Dalek

Dalek' was the episode of this first Season of the new Doctor Who series I was most looking forward to; more than 'Rose' for me personally this was the story that excited me, the one I was most looking forward to. So did 'Dalek' meet my fevered expectations?

The answer has to be a resounding YES! This is perhaps the best Dalek story ever made and one of the best Doctor Who stories in any medium ever. So impressed was I by the way every aspect of this story, from the script, to the acting, to the special effects, to the music gelled together to create a story truly deserving of that much over used descrition 'classic', that it is difficult to know where to begin.

The script, by the very talented Rob Shearman, was simply superb and has significantly raised the standard for the other writers, including RTD himself. The concept of the alien museum owned by the self-centered Van-Straten was an interesting one and the idea of the Dalek machine having passed through several hands before it reached him an interesting one. The emphasising of just how dangerous even one lone Dalek can be was long overdue and surpassed even the audio adventure 'Jubilee' by the same writer in that regard. The rising up the stairs had, of course, been done before, but suddenly that sink plunger is no longer funny. The intelligence of the Daleks has never been more ably portrayed and this was only a lowly warrior; imagine how the intelligence of the Supreme Dalek compares. Other elements of the script worthy of praise include the Doctor's extreme reaction to the Dalek, the connection between the Dalek and Rose and the inventive ways in which the Dalek killed and manipulated. The ending was just perfection, the revealing of the truly vulnerable Dalek creature (looking almost exactly as I had always thought they would), Rose's anger at the Doctor and the Doctor's hatred, giving way to a kind of understanding. this wasn't just good Doctor Who, it was good drama period. So far as I could tell from one viewing there were no plot holes, no padding and no unnecessary characters or incident. This was a tight superbly wriiten script that I cannot praise Rob Shearman highly enough for.

'Dalek' was the episode that finally proved for me that Christopher Eccleston was the right choice to play the Doctor, and that made me regret that we will only see his excellent Ninth Doctor for one season. There was no unnecessary grinning here, no hint of sending the character up (something I have occassionally felt he was doing) but a tight focussed performance that made me forget completely this was a television series and that there was an actor playing the part of the Doctor, it was the Doctor there on screen, a real Time Lord fighting a real Dalek. Whether he was portraying pain, anger, concern or fear Eccleston was utterly convincing! If Christopher Eccleston is as good in the rest of the season his moving on from the role will be all the sadder.

Rose Tyler was, of course, just as central and important in this episode as the Doctor and once again we had a superb performance from Billie Piper. Like her co-star, she made me forget there was an actress playing the part and created the illusion of reality. I wasnt watching Billie, I was watching Rose Tyler.

The real star of 'Dalek' was, of course, the eponymous villain itself. The Dalek casing looked superb, the slightly retro design actually looking far more effective and menacing than the previous update in 'Remembrance of The Daleks. This was a Dalek that convinced you it was dangerous. The Doctor's comments about how dangerous it was were, to a large extent, merely the icing on the cake since it was obvious from the Dalek's appearance and new abilities that it was very, very dangerous. I have already mentioned the elevation and deadly sucvker arm, but the force shield was an idea long overdue and very welcome and the swivelling mid-section inspired. All these abilities were, however, overshadowed by two things, the superb Dalek voice by Nick Briggs that conveyed every nuance of the Dalek's intelligence and emotions and the aforemention intelligence itself, combined with a cunning that truly convinced that this was, possibly, the most dangerous creature in the universe.

The supporting characters were uniformly excellent with no hammy performances, even from those who were exterminated by the Dalek.

Murray Gold's music was also excellent, the operatic feel perfectly suiting the tone of the episode.

Thinking about it again, this is not only the best Dalek story ever, but possibly the best Doctor Who story ever!