten wouldn't allow it. He saved the Dalek's life and in turn put the entire planet in jeopardy. After Rose touched the Dalek in pity, it regenerated itself. Rejuvenated, it unleashed a massacre. It downloaded the internet and replenished itself. The Dalek was loose and unlike anything we've seen before. They'd improved and were more fearful than ever. Exterminating right, left and centre the Dalek seemed unstoppable. The ruthless scene where it just exterminated the wet ground killing multiple people was frightening. I loved the throwback scene to Remembrance of the Daleks with the elevation up the stairs. Adam wasn't so cocky now. The Doctor thinking he had killed Rose was a shocking moment and did appear as though the companion had died. But because it was Rose who regenerated the Dalek, it was changing and didn't carry out its primary function. I liked the theme throughout of the Dalek doing what it honesty believed was correct. And the Doctor seemed to respect that in an uncomfortable way. The quote that you can see above was one of my favourite moments in Doctor Who history. I can't imagine a bigger insult for the Doctor. He'd ordered the Dalek soldier to die as it would never get any orders. But Rose was then who'd act as higher in command, albeit against her will. As the Dalek casing opened to reveal the atrocious mutant, it welcomed the sunlight. It just wanted freedom. The Doctor was about to destroy it but Rose allowed him to see his wrongdoing. The Dalek wanted death and self destructed in an incredible climax. The Doctor had won the Time War. It seemed that Rose had won herself a date as well as Adam entered the TARDIS before dematerialisation. Overall, a wonderful episode and I thought this was a perfect introduction to the Ninth Doctor for my six year old cousin who I introduced the programme to on Deep Breath's broadcast. He'd loved Human Nature/The Family of Blood with the Scarecrows and he was silent throughout this episode with his hands grasped close to his face. Watching him watch this episode for the first time was an absolute pleasure. He was familiar with the Daleks thanks to Into the Dalek, but not anything like they were presented here.
Rating: 10/10
The episode rock. A grand return for the Daleks. Also help me see how PTSD drives even the pure of heart mad. And it help me take Rose more seriously; the way she chose to pity a muto-cyborg and defend him from a raging madman. It made me cry with the tragic Lone Dalek scene. I thought ti would be grand if the humanised Dalek somehow return and was a companion for Rose on her own series.
ReplyDeleteI thought up the Lone Dalek somehow return, through some cosmic being teleporting him coz he be need. And he reunites with Rose on some heartwarming scene and joins her team. He becoems a companion as she was for the Doctor. Rose would even hug his muto-body.
ReplyDeleteI woudl want to see Sarah J being the first of the past companions to accept him. I see her gasping and doign her funny shriek when the humanised Dalek jumps from Rose's arm and on her, then do ehr chculkign as he hugs her.
Barbara can be the 2nd. She gets corner as on The Daleks... only to refuse to scream and kick him to make it clear she would sooner die than betray the Doctor. I can see her reaction to learnign he's different, and accepting it being more open mind than the arrogant Ian.
Would be nice if Vyctoria W met him. She lost her father to a Dalek-Guard, but a n audio shows she's forgiven them and a book show her resist the Master's try to trick ehr to end them. I pciture her finding the humanise Dalek outside the casing and chosoe to help him back in showing she's kidna nd forgiving. I alsos ee Rose prasing her as a good samaritan.
Would also be grand if Ace also accept him. And Polly, Leela, K9, Nyssa, Jo, Mel, Peri, Bliss, Lucie, Charley, Martha, Amy, Rory, dear Clara, Byll, Yasmin, and more. Ian, Jamie, Ben
I also pcitur the humanise Dalek meeting the Doctors including our old war one. By helping them, he cna gain peace eon doing amends for his past wrong to the war one and the 9th one.
I thought up this.
ReplyDelete1. When Rose reunites with the humanise Dalek, she gets shown a museum with alien things. A Slitheen's arm would feature. But Cybermen be earht on Pete's World. Instead it be a Sontaran helmet; nice reference to Rose meeting some oN The Betrothal of Sontar. She can rememebr them, and show signs she misses Lerox.
2. Rose would mistake the humanise Dalek for a pureblood one and back up. But whyle the 9th Doctor was a coward, Rose shwos mroe balls and readies to accept her death. And she gets sassy thinking the Dalek's trying to force her to scream and cry; evne kicking it. The creature jumps out from its casing and lands on her, and they share memories. She recognizes him and hugs him on joy, and learns they be connect well on mind (hence how he spoke to her evne without his casing's voice-thign).
3. The humansie Dalek would show he's okay with she-members being strong and clever, and to'd develope a reverence for virtues. He also tends to think she-members own mroe courage and tenderness than he-members thansk to Rose, and also to Diana being strong when Van Stadden freak.
4. Rose would mention the Dalek origin. She'd also mention Davros's name and his part. She'd describe him as a madman, and even call him the first Dalek.
5. Rose can give the humanise Dalek a name coz he's an individual. She can decide Dyce after some legendary wanderer from Skarosian legends by Dals, revealing she knows of Skaro's past.
6. Jackie can question why Daleks own balls and ask if they be eggs. (nod to Asylum of the Daleks) But Dyce would mention they reproduce by cloning, since the reproductive organs were ravage by the chemical weapons of the Thousand Year War between Kaelds and Thals.
7. Dyce can go on some rescue mission so he can rescue Rose from Cybermen. Helping humans take him seriously; one versus an army. And he earns the local's trust and reverence by saving them. He also is fien with Rose saving him from the Cyber-Leader's ambush.
8. Dyce can reveal he remembers the Time-War and mentions the War Doctor and show him, and also Arcadia. He could remember all he murder and be guilty. But Rose would help him.
9. Dyce can be nice with kids and animals.
10. Dyce would call Captain Jack worthy to be a Dalek due to his hypocrisy and how he murder Lisa.
11. Some can go ballistic on the Brig for how he slew Sylurians and Sea-Demons thus starting events leading to the Time-War, simialr to the 9th Doctor's outburst on Van Stadden.
12. One scenario be Mickey frees 'Time Lords' reveal to be pureblood Daleks who cause more harm. But Dyce saves them. And they all fear he and Rose dead. And Mickey regrets prejurdycing Dyce, saying something symylar to how the 6th Doctor regret prejrudycing Lytton. The Lone Dalek can play.... but then a better theme plays when Rose and Dyce pop up alife... revealing Dyce got mental powers coz of Rose's DNA adn the tiem energy.
13. Dyce can gain a green casing with panels and amber globes. Forge with metalert.
14. It can be hint they plan to forge mroe of Dyce's sort; humanise Daleks. Thus helping to heal Skaro.