Cool News
Evolution of the Daleks!! DOCTOR WHO 29.5 Reviewed!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
“Kelvington” says:
Doctor Who Evolution of the Daleks
This week’s “Doctor Who” picks up with the typical re-cap of last weeks show, including the shot of the human Dalek. Where is where the episode begins.
This episode has both some very strong moments, but it has many flaws as well. The idea that the Daleks have the Doctor in their grasp and don’t just kill him seems like every bad James Bond moment.
I’m not sure that I’m completely down with the idea that Daleks will turn over a whole new leaf and become partly human, it’s an interesting twist but I didn’t completely accept it. And neither did the other Daleks, who quietly plan against Dalek Sec’s ideals.
There were many interesting moments, watching Daleks hatch a plan in secret, seeing the half human Dalek Sec being treated like a wild animal, and many of the shots The Mill provided of the lightning hitting the exterior of the Empire State Building and The Doctor’s ascent to the very top.
But for every wicked cool moment was two or three bad ones, again my main gripe with the episode was the number of times The Doctor should have been killed by the Daleks and was either spared or interrupted or watching The Doctor change the rules.
Plus seeing The Doctor helping the Daleks seemed VERY, VERY wrong, I kept waiting for the double cross, but even in the end, The Doctor seemed to find way too much compassion for the Daleks, something we would have never seen with Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor.
I’ll admit watching pig people and Daleks hunting the sewers was pretty cool and kinda scary. Also seeing the Daleks have doubts about the new type of Human-hybrid and conflicts in sparing the humans lives is very well done.
There’s even talk of the Dalek creator, while they don’t mention him by name, it’s good to know they still remember Davros. Another nit pick I have is that the Psychic paper shouldn’t be seen as blank to anyone but the Doctor. (and Shakespeare and perhaps a member of Torchwood or two) but
to everyone else, it should be, whatever you want it to be. That was just sloppy. While we’ve as viewers only seen what is written on it once, to everyone in the story, it should never appear blank.
Overall I would give this as a stand alone episode a C maybe a C+, if you combine it with last weeks, then maybe a B-, but it wasn’t the super cool ending I was hoping for, however I do want one of those Dalek Tommy Guns under my Christmas tree this year.
Just my 2¢
“DimensionsPlural” says:
Hi Herc,
Just had the pleasure of watching episode 5 of the new Who series, and thought I’d post my two cents-worth:
What’s it called: Evolution of the Daleks
What’s it about: Daleks looking to evolve, oddly enough. In this, the second part to last week’s Daleks in Manhattan , the black dalek Sec has determined that the only way for his small troupe of pepperpots to survive and conquer is to change their basic strategy. Which he accomplishes by splicing himself with a 30’s Noo Yawker to become a squid-headed dandy with some disturbingly penile dreadlocks. And raising an army of humans all infected with dalek DNA. Though without the dreads, thankfully…
What’s good: lots, actually. The beautifully recreated scenes of Manhatton 80 years ago. The attack on Central Park ’s shanty town by flying daleks and squealing pig-men. The genetics laboratory and the partially constructed art-deco offices in the Empire State Building . The various film references at the heart of the story – Bride of Frankenstein, The Fly, Phantom of the Opera….The treacherous “real” daleks, who decide to take the future into their own appendages. Captain Panaka’s “why can’t we all just get along” speech and the snappy comeback. No OGR (Obligatory Gay Reference), but it did get a bit S&M at the end. Martha, who actually gets something to do this week other than look good in tight trousers….
What’s not so good: Those accents haven’t got any better, and some of the dialogue is a tad laboured in places. And unless I imagined it, I think the Doctor actually came on to a dalek…..
Overall: Solid episode, will do better on repeated viewings. Continues the trend of what has been a very confident season so far. 3 ½ stars (out of five)
Next week: Doctor Lazarus has invented a machine that makes himself 30 years younger. And unleashes the mother of all scorpions, by the look of it. And is that nice Mr Saxon sponsoring his experiments?
“The Handsome 12th Doctor” says:
After last week's fairly deficient starter to the two-parter did matters improve any tonight?
Ummm, no, not really.
It began with an unconvincing get-out from the cliffhanger. This to me has been the main thing that the new writers of Who have been getting wrong. The getaways following a cliffhanger episode always seem to be too easy. Tonight's was on par with the first Cybermen story from last season.
So far only Steven Moffat has come up with one I enjoyed, for the Empty Child/Doctor Dances.
Anyway things did then appear to pick up for a short spell. Flying Daleks, all out attack, lots of explosions. Good action leading up to a face-off between the Daleks and the Doctor. Here's where it started to lose me again. There were several points through the show when the Doctor was standing right in front of them, and they were saying things like "You are our greatest enemy. We will exterminate you now. Oh yes. We will. We mean it. We're going to do it. Honestly."
I paraphrase to some extent but it felt like that. They kept saying and saying it and then not doing anything. Doing that once would have been fine for building tension, but three or four times became a joke. You could argue that this sometimes happened in the older shows but I don't recall it ever being this bad.
There was also someone else who the Daleks would have killed immediately yet didn't. If you watched it then you may know who I mean, but let's not go spoiling things eh. If any of the other reviewers here has said what happened then somebody really ought to tell them off.
Right, so we've got Daleks that are now rubbish at being Daleks, doing some muddled sci-fi scheme. It never felt like they were ever in real control of what they were up to. More like making it all up as they go along. They should get jobs writing for 'Lost'.
I'm trying to think of anything that I liked. Sad to say I'm finding this a struggle. Martha My Dear taking charge and coming up with a plan to deal with the oncoming pig-men was good. And the effects work when the Daleks turned on the lights in the room was well done. But beyond that I have to say it was weak overall.
“Alex F” says:
Hi Herc,
I’m a long time reader, first time contributor, after seeing tonight’s episode of Who I though I just had to email you a review, I hope it's of use to you.
Evolution of the Daleks
After last week’s rather drawn out and only intermittently interesting episode, a lot was riding on the second part of this year’s Dalek tale, especially as the ratings for Daleks In Manhattan were pretty disappointing.
Once again visually it was impressive, and the brief action scenes were well orchestrated, but they’re the only positive things that can be said about the episode. The problem with it wasn’t just the slow pace and slightly dodgy and dull characterisation of the supporting characters (and it‘s best if we just ignore the accents once again), but rather the fact that it was far too predictable. The other three Daleks had questioned the concept of Dalek Sek evolving with the help of Human DNA last week, so there was a distinct lack of surprise when they inevitably turned on him and went ahead with their own diabolical plan.
The onslaught of Human Daleks at the end (all 12 or so of them, though there’s supposed to be thousands) lacked any kind of menace, and when the Doctor tried to reason with them, surprise surprise, even after one of his weakest speeches, they turned on the Daleks and blew them to pieces. Though one escapes, obviously, which will make the estate of Terry Nation happy. But I’m not sure anyone else will feel this way.
Tennant’s really growing in to the role this season, with a lot of the silly OTT manicness now absent, but here he was all too one note, and that note was the angry shouting Doctor who loses a lot of his appeal, and the depth that Ecclestone gave to the role was sadly missing.
I fall in to the camp who believes that Russell T Davies does write great Doctor Who episodes at times (the season finales usually), but also writes childish rubbish (yep, I still haven’t forgiven him for Aliens of London after all this time), but he’s been believing his own hype for too long now - Who can be a great sci-fi show, but at times it’s been pretty awful too, and for the show to really develop it needs a big shake up - and at the very least he really needs to hire better writers than this.
We’re five episodes in now and the standard of this season has been consistently average, we’re yet to have anything outstanding - hopefully in the coming weeks we’ll have this year’s “Girl In The Fireplace” or “The Unquiet Dead” - if not it could turn out that this third year of Who is the worst yet.
I am – Hercules!!
From Mike Nelson And
The Creators of Mystery Science Theatre 3000!! 
Afro-Samurai: Director's Cut * Baa Baa Black Sheep Vol. 2 * Banacek 1.x * Battlestar Galactica 2.x Value Pack * Beauty and the Beast 2.x * The Closer 1.x/2.x * Coach 2.x * Deadwood 3.x * The Dead Zone 5.x * ER 7.x * Eureka 1.x * Extras 2.x * The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark * The 4400 3.x * Gunsmoke 1.x * Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law 3.x * House 1.x/2.x Value Pack * The Incredible Hulk 2.x * Jason of Star Command: The Complete Series * Kathy Griffin: My LIfe On The D-List 1.x * Land of the Giants: The Complete Series * Mission: Impossible 2.x * The New Adventures of Batman: The Complete Animated Series * The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete Animated Series * Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Vol. 11 * The OC 4.x * The Office 1.x/2.x Value Pack * The Practice Vol. 1 * Psych 1.x * Rescue Me 3.x * The Rockford Files 4.x * Roots: 30th Anniversary Edition * Scrubs 5.x * Seinfeld 8.x * Star Trek: Captain's Log * Tales From The Crypt 6.x * Voltron Vol. 3 * Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea 3.x Vol. 1 * Weeds 1.x (Blu-ray)
The Making of Star Wars:
The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film
This week’s “Doctor Who” picks up with the typical re-cap of last weeks show, including the shot of the human Dalek. Where is where the episode begins.
This episode has both some very strong moments, but it has many flaws as well. The idea that the Daleks have the Doctor in their grasp and don’t just kill him seems like every bad James Bond moment.
I’m not sure that I’m completely down with the idea that Daleks will turn over a whole new leaf and become partly human, it’s an interesting twist but I didn’t completely accept it. And neither did the other Daleks, who quietly plan against Dalek Sec’s ideals.
There were many interesting moments, watching Daleks hatch a plan in secret, seeing the half human Dalek Sec being treated like a wild animal, and many of the shots The Mill provided of the lightning hitting the exterior of the Empire State Building and The Doctor’s ascent to the very top.
But for every wicked cool moment was two or three bad ones, again my main gripe with the episode was the number of times The Doctor should have been killed by the Daleks and was either spared or interrupted or watching The Doctor change the rules.
Plus seeing The Doctor helping the Daleks seemed VERY, VERY wrong, I kept waiting for the double cross, but even in the end, The Doctor seemed to find way too much compassion for the Daleks, something we would have never seen with Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor.
I’ll admit watching pig people and Daleks hunting the sewers was pretty cool and kinda scary. Also seeing the Daleks have doubts about the new type of Human-hybrid and conflicts in sparing the humans lives is very well done.
There’s even talk of the Dalek creator, while they don’t mention him by name, it’s good to know they still remember Davros. Another nit pick I have is that the Psychic paper shouldn’t be seen as blank to anyone but the Doctor. (and Shakespeare and perhaps a member of Torchwood or two) but
to everyone else, it should be, whatever you want it to be. That was just sloppy. While we’ve as viewers only seen what is written on it once, to everyone in the story, it should never appear blank.
Overall I would give this as a stand alone episode a C maybe a C+, if you combine it with last weeks, then maybe a B-, but it wasn’t the super cool ending I was hoping for, however I do want one of those Dalek Tommy Guns under my Christmas tree this year.
Just my 2¢
Just had the pleasure of watching episode 5 of the new Who series, and thought I’d post my two cents-worth:
What’s it called: Evolution of the Daleks
What’s it about: Daleks looking to evolve, oddly enough. In this, the second part to last week’s Daleks in Manhattan , the black dalek Sec has determined that the only way for his small troupe of pepperpots to survive and conquer is to change their basic strategy. Which he accomplishes by splicing himself with a 30’s Noo Yawker to become a squid-headed dandy with some disturbingly penile dreadlocks. And raising an army of humans all infected with dalek DNA. Though without the dreads, thankfully…
What’s good: lots, actually. The beautifully recreated scenes of Manhatton 80 years ago. The attack on Central Park ’s shanty town by flying daleks and squealing pig-men. The genetics laboratory and the partially constructed art-deco offices in the Empire State Building . The various film references at the heart of the story – Bride of Frankenstein, The Fly, Phantom of the Opera….The treacherous “real” daleks, who decide to take the future into their own appendages. Captain Panaka’s “why can’t we all just get along” speech and the snappy comeback. No OGR (Obligatory Gay Reference), but it did get a bit S&M at the end. Martha, who actually gets something to do this week other than look good in tight trousers….
