It's unusual for a new Doctor to face the Daleks quite so early in his run. Patrick Troughton faced them in his first story, but that was when nobody was sure whether the audience would accept the idea of a different actor playing the Doctor, so the Daleks helped to smooth over the change. Most other Doctors have been given the chance to have at least one fresh new adventure to find their feet first. Perhaps, as with Troughton, the production team felt that this older, grouchier Doctor, needed more familiar elements to ease the transition. Or perhaps they just wanted to get the obligatory Dalek story over and done with.
Into the Dalek, as its title suggests, finds a new way of exploring what it means to be a Dalek by allowing the Doctor, his companion Clara and a group of soldiers to explore the inner workings of a Dalek that has apparently turned good. This homage to Fantastic Voyage harkens back to the Series 7 "Movie Poster" idea for stories. Certainly the interior of the Dalek is well portrayed by the sets. A dingy, grungy interior, and a giant blobby mutant.
But this story is more than just a fun romp inside a Dalek. There is an extra psychological layer. The Doctor believes there can be no such thing as a good Dalek, and seems determined to prove it. The Dalek, given the nickname "Rusty", seems to have genuinely changed, apparently motivated by witnessing the birth of a new star. Of course, the Doctor's decision is vindicated, and the goodness turns out to be caused by a radiation leak. Once it is fixed, the Dalek turns evil again and summons reinforcements to attack the base where it is imprisoned. However, the memory is still inside the Dalek's electronic brain and the Doctor and Clara set about trying to reawaken it. I was slightly disappointed at the notion of an electronic brain, since I prefer the idea that the Daleks are genetically evil. Still, the idea of a radiation leak driving a Dalek mad harkens back to the creation of the "abomination Special Weapons Dalek", as described in the novelisation of Remembrance of the Daleks.
The Doctor's attempts to fix the Dalek introduce an interesting idea about the Doctor's psyche. Teh Doctor links up with the Dalek and tries to get it to see the good in the universe, but Rusty sees the Doctor's hatred for the Dalek species and becomes a crusader against the Daleks on base. Just as we go into the Dalek, we are made privy to the inner workings of the Doctor. Throughout the episode he has been shown to be more callous. He dislikes soldiers, but is willing to destroy Daleks. Earlier on he allows a soldier to die so that he can save the rest. It’s a decision that harks back to the Fourth Doctor’s callous reaction to Lawrence Scarman’s death in Pyramids of Mars. Peter Capaldi is once again fantastic at bringing this nastier incarnation to life.
So what makes the Doctor better than a Dalek? His companion of course. Clara acts as the Doctor's conscious, how Peri should have been during Season 22. At one point she even slaps the Doctor, an action that is becoming more familiar site these days. But where it had previously been used in moments of comedy, this time the Doctor is acting like a bastard, and deserves it. Jenna Louise Coleman is once again shown to be given meatier roles. We even get to see more of her job which grounds her.
Sadly, where the Doctor, Clara and the Dalek get a lot of interesting moments, the rest of the cast are fairly bland bunch of Galactic Resistance troopers. The closest we get to a character is Journey Blue, the girl with a stupid name who's only memorable trait is that her brother died. The part where she tries to go on board the Tardis at the end did not ring true at all. It felt like it came out of nowhere . I don't think there was anything interesting about Colonel Blue other than the fact that he was played by Michael Smily.
One major character addition is that of Danny Pink. He has the awkwardness of Rory but his soldiering makes him different. The scene where he assess what he should have said to Clara in their first meeting juxtaposed with what he actually said was pretty funny. He seems okay, but his soldiering background means that sparks may fly when he encounters the Doctor later on in the series.
Missy made her inevitable cameo, although this time it happened in the middle of the episode. It didn't really add anything other than keeping the character fresh in the minds of audience members. The transition from a heavy action sequence with Gretchen inside the Dalek to her sitting at a table with Missy did feel a bit jarring, but cleverly mirrored an earlier scene where Journey Blue is about to die in her damaged spaceship before waking up in the Tardis having been saved by the Doctor. This time, the soldier Gretchen is the one who wakes up, but she is not alive.
I wasn't really looking forward to this episode. I felt the Daleks had been done to death and was looking more. While this doesn't add anything new, it does old things very well. It's a certainly does a better job of introducing a new Doctor to the Daleks than Victory of the Daleks managed.
8/10
Next week: After two weeks of grimdark episodes, it looks like we may be getting a fun romp with Robin Hood. Although I've enjoyed the darker tone of these two episodes it's good to keep the tone changing every once in a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment