Victory of the Daleks

"They will win me the war."

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Format: TV

Broadcast: 17 April 2010

Series: 5.03

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy

Synopsis

The Doctor takes Amy to the distant future, where she finds the mysterious Liz Ten, a Star Whale, and all of Britain inside a spaceship.

Verdict

Victory of the Daleks is another excellent episode to continue my way through the modern rewatch of Series 5! I was really looking forward to this one because it ends up kind of being the only pure Dalek story for the Eleventh Doctor which is actually a bit of a shame. It’s probably remembered for all of the wrong reasons but I think it’s tremendous! I’m a sucker for history so going back to the Second World War and meeting Winston Churchill is some way to go for Amy’s first venture into the past. I like the camaraderie between the Doctor and Winston with it being clear that there’s history between them, and Big Finish have done a fine job in exploring that with their Churchill Years spin-off series. He’s got a new weapon for victory in the war and it’s the Ironside. Or as the Doctor knows them better, the Daleks. The design of the Ironside Dalek in this episode is magnificent and it’s such a simple and subtle change that does so much. It’s not just the green military colour, it’s the British flag as well. It just works. The less said about the Progenitor counterparts the better. I’m saying this as a man who owns a figure of each colour variant, but I’m really not a fan of the futuristic new paradigm of Daleks. They’re too bulky, too colourful and just a bit silly. I think Smith does a tremendous job in selling his fear of a whole new and pure race of Daleks, but they really are about as silly as the Doctor feigning a jammy dodger as a TARDIS self destructor. That is typically Eleventh Doctor though. His distain for the Daleks was incredible here and I love how angry the Doctor gets at the Daleks offering themselves as Britain’s soldier and servant. He couldn’t stand that they were willing and being nice because he knew the truth. They were up to something, and that something was him. His testimony in recognising them as Daleks despite not being pure was good stuff and that brought them into their own. The Daleks shooting down Nazi planes was fantastic, and the Doctor’s reaction when he realises what Bracewell’s inventions really are is magnificent. It certainly hasn’t taken long for Smith to settle into the role of this episode is anything to go by! Amy has a starring moment in convincing Bracewell that he’s human by mentioning fancying someone that you shouldn’t. That was a nice touch and the smile the Doctor gave her when he realised it was working was a nice little nod of acknowledgement. I think the Danny Boy moments in trying to wipe out the Dalek ship are a bit barmy despite providing some fine imagery, but the potential highlight of the episode is the Doctor struggling with the dilemma of saving humanity or destroying the Daleks is brilliant. It’s almost torment. I think the continuity with The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End is really intriguing as Amy cannot remember the Daleks which takes the Doctor by surprise, and that mysterious crack in the wall also makes another showing as the TARDIS departs the war room. The Daleks getting to escape is good and they claim to return in the future, but apart from a brief aid of putting the Doctor in the Pandorica this generation of Daleks don’t do a lot. Overall though, a really strong episode!

Rating: 9/10