What’s not so good: Those accents haven’t got any better, and some of the dialogue is a tad laboured in places. And unless I imagined it, I think the Doctor actually came on to a dalek…..
Overall: Solid episode, will do better on repeated viewings. Continues the trend of what has been a very confident season so far. 3 ½ stars (out of five)
Next week: Doctor Lazarus has invented a machine that makes himself 30 years younger. And unleashes the mother of all scorpions, by the look of it. And is that nice Mr Saxon sponsoring his experiments?
Ummm, no, not really.
It began with an unconvincing get-out from the cliffhanger. This to me has been the main thing that the new writers of Who have been getting wrong. The getaways following a cliffhanger episode always seem to be too easy. Tonight's was on par with the first Cybermen story from last season.
So far only Steven Moffat has come up with one I enjoyed, for the Empty Child/Doctor Dances.
Anyway things did then appear to pick up for a short spell. Flying Daleks, all out attack, lots of explosions. Good action leading up to a face-off between the Daleks and the Doctor. Here's where it started to lose me again. There were several points through the show when the Doctor was standing right in front of them, and they were saying things like "You are our greatest enemy. We will exterminate you now. Oh yes. We will. We mean it. We're going to do it. Honestly."
I paraphrase to some extent but it felt like that. They kept saying and saying it and then not doing anything. Doing that once would have been fine for building tension, but three or four times became a joke. You could argue that this sometimes happened in the older shows but I don't recall it ever being this bad.
There was also someone else who the Daleks would have killed immediately yet didn't. If you watched it then you may know who I mean, but let's not go spoiling things eh. If any of the other reviewers here has said what happened then somebody really ought to tell them off.
Right, so we've got Daleks that are now rubbish at being Daleks, doing some muddled sci-fi scheme. It never felt like they were ever in real control of what they were up to. More like making it all up as they go along. They should get jobs writing for 'Lost'.
I'm trying to think of anything that I liked. Sad to say I'm finding this a struggle. Martha My Dear taking charge and coming up with a plan to deal with the oncoming pig-men was good. And the effects work when the Daleks turned on the lights in the room was well done. But beyond that I have to say it was weak overall.
I’m a long time reader, first time contributor, after seeing tonight’s episode of Who I though I just had to email you a review, I hope it's of use to you.
Evolution of the Daleks
After last week’s rather drawn out and only intermittently interesting episode, a lot was riding on the second part of this year’s Dalek tale, especially as the ratings for Daleks In Manhattan were pretty disappointing.
Once again visually it was impressive, and the brief action scenes were well orchestrated, but they’re the only positive things that can be said about the episode. The problem with it wasn’t just the slow pace and slightly dodgy and dull characterisation of the supporting characters (and it‘s best if we just ignore the accents once again), but rather the fact that it was far too predictable. The other three Daleks had questioned the concept of Dalek Sek evolving with the help of Human DNA last week, so there was a distinct lack of surprise when they inevitably turned on him and went ahead with their own diabolical plan.
The onslaught of Human Daleks at the end (all 12 or so of them, though there’s supposed to be thousands) lacked any kind of menace, and when the Doctor tried to reason with them, surprise surprise, even after one of his weakest speeches, they turned on the Daleks and blew them to pieces. Though one escapes, obviously, which will make the estate of Terry Nation happy. But I’m not sure anyone else will feel this way.
Tennant’s really growing in to the role this season, with a lot of the silly OTT manicness now absent, but here he was all too one note, and that note was the angry shouting Doctor who loses a lot of his appeal, and the depth that Ecclestone gave to the role was sadly missing.
I fall in to the camp who believes that Russell T Davies does write great Doctor Who episodes at times (the season finales usually), but also writes childish rubbish (yep, I still haven’t forgiven him for Aliens of London after all this time), but he’s been believing his own hype for too long now - Who can be a great sci-fi show, but at times it’s been pretty awful too, and for the show to really develop it needs a big shake up - and at the very least he really needs to hire better writers than this.
We’re five episodes in now and the standard of this season has been consistently average, we’re yet to have anything outstanding - hopefully in the coming weeks we’ll have this year’s “Girl In The Fireplace” or “The Unquiet Dead” - if not it could turn out that this third year of Who is the worst yet.
-
+ Expand All
-
But I was distracted reading these great reviews. Ugh.
-
Gotta feel for Dalek Sec though.
-
Tonight's show was another highly entertaining entry into the Who cannon. I think Martha is the Master.
-
wow.. I'm enjoying this season... interesting the different extremes of opinions on some of the reviewers.
-
i have enjoyed RTDs vision of doctor who well into to this the third season. some camp, but hey, that is part of what doc who is all about. sure, they trot out the daleks a bit too often, but remember there has been a 'goblin' in every spidy film to date too! can't wait to see the reincarnation of the master this season!
-
I miss Chris Eccleston. His Doctor is what got me into this run of the series, and it just isn't the same without him.
-
...now hiring!
Please forward résumé to Caan.
-
I agree that the previous Doctor would not have given Khan a chance at the end. The new Doctor is proving himself a bit of a softy.
-
Just the idea that...
**SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!*
NO SERIOUSLY
SPOILERS
...a Dalek could have a sense of humanity (something that had been explored in the episode "Dalek") that he...she...it...could think beyond the simple urges to EXTERMINATE and see the larger picture...that they could start again, that they could have a second chance of life was kind of interesting...of course ultimately Dalek Sec couldn't succeed.
I think the reason the Doctor was willing to help Khan (or Caan...or whatever) at the end was partly because they're both the last of their kind (ok, the Master but he hasn't appeared yet) and partly because The Doctor feels guilty for what he did in the Time War, destroying both Gallifrey and Skaro and being the one responsible for the destruction of both the Time Lords and the Daleks.
