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Dan Owen reviews
Broadcast on BBC1, Saturday April 30th, 2005
Director:
Screenplay:
Cast:
Synopsis: Beneath the Salt Plains of Utah, billionaire collector Henry Van Statten holds the last relic of an alien race. When the Doctor and Rose investigate, they discover that the Doctor's most deadly enemy is about to break free. It's a fight to the death, with Rose caught in the middle... In an episode guaranteed to bring fans out in a frenzy of excitement, Dalek sees the titular nemesis of The Doctor return - but in a quite surprising way that serves as an introduction of the Daleks for old fans, and new fans alike.
"Dalek", written by Robert Shearman, is a fairly straight-forward episode that derives almost all of its enjoyment from the sheer fascination of seeing a Dalek on-screen again after all these years. Quite remarkably, the show's producers have kept the Dalek's iconic "pepperpot" design intact; yet manage to provide new quirks and features that make the Dalek seem more formidable than ever before. Primarily, this involves a sequence foiling the clichéd remark about Daleks being foiled by stairs (well, not anymore...), a plausible use for their seemingly ridiculous "sink plunger" attachments, and a 360-degree rotating mid-section for all-round attacks! Simply put, "Dalek" is great fun mainly on a visual basis. The story about Henry Van Statten, an unscrupulous collector of alien technology, is little more than a set-up for the Dalek grand unveiling.
The episode builds a genuinely exciting atmosphere courtesy thanks to director Joe Ahearne (whose camerawork also manages to make us empathize with a Dalek), and the script's dramatic moments give Christopher Eccleston the opportunity to ditch smug-grins and give a more palatable performance with The Doctor stuck in a dilemma over the Dalek's future... It's enjoyable to see the series continue its own facet of Who mythology, namely with the Time War (here confirmed as involving the Time Lords and the Daleks, as if you hadn't guessed already!). It also delights in re-introducing a classic villain to television screens. Undoubtedly, many hairs rose on the backs of many necks when "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE" blasted out into homes across the nation! Unfortunately, "Dalek" undoubtedly falls short in other departments; the guest cast are almost superfluous to the scene-stealing Dalek - particularly Corey Johnson as Van Patten. Bruno Langley (Coronation Street's gay Todd Grimshaw) makes his first appearance and, despite being pushed into the background, certainly has presence onscreen that should make good viewing in the future... The effects are strong and believable throughout, with nothing standing out as particularly embarrassing. The visuals throughout the series have been generally strong, although it's clear that episodes requiring fewer effects tend to get the best effects. "Dalek" adheres to that rule, with some effectively sequences throughout - particularly the Dalek's innards, a novel self-destruct sequence, and whenever the Dalek takes to the air...
Overall, this was an entertaining story that managed to show an age-old villain in a fresh light. As expected, the Dalek steals the show from everyone, but it's refreshing to see Eccleston's Doctor put into a more dramatic situation than man-eating bins and farting aliens. The Daleks are back; badder (and better) than ever before. Let's hope they return in greater numbers... Next Week: The Doctor, Rose and Adam arrive in the year 200,000 on a broadcasting station that transmits programming to the Earth Empire...
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2005.E-mail Dan Owen
The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date : 2008 Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen And the Audio CDs : 2000 04: The Land of the Dead 2000 06: The Marian Conspiracy 2000 10: Winter for the Adept 2000 12: The Fires of Vulcan 2000 14: The Holy Terror 2000 15: The Mutant Phase 2001 16: Storm Warning 2001 18: The Stones of Venice 2002 28: The Chimes of Midnight 2002 30: Seasons of Fear 2002 31: Embrace the Darkness 2002 35: ...Ish 2002 39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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