Dalek
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DVD NTSC
Region 1
13-episode
box set
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DVD PAL
Region 2
13-episode
box set
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DVD PAL
Region 2
3-episode volume
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(Doctor Who Story No. 165, starring Christopher Eccleston)
- written by Robert Shearman
- directed by Joe Ahearne
- produced by Phil Collinson
- music by Murray Gold
- 1 episode @ 45 minutes
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Story: The TARDIS lands in an underground
museum of alien technology in Utah, 2012,
and its rich owner, Mr. van Statten, believes he
can double the number of captured live aliens by
adding the Doctor to his collection.
But this Doctor harbours
some dark secrets from his recent past,
which are about to catch up with him,
and Rose has no idea how deeply she is
involved....
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Buyers' Guide Review
by Martin Izsak
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(A more in-depth analysis, containing "SPOILERS" and intended
for those who have already seen the program, can be accessed
here.)
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The return of a classic Doctor Who villain in the new shorter
story format results in a fairly solid but predictable adventure
with fewer worthy surprises and developments than it deserved.
Entrances
The police box makes a decent showing in this adventure, but
its visual throbbing during materialization seems a bit much. Why
mess with the traditional dissolve? Nothing of the interior appears
this time, but if it's going to be the new 2005 design, I don't really
miss it.
The Doctor and Rose make themselves easily known to viewers,
and quickly identify the setting and get about exploring it. Excellent.
Sadly, this is now the fifth story in a row that has failed to take us
beyond Earth's orbit. Although the Utah 2012 setting is preferable
to the constant landings in England, (and nicely populated by
actors who don't need to fake their North American accents),
it's really not enough to
satisfy the building craving to explore an alien landscape.
The story is fairly well crafted with respect to giving the human
characters some good interaction, and lots of meaty emotional scenes.
Nicholas Briggs has been busy making his name famous in Doctor Who
fan circles for years; he now takes to the television version of the
show to prove that he knows exactly how a Dalek voice should be performed
no matter what the circumstance. Very nice!
The unveiling of each new element of the script is also perfectly
paced and hits the appropriate atmosphere each time like a bullseye.
But the plot and substance from which this is drawn take too many
liberties to remain believable.
Backstory Blunder
The bombshell footnote from
The End of the World (story no. 162)
is expanded into a full-blown backstory of major import to this
story's narrative, and its flaws are compounded.
With this particular twist, why bother?
You know it won't be long before another writer either reverses it,
or correctly
realizes that this backstory can't be exactly what it is presented to be.
The details of what I'm talking about are in the
In-depth Analysis version of this review.
And so it feels
like we're just going through the motions with this ultimately
inconsequential story arc, and that it isn't worth the amount of
emotional investment that the characters are clumsily thrusting
into it.
It also feels as if we've missed
a more exciting story during Doctor Who's 15-year absense from tv that
would have set all this backstory up.
Magic and Superpowers
The new improved design of the Dalek makes him chunkier than his
predecessors; the added hard-edges and rivets make his armour look
like it was produced more primitively than before. However, Daleks
are now as ridiculously magical as the 2005 sonic screwdriver; they've
developed super powers.
The plot hinges on the most ludicrous of the lot, and falls
apart if you stop to think about it.
I'll save the details of that huge spoiler for the
In-depth Analysis version of this review, but suffice it to say
that as far-fetched as the technical method of this superpower is,
even more boggling is why the Daleks ever developed it and deployed it
in the field.
One improvement that does work, which many people might not have
thought of, is the improved dexterity of the sucker arm. Very nice
use of computer graphics - this could easily appear to be an ability
that Daleks have had all along, and we simply hadn't seen it yet. Nice!
Going up the stairs - we've had that before in 1988. We probably
could have used a little less emphasis and screen time on that one,
although it's still a good idea to put it in somewhere.
There is clearly an attempt to create drama and tension out of
the scenes of the Dalek and his adversaries countering each other's
strategies, but because magic is ruling many abilities on both sides,
and it's not clear who can really do what, the tension is far less than
it could be.
The BBC now have no problems doing the special effects to make
the Dalek menacing. The laser beams are top notch, and still manage
to tastefully throw their targets into a negative image to maintain
continuity with the earliest Dalek stories.
Anyway, as 2005 stories go, "Dalek" is not bad. In fact,
it's probably essential for understanding the greater 2005 season
story arc, and manages to pull many good punches beside its misfired
ones. But it still has a significant way to go before it could be
considered a great Doctor Who story.
This story has become available on DVD:
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DVD NTSC
Region 1
13-episode box set
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
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DVD PAL
Region 2
13-episode box set
for the U.K.
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DVD PAL
Region 2
3-episode volume
U.K. format
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Note: The 13-episode box sets contain commentaries, behind-the-scenes
featurettes, and other extras.
The 3-episode volumes only feature the plain episodes.
Comments on this article are welcome. You may contact
the author from this page:
Contact page
LYRATEK.COM
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Read the Buyers' Guide Review for the next story:
"The Long Game"
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