I final thought...anyone notice the scene with the two Daleks discussing Sec after sending the pig slaves up the ladder to go after the humans? You know where I'm going here...in the endless series of jokes about getting away from a Dalek - climb a ladder :P -
Seriously, he probably did. Each incarnation of the Doctor has his own persona, so the Ninth Doctor's penchant for broodiness, dark clothes and full-on Dalek hatred were wiped clean during his regeneration into the Tenth Doctor. To his credit, though, the Tenth Doctor has repeatedly shown a strong sense of moral outrage ("School Reunion," "The Idiot's Lantern," "Gridlock"), so he's not a total softy by any means.
-
hehe.. 'cause its name is Khan. That's pretty funny. Kinda like the whole episode. I mean, what was the point of this two parter: at the start there are only 4 Daleks left in existance. At the end there's only one, and it escapes. Big deal. No surprises there.
Was some nice philosophy there having the Human-Dalek experience human understanding. Too bad it didn't go anywhere.
Overall pretty weak compared to previous season's Dalek eps. Still waiting for this season to take off. -
Actually, I don't see what all the fuss is. The Daleks are just aggressively genetically mutated forms/abominations of the Kaled race/nation from the planet Skaro. They looked like humans originally. So if Sec & Co. had enough power, they could have simply went back in time to old Skaro and got genetic samples of the Kaleds (or even the Thals) and returned themselves to the greatness that was their original species prior to Davros and his twisted visions of the future. Instead of rolling out the Daleks again, I'd prefer to see a return of the Kaled fascists trying to take over the galaxy and ruthlessly hunt down The Doctor.
-
Like in James Caan, who won't be returning to NBC's *Las Vegas* next season but is being replaced by Tom "the mustached legend" Selleck.
-
The Daleks probably can't travel into their own past to get the Kaled samples any more than the Doctor could travel back in his to prevent the death of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. At least, I think that's what RTD has been trying to set up. It might be that if you go back it ends up being the kind of interference that brings the Reapers (from Father's Day) in to devour everything. Maybe the Daleks already tried and found that it wouldn't work.
And now, it's about time for a TomBodet 'joke' about Daleks and stairs... -
Would they also be named The Doctor? Or would we have The Lawyer, The Professional Golfer, The Radiologist, etc?
-
If they ever manage to top that, my hat will be off.
-
At the prompting of DynamixRo, I checked TVRage to see if Writer/Director information is out there on the rest of the third series. Indeed, it is! Steven Moffat wrote the tenth episode of this season, titled "Blink". I can't wait.In other news, I hated tonight's episode. The script just seemed incredibly bland to me...I _hated_ the Human/Dalek hybrid...thought the idea was crap. I rank this one up there with The Idiot's Lantern, Love and Monsters, and Fear Her. They turned the schmaltz up way too fucking high towards the end. Seriously bad.I really hope we get a few great episodes this season...stuff like The Unquiet Dead, The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, Girl in the Fireplace, The Impossible Planet, and The Satan Pit. So far we've had a bunch of decent episodes (Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, and Gridlock) on par with episodes like The End of the World, Dalek, Boomtown, Tooth and Claw, and, for the most part, the Finale two-parters of the first two series.
-
...yes, it is "Steven Fucking Moffat". After his scripts on Doctor Who, like Shatner, he's earned the middle name.
-
They would have different names like the examples you gave above. From the old series there was The Mad Monk, The Nurse and of course, The Master. Although some have had 'normal' names, like Morbius.
-
A Dalek - Hobo standoff with the hobo coming a very poor second. Classic moment. Another classic moment had two Daleks in a sewer tunnel discussing Sec's "evolution"...seeing the right Dalek's eye stalk scanning the area quickly before joining in the gossip was hilarious. Though not as hilarious or as distracting as Sec's transformation in to a cycloptic thing with six twitching penises (penii ??) growing out of his head. (Come ON...we all know that's what they were). Cool episode. Back on track.
-
The Doctor indicated that the first Emergency Temporal Transport must have really sapped the Daleks' energy or they would have overrun the planet by now. So I was a little surprised to see Caan do an ETT at the end. Seems like a cop-out. I hope Caan is really weakened the next time we see him - much like the one in the first series episode 'Dalek'.With psychic paper I've always imagined that it would appear blank to everyone until it had a specific task to perform (even a subconscious one). Since Martha didn't know what she had to use it for, at first in the camp it would appear blank.The offhand comment above about Martha being the Master has the germ of a fantastic idea. Imagine if, instead of Mr Saxon played by John Simm, the Doctor acquired a new male Companion played by an unknown actor. Then, after a few episodes and we've got to trust him, he betrayed the Doctor in some way and said "What's the matter, Doctor? Don't you recognise me?" That would be a fantastic reveal.
-
I was in favour of the Daleks returning this year when I was under the impression that the BBC had a 3 year deal to use them - granted by the estate of Terry Nation. "May as well use them before the deal's up" is what I thought.But then I made the mistake of mentioning the 3 year deal on Outpost Gallifrey. Never *ever* do that. They get quite sniffy about it and insist that the 3 year deal was made up by fans on the internet. (Not that they seem to have any proof that there wasn't such a deal, mind).So if there wasn't a 3 year deal I now dislike the Daleks being used so frequently. They should have been rested this season as their menace is being diluted by overuse (and it's not even as if they're a huge ratings draw as last week was below average even for a sunny weekend).It would seem strange to me if there wasn't a deal as I thought it would be the most practical way to go. Negotiating with the Terry Nation estate on an episode-by-episode basis would be hugely inefficient. Unless the rights for the Daleks have either reverted back to the BBC or been sold outright. Anyone know?
