Dalek

The long wait is over. At last we can finally rid ourselves of the cheap tacky image of the Daleks, evolved over decades of derision by the same old critics. Now they can climb the stairs. Now they can sucker a man to death. Now all the functions of a Dalek do seem to be practical. But does the excellent realisation of New Dalek merely dilute its traditional message of menace, in the same way that New Labour was seen as a dilution of socialism in the late 90s?

Robert Shearman's answer is an emphatic NO. 'Dalek' sees a fantastic rebirth of a televisual icon in every possible way (I couldn't possibly comment on the rebirth of the Labour Party). In many ways this is the best characterisation of the Daleks since their debut in 1963, certainly since Power of the Daleks. The sheer scale of the species' capability is explored far more than it ever was in the original TV series, making one genuninely awestruck at the potential that just one machine could achieve. Everything is covered. Intelligence in its distress calls and downloading, Cunning in its duping of Rose, Pitiless in its destroying of all the militia in the underground facility, Ruthlessness in its holding the Doctor to ransom in order to escape, Confusion in its coming to terms with Rose's emotions. I could go on, but you get the idea. Where could one get this scope in most of the Daleks' previous stories? And yet that was what made them so appealing in the first place, that there was so much more to the obvious fascistic side they presented. Shearman and RTD deserve immense credit for going back to the roots of the Daleks' attraction.

Special credit is also due to the faithful reproduction of Raymond Cusick's original design. Any production team would have be tempted to start afresh, but thankfully RTD and friends have resisted this, appreciating that the original attraction of the design was the key to the Daleks' appeal. The modifications they have made have all improved the effectiveness of the design, in particular the blue eye, and for me, the speech indicators with the poorer lit scenes being highly effective. The classic old ring modulator is also retained, and Roy Skelton has been well and truly left behind in the voicing stakes by Nicholas Briggs, who produces a fantastically emotional performance, highlighting the Dalek's paranoia superbly.

Of course, all the other elements to Dalek ensure that this is a story of the highest quality. The mood is considerably darker than any of the previous tales and suitably so, since we are now beginning to explore in detail the immediate background to the Doctor's present situation, and the painful effects of the Time War. Gone are the inane grins from Eccleston and cheesy jokes (well most of them), to be replaced by an intense performance of the highest order. This is what many would have imagined Christopher's Doctor to be like from Day One, but the contrast from the first 5 episodes lightheartedness makes this even more effective.

Billie Piper continues to surprise with her acting, and shows she can equal Chris in the intensity stakes. Corey Johnson is superb as Van Statten, smarminess and ruthlessness incarnate, and pleasingly preserved instead of dying the usual villain's death. Only Bruno Langley fails to impress here, performing with too much innocence and naivety for a self-pronounced genius.

The story's location is another excellent feature, the bleak long corridors echoing all the old classic Dalek stories, and providing those much-cherished moments of suspense. Shearman says that the stairs scene was the first thing he wrote, and it's easy to understand why. This scene is directed and acted to perfection, and is the final put-down to the critics.

From a production point of view only Murray Gold's music disappoints, with a lot of over-playing in certain scenes - the Adam/Rose scene a particular weak point. That said, the choral sequences are highly effective in conveying the awesome potential of the Dalek and the rebirth of its power.

After this revelation, I for one hope that we see more of the Daleks in this series, and despite having zero knowledge of the stories to come (spoiler-free is much better you know), something tells me we will. The series will be all the better for it. It's so gratifying to say that the Daleks haven't been brought back just for the sake of it - the possibilities are endless. When one considers that the Daleks' origins go back 42 years this is truly a special alien.