Dalek

Let me take you back a little. When the interviews for the new series of Doctor Who began, Russell T. Davies was asked about the return of the Daleks. He famously said, many a time, that we would cry for the Dalek. "I'll believe it when I see it!" I thought. Saturday 30th April 2005 was the day of reckoning. From the pre-credit sequence it was clear that this was to be a different style of episode from the previous 5 weeks, and it was going to be something of an emotional rollercoaster. "Look at you!" exclaims the Doctor, a mix of awe and sadness in his voice, as he sees the severed head of a Cyberman in a display case. Surrounded by Alien artefacts in some kind of museum, Rose states what we - the viewers - are all thinking... that the Doctor, as a live specimen, must be Exhibit A. In rush a swat team, and in rush the credits. The scene truly setting the tone for the following 42 minutes.

As the Doctor and Rose meet Van Statten and "Little Lord Fauntleroy" Adam, the opposing views are set. Van Statten, an obnoxious man who's only true achievement has been to steal Alien technology and patent it as his own, is clearly set up as the villain of the piece - who is blissfully unaware that his prized possession, the eponymous Alien of the show, is in reality the most dangerous artefact that he is ever likely to possess. Cue a wonderful scene, beautifully edited, with swift retorts between the Doctor and Van Statten. Jump cutting between the two characters we feel how Rose must feel, and once again she airs the thoughts of the viewer "you can almost smell the testosterone" - she is our eyes and ears in these stories, a connection with is used to it's utmost in this story by it's writer and director.

When the moment the world has been waiting for happens, and the Doctor meets his arch-enemy, the eponymous Dalek, we are suddenly swept into a whirlwind of emotions. From the Dalek's futile attempt to exterminate the Doctor, who frantically tries to escape from The Cage, to the verbal confrontation between these two enemies, we are whirled from Fear, to Hate, to Guilt. The Doctor's 'in your face' confrontation of this, almost impotent, Dalek really hits a chord with the viewers. Taunting the Dalek, he finds himself on the recieving end of some pretty harsh criticism, and searching questions. And from this scene we learn that the Doctor was, in his view, responsible for the Time War - and therefore responsible for the demise of his own race. We feel his pain, we feel his loss, and we feel his anger. Yet, this reviewer felt these emotions for the Dalek too. A lone survivor, who somehow slipped through some kind of time eddy and escaped the fate of it's race. The story skillfully shows similarities between the Doctor and the Dalek, whilst maintaining their differences. Perhaps it is these similarities which make some of us start to feel sorry for the Dalek.

The pivotal scene of the story comes whilst the Doctor is being 'examined' - which really means tortured in the name of science - and Rose sees the Dalek being tortured on the cctv system. Her travels with the Doctor have already brought out her caring side, and through her visit to Platform One Rose has learnt to be more tolerant of Aliens, and not to automatically think that because they're different they're evil. Wanting to see the Metaltron, as Van Statten and his team refer to the Dalek, and feeling remorse for the ignorance of the humans holding it prisoner, Rose comes face to face with the Dalek. As she approaches it, we hold our breath in anticipation. We've already heard that the last person to touch it burned to death, and yet Rose reaches out and places a hand on the Dalek's dome - after some rather moving dialogue which truly expresses Rose's compassionate nature. From hereon in, the Dalek goes on a rampage, and finds itself on an ever increasing emotional rollercoaster. Yes, I said emotional. You see that's the clever thing with this story. Having used the DNA from a Time Traveller - Rose has just recently travelled in time - the Dalek rejuvinates itself enough to break free of it's shackles and make a bid for freedom, after suckering it's torturer to death. (Frankly I found this moment shocking, and rather scary. "Whachay gonna do? Sucker me to death?" I laughed at this line, thinking that nothing would happen. Boy, was I wrong! Don't ever think a Dalek's sucker is a humourous whimsy, with no threatening purpose.) But what this Dalek didn't bank on was the mutating effect of the Human DNA on it's own DNA. Over the remaining time of this story the Dalek begins to question it's actions, it's instincts. It develops feelings, and emotions.

But all this isn't to say that the Dalek is the only one showing emotions in this fine story. Overcome with his guilt, the Doctor slowly begins to descend into a sort of madness. And things aren't made any better when he has to shut the Dalek in, creating what could have been a wonderful cliffhanger. "I'm sorry, I was a bit slow" says Rose, staring at the closed bulkhead, tears in her eyes, and with the Dalek somewhere in the distance, closing in on her. "I wouldn't've missed it for the World" and I choked up on tears that somehow never came. The Doctor, facing the thought that he's killed Rose, becomes more vitriolic, his anger and guilt mingling. The relief we all feel at seeing that Rose is still alive, is short-lived, as this manipulative new Dalek forces the Doctor to put the world at risk again for the sake of his companion. And yet, the emotional aspect of this story is still only just beginning! As Rose persuades the Dalek not to kill Van Statten - why Rose, why? - we see the her DNA beginning to mutate the Dalek.

It is in the final segment of the story we see it's true sorrow. As the Dalek searches for freedom, and in it's final moments reaches a faltering tentacle out to the sun, we realise just how human it's become. For old fans this is the moment we realise just how determined this Dalek will be on suicide, and the futility of it all saddened me. It is no longer a Dalek, and no, Rose, that isn't better. A Dalek's natural instincts for racial purity will not accept anything un-Dalek, and that is what this Dalek has become. At this point, I cried. Yes, Russell was right. I cried for the Dalek, I cried for the Doctor, and I cried for Rose. As the Doctor tried to explain himself, in faltering tones "I didn't... I couldn't...", the Dalek pleads with Rose to instruct it to kill itself. This lone DNA-altered Dalek, searching for orders, seems now to see Rose as it's leader. Something she is unwilling to be. But when it comes to the crunch, she sadly tells it to "do it then", and steps back. After such a conclusion to this emotional rollercoaster, the final scene, of the Doctor and Rose returning to the TARDIS feels bitter-sweet. Rose and the Doctor are obviously still reeling from their encounter, but the Doctor trying to be more normal - when Rose asks if Adam can travel with them the Doctor says "He's a bit pretty".

For me, this story has been the highlight of a wonderful new series. The story was incredibly well written, and the tight direction felt like it wasn't there - which is, of course, the best kind of direction. The acting from both Eccleston and Piper was beautiful. I was gripped, and actually forgot that I was watching a pair of fictional characters on TV. The sets, and designs were wonderful. Creating a real world feel to the setting. The slight injection of humour into the story actually added to the emotional nature of the story, and was perfectly integrated. The Dalek was a revelation - how can we escape them now, with their geared mid-section? And full credit must go to Nick Briggs for his Dalek voice. Somehow, Briggs managed to portray a thinking, feeling, Dalek without producing something which felt camp, or cheesy. My only complaint - and it's a small one - is that one of the CGI effects felt unreal. As the Dalek elevated up the stairs, after being taunted by Adam in the way we - and the press - used to taunt them in the 80s, things started well. But as the camera angle changed and the Dalek came towards us, there seemed to be something wrong. Somehow it looked fake. But this was one scene, and for the rest of the episode everything was perfect. My only worry now is that this story is an extremely hard act to follow, as is Eccleston's Doctor.