-
Terry Nation's estate jointly owns copyright of the Daleks with the BBC. This goes back to previous copyright agreement practice where freelance writers for the BBC were allowed to retain intellectual property rights over the concepts and characters that they introduced into individual serials. (In the credits for GRIDLOCK, the original writer of THE MACRA TERROR, Ian Stuart Black, received credit for creating the Macra, and will have got paid something for that usage ). Terry Nation tried to expand the Dalek idea away from Doctor Who several times and set up television series with Daleks and non-Who elements. The closest he actually got to doing that, though, were in stage plays like CURSE OF THE DALEKS, which premiered in the UK as early as 1965. Nation tried something similar with BLAKE'S SEVEN after the original series ended, IIRC. The BBC still has similar (but watered down) arrangements existing today for freelancers, though not for staff writers, as I understand it. Basically, Terry Nation's estate gets paid every time the BBC uses the Daleks, according to whatever scale of royalties they've got organised between the two parties at the time. However, Daleks outside WHO make little sense, so Nation's people will always end up taking the BBC's money, though they know the DALEKS are iconic enough to command a decent price. So if the current agreement is three years, there's no way this won't be renewed in some way. If you're nerdy enough (like me!) to see what goes on in the murky world of BBC scriptwriting agreements (and payments) try here: http://tinyurl.com/3yfchs
-
She's rubbish. Not the actresses fault mind, it's the lazy writers giving her nothing to do but feel sorry for herself everytime the Doc spurns her and pines for Rose. As for this 2-parter, there were good bits: nods to universal horror movies, the CGI, the music (especially that Buzby Berkeley song and dance routine), and managing Caridff to look like Manhattan (a bit). But there were some awful parts: the script was lay-zee, the dialogue cringeworthy, and the make-up on the fucking pig-slaves were toe-curlingly bad. 5/10.
-
The Doctor's got over his Rose thing. That was explicitly addressed at the end of GRIDLOCK. Please keep up. I agree with the script this time round - not the best by a long shot. Some good ideas (Hooverville, another Dalek-human hybrid attempt) but iffy scripting. The prosthetics were functional, but no better. The Daleks have got a lot of previous where slave races are concerned, but the whole pig-men thing didn't work as an idea for me. Martha's been sort of dismissed in this two-parter as a character, which is a mistake. Hopefully she'll have more to do now the season picks up on the Saxon storyline...
-
That's pretty much what I thought. I dared to suggest on Outpost Gallifrey that if the ratings went up for Dalek episodes then Terry Nation's estate might be able to command a higher fee. More popular = more money. But I was shouted down by people who insisted that there was no 3 year deal. Although they did not have any suggestions for what deal might actually be in place instead.My guess is that a 3 year deal is the most likely since I remember that the negotiations for the Daleks before Series One were reported as being quite tense (as no-one knew if the new Doctor Who would be a success - particularly without Daleks). RTD was even quoted as saying that he had lined up some "cool new villains" in case they couldn't get the Daleks (or Nation's estate demanded too much). But it's now clear that the Daleks need to be in Doctor Who more than Doctor Who needs the Daleks. So a deal will be done as it's in everyone's interests. But I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see the Daleks at all next year. And I really would like to know if the deal struck before new Who began was for 3 years or not. Because, if not, the Daleks are being used far too frequently.
-
...well not quite. 'Fear Her' is a pretty hard act to beat. But still this episode left me wondering 'what was the fucking point?' It seems that Helen Raynor and RTD had this great idea of getting away from the old salt shaker Dalek into the Dalek/human hybrid thing but lacked the balls to carry it out just because all the screeching brats who watch 'Doctor Who' think the Daleks are the scariest villians in the series. the dialogue was shit, the accents shit and the series is becoming so P.C that it will soon surpass the excretable 'Robin Hood'. And the less said about the cop out ending the better. MUST TRY HARDER!!!
-
Much better than the first part ... The conflict between the Daleks worked well and the ending was nicely done. This has been by far the weakest Dalek story since Whos big return but its was still miles ahead of the pathetic Cybermen two part story from last season. Looking ahead I think things will be getting dark in the next few episodes as the return of the Master gets closer.
-
That can be an obsessive and barking mad place at times. I agree with supertoyslast that we've seen the last of the Daleks for a while. They've served their purpose in helping build the audience for the WHO revival, but the time's ripe to leave them (well, him, if Dalek Caan really is the last one left) alone for a while. Maybe RTD and company could think up some effective new baddies...
-
... oh never mind.
-
He already boffed Ace, so why not add another of the Doctor's companions to his list?
Seriously, though, I think there's potential for other recurring villains. We haven't seen Sil yet, and although she's probably dead, they could still pull out The Rani and have a nice little reunion. Hell, I'd love to see the Doctor run afoul of his old companion, Ace, in her duties as Time's Vigilante (or is she the inheritor of the mantle of the Time Lords, or is she just dead? I wish RTD would address this for those of us who loved the show until it was canned in the 80s.)
The Doctor needs a long-running enemy, and not necessarily The Master. These monster-of-the-week shows are OK, but I like long rivalries and archvillains, and I'm sure most Doctor Who fans are feeling the same about now. Also, how about the archvillain has his/her own companion? How about The Valeyard and some former (or future!) companion of The Doctor's as the "bad guy" time travelling duo? Hmmm. . . Which companion would have cause to really dislike The Doctor? Mickie? Nahh. Too goofy. Peri? Well. . . He did abandon her to Brian Blessed's tender mercies. Mel? Oh, yes. Mel could be quite an interesting villain if given a chance. Or how about ROSE? Wouldn't that just hurt The Doctor in the worst way possible? A dark, twisted, evil, vengeful, jealous version of Rose, plucked from the timeline by The Valeyard... Her name could be Thorn. It would be fun.
-
I was wondering if the Daleks (or Caan) might return sooner than we think. The first series finale had Daleks. The second series finale had Cybermen... and Daleks. The third series finale will have the Master.... and Daleks?Hopefully not. But it seems a rule of thumb so far that each finale has to feature the Daleks.
