Dalek

Dalek is an accomplished story, which redeems the Daleks from years of frankly below par stories. Which naturally leads us to ask, is this the best Dalek story? Yes indeed it is! Borrowing heavily from Rob Shearman’s excellent Big Finish audio story Jubilee, Dalek takes the best elements of that story and mines them for all they are worth! Above all it is perhaps the strong sense of moral ambiguity that makes the story really stand out. It’s the dialectics at the centre of the script which linger. We are presented with the ultimate killing machine, and by the end of the episode our feelings have been complexly subverted as we “feel” sympathy for the Dalek, an outstanding achievement.

Daleks are genuinely chilling and this episode proves it better than any other episode in Doctor Who’s history! Note the scene were the Dalek chillingly electrocutes the soldiers. Finally we get a visceral insight into why the Doctor fears the denizens of Skaro so much. . . . The Daleks will no longer be a joke!

Christopher Eccleston’s performance in this story is what really drives it, his fear, guilt and his passion. It’s clear now that the Ninth Doctor is a wounded soul, who’s not always thinking straight. Rose sees a side to the Doctor in Dalek which she has not only not seen before, but finds questionable, and indeed so does the audience! That initial scene between the Doctor and the Dalek in the locked cell was absolutely electric, beautifully directed too by Joe Ahearn, notice the way the Doctor addresses the Dalek’s eyestalk directly! Oh the intensity. You can clearly see why Joe Ahearn is directing five of the series thirteen episodes. The bottom line hear is that the Doctor comes tantalisingly close to becoming what he fears most! Mention should also be made of Nicholas Briggs’ superb performance as the Dalek. Nick was spot when he said that what was needed was a real characterisation, rather than just a cod robotic voice. The end result is nothing short of extraordinary.

Again the script is brimming with contemporary satire. An American who holds a Dalek prisoner illegally and tortures it.. . . . On the subject of Van Statten, he was a witty and quite enjoyable villain, albeit he was straight from the James Bond mould. The references to the Internet and the cure for the common cold were particularly enjoyable.

The only thing that very slightly mars this episode is Bruno Langley’s performance as Adam Mitchell, which while passable enough was a bit patchy at times, but I’m sure he will be redeemed.