Doctoring Who: Victory of the Daleks

I am in love with the new series of DOCTOR WHO - Moffat is taking the show in a fantastic direction and Smith and Gillan are outstanding as the Doctor (mad, alien, perfect) and Amy Pond (mad, perfect, gorgeous). Way better, even, than I could have hoped.

So far I've really enjoyed everything with the exception of the "Victory of the Daleks" episode. Did anyone else watch it and feel like it was just lacking somehow? Although I could prod at quite a few points that niggled at me (don't even get me started on the whole stopping the bomb with the power of love moment), I think the main problem was simply that the resurrection of the Daleks felt wrong. It was rushed and it's happened so many times now that it felt a bit empty.

I mean, how many times can you see the "The last Dalek ship in creation hid away in some corner of time and space only to build the ultimate Dalek army only to be destroyed in minutes, rinse, repeat" storyline before you lose interest?

Rather than crying about what I didn't like, I've been thinking about what I might have done to improve the story. "My" story is essentially the same up until the big reveal of the Dalek rebirth.

The Daleks explain that in the final seconds of "Journey's End" they knew they were going to be destroyed. Davros understood that at last his creations would be wiped from existence once and for all so he did the only thing he could - he sent a beacon down to the planet below, one that slipped through time, searching for a home.

The beacon landed in Germany just after WWII has begun and immediately began whispering promises and secrets, crawling into the minds of those who heard it. It was taken to Nazi high command and from there to a top secret scientific facility, where the scientists began working on the ultimate weapon, seized by a collective inspiration they cannot explain.

However the facility was captured by the Allies and brought back wholesale to Britain. The project is finished and the Daleks are built but the children of Skaro are dead and in their place, encased forever in a metal tomb, are the new Daleks -- the children of earth.

The Doctor recoils in horror, heartbroken as he realises that his greatest enemy and his most beloved charges have become one. And of course, the ultimate irony is that it isn't even the Nazis who are responsible for the rebirth of the most genocidal species in the universe...

I'm sure this will be controversial for some WHO fans out there but I think it was about time for a massive shakeup in the Dalek mythos and to me the idea that there's a human of some kind inside that shell makes it much more horrifying.

So what do you think? Post a comment and let me know!

Doctor Who: Turn Left

What would happen to a world, even a universe, without the Doctor? Today's episode of Doctor Who, 'Turn Left' by Russel T. Davies, explores that very idea. As it turns out, the answer is "Not very well at all!"

The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) are exploring a bazaar on the (presumably) distant planet of Shan Shen that appears to be distinctly Chinese in origin, when Donna gets sidetracked and enters a fortune teller's den on a whim. At this point the fortune teller, in league with a giant time-sucking cockroach (No, I'm not joking), takes Donna back in time to change a simple decision that ends up changing not only her fate but the fate of the universe itself (and perhaps every universe). Only Donna, with the dimension-hopping Rose's help, can set things right.

The episode explores a question that's been asked time and again in popular culture: What If? In this regard, tonight's episode is certainly nothing novel. Main character changes a simple decision (in this case, turning right instead of left). Main character's life changes. Character's whole world changes around him/her, until they can somehow set things to rights. Yada yada, you know the drill.

Despite being nothing new, the question is always an interesting one. My guess is that this is because we all ask ourselves the same question regularly, always wondering what might have happened had we taken a trip down the road less traveled. However, as Donna discovers in tonight's episode, the alternate route is sometimes perhaps best left untrodden.

What makes this episode interesting is the deeper insight into Donna's character. I can't say I've been a particularly big fan of her as the Doctor's companion (I've preferred Rose and Martha, and harboured secret hopes for a Sally Sparrow spin in the TARDIS), though I must say she's definitely exceeded my expectations this season. The writers have brought a depth to the screaming idiot audiences were first introduced to in the Who Christmas Special, 'The Runaway Bride'. Her time this season has revealed a softer, more insightful side to the character that I have grown to like almost despite myself.

Certainly, the scenes with her grandfather, Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins), and mother, Sylvia (Jacqueline King), have added an extra dimension to the humanity of the character. Cribbins is outstanding as Donna's grandfather, bringing pathos and a palpable sense of love for his "granddaughter" to every scene. King, on the other hand, makes Donna that much more sympathetic by being so unknowingly cold and unpleasant.

Of course, the big bad news for the episode was the return of the Bad Wolf herself, Miss Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). Who fans rejoice, as everyone's favourite companion returns to the show with a kick ass attitude and inside knowledge of the coming darkness. She didn't disappoint in this episode, more than meeting the anticipation her return has generated. Piper brought a more dangerous, more experienced edge to the character in this episode than we've seen previously, leaving me hungering for more.

This was a good episode but not an amazing one (apart from the last minute - Fantastic!). The story was reasonably well-written and certainly ably executed by cast and crew. Ultimately, the unimaginative premise of the episode (What If?) left a little to be desired, I think largely because the end was a foregone conclusion - we all already knew that a universe without the Doctor to keep the darkness at bay would be a terrible place indeed!

The trailer for next week's episode, 'The Stolen Planet', was a fanboy's dream that had me jumping out of my seat. Seeing EVERYONE from the first 3 seasons come back, including Sarah Jane AS WELL as Ianto and the divine Gwen from the Torchwood team... well, let's just say I'll be watching it a few times as I salivate for next week's episode.

I want to be watching it now! Where's a TARDIS when I need one?!

[Image courtesy of the Doctor Who BBC website: http://bbc.co.uk/doctorwho]