-
I talk about the plot in this post, so: SPOILER ALERT! - Since when does a "Gamma Radiation" burst from the Sun manifest itself as a bolt of lightning? And since the radiation would hit the side of the planet FACING the Sun, how did it hit New York at night? The new "Doctor Who" franchise usually has good special effects, good acting and sometimes they have some truly clever concepts, but the series has always been marred with bad logic and horrible science. I'd love it and enjoy it much more if they just worked a little harder on their logic and tried to stay within the realm of real science (the science we know about). This latest episode had both bad science and bad logic in great heaps. The Doctor was in the sights of the Daleks several times and they were always conveniently interrupted somehow. If the Doctor is truly their worst enemy they'd have fired immediately. None of that bandying about with the dialog. Those plot twists that miraculously allow the heroes to escape always seem just a tad too convenient. Didn't anyone else think that it was awfully "fortunate" that the bend-around-the planet, Gamma-Ray-Lighting-bolt struck at the exact moment the elevator doors opened? Couldn't they have come up with a more realistic way to have a Pig/Human showdown? Fudging science a little bit for the plot is fine (STNG), but to twist it THAT much in order to wrap-up all the loose ends is just lazy writing. I've stuck with the show through all of the cast changes and bad story lines, and I still enjoy the show from time to time. However, the bad writing, which was always an annoyance, is starting to make me lose interest in the show.
-
I'm sad he only has a single stand alone episode this season. This Dalek story had some good ideas and worked really well in spots, but there were a number of problems, and I really agree with the synopsis writer who compared this episode to the James Bond villians who explain their plans prior to killing the hero, and then don't finish the job. For what it was, it was okay, but for what it could have been, it was very dissapointing. Contract or not, we shouldn't see the Dalek(s) again till series 5 or later.Bringing back a CHARACTER to fix bad WRITING fixes nothing.
-
Granted the two-parter story has been weak, next week's story returns the fun back to the Doctor and Martha, alleged sexual tension and all.
-
What if the Doctor encountered another time lord we've all forgotten about...a very bitter Susan. She HAS to have been a time lord - she was his grandaughter back in the Hartnell days and was abandoned by him in post Dalek invaded Earth. Things might not have worked out and she COULD come back for vengeance in the same way as Khan (Ricardo Montalban - not the Dalek)
-
which is a fancier name for "The Lawyer," I believe.
Oh, and nice to see TomBodet crawling out from under his bridge once again. DANCE FOR US, MONKEY!
-
I really do think she is either the master in disguise or he has usurped her body somehow. Rose freed him at the end of series one, maybe he went into Captain Jack?, now he seems to be in Martha?, do I smoke too much?
-
Hope that helps!
-
Also, this 'aliens observing the dichotomy of humans and how horrible they can be and how great they can be when they are under pressure etc is getting old. That's two Daleks in three Dalek episodes that have ended up asking themselves 'what's it al about eh?'. One was pushing it but two? That's getting a bit frequent. The floating Daleks answer to the camp leaders big speech was classic Dalek. I too laughed when the sewer Dalek turned and did a quick scan behind him before answering his co conspirators question he he. . . . . Oh and , did that camp leader just rip off Cartman "Respec my authotae'.
-
If they'd killed Dalek Caan at the end that would have spelled the end of the Daleks forever. That would suck. So it was always going to feel like a bit of a cop-out. This was an expensive episode, you could definitely tell that, but I wish the story had been a little better.
-
This was one of the weaker episodes so far. But the last two seasons also had weak episodes, like the one last season with the Ood, or the one with Eccleston where we see Captain Jack. Next week looks interesting, though.
-
Smashing figures that they are quite miffed with the Doctor for imprisoning them there, maybe they and there new Cyber cell mates will cook up some wicked plan?
Palimpsest lol cheers, 8) -
It is about time for a return of The Doctor's wayward granddaughter. Its been like 42 years since we last saw her; not counting "The Five Doctors" episode. New incarnation, and either glad to see her grandfather or holds much displeasure for him. Considering RTD's preference for family drama, I'm surprised he hasn't taken the opportunity to bring her back but then again, I guess he might feel that reintroducing The Doctor's granddaughter might reduce the mystery of the central character. One thing's for sure, Steven Fucking Moffat should write the episode of Susan's return. Btw, I think Jemima Rooper does look quite a bit like Carole Ann Ford (Susan), not counting their noses.
-
Going into Captain Jack? Are you suggesting that Captain Jack is a catcher and not a pitcher? Heh.
-
If they killed Dalek Caan, then we would have seen the Daleks return when the fake cybermen dimension cracked open again, or a visit to any other dimension...or when the Time Lord timeline gets restored, which would also restore the Daleks(if the series goes on long enough, you know that will happen)...or we would find Davros somewhere...or something completely different. The Daleks always come back, even if it looks like they shouldn'tRobinP, Susan gets mentioned in almost every Who talkback. Seeing as she was left on Earth after a Dalek invasion attempt that it would seem essentially never happened, I tend to think she was erased just like the rest of the Time Lords and the rest of the Daleks. I tend to think that will all be resolved someday, but until then, that story would tend to dump on the universe RTD is running with. Characters like Romana and Omega would seem to be more likely to be alive in this continuity right now, but possibly not even them.lynxpro, so far Fucking Moffat's work has been pretty much stand alone sci-fi stories of his own creation. I'd rather let him come up with the ideas and run with them over giving him a story outline where all he does is fill in some blanks. That seems like a waste of his talents, especially if they continue to limit him to one story a season.
-
For whatever reason I enjoyed this week. I knew there was no way that the humanoid Dalek would stick around and we all know the Daleks will be back again in the future.The climbing the tower bit was a bit tiresome. We already had this doctor climbing a tower! Oh well.Next week, however, looks to be horrible. Except for perhaps some interactions with Martha's family, the story about getting younger seems lame and a bit too similar to how the new cybermen were created.
-
Next time he regenerates he regenerates the Daleks, would make a hell of an introduction episode.
Lynxpro I reckon Captain Jack would be highly versatile, like me, making him a bedroom all rounder.
I think next weeks will be another slice of classic Who from Mark Gatiss, when he says "I am 80 years old" it makes me laugh in a cool, classic sci fi way. -
He was the only one resurrected on the last episode of series one, and if anyone caught the last episode of Torchwood the Captain was "picked up" buy an unseen TARDIS. Could this be the Master's TARDIS returning for him??
-
We're gonna find out that Mr. Saxon is an evil clone of The Doctor, from his chopped off hand. RTD is going to totally copy that plot device from Timothy Zahn's "Star Wars - The Last Command."
-
I've watched DIM Pt.2 for about the 3rd time, and I'll agree...it's not the best Dalek episode of all time. Seems like I'd probably go with Genesis of the Daleks, and maybe even Dalek Invasion of Earth(Hartnell). Also, Destiny of the Daleks, and a few others. Anyway...not too crazy about the human daleks, or the pig slaves. What is it with the new program's love of mutated pigs. Wasn't there some sort of pig gone wrong in World War III? Not a major problem, I suppose. As for the Cult of Skaro, it's an interesting idea. At first I was put off by Sek, but it's grown on me. Sort of a Davros-Scaroth(City of Death) look. With regards to the Daleks holding their fire on the Doc...That's movies and tv for you. Stormtroopers were sooooo precise, yet could never hit the main characters. Some guy on a helicopter in Clear and Present Danger couldn't hit Harrison Ford, even though he was armed with an AK-47. And, in Doctor Who, seems to me that the Daleks were ready to exterminate Ace in Revelation of the Daleks, but took longer to fire than they normally would. It's not realistic, but that's just the way of the script when it comes to main characters. I will agree to some extent with some who say this season hasn't been quite as good as the previous two. Gridlock has probably been my least favorite, and the Dalek two-parter has been my favorite. Still no episodes on par with Mysterious Planet/Satan Pit, Girl in the Fireplace, etc. I suspect there will be a few standouts later in the season. Either way, I enjoyed the last two for the most part. Here's hoping RTD and company do a good job bringing back the ice warriors, if that's still going to happen.
-
I got the impression that she was an human or other humanoid species that the Doctor had picked up on the way and even though she called him grandfather, he wasn't actually her grandfather.
-
Totally cheesy ending imo. I defintely want a 2 year hiatus on the damn daleks. What I really want is an episode or 2-parter with several of the Doctors!
-
No, really. It's true...
-
I read it on AICN.
-
...at least according to RTD. When he came under crytism for making the Dr and Companian scenario a romance many complained that The Dr was not interested in sex. RTDs response was that he ss interested in sex as he had a grand child so must of had a child. He seems to be taking it literally that Susan was his Grandad. I think tennant has mentioned having a family in the series 2 to back this up. RTD may also be making it clear that the Master is the Drs brother. Again hinted at in the old series but never confirmed .We hear the Dr meniton his brother in epsiode 1 of the current series and we all know the Matser is due to arrive at the end of this series. Is RTD taking away the mystic to ensure soap opera drama?
-
Sorry, but my exact words on Saturday were "I'm about done with this fucking show".
The guy who compared it to Robin Hood was spot on - it's crap, PC, uber gay nonsense.
Daleks having secret whispery chats, looking about to make sure they're alone?
Pish.
Dalek/Human Hybrid?
Pish.
Mad Scientist save the pig guy bit?
Pish.
Really hope the rumours of Steven Fucking Moffat taking over main writing duties next series better be true.
-
just awful. Came home to get changed before I went to the pub, and the wife took so long I ended up watching it. There really is no defending squidward dalek.
-
Good comment about RTD believing his own hype. My problem is that there are lots of excellent sci-fi writers out there and Doctor Who is venerable enough that you could get them to collaborate, but RTD seems more concerned with having having an obedient stable of writers than in challenging himself and the show by bringing in people. He's like Walter in "The Big Lebowski" who is risk averse because it "fucks up his plan." So far this season has been *very* weak. Smith and Jones was tolerable as a season opener, Shakespeare Code could and should have been better, Gridlock had a chance but the Macra were ill-used and the religious allegory was distasteful. Now we have a two-part Dalek/NY story that sucks? Hrm.
-
Does that mean that Mr. Saxon is in fact The Dooctor? Remember, folks: extra vowels = evil clones. To completely hijack this thread, I remember when those books came out. They were *huge* for all those kids who were in the middle of suffering their sixteen year Star Wars blue balls. Of course, they should have conditioned us for what was to come as that trilogy ended up being poor, too. The disappointment of those books is tied directly to Admiral Thrawn going from being a competent, strategic genius to a completely infallible antagonist. However, Timothy Zahn did write one of my favorite sci-fi books of the last ten years, "The Icarus Hunt" so I forgive him for ushering in the era of half-baked, poorly written Star Wars novels.
-
I think you could make the argument she wasn't a time lord, which is why I would prefer not to see her. Some things are just better left a mystery.
-
... opinion seems to be that the current status of who or what Susan is, is suitably ambiguous with nothing definite mentioned one way or the other in the show, at least not yet.
-
The Master is the Doctor's brother, who is also the "other" Time Lord mentioned by the Face of Boe ("You are not alone") and is the one whose TARDIS picked up Captain Jack at the end of TORCHWOOD Series One. The setup is there, so unless all of these are red herrings, it's time to connect those dots...
-
No offense to RTD, who has done some things right. But, I'm with those who would like to see Moffat, and other like-minded writers, on board. Bring on the Fireplace, Mysterious Planet, and Satan Pit, etc. That's what this show needs. Realistically, each week's episode isn't going to be an instant classic, no matter who's at the helm. That said, there are better writers who are willing to bridge the best of the old series with the new. With the largely improved effects, and deeper emotional feel...new fans aren't going to get pissed about some added old show elements. For what it's worth, I'm in full agreement about this season being a little lackluster thus far.
-
I hear it's this year's Love & Monsters (ONLY in that the Doc is mostly absent, don't have a heart attack...)
-
Well, supposedly a very old (now) story line planned to have it revealed that The Master was The Doctor's brother but then Roger Delgado (the first actor who played The Master) was killed in an accident and that plotline was dropped.
-
Looking back at the episode "Dalek" (and Eccleston's tenure in general) I really feel that that episode should have been the last Dalek story ever. There's something really poignant about the idea of the last Time Lord and the last Dalek, each survivors of a dreadful war, meeting each other in a small, claustrophobic environment (Makes me think about "Enemy Mine" or "Hell in the Pacific"). That episode felt like the distillation and discussion of everything the Daleks had come to represent in terms of both the narrative of the Doctor Who series. It had a great, sad sense of finality, and, personally, each subsequent Dalek story just seems to cheapen what was good about that one to serve as ratings-grabbing action adventures. "Dalek" also seemed to be marvelously gritty, with the director really bringing out the sense of horror about the Dalek's unlimited killing potential (Notice it doesn't run around screaming "Exterminate" much, making it all the creepier as it quietly dispatches Van Statten's men?). "Daleks in Manhatten" had mass murder, genetic manipulation, blasphemous experiments - but it all seemed very comic-booky and matter of fact. Oh well.
-
I remember Davros the Dalek leader. Was a human head in a Dalek body. I haven't seen these new episodes, but is Davros in them?? I think they bring back The Master too. Bring em all back!! When are we gonna have a an episode called The 12 Doctors so we can have all of em in the same episode!! use some deleted footage or CGI to get the dead ones back. I think that would be awesome.
-
" crap, PC, uber gay nonsense" celebrating our ignorance quite openly eh?
-
The concept of the Daleks in the Time Lord prison was really good, even if that story brought bad with the good, I'm glad it was made. The first season ender, and the most recent two-parter, not so much. Even the lousy Dalek stories don't really take away from the good ones, so I have no problem with Daleks returning, I just have a problem with bad stories.
-
You know, with a goatee beard coz he's from the mirror universe the Cybermen came from?
So far I've only seen ONE SINGLE SOLITARY episode in this entire new series that actually made me think "nice one" - Impossible Planet. That was truly awesome, but the part two episode went straight back to being awful-to-average in quality...
I could be wrong about this, but if I'm not mistaken, won't the Master end up being the last Timelord because while the Doctor is on his tenth and therefore last regeneration, the Master scored himself bonus regenerations and actually has another 9 or so to go now?
Tennant will be the last of the Doctors, right? -
With obligatory goatee...
-
The Doctor actually has two left. After that, RTD and company will have to kill the character, or invent some way to keep him around. As for the Master, did he get bonus regenerations in the 1996 Eric "uughh" Roberts incarnation? Otherwise, he's just borrowing bodies like he did in the Fox tv Doctor Who special, and the Tom Baker Keeper of Traken episode.
-
" crap, PC, uber gay nonsense" celebrating our ignorance quite openly eh?"
Oh yeah, I forgot - AICN boards are all about being dicks to each other.
My view on Who is very valid - it IS politically correct, it IS filled with homosexual comments & suggestions and that last episode, in my opinion, WAS crap.
So, what exactly is ignorant about wanting Dr Who to be fun family entertainment, without the gay politicking?
Or was it just that my post was the only one you could think of anything to flame about?
-
Would you complain it was too black?
By PC would you prefer the Doctor to be a clan member?
By crap are you freaking kidding? -
It doesn't matter what race, religion, sexuality, etc they are.
Bad writing is bad writing, and that episode had plenty of it!
(although it has a long way to go to beat Fear Her or Love & Monsters)
Anyway, let's hope this weeks is better.
-
It was like a very special Blossom, I really liked the whole cheesy daleks in NY bit, i thought it was quite tongue in cheek and pretty funny, new ideas introduced and again not any use of the tardis beyond arrival and departing, pretty slick I thought. Check out the song on my MySpace page, it rocks. http://www.myspace.com/supersonic_gin_and_tonic
-
with catherine Tate- that was horrid, talk about dire stunt casting.
-
A Who Xmas special, with Catherine Tate, not liked?, bovvered? I thought to have her pop up right after the single most dramatic Who moment ever was reaching its total tear inducing break down moment was genius. I loved the Xmas show, Racnoss, silly jokes, heart and of course killer Xmas trees, a new Who tradition, this year it will be roast pig slave for dinner.
I loved seeing the Tardis careening down the motorway and I like how at Xmas they taught the scientific process (Accretion?) that created the Earth to everyone, they also has an Xmas stat that did not guide anyone and contained a horrible monster, sweet, I thought. Also it contained the best ever line ever "this time its personnel", from an office worker turned action man. -
Twelve regenerations total, leaving 10 -> 11, 11 -> 12, and 12 -> 13. Three.
And yes, the Master was last seen in the TV movie borrowing bodies, although since he was sucked into the TARDIS via the Eye of Harmony (and presumably released when the Tenth Doctor expelled the excess TARDIS energy he absorbed from Rose in "The Christmas Invasion"), he either ends up restored somehow as a Time Lord, or is borrowing bodies again.
-
Took me repeated viewings to accept Catherine Tate, but you can't fault the motorway bit, it was so well done.
-
My bad. You're absolutely right. I wasn't thinking. hehe As for The x-mas special...I was mixed. Too much modern day dramedy feel for me, but the spider queen's tentacle hovering over the view screen reminded me of the old days. Tate was good at the end when saying farewell to the Doctor, but by and large she didn't do it for me. The borrowed elements in each of the x-mas specials are getting a bit old. Here's a thought, just release the a season to season special between seasons, but drop the who Christmas thing. It has run its course. As for the over-politicizing...I don't care whether it's gay, straight, conservative, liberal, black, white, racial issues, etc. it can take away from the story sometimes. On the other hand, a series like the original Trek was able to use it as an effective tool, at a time when it was truly needed. As for the Dalek two-parter...I was largely okay with it. It's no Genesis or Destiny, but alright. Here's hoping they don't botch the Master storyline.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 383 total posts 380 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 111 total posts 111 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 75 total posts 73 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 71 total posts 68 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 77 total posts 55 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 54 total posts 48 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 165 total posts 41 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 41 total posts 41 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 500 total posts 35 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 28 total posts 